Chapter Summaries

Wang Chen left Dongwu Stockade to avoid being drawn into Hu Meiniang and Jin Liancheng’s struggle for power, then traveled to Wind Thunder Valley to secretly cultivate its abundant lightning. He tunneled beneath the valley but stopped when he could dig no farther.

• Wang Chen weighed the danger posed by Hu Meiniang and Jin Liancheng, rejected killing them or submitting to their conscription, and decided to leave Dongwu Stockade temporarily.
• Wang Chen told Chen Qi he was visiting relatives and friends, asked him to watch his house, and left the stockade disguised after traveling away from it.
• Wang Chen headed for Wind Thunder Valley, where he hoped to cultivate Five Suns Dry Thunder and the Thunderclap Sword Technique despite his enmity with Five Peaks Mountain.
• Wang Chen concealed himself and dug a deep tunnel toward Wind Thunder Valley, creating secret escape passages along the way.
• After three days, Wang Chen reached beneath Wind Thunder Valley, but he could not continue digging farther.

Wang Chen discovered Thunderstones beneath Wind Thunder Valley and used their lightning power to improve his Five Suns Dry Thunder while secretly hiding underground. Meanwhile, Dongwu Stockade’s City Lord’s Mansion began forcibly conscripting cultivators, and Chen Qi feared the growing unrest would soon erupt.

• Wang Chen struck lightning-filled rock with a pickaxe, releasing its power and discovering he could absorb it by cultivating Five Suns Dry Thunder.
• Wang Chen found more Thunderstones underground and used them as a free resource to cultivate his lightning art.
• A Guard Hall group came to Wang Chen’s home looking for Wang Xiu, but Chen Qi told them Wang Xiu had gone to visit relatives.
• The City Lord’s Mansion issued a conscription order, and the Guard Hall forcibly recruited cultivators as anger and unrest grew in Dongwu Stockade.

Wang Chen completed his cultivation of Five Suns Dry Thunder in Wind Thunder Valley, then emerged to find a Thunder Eagle attacking the Five Peaks Mountain cultivators. The Thunder Eagle drove off the cultivators and pursued a fleeing Purple Mansion cultivator as survivors scattered toward Wang Chen.

• Wang Chen used 1,000 Human Virtue points to raise Five Suns Dry Thunder to Grand Completion and felt its power resonate with the Wind Thunder Sword.
• Wang Chen decided to leave Wind Thunder Valley, but discovered thunderstones split Storage Bags and smashed one to use its power before departing.
• The broken thunderstone triggered violent tremors, and Wang Chen escaped through his reinforced tunnel to the surface.
• Wang Chen watched more than a hundred Five Peaks Mountain cultivators besiege a Thunder Eagle that continued attacking Wind Thunder Valley.
• The Thunder Eagle struck down several cultivators with its lightning, forcing a Purple Mansion cultivator to flee southwest and the surviving Five Peaks Mountain cultivators to scatter toward Wang Chen.

Wang Chen killed two Five Peaks Mountain disciples with Liu Yingxiu’s stolen Purple Shadow Wind Thunder Sword, then disguised himself as Zhao Wuji of Guiyuan Sect and challenged the approaching cultivators. He charged into the ensuing fight, determined to battle openly.

• Tan Yue fled southwest from the Thunder Eagle but was killed when Wang Chen’s Wind Thunder Sword pierced his flying boat and split him in two.
• A round-faced Five Peaks Mountain disciple recognized the sword as Liu Yingxiu’s imitation and tried to escape, but Wang Chen killed him with Geng Metal Force and took his Storage Bag.
• Wang Chen replenished the Wind Thunder Sword with Five Suns Dry Thunder Force and claimed to be Zhao Wuji of Guiyuan Sect.
• Five Peaks Mountain cultivators rushed toward Wang Chen in anger, and he sent the Wind Thunder Sword against them.

Wang Chen defeated a force of Five Peaks Mountain disciples, then looted their belongings and the corpses left behind by the Thunder Eagle in Wind Thunder Valley. After destroying evidence of his scavenging, he headed back to Dongwu Stockade.

• Wang Chen used the Wind Thunder Sword to kill the Five Peaks Mountain disciples who attacked him, forcing the survivors to flee.
• Wang Chen pursued the fleeing disciples, killed two more, and let a few escape so they could spread the name Zhao Wuji of the Guiyuan Sect.
• Wang Chen collected the fallen disciples’ Storage Bags and Magic Tools, then entered Wind Thunder Valley to loot the corpses of cultivators slain by the Thunder Eagle.
• Wang Chen gathered the spoils, including nearly enough Storage Bags to become the Hundred-Bag Elder, and considered the resources he needed for his future breakthrough.
• Wang Chen sorted the stolen items, destroyed the emptied bags and useless goods, and set off for Dongwu Stockade.

Wang Chen returned to Dongwu Stockade and found it overwhelmed by refugees, so he used Spirit Rice to cook porridge and organized its distribution. The refugees received food in an orderly line under his protection.

• Wang Chen returned to Dongwu Stockade and found displaced people living in makeshift shelters outside its gates.
• Wang Chen gave a shivering mother and her unconscious daughter a fur-lined coat, then recruited refugees to gather firewood and stones.
• Wang Chen shaped nine stone cauldrons and filled them with water and White Corn to cook Spirit Rice Porridge.
• Wang Chen stopped the refugees from crowding the cauldrons by warning them with a line of golden force across the ground.
• Wang Chen had several Martial Artists distribute the porridge, and the mother and daughter received the first bowls.

Wang Chen distributed Spirit Rice Porridge to refugees outside Dongwu Stockade, then killed seven Rogue Cultivators who tried to rob him and reached 1,003 Heavenly Merit. He left the porridge in the burly martial artist’s care and departed without adding to his Spiritual Root.

• After nine cauldrons of porridge were distributed, Wang Chen ordered another nine to be cooked for the refugees still waiting.
• Seven Rogue Cultivators surrounded Wang Chen and accused him of wrongdoing, but he attacked them with a captured Flying Sword and killed all seven.
• Wang Chen’s Heavenly Merit reached 1,003, unlocking the ability to add points to his attributes.
• Wang Chen searched the Rogue Cultivators’ Storage Bags, found more than a thousand catties of White Corn, and burned their corpses.
• Wang Chen gave the burly martial artist an Essence Blood Talisman, left him in charge of the porridge, and departed.

Wang Chen returned to find his home ransacked by the City Lord’s Mansion, repaired and refurnished it, and improved his Spiritual Root with Heavenly Merit. He ended the chapter sharing New Year’s Eve dinner with Chen Qi’s family.

• Wang Chen returned to find his door smashed and learned from Chen Qi that the City Lord’s Mansion had searched his home three times while he was away.
• Wang Chen thanked Chen Qi, agreed to join his family for New Year’s Eve dinner, and hired a carpenter to replace his gate and damaged furniture.
• Wang Chen found that the intruders had searched the first level of his secret chamber but had not discovered the deeper levels.
• Wang Chen spent 1,000 Heavenly Merit to raise his Spiritual Root to seven points and endured the painful improvement.
• Wang Chen brought ten jin of Demonic Beast Marrow Meat to Chen Qi’s home, where the families shared a festive New Year’s Eve meal.

After learning why Dongwu Stockade had descended into chaos, Wang Chen kept to cultivation while the swelling population and grain shortage worsened conditions. When a group sent by the City Lord's Mansion tried to seize him, he killed them all and took their belongings.

• Chen Qi told Wang Chen that Guiyuan Sect and Five Peaks Mountain were oppressing rogue cultivators, driving refugees into Dongwu Stockade, where Xin Han's concubines and the Golden Snake Gentleman allowed disorder to grow.
• Chen Qi warned Wang Chen that the Golden Snake Gentleman had repeatedly sought him out and that summoned cultivators had disappeared into the City Lord's Mansion.
• After the Spring Festival, Wang Chen stayed home to cultivate as Dongwu Stockade's population and grain shortage worsened.
• A group of cultivators broke into Wang Chen's courtyard and tried to force him to answer the City Lord's Mansion's summons.
• Wang Chen killed the leader with a punch, cut down the fleeing cultivators with sword light, and collected their belongings before burning the bodies.

After killing members of the Guard Hall, Wang Chen decided to leave Dongwu Stockade for the West Sea Spirit Domain and destroyed his home before departing. He faced the pursuing Golden Snake Gentleman and his cultivators, then struck first with Five Suns Dry Thunder.

• Wang Chen told Chen Qi he was leaving for the West Sea Spirit Domain and gave him the Yunyang Ten Thousand Li Terrain Map to help his family if they had to flee.
• Wang Chen warned Chen Qi to prepare his family to leave, then destroyed the tunnel, secret chamber, and house before flying out of Dongwu Stockade on the Silver Spirit Shuttle.
• More than a dozen cultivators pursued Wang Chen and surrounded him above an open expanse, led by the Golden Snake Gentleman.
• Wang Chen mocked the Golden Snake Gentleman, who ordered his cultivators to kill him.
• Wang Chen unleashed Five Suns Dry Thunder, sending blue-violet lightning down on the surrounding cultivators.

Wang Chen killed the Golden Snake Gentleman and confronted Hu Meiniang, the hidden controller of Dongwu Stockade. Hu Meiniang apologized for her younger brother and spoke with Wang Chen while he restored his Mana.

• Wang Chen struck the Guard Hall cultivators with Five Suns Dry Thunder, killing or wounding more than a dozen and forcing the survivors to flee.
• Wang Chen knocked the Golden Snake Gentleman's Sword Pellet aside and fought him with the Wind Thunder Sword and Five Suns Dry Thunder.
• Wang Chen pursued the fleeing Golden Snake Gentleman, severed his arm, and then beheaded him despite Hu Meiniang's plea to spare him.
• Wang Chen took the Golden Snake Gentleman's Storage Bag and faced Hu Meiniang as he absorbed spiritual energy to restore his Mana.
• Hu Meiniang apologized for her younger brother and told Wang Chen that she had long heard of him.

Wang Chen resisted Hu Meiniang’s seduction and refused to return the sword pellet without a fair exchange. He tricked her by agreeing to meet for three Acupoint Breaking Pills, then failed to show up, leaving Hu Meiniang furious and chastised by her master.

• Hu Meiniang tried to recruit Wang Chen into the Joyous Union Sect with promises of cultivation resources and a young junior sister, but Wang Chen resisted her seduction arts.
• Wang Chen demanded to know whether Hu Meiniang wanted to fight, then attacked her with the Wind Thunder Sword; she dodged and asked him to return the sword pellet.
• Hu Meiniang offered to buy back the sword pellet, and Wang Chen negotiated three Acupoint Breaking Pills in exchange.
• Wang Chen refused to return to Dongwu Stockade with Hu Meiniang and agreed to trade at their meeting spot the next day.
• Hu Meiniang waited for over an hour, but Wang Chen never appeared, and her master rebuked her for seeking help again.

Wang Chen left Hu Meiniang behind, strengthened the Wind Thunder Sword and refined the sword pellet beneath Wind Thunder Valley, then set off for the West Sea Spirit Domain without advancing to Purple Mansion. In Dongwu Stockade, Chen Qi learned that the workshop master's family had been killed and decided to leave with his family.

• Wang Chen avoided Hu Meiniang because he suspected her offer of three Acupoint Breaking Pills was a trap.
• Wang Chen secretly returned to Wind Thunder Valley, mined Thunderstones, refined the Wind Thunder Sword, and gradually erased the sword pellet's Dharma seal.
• Wang Chen reached Grand Completion in the Five Elements Technique but chose to wait for two Acupoint Breaking Pills and a stronger foundation before attempting to open his Mansion.
• Wang Chen left Wind Thunder Valley and headed for the West Sea Spirit Domain.
• Chen Qi told Madam Chen that Evil Spirits had killed all fifteen members of the workshop master's family.
• Madam Chen urged Chen Qi to leave Dongwu Stockade, and he agreed to go with his family.

Wang Chen traveled with Daoist Jia, a Medicine King Valley cultivator who was secretly possessed by an Evil Spirit, and destroyed him with the Evil-Exorcising Net. After three cautious days on the road, Wang Chen reached Myriad Cultivator City, eager to explore the renowned city of Rogue Cultivators.

• Wang Chen shared tea and conversation with Daoist Jia in an abandoned shrine, then revealed that he had recognized something wrong with Jia’s aura.
• Daoist Jia attacked Wang Chen with black shadows, but Wang Chen trapped him in the Evil-Exorcising Net.
• Wang Chen intensified the net’s power until Daoist Jia and the Evil Spirit inside him were reduced to ashes.
• Wang Chen left the village the next morning and traveled on foot using Shadowless Divine Movement to avoid danger in the wilds.
• Wang Chen arrived at Myriad Cultivator City after three days of travel.

Wang Chen arrived in Myriad Cultivator City and visited the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce to trade away unwanted Magic Tools and ask about supplies. He left without buying Vajra Butter and learned that Acupoint Breaking Pills would take at least half a year to obtain.

• Wang Chen entered Myriad Cultivator City, whose formation suppressed mana and whose rules forbade private fighting.
• Wang Chen found the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce and asked Manager Jin about Vajra Butter.
• Manager Jin quoted a price of one hundred Lower Spirit per bottle, and Wang Chen refused to buy any.
• Wang Chen exchanged his unused Magic Tools for twenty-three thousand and forty-five Lower Spirit.
• Wang Chen asked about Acupoint Breaking Pills, and Manager Jin said they needed to be reserved and would not be available for at least half a year.

Wang Chen ordered two Acupoint Breaking Pills from the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce and struggled with the costs of staying in Myriad Cultivator City. After spending several days learning the city, he received a Crane Message from the brokerage.

• Manager Jin quoted Wang Chen three hundred Medium Spirit Stones per Acupoint Breaking Pill, and Wang Chen ordered two for sixty thousand Lower Spirit Stones.
• Wang Chen paid half the order cost as a deposit, leaving him to find thirty thousand Lower Spirit Stones before the pills arrived.
• Wang Chen asked a brokerage to contact him about a house for rent, then rented a cramped single room at an inn for twenty Lower Spirit Stones per night.
• Wang Chen considered living outside the city to avoid its high costs but stayed at the inn while he learned the area.
• Wang Chen explored Myriad Cultivator City for three days, then received a Crane Message from the brokerage.

Wang Chen decided to settle in Myriad Cultivator City for its protection and rented a furnished west wing from the widowed Madam Ye. After moving in, he bought supplies to begin earning Spirit Stones by crafting talismans.

• Wang Chen learned that Myriad Cultivator City’s powerful defensive formation made housing there expensive but safer than living outside.
• A broker brought Wang Chen to Madam Ye, who initially objected because she wanted to rent to a female cultivator.
• Wang Chen viewed Madam Ye’s spacious west wing and agreed to rent it after she offered payment in two installments.
• Wang Chen paid three months’ rent and the broker’s commission, then moved into the Ye family’s side wing.
• Wang Chen bought Talisman Paper and talisman ink to earn Spirit Stones with his Grand Completion Basic Talisman Crafting.

Wang Chen set up a stall in Myriad Cultivator City and sold his master-level Talismans at prices above the market rate, earning more than three hundred Lower Spirit by dusk. After someone sent a man to invite him to meet a master, Wang Chen refused and slipped away from his pursuer.

• Wang Chen listened to local gossip over breakfast, then rented a stall in the Marketplace and arranged his Talismans with fixed prices and no haggling.
• Cultivators balked at Wang Chen's high prices, and he made no sales through the morning.
• A battle-hardened middle-aged cultivator bought five Exorcism Talismans and five Meteor Fire Talismans, and Wang Chen sold more Talismans through the afternoon.
• Wang Chen packed up at dusk with more than three hundred Lower Spirit in earnings and planned to build his reputation and save for a Cave Mansion on North Mountain.
• A burly man named Xiang said his master wanted to speak with Wang Chen, but Wang Chen refused and left the Marketplace.
• Wang Chen noticed someone following him and used his Grand Completion level Breath Concealment Technique to disappear into the crowd.

Wang Chen agreed to teach Ye Feifan martial arts after the boy offered him his Shattered Spirits and Madam Ye gave her consent. While Wang Chen taught Ye Feifan the Pure Yang Technique, his talisman business at the Marketplace grew more profitable.

• Wang Chen returned home and learned the names of Madam Ye's children, Ye Feifan and Ye Feifei.
• Ye Feifan asked to cultivate, and Wang Chen explained that without a Spiritual Root he could not, but offered to teach him martial arts in exchange for his Shattered Spirits.
• Wang Chen told Ye Feifan he would teach him only if Madam Ye agreed, and she later brought the boy to him and approved the lessons.
• Wang Chen taught Ye Feifan the Pure Yang Technique and basic martial knowledge, impressed by the boy's excellent memory.
• Wang Chen continued selling Talismans at the Marketplace, where his reputation and Spirit Stone earnings increased.

Wang Chen cultivated in an expensive North Mountain Cave Mansion to prepare for breaking through to the Purple Mansion realm, then made Dragon Tiger Spirit Strengthening Soup at home. He invited Ye Feifei and Ye Feifan to share the potent broth, leaving the siblings about to drink it.

• Wang Chen rented a North Mountain Cave Mansion and cultivated for three days to consolidate his foundation for Break Through Apertures and Open the Mansion.
• Wang Chen resolved to make one breakthrough attempt after obtaining two Acupoint Breaking Pills, using Add Points if he still could not succeed on his own.
• Wang Chen returned home and simmered Dragon Tiger Spirit Strengthening Soup with the Golden Silk Silver Ring Snake and Red-Eyed Tiger essence.
• Ye Feifan lingered by the kitchen, drawn by the soup's scent, while Ye Feifei scolded him for neglecting his practice.
• Wang Chen served the siblings diluted bowls of the soup, and Ye Feifei thanked him.