Recaps

As the Yunyang Sect celebrated its victory and expanded into the Outer Region, Wang Chen kept cultivating and improving his skills at home. After strengthening his Earth Stone Technique and Mighty Strength Art, he began digging a concealed bunker beneath his bedroom, determined to prepare for future dangers.

• Mu Qingqiu led a Yunyang Sect expedition into the Outer Region, where it destroyed bandit hideouts and sacrificial temples and killed a Golden Core Evil Cultivator.
• The Yunyang Sect welcomed its victorious army with a grand celebration, while Wang Chen continued practicing his techniques at home.
• A reclamation camp discovered a Large Purple Copper Mine, and the Yunyang Sect rewarded a minor cultivator by making him an Inner Sect true inheritance disciple.
• Wang Chen raised his Earth Stone Technique to Great Accomplishment and his Mighty Strength Art to Minor Accomplishment using Human Virtue points.
• Wang Chen started digging a concealed bunker beneath his bedroom, reinforcing its tunnel with the Earth Stone Technique as he worked.

Wang Chen completed part of his underground bunker, but a wolf howl and the arrival of two Evil Beasts turned his courtyard into a deadly battleground. He attacked one beast to save a wounded cultivator, then retreated as the flames engulfed them.

• Wang Chen finished a hardened underground chamber and reflected on the remaining work and the cost of Mandarin Duck Mirrors.
• Wang Chen returned to his room, exhausted, and fell asleep before waking to wolf howls in the night fog.
• Wang Chen used the Spirit Eye Technique to see through the mist, then a bloodied cultivator burst into his courtyard with a Man-eating Wolf Beast close behind.
• Wang Chen pierced the wolf beast's skull with Gengjin Finger, but the creature healed as it attacked the cultivator, revealing itself as an Evil Beast.
• Wang Chen saw another wolf beast at the entrance, released a Fire Crow and an Exorcism Talisman to save the wounded cultivator, and retreated into his room as the flames consumed them.

Wang Chen killed two wolf-like Evil Beasts that pursued him into his reinforced tunnel, earning Human Virtue and finding a Yin Qi Bead. Seeing an opportunity to lure more monsters and farm Human Virtue, he strengthened his Physique and Divine Soul and prepared to act.

• Wang Chen watched the first wolf beast force its way into the tunnel and blasted it apart with his Fire Crow Technique.
• A second wolf beast crawled fully into the tunnel, and Wang Chen killed it with another close-range Fire Crow.
• Wang Chen found a Yin Qi Bead among the second beast’s ashes and recalled that he had sold one before for six hundred and eighty Lower Spirit Stones.
• Wang Chen spent 2 points of Heavenly Merit to raise his Physique to 7 and his Divine Soul to 3+9.
• Wang Chen decided to exploit the beasts outside by luring them in and farming Human Virtue.

Wang Chen hunted the wolf beasts attacking his neighborhood while the Yunyang Sect’s defenses appeared to fail. A giant monster emerged amid a violent storm, and Wang Chen hid underground as powerful cultivators fought the invaders, leaving him more determined than ever to grow stronger.

• Wang Chen replenished his Mana, checked that his bedroom was clear of Evil Spirits, and cautiously went outside as the fog and distant howls raised his suspicions.
• Two wolf beasts emerged from the direction of Old Sun’s home, and Wang Chen wounded one with the Fire Crow Technique before retreating into his tunnel.
• Both wolf beasts pursued Wang Chen into the tunnel and died, earning him 30 Human Virtue points and bringing his total to 97.
• Thunder and lightning scattered the fog, revealing warning signals from nearby garrisons and a towering monster struck by lightning.
• Wang Chen fled into his underground secret chamber as the battle shook the earth, where the danger intensified his desire for strength.

After the storm and beast attack, Wang Chen found his home wrecked but discovered that Old Sun and his family had survived in a long-hidden tunnel. Suspicious of a Mandarin Duck Mirror in Old Sun’s house, Wang Chen went to Yunyang City to sell Yin Qi Beads and buy supplies as the region dealt with the disaster.

• Wang Chen emerged from hiding, burned the dead cultivator’s body, and found his home devastated by the four Evil Beasts.
• Wang Chen searched Old Sun’s house and watched Old Sun emerge from a hidden tunnel with his wife and child.
• Wang Chen noticed a Mandarin Duck Mirror in Old Sun’s hall and wondered how the old man had acquired it.
• Wang Chen returned home, found his five chickens dead, cleaned up, and set out for Yunyang City.
• Wang Chen saw ruined homes and Spirit Fields, frightened refugees, and increased Guard Hall patrols on his way into the city.
• Wang Chen met Manager Jin at the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce to sell Yin Qi Beads and buy cultivation supplies.

Wang Chen traded a Yin Qi Bead for Vajra Butter and learned that a Mist Puppet had controlled the Evil Beast that attacked the Outer Sect. After returning to Yunyang City and fortifying his hidden shelter, he sensed danger in his courtyard.

• Wang Chen decided to spend less time raising spell proficiency and focus on cultivating his main technique and Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma.
• Wang Chen exchanged his Yin Qi Bead with Manager Jin for thirty-eight bottles of Vajra Butter.
• Manager Jin told Wang Chen that a White Grudge-level Mist Puppet had controlled the Evil Beast and warned him about the Giant Puppet Beast.
• Wang Chen suspected the Mist Puppet was connected to the Gray-Eyed Bandits, but Manager Jin declined to answer.
• Wang Chen bought Demonic Beast Meat and saw that many Rogue Cultivators had crowded into Yunyang City after the attack.
• Wang Chen dug deeper tunnels and a secret chamber beneath his home, then felt a warning surge as he entered his courtyard.

Wang Chen met Lu Defang, the man who had supported him after his father vanished, and accepted a Paper Crane from him while concealing his suspicions. After Lu Defang left, Wang Chen remained convinced that his uncle harbored malice, though he could not determine why.

• Wang Chen sensed a great threat in his room, then recognized Lu Defang as his uncle and entered to meet him.
• Lu Defang praised Wang Chen's cultivation, expressed concern about the Evil Spirits' invasion, and gave him a Paper Crane to contact him if trouble arose.
• Lu Defang promised to bring Wang Chen into the Inner Sect if he succeeded in breaking through, then left for another mission.
• Wang Chen escorted Lu Defang out and, once alone, realized his back was drenched in sweat from maintaining his act.
• Wang Chen reviewed his memories of Lu Defang but could not understand the source of the man's apparent malice.

Wang Chen broke through to the Jade Bone realm of the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma, strengthening his body as he continued investigating Lu Defang’s suspicious handling of his family’s inheritance. He resolved to focus on cultivation and stay prepared while Lu Defang’s motives remained unclear.

• Wang Chen used a bottle of Vajra Butter and broke through to the second level of the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma, entering the Jade Bone realm and raising his Physique to 8.
• Wang Chen washed off the blood and grime, then slaughtered a rooster to prepare a meal after the demanding breakthrough.
• Wang Chen recalled that his family had owned a valuable house in Yunyang City and that Lu Defang had arranged his settlement outside the city without mentioning it.
• Wang Chen suspected Lu Defang had taken Wang Shaoyuan’s inheritance, but could not determine why Lu Defang still harbored ill intent.
• Wang Chen decided to focus on reaching the fifth level of Qi Condensation and take precautions against Lu Defang.

Wang Chen attended a rare lecture by the Purple Mansion cultivator Changchun, struggling at first to understand his teachings before gradually following them. After Changchun departed and offered a hundred disciples personal guidance, Wang Chen avoided the crowd and returned to his quiet cultivation.

• Wang Chen traveled to the Hall of Inherited Teachings for the monthly lecture and found it packed because Changchun was visiting.
• Changchun expounded on the path of cultivation, and Wang Chen struggled to comprehend the early teachings but memorized them for later study.
• Changchun's later explanations became easier for Wang Chen and the other Qi Condensation disciples to follow.
• After Changchun left, the steward announced one hundred slots for personal guidance, prompting the disciples to crowd forward.
• Wang Chen withdrew from the commotion and chose not to pursue a chance to meet Changchun.

Wang Chen watched the Discipline Hall execute seventeen Outer Sect cultivators at the east gate and discovered that their families were paying to feed their bloodied rice balls to children with incomplete Spiritual Roots. Sickened by the spectacle, he left the execution grounds.

• Wang Chen ate his homemade rice balls and drank spirit tea at a teahouse after leaving the Hall of Inherited Teachings.
• A street announcement drew Wang Chen and a crowd to the Sin Slaying Platform outside Yunyang City's east gate.
• The Discipline Hall elder read charges against seventeen Outer Sect cultivators and ordered their public executions.
• After the first beheading, elders rushed to feed the condemned cultivators' bloody rice balls to children with incomplete Spiritual Roots, hoping to complete them.
• Wang Chen felt nauseated by the executions and the children's forced feeding, then turned and left.

After the Sin Slaying Platform left Wang Chen shaken by the Cultivation World's cruelty, a jar of osmanthus honey from Little Ya reminded him of home and renewed his resolve to grow strong enough to return to his original world. His enlightenment raised his Comprehension and Divine Soul, and he returned to tending his Spirit Field with new confidence.

• Wang Chen felt lost and disillusioned after confronting the Cultivation World's cruelty.
• Little Ya brought Wang Chen osmanthus honey from Madam Chen, and its taste reminded him of his mother and hometown.
• Wang Chen resolved to grow strong enough to return to his original world, and gained one point each in Comprehension and Divine Soul.
• Wang Chen thanked Madam Chen in his thoughts and went to weed his Spirit Field.
• Wang Chen sensed the Spirit Rice's joy and support as he worked, and felt that his cultivation journey had truly begun.

Wang Chen learned to cultivate while working, raising his Five Elements Technique proficiency and improving his Object Manipulation Technique as he tended the Spirit Fields. After Zhang Xiaoshan boasted about joining the Third Hall Reserve Camp, hunting Gray-Eyed Bandits, marrying Huang Cuihua, and reaching the fourth Qi Condensation layer, Wang Chen checked his panel and saw his technique was one point from advancing.

• Wang Chen practiced the Five Elements Technique through daily work until its proficiency gained increased from three points per day to as many as six.
• Wang Chen raised his Object Manipulation Technique to minor accomplishment and used it to catch insects for his chickens.
• Zhang Xiaoshan told Wang Chen he had passed the outer sect assessment and would join the Third Hall Reserve Camp to hunt Gray-Eyed Bandits.
• Zhang Xiaoshan announced that his father had proposed to the Huang Family and warned Wang Chen to stop setting his sights on Huang Cuihua.
• Zhang Xiaoshan bragged that he had reached the fourth Qi Condensation layer, then left; Wang Chen checked his panel and saw his Five Elements Technique at 399/400.

Wang Chen traveled to Yunyang City, broke through to the fifth level of Qi Condensation in a cave dwelling, and learned to conceal his cultivation. He returned home disguised as a fourth-level cultivator, intending to further improve the technique and protect himself from Lu Defang.

• Wang Chen’s carriage narrowly avoided a reckless convoy of Cultivator Second Generations racing along the Chidao.
• Wang Chen rented a middle Qi Condensation Cave Mansion in Yunyang City and broke through to the fifth level of Qi Condensation without using Heavenly Merit.
• Wang Chen studied the Breath Concealment Technique and raised it to the Proficient level before his rental period ended.
• Wang Chen concealed his fifth-level cultivation and left Yunyang City for home, planning to improve the technique so Lu Defang could not detect his strength.

Wang Chen expanded his underground bunker, accidentally broke into Grandpa Sun’s tunnel, and then dug beneath it. As he resumed tending his rice, Wei Xiong asked him to open a Storage Bag, leaving its mysterious origin for them to discuss.

• Wang Chen’s pickaxe broke through into a tunnel he recognized as Grandpa Sun’s, so he filled the breach and continued digging beneath it.
• Wang Chen completed the foundational work on his redesigned underground bunker as colder weather reached the Tianyun Mountain Range, then returned to tending his rice.
• Wei Xiong arrived with his younger sister, A Lian, and asked Wang Chen to open a Storage Bag in exchange for one or two of its contents.
• Wang Chen opened the Storage Bag and returned its contents to Wei Xiong, who asked whether Wang Chen wanted to know where it had come from.

Wang Chen agreed to help Wei Xiong exchange a pile of goods for an Innate Pill for his younger sister, then opened the sandalwood box Wei Xiong gave him and discovered a mysterious Ruyi Golden Needle. After repeated attempts to activate it failed, Wang Chen realized he might have overlooked something and tried holding it between two fingers.

• Wei Xiong asked Wang Chen to exchange his goods for an Innate Pill for his younger sister, A Lian, who hoped to enter the Yunyang Sect.
• Wang Chen agreed to handle the exchange and accepted Wei Xiong's sealed sandalwood box as payment, while returning the other goods and Storage Bag to him.
• After Wei Xiong left, Wang Chen opened the box from a safe distance and found a rusty, ordinary-looking thick needle inside.
• Wang Chen checked the Cultivation Panel and saw that the needle was named Ruyi Golden Needle, indicating it was an unusual item.
• Wang Chen repeatedly poured Mana into the Ruyi Golden Needle without effect, then clamped it between the index and middle fingers of his right hand.

Wang Chen awakened the Ruyi Golden Needle by feeding it Gengjin power, then learned its Spirit Possession Method and recovered from the ordeal. He repaid Wei Xiong with an Innate Pill and talismans, and later tested the transformed needle, discovering it could become a ring and pierce a wall before returning to him.

• Wang Chen activated Gengjin Finger, and the Ruyi Golden Needle drained his mana until it shed its rust and transmitted the Spirit Possession Method into his Sea of Consciousness.
• Wang Chen spent the night recovering, then exchanged Merit Points for an Innate Pill and Essence Blood Talismans rather than selling Wei Xiong's belongings.
• Wang Chen gave Wei Xiong the Innate Pill and talismans, and Wei Xiong thanked him while treating the box's contents as Wang Chen's destined opportunity.
• Wang Chen infused the Ruyi Golden Needle with Gengjin power, watched it turn into a ring on his finger, and used it to pierce a wall before it returned.

Wang Chen refined the Ruyi Golden Needle and continued expanding his hidden escape tunnels. While excavating, he advanced his Earth Stone Technique to Grandmaster, which shattered its Oath Seal Curse and revealed a potentially dangerous ability to pass on the art; the chapter ended with him testing the spell’s greatly increased power.

• Wang Chen spent three days refining the Ruyi Golden Needle, learning to control it remotely over a hundred meters and gaining a new weapon for sneak attacks.
• Wang Chen decided to dig a third escape tunnel over ten li long because the exits of his other tunnels were too close together.
• Wang Chen used 10 Human Virtue points to advance his Earth Stone Technique to Grandmaster.
• Wang Chen discovered that reaching Grandmaster had broken the Oath Seal Curse on the Earth Stone Technique’s Law Seed, but he dismissed the idea of copying and selling the art as too dangerous.
• Wang Chen tested his Grandmaster-level Earth Stone Technique and turned a large section of hard rock into soft mud, creating a cavern two meters deep.

Wang Chen completed his underground fortress and practiced Shadowless Divine Movement before Wei Xiong asked him to shelter A Lian after a Mystic Fire Phoenix destroyed their stronghold. Wang Chen agreed to take her in temporarily while Wei Xiong searched for a new home.

• Wang Chen finished the longest escape tunnel, then tested Shadowless Divine Movement in the hills outside the mountain gate.
• As winter arrived, Wang Chen hosted Wei Xiong and A Lian for a meal after they helped harvest his Spirit Rice.
• Wei Xiong asked Wang Chen to let A Lian stay at his home for a few days.
• Wei Xiong explained that a Mystic Fire Phoenix had attacked Black Rock Stronghold after someone brought its stolen egg there, killing the chief and devastating the settlement.
• Wang Chen agreed to shelter A Lian while Wei Xiong looked for another place to settle.

After Wei Xiong left, Wang Chen and Wei Lian overcame their initial awkwardness while preparing dinner, and Wang Chen brought her into his underground chamber to keep her safe. The chapter ended with Wei Lian exploring the furnished chamber, unaware that Wang Chen’s real secret lay deeper below.

• Wei Xiong left after helping Wang Chen harvest the Spirit Rice, entrusting Wei Lian to his care.
• Wang Chen made dinner while Wei Lian helped tend the stove, and they became more comfortable with each other as they talked.
• Wei Lian recalled Wei Xiong’s warning that she should yield if Wang Chen made a move on her, and she nervously followed him to the bedroom.
• Wang Chen sent Wei Lian through the bed’s hidden mechanism into his underground chamber, then followed her down.
• Wang Chen showed Wei Lian the furnished chamber, which served as a decoy for the deeper rooms and escape passage below.

Wei Lian settled into Wang Chen’s home and eased into life as his maid while he studied talisman-making. Wang Chen successfully completed his first talisman, unlocking Basic Talisman Crafting on his Cultivation Panel.

• Wei Lian lived in Wang Chen’s home, helping with chores and serving him tea as she gradually became less wary of him.
• Wang Chen continued studying talismans, hoping to craft them for his own use and improve his combat options.
• After months of memorizing the runes and practicing, Wang Chen drew the final stroke that completed a talisman.
• The Cultivation Panel registered Basic Talisman Crafting experience, and Wei Lian reacted with surprise as Wang Chen realized a new skill had appeared.

Wang Chen’s talisman-crafting skill was recognized by the Cultivation Panel, and he gave Wei Lian his first Meteor Fire Talisman. After hearing an intruder enter his home, he sealed the passage to his underground chamber and crept outside to investigate.

• Wang Chen saw Basic Talisman Crafting appear in his Skill Bar after months of practice.
• Wang Chen gave Wei Lian his first Meteor Fire Talisman and encouraged her to pursue cultivation.
• Wang Chen woke to sounds from above and used his speaking tube to confirm someone had entered the house.
• Wang Chen sealed the passage to the underground chamber with the Earth Stone Technique and told Wei Lian to stay behind.
• Wang Chen left through a hidden passage, checked the area with his Spiritual Sense, and slipped into his backyard to listen to the sounds inside the house.

Wang Chen ambushed three intruders in his bedroom and killed them before they could force him from his tunnel. He survived the fight with his Mana nearly exhausted and gained twelve Heavenly Merit points.

• Three intruders uncovered Wang Chen’s tunnel entrance and prepared to flush him out with poison smoke.
• Wang Chen’s Fire Crow killed the burly guard, and his golden attacks pierced the middle-aged cultivator’s defenses and killed him.
• The man in black fled through the window, but Wang Chen struck him with Vajra Fist, Gengjin Finger Force, and a Ruyi Golden Needle, killing him.
• Wang Chen swallowed a Qi recovery pill and found that he had gained twelve Heavenly Merit points.

Wang Chen killed three intruders and discovered that Heavenly Merit depended on the cultivation level of the cultivator he killed. He found valuable loot on the middle-aged cultivator, cleaned up the bodies, returned safely to Wei Lian, and examined a mysterious copper bell.

• Wang Chen searched the black-clad man’s Storage Bag and found familiar tools and supplies, but little of value.
• Wang Chen realized that killing cultivators awarded Heavenly Merit points based on their cultivation levels, while killing the non-cultivator earned him none.
• Wang Chen found an Autumn Water Sword, more than two hundred Lower Spirit Stones, supplies, a large Storage Bag, and a copper bell in the middle-aged cultivator’s possessions.
• Wang Chen dissolved and burned the three corpses, used talismans to send their souls onward and cleanse the room, then returned underground to Wei Lian.
• Wang Chen took out the copper bell to inspect it.

Wang Chen refined the Soul-Swaying Bell, accidentally knocked Wei Lian unconscious with it, and gave her a talisman guide as an apology. After learning that outsiders were searching for the Valley Guest siblings, he secretly kept Wei Lian safe until Wei Xiong appeared at his doorstep.

• Wang Chen cleared the former owner's restrictions from the Soul-Swaying Bell and learned it could daze an enemy's Divine Soul.
• Wang Chen's test of the bell knocked Wei Lian unconscious, so he revived her with the Cloud Rain Art and gave her his Illustrated Guide to Basic Talismans.
• Wang Chen brought Wei Lian back to the surface and hid her from Xiao Qi, who warned that outsiders were asking about a pair of Valley Guest siblings.
• Wang Chen suspected the searchers were after Wei Xiong and Wei Lian, kept watch for several days, and stayed prepared to defend them.
• A thick-bearded, weatherworn man appeared at Wang Chen's doorstep.

Wei Xiong returned to Wang Chen’s home, badly injured but having secured a path for Wei Lian to enter the Xie family and cultivate under Xie Yaoxiu. After learning the Taize Three Friends had targeted Wei Lian, he thanked Wang Chen and left with his sister for Yunyang City.

• Wei Xiong reunited with Wei Lian and told Wang Chen he had come to take her to Yunyang City.
• Wei Xiong explained that he had obtained the Mystic Fire Phoenix egg and used it to gain an introduction to Xie Yaoxiu, who would take Wei Lian in as a maidservant.
• Wei Xiong revealed that he had become a retainer in the Xie household, and Wei Lian agreed to go with him and pursue cultivation.
• Wang Chen described the three bandits who had attacked his home, and Wei Xiong identified them as the Taize Three Friends.
• Wei Xiong gave Wang Chen a crane letter and left with Wei Lian, while Wang Chen wished that they would meet again as fellow Daoists.