Chapter Summaries

Wang Chen reunited with Hu Jiaojiao in fox territory and learned that she had recently condensed a high-grade Golden Core. She gave him the Seven-Leaf Black Ginseng he needed for his own Golden Core attempt, leaving him more determined to succeed.

• Wang Chen shared his ice cream with the fox children and Hu Jiaojiao, easing his worries about being in demon territory.
• Wang Chen discovered that Hu Jiaojiao had condensed her Golden Core a month earlier, and she credited the Black Ginseng Child with helping her achieve a high-grade core.
• Hu Jiaojiao welcomed Wang Chen into her spacious Magic Treasure home, served him Spiritual Tea made with a leaf shed by the Black Ginseng Child, and explained her Golden Core breakthrough.
• Hu Jiaojiao gave Wang Chen the Seven-Leaf Black Ginseng he had been seeking.
• Wang Chen recognized that he still needed Ten-Thousand-Year Star Sand and resolved to pursue a high-grade Golden Core of his own.

After securing the Seven-Leaf Black Ginseng, Wang Chen had gathered seven of the eight treasures needed to condense a Golden Core and offered Hu Jiaojiao help with her natal Magic Treasure. He discovered that the damaged Upper Clarity Qiankun Mirror matched her five innate divine abilities and gave it to her, leaving them sharing a tender moment.

• Wang Chen told Hu Jiaojiao about his store and his ability to refine Magic Treasures, and she asked for his advice on choosing a natal Magic Treasure.
• Hu Jiaojiao revealed that she had awakened five innate divine abilities and, trusting Wang Chen, described each one to him.
• Wang Chen realized that three of her abilities suited the Upper Clarity Qiankun Mirror, a damaged treasure he rarely used.
• Wang Chen gave Hu Jiaojiao the Upper Clarity Qiankun Mirror, and she accepted as he held her hand.

Hu Jiaojiao gave Wang Chen the mysterious bead she wore as a necklace, but her powerful mother intervened and confronted him. She revealed that the pendant was the priceless Chaos Bead, which could help Golden Core cultivators comprehend the Great Dao and form a Nascent Soul.

• Hu Jiaojiao gave Wang Chen her necklace, and the Primordial Dao Stele reacted violently to its Crystal Bead.
• Hu Jiaojiao's mother appeared, overwhelmed Wang Chen with her presence, and criticized her daughter's feelings for him.
• Hu Jiaojiao's mother pulled her aside and questioned Wang Chen about the Upper Clarity Qiankun Mirror he had given her.
• Wang Chen explained that he had received the mirror from Kou Shihai, and Hu Jiaojiao's mother identified it as one of the Nine Ancient Mirrors.
• Hu Jiaojiao's mother revealed that the pendant was the Chaos Bead she had given Hu Jiaojiao after she condensed a high-grade Golden Core.

Wang Chen agreed to enter the small world linked to the World-Asking Bell and retrieve the Qingqiu Fox Clan’s lost Mysterious Fox Token. Hu Jiaojiao activated the bell and entered first to protect him, and Wang Chen followed her inside.

• The palace-robed woman demanded that Wang Chen retrieve the Mysterious Fox Token from the dangerous small world or leave behind the Chaos Bead and his Divine Soul.
• Wang Chen accepted the task, and the woman gave him an hour to prepare before departing.
• Hu Jiaojiao apologized to Wang Chen, then kissed him and activated the World-Asking Bell.
• Hu Jiaojiao vanished into the small world, and Wang Chen immediately grabbed the bell and followed her.
• The palace-robed woman appeared beside the bell and regretted pushing her daughter, but could only wait for the two to return.

Chen Ergou woke in Little Stone Village with strange gaps in his memory and familiar actions he could not explain, then went to work in the fields. After he stood up to a boy who tried to take his water bucket, a punch knocked him unconscious and unleashed a flood of memories.

• Chen Ergou woke from a strange dream, ate breakfast, and recalled his life with his father, Chen Qiaoshan, in Little Stone Village.
• Chen Qiaoshan joined the hunting party while Chen Ergou went to weed and water their sweet potato field.
• Chen Ergou unexpectedly formed a familiar hand seal and sensed something unusual near the river, though he saw nothing.
• A sturdy boy and his companions demanded Chen Ergou's bucket, but Chen Ergou refused and tried to pass them.
• The sturdy boy punched Chen Ergou in the head, and Chen Ergou collapsed as countless sealed memories flooded his mind.

After awakening to memories of another person, Chen Ergou gained the cultivation art Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma and decided to practice it on his own. By nightfall, he had successfully reached the Skin Tempering realm.

• Chen Ergou seized the burly youth's wrist, shoved him into a companion, and frightened the youths into fleeing.
• After finishing the work on his family's fields, Chen Ergou dreamed of an ancient stone stele and woke with foul-smelling grime on his body and a cultivation mnemonic in his mind.
• Chen Ergou recognized the mnemonic as the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma and hurried through his farmwork so he could try cultivating it.
• Chen Ergou practiced the art without guidance, and his skin and flesh tempered smoothly until he achieved Skin Tempering.

Chen Ergou successfully tempered his skin, then discovered that his new strength came with a ravenous hunger. The next morning, he defeated Lu Bao in a fight, surprising the villagers and leaving everyone wondering how he had become so powerful.

• Chen Ergou confirmed that his skin-tempering had succeeded and ate the family's entire supply of cured meat to satisfy his hunger.
• Chen Ergou slept until dawn, ate a pot of sweet potatoes, and set out to plow the fields.
• Lu Bao and his cousin confronted Chen Ergou, demanding that he kneel and apologize for beating the cousin.
• Lu Bao attacked Chen Ergou with a spiked metal gauntlet, but Chen Ergou struck him with a punch that sent him flying and left him badly injured.
• Lu Bao and his cousin fled as villagers gathered, and Chen Ergou continued on his way.

After gaining strength from the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma, Chen Ergou learned that Chen Qiaoshan had died on a hunt and fought off relatives who tried to take advantage of him. Exhausted, hungry, and overwhelmed by grief, he collapsed at home with his life fading.

• Chen Ergou celebrated his new strength and hoped to teach the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma to Chen Qiaoshan.
• A farmer told Chen Ergou that something had happened to his father, and Uncle Yan reported that a third-rank ferocious beast had killed Chen Qiaoshan and taken his body.
• Chen Ergou endured his father's funeral, after which the hunting party left him a fat desolate sheep as compensation.
• Fourth Uncle and his companions arrived after the funeral, greedily eyed the sheep, and tried to make Chen Ergou live with them.
• Chen Ergou kicked Fourth Uncle and beat the group until they fled, then collapsed from grief, hunger, thirst, and exhaustion.

Wang Chen awakened in the World-Asking Bell's world with no Mana or Magic Treasures, then recovered by eating Wasteland Sheep meat and resumed cultivating the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma. He resolved to grow stronger, find Hu Jiaojiao and the Mysterious Fox Token, and began considering how to obtain more nourishing beast meat.

• Wang Chen regained his memories and realized he had been living as Chen Ergou in the World-Asking Bell's world, where he had no cultivation, Mana, or Magic Treasures.
• Wang Chen recalled that he needed to find Hu Jiaojiao and the Mysterious Fox Token, and resolved to become stronger through the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma.
• Wang Chen processed the Wasteland Sheep, smoked most of its meat, and ate nearly thirty jin to restore his strength and vitality.
• Wang Chen assessed his Bronze Skin cultivation and the lack of information about the mist-shrouded world beyond Little Stone Village.
• Wang Chen resumed cultivating and realized that desolate beast meat could fuel his training, prompting him to wonder about the benefits of higher-level ferocious beast meat.

After discovering that the World Within the Bell had stripped away most of his cultivation system, Wang Chen traded his family’s farmland for cured meat and a saber so he could focus on martial training. Seven days later, he had eaten the meat and reached the Flesh Tempering realm.

• Wang Chen saw that the World Within the Bell had reduced his cultivation panel to basic information, then ate a large amount of smoked mutton while worrying that he would run out of food.
• Seventh Uncle and other villagers urged Wang Chen to tend his abandoned fields, but Wang Chen offered his three mu and two fen of land to anyone who gave him five hundred jin of cured meat.
• Wang Chen showed the villagers that he had reached Skin Tempering and explained that he wanted enough meat to advance and join the hunting team.
• The Shi family brought five hundred jin of cured meat and a mountain-cleaving saber in exchange for Wang Chen’s land, and Wang Chen signed the transfer deed.
• Wang Chen shut himself away for seven days, ate all the cured meat, and broke through to the Flesh Tempering realm.

Wang Chen sharpened his mountain-cleaving blade, left Little Stone Village to hunt alone after Yan Wu hesitated to admit him to the hunting team, and ventured deeper into the mist. As he searched the forest, a fast-moving creature swooped toward him.

• Wang Chen sharpened his blade to steady his mind, then packed his smoked meat and set out to join the hunting team.
• Wang Chen told Yan Wu he had reached the Flesh-Refining Realm, but Yan Wu delayed accepting him because he lacked hunting experience and it was not hunting season.
• Wang Chen left Little Stone Village to hunt alone, despite villagers warning that he was courting death.
• Wang Chen cautiously traveled northwest through the mist, using markers and guiding grass while searching for beasts.
• Wang Chen ventured deeper into the forest and heard a pigeon-like cry as something flew toward him at high speed.

Wang Chen hunted in the fog-shrouded World Within the Bell, where he discovered his system was sealed and he would have to rely on himself. After killing a giant Mountain Boar with a trap, he stood over the dead beast, with two smaller boars nearby.

• Wang Chen killed a Black Bat that ambushed him and realized the Heavenly Merit and Human Virtue System remained sealed.
• Wang Chen climbed a tree and used the Black Bat's corpse to attract prey.
• A giant Mountain Boar arrived with two young boars, and Wang Chen identified it as a dangerous second-tier beast.
• Wang Chen stabbed the Mountain Boar in its exposed rear weak point, then escaped up the tree as it charged.
• The Mountain Boar got its tusks stuck in the tree and bled to death while Wang Chen waited above.

Wang Chen dragged the giant mountain boar he had killed back to Little Stone Village and shared half of it with the villagers. After eating the boar’s heart, he found that his cultivation had accelerated, bringing him closer to Bone Tempering.

• Wang Chen drove off the two little Mountain Boars, butchered the giant boar, and dragged it back toward Little Stone Village on a makeshift sled.
• Wang Chen arrived at the village entrance, where Uncle Li and another villager were astonished by his enormous prey.
• Shi Laowu asked how Wang Chen would handle the boar, and Wang Chen offered half to the village; Shi Laowu arranged for the hunters to process it.
• Wang Chen took the pig heart and stomach home and discovered medicinal-smelling tumors inside the stomach.
• Wang Chen ate the steamed pig heart and cultivated the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma, finding that his progress had greatly improved.

Wang Chen advanced his body-tempering practice, ate a nourishing meal, and welcomed Village Chief Shi Laowu, who brought food and drink and explained the martial path and the Mist Mountain Realm. The conversation left Wang Chen with a clearer picture of a world where cities defended humanity against ferocious beasts.

• Wang Chen practiced the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma and found that his appetite had grown along with his strength.
• Wang Chen cooked and devoured a crock of pig stomach soup, feeling its powerful nourishing effects.
• Shi Laowu visited Wang Chen with smoked mountain-boar pig's head and bear gall wine, and the two ate and drank together.
• Shi Laowu asked whether Wang Chen had learned martial arts from Chen Qiaoshan, then invited him to call him Uncle Wu.
• Shi Laowu explained that the world was called the Mist Mountain Realm and that cities served as human strongholds against ferocious beasts.

Shi Laowu recommended Wang Chen to Red Cliff City and taught him the Bone Forging, Tendon Transforming, Blood Burning Technique to help him advance. Wang Chen mastered it with astonishing speed and planned to reclaim his original name when he eventually left Little Stone Village.

• Shi Laowu urged Wang Chen to leave Little Stone Village for Red Cliff City once he reached the Bone Forging realm, and Wang Chen agreed.
• Wang Chen asked about the realms above Innate, but Shi Laowu warned him not to inquire until he became an Innate expert.
• Shi Laowu taught Wang Chen the Bone Forging, Tendon Transforming, Blood Burning Technique, which Wang Chen quickly learned and began practicing.
• Shi Laowu was stunned by Wang Chen's aptitude and promised to send him a jar of bear oil for training.
• Shi Laowu advised Wang Chen to change his rustic name before going to Red Cliff City, and Wang Chen resolved to use his original name to improve his chances of reuniting with Hu Jiaojiao.

Wang Chen reached the Blood Forging Realm and prepared to travel with Shi Laowu to Red Cliff City, but roving bandits attacked Little Stone Village before they could leave. Wang Chen rushed to confront the attackers and knocked away their arrows, then charged their archers.

• Shi Laowu sent Shi Xiuxiu to deliver bear oil to Wang Chen, who accepted it and sent her away.
• Wang Chen cultivated in seclusion, advancing to the Bone Forging Realm and then the Blood Forging Realm within a month.
• Wang Chen told Shi Laowu he planned to go to Red Cliff City, and Shi Laowu agreed to set out with him in three days.
• A warning horn sounded, and farmers told Shi Laowu and Wang Chen that roving bandits were attacking Little Stone Village.
• Wang Chen rushed toward the bandits, deflected three arrows, and pounced on the archers before they could fire again.

Wang Chen slaughtered the bandits attacking Little Stone Village and discovered that the Cultivation Panel now tracked his Qi and Blood. After the survivors fled and the village dealt with the aftermath, Wang Chen focused on understanding the new value.

• Wang Chen killed six bandits in rapid succession, including their fierce leader, while rescuing a farmwoman.
• The Cultivation Panel displayed new Qi and Blood gains and showed Wang Chen with 132 Qi and Blood.
• Wang Chen chased the fleeing bandits, but several escaped into the misty mountain forest; he gained 11 more Qi and Blood.
• Shi Laowu and Wang Chen assessed the aftermath, finding two villagers dead and several injured.
• Wang Chen accepted a saber, a bow and arrows, and more than a hundred bone coins as spoils, but wondered about his new Qi and Blood value.

Wang Chen discovered that the Vitality and Blood points gained from killing Martial Artists could only increase skill experience, then prepared to leave Little Stone Village for Red Cliff City. Accompanied by Shi Yan, he entered the Sacred Ancestor Road, where the two began their journey through the underground labyrinth.

• Wang Chen found that Vitality and Blood points converted one-to-one into skill experience and spent all 131 points improving his Bone Tempering, Tendon Altering, Blood Burning Technique.
• Shi Laowu stayed in Little Stone Village to guard against the bandits' return and arranged for Shi Yan to escort Wang Chen to Red Cliff City.
• Wang Chen gave Little Stone Village thousands of catties of second-tier ferocious beast prey before hundreds of villagers came to see him off.
• Wang Chen said goodbye to Shi Laowu and followed Shi Yan into the tunnel leading to the Sacred Ancestor Road.
• Shi Yan explained the dangers of the underground route and identified the glowing, poisonous mushrooms as Luminous Mushrooms before they continued onward.

Wang Chen and Shi Yan stopped to rest on Sacred Ancestor Road, where hunters from Xintian Village tried to drive them out and seize their belongings. When they demanded Wang Chen's travel bag, he fought back and knocked their bearded leader unconscious with a single punch.

• Shi Yan and Wang Chen rested in a roadside cave and cooked sweet potato and meat stew over a coal-fired stove.
• More than ten hunters from Xintian Village entered the cave, and Shi Yan warned Wang Chen that their villages had a history of violent conflict.
• The bearded hunter recognized Shi Yan, then ordered Wang Chen and Shi Yan to leave and surrender their food and travel bag.
• Wang Chen set down his bag but refused to give it up, threatening the bearded man and punching him from a distance.
• Wang Chen's Vajra Fist shattered the bearded man's facial bones and knocked him unconscious, throwing the cave into chaos.

Wang Chen fought off Xintian Village hunters after wounding Tian Dazhu, but Old Wu arrived and stopped the confrontation. Old Wu recognized Wang Chen as a dangerous fighter and led his people away, leaving Wang Chen and Shi Yan to continue their journey toward Red Cliff City.

• Wang Chen heavily wounded Tian Dazhu, prompting Xintian Village's hunters to draw their weapons and threaten him.
• Old Wu entered the cave, stopped the hunters, and apologized to Wang Chen for their conduct.
• Wang Chen introduced himself as a Martial Artist from Little Stone Village, and Old Wu ordered his hunters to carry Tian Dazhu away.
• After leaving the cave, Old Wu warned his hunters that Wang Chen had reached at least the Bone Refinement realm and might be at the Blood Refinement level.
• Old Wu revealed that a fight with Wang Chen would have killed the Xintian Village hunters, including himself, then gave a hunter medicine to treat Tian Dazhu.