Chapter Summaries

He Zhao received an artifact refining furnace and learned artifact-rune knowledge, then used his talent to master advanced techniques and engrave an overcomplicated Evil Suppressing Sword. The chapter ended with him realizing that his finished artifact was still shaped like a thick wooden stick.

• Jin Ni and Yin Ni delivered He Zhao two months of dividends and a mid-grade artifact refining furnace, and He Zhao limited future pill refining to one furnace per day.
• He Zhao found the Compendium of Basic Artifact Runes hidden inside the furnace and used his proficiency to master basic, intermediate, and advanced artifact patterns.
• He Zhao bought a Sophora Shade Wood Heart and began refining an Evil Suppressing Sword, engraving numerous artifact pattern combinations onto it.
• He Zhao used his talent to learn advanced rune knowledge and added Dharma Patterns for several talisman spells, including Golden Light, Samadhi, Thunder Strike, and Invisibility.
• He Zhao finished engraving the wood heart and discovered that he had never shaped it into a sword, leaving him with a thick wooden stick instead.

He Zhao's newly refined [Evil Suppressing Sword] accidentally injured Yin Ni, revealing that He Zhao's presence had accelerated the Spirit Lion Brothers' transformation into flesh and blood. After the Workshop Master recorded Yin Ni's humiliation, Yin Ni tried to ambush Jin Ni with the sword, but it struck again instead.

• He Zhao completed the unstable [Evil Suppressing Sword], which vanished under the effects of its Invisibility Technique and Earth Evasion Talisman patterns.
• The sword emerged from underground and struck Yin Ni, leaving the Perfect Pulse Building Strange Beast in agony and exposing its accelerated transformation.
• He Zhao pulled out the sword and learned that its Spirit Concealing effects, electricity, and fire had overwhelmed Yin Ni's senses and defenses.
• Ping'an Market Master showed He Zhao and Yin Ni an Imprint Stone recording the incident, then handed the sword to Yin Ni after He Zhao promised to lend it.
• Yin Ni attempted to use the sword to ambush Jin Ni, but it struck Yin Ni again, drawing another anguished roar across Ping'an Market.

He Zhao’s attempts to reproduce the [Evil Suppressing Sword] ended in explosions, and the Ping'an Market Master explained that the artifact had been born through an unrepeatable accident. Before leaving, the Market Master returned the sword and gave He Zhao two artifact-refining manuals, leaving He Zhao eager to learn more and claiming they shared a master-disciple bond without a formal title.

• Yin Ni fainted from humiliation after Jin Ni played back its failed ambush, and Jin Ni carried it to the Market Master Mansion for treatment.
• He Zhao refined another Sophora Shade Wood Heart into an attempted [Evil Suppressing Sword], but it exploded and blasted him through the Artifact Room door.
• He Zhao’s next attempt also exploded, and the Ping'an Market Master appeared to explain why the first sword could not be reliably replicated.
• The Market Master returned the [Evil Suppressing Sword], told He Zhao that Yin Ni had been struck by it twice, and warned him about its attack.
• The Market Master gave He Zhao the Compendium of Intermediate Artifact Runes and the Compendium of Advanced Artifact Runes, while He Zhao decided to wait for a merchant caravan to obtain rarer materials.
• He Zhao thanked the Market Master and said they had the reality of a master-disciple relationship despite lacking a formal title, making the departing old man nearly fall from the sky.

He Zhao spent a month refining pills and cultivating before joining Jin Ni and Yin Ni to buy materials from a merchant caravan. Back at Green Mountain Courtyard, he used his perfected Artifact Refining Technique to forge two Dharma tools and began making a Five Elements Banner.

• He Zhao followed his daily routine for a month, producing 300 Azure Wood Pills and advancing his talisman skills and cultivation.
• Jin Ni and Yin Ni collected 270 Azure Wood Pills from He Zhao, and the three went to the merchant caravan market to buy artifact-refining materials.
• He Zhao purchased the materials for 3,600 Malevolent Jade and returned to Green Mountain Courtyard.
• He Zhao raised his Artifact Refining Technique to Perfect and forged a crimson treasure sword and a water-blue shield.
• He Zhao began forging a Five Elements Banner with Gold Wood Heart, Silkworm Wood Silk, a Water Heart Pearl, Nether Fire, and an Earth Vein.

He Zhao completed the Five Elements Banner and spent several months filling his five viscera with water-transformed Killing Intent, strengthening his reserves and Body Protection Sha Qi. After reaching Sha Refining great perfection, he followed the Spirit Lions into the ore veins and entered the Three-Color Pool to begin Pulse Building.

• He Zhao finished refining the Five Elements Banner and tested how its grid-patterned defense dispersed attacks.
• Over the next three months, He Zhao filled his five viscera with water-transformed Killing Intent, replenished his talismans, and improved his Air Talisman Drawing.
• He Zhao tested his increased Killing Intent recovery and stronger, shifting Body Protection Sha Qi outside the Nine Absolute Formation.
• The Spirit Lions told He Zhao about the Three-Color Pool and took him through the guarded ore veins to the Sha Pool.
• He Zhao removed his clothes and talismans, then leaped naked into the Three-Color Pool to pursue Pulse Building.

He Zhao completed Pulse Building in the Three-Color Pool, crystallizing his organs instead of forming Sha Meridians and engraving powerful talismans into them. After draining all three pools, he continued engraving multiple spells, while the Ping'an Market Master watched in alarm as He Zhao's cultivation began affecting the mineral veins.

• He Zhao absorbed the Metal Sha pool water, crystallized his lungs, and engraved the high-grade Golden Light Talisman on them.
• The two spirit lions concealed how He Zhao had drained the Metal Sha pool, while the Ping'an Market Master decided to seek a Pulse-Building Pill for him.
• He Zhao engraved the Fire Control Technique on his crystallizing heart and drained the Fire Sha pool.
• He Zhao engraved both the Earth Evasion Talisman and the Mountain Carrying Talisman on his spleen, draining the Earth Sha pool and slightly shrinking the mineral vein's crystal core.
• He Zhao began engraving the Fire Repelling Talisman and Samadhi Talisman on his heart as the five vortices above him devoured more Killing Intent.

He Zhao advanced into the Pulse-Building Realm, tested his crystallized Body Protection Sha Qi, and used his talent to master Internal Alchemy and improve his crafting abilities. After learning that he could enlighten artifacts and expose their weaknesses, he began testing his collection, where the Evil Suppressing Sword revealed exceptionally powerful escape abilities.

• He Zhao completed his breakthrough with help from the Spirit Lions, then tested his crystal armor and found it could absorb and reflect Five Elements spells while resisting powerful attacks.
• He Zhao spent proficiency to raise his alchemy and artifact skills to the peak of perfection, gaining Internal Alchemy knowledge, pill-reproduction skills, artifact Enlightenment, and the ability to crash artifacts.
• He Zhao used his newly gained Enlightenment on the Golden Thread Robe, changing its escape spell into Golden Cicada's Three Transformations, which allowed up to three short-range teleports.
• He Zhao enlightened the Evil Suppressing Sword and discovered that it held several spells despite being called a low-grade artifact.
• The Evil Suppressing Sword's Earth Evasion Talisman transformed into Five Elements Evasion Arts, letting the sword use its elemental escapes freely while He Zhao remained subject to strict daily limits.

He Zhao enlightened several Dharma tools, gaining powerful spells and abilities, including a technique that could triple his lifespan and one that could nullify five-element spells. After receiving a warning to return at once, he prepared to face the danger involving Wang and Prince Ning.

• He Zhao tested the Five Elements Evasion Arts and discovered he could escape through nearby sources of water.
• He Zhao enlightened the Water and Fire Stone Tablets, gaining the Heavenly Downpour and Fire Meteor Techniques, then enhanced his Fire Meteor Sword and Cold Water Shield before collapsing from exhaustion.
• He Zhao enlightened the Heart-Cleansing Jade Pendant and Amber Sword, gaining the Heavenly Eye Technique and awakening the White Tiger Spirit.
• He Zhao discovered that the Golden Jade Robe's Turtle Breath Technique could triple his lifespan and that the Cloud Shoes let him enter a dangerous Different Dimension.
• He Zhao enlightened the Five Elements Banner and gained Annihilate Five Spirits, which prevented others from using five-element spells.
• Hanhan Second Brother delivered He Zhao a message reading, “Danger. Return at once,” and He Zhao connected it to Wang and Prince Ning.

He Zhao learned that Prince Ning’s people were approaching Sichun City, traveled to the Medicine Gang, and prepared an ambush at One Line Sky. He left the Li family father and son behind with Gang Leader Li’s Fire Toxin cured, while five of Wang Bai’s disciples rode toward the storm he had created.

• He Zhao used Water Escape to reach the Medicine Gang after receiving the warning that Prince Ning’s people were coming.
• He Zhao reassured Old Miser Li and Gang Leader Li, then removed the Fire Toxin from Gang Leader Li’s body.
• Old Miser Li told He Zhao that the newcomers would enter through the east gate and pass through One Line Sky.
• He Zhao went to One Line Sky and used the Water Fire Stone Tablet to cover the mountains with dark clouds and rain.
• Meng Chaoxi, his Senior Brother, their Senior Sister, and two other disciples rode Scale Horses into the storm on their way to Sichun City.

He Zhao ambushed five cultivators sent to Sichun City, killed three, and captured Senior Disciple Brother Liu and his Junior Sister. After bringing them to the Medicine Gang, he interrogated Liu Ying, learned he served Wang Bai, and prepared to question the woman as he pursued his plan to challenge Wang Bai.

• He Zhao used the rain to kill Meng Chaoxi and two other cultivators, then incapacitated Senior Brother Liu and forced his Junior Sister to surrender.
• He Zhao captured the pair and their horses, then brought the prisoners to the Medicine Gang Main Hall, where Little Li and Old Li helped him hide them.
• He Zhao restrained Liu Ying with handcuffs that suppressed Killing Intent and threatened to send him to a brothel until Liu agreed to talk.
• Liu Ying identified himself as Wang Bai's disciple and Prince Ning's chief strategist, then revealed everything he knew in exchange for a promised chance at freedom.
• He Zhao left to question Liu Ying's Junior Sister and compare their accounts, while Liu Ying considered how best to betray his master.

He Zhao killed Wang Bai’s two disciples after extracting their secrets, then received the Compendium of Formations and mastered it at the peak of perfection. He discovered that individual formations still needed to be trained separately and began considering which one to perfect first.

• Liu Ying revealed Wang Bai’s Pill-Swallowing Realm cultivation, his Five Elements Killing Intent spells, and his network of artifacts and schemes before He Zhao killed him.
• He Zhao killed the woman as well, ordered the Li family father and son to burn both bodies to ash, and told them to keep sending letters to the Wang Mansion to buy time.
• He Zhao returned to Green Mountain Courtyard, where Hanhan gave him the Compendium of Formations that the Workshop Master had sent.
• He Zhao rapidly raised the Compendium of Formations to peak of perfection, absorbed its knowledge, and fainted from the strain.
• After waking, He Zhao learned several formations but found that each still required separate proficiency, then weighed which formation to perfect first.

He Zhao prepared three perfected formations at One Line Sky and lured Wang Bai toward them with an urgent letter sent from Sichun City. Wang Bai sensed danger and turned back before entering the trap, so He Zhao activated the formation as the chapter ended.

• He Zhao perfected the Golden Lock, Nine Absolute, and Heaven and Earth Alchemy Furnace formations, then gave Old Miser Li nine Outsider Talismans and ordered the Medicine Gang to take control of Sichun City.
• Old Miser Li and Gang Leader Little Li led the Medicine Gang in a war against the Cao Gang while He Zhao set up the three formations at One Line Sky.
• He Zhao sent Prince Ning a hurried letter that drew Wang Bai away from the residence and toward Sichun City.
• Wang Bai reached One Line Sky, sensed danger, and turned back before he entered the Heaven and Earth Alchemy Furnace Grand Formation.
• He Zhao activated the formation, shaking One Line Sky and the surrounding mountains.

He Zhao trapped Wang Bai in layered formations, refined him into a Replenishment Pill, and swallowed it before returning to Sichun City. He learned the Cao Gang had been subdued and warned the Li family to watch for Wang Bai’s remaining disciples.

• He Zhao activated the Nine Absolute Formation and Golden Lock Formation, leaving Wang Bai unable to use his abilities or escape.
• He Zhao waited until Wang Bai was weakened, then struck him unconscious and dragged him into the Heaven and Earth Alchemy Furnace Grand Formation.
• He Zhao refined Wang Bai into a Replenishment Pill and swallowed it, deepening his foundation and improving his chances of reaching the Pill-Swallowing Realm.
• He Zhao removed the formations and went to the Medicine Gang Main Hall, where Old Miser Li reported that the Cao Gang had been defeated and its leader, Zhang Jing, was dead.
• He Zhao warned Little Li and Old Miser Li to watch for Wang Bai’s six remaining disciples, then returned to Green Mountain Courtyard, where Fan Zhong, Fan Yan, and Yin Ni were gathered.

He Zhao repaid Fan Zhong for his past kindness by offering his family three choices and arranging a home in Ping'an Market, then prepared to use the Longevity Market’s Sha Pool. On the way there, he encountered siblings fleeing Sha Refiners and dodged the object they threw at him, refusing to follow their plan.

• He Zhao told Yin Ni he had killed Wang Bai, gave up his share of their business dividends, and promised to deal with Prince Ning’s six remaining disciples.
• He Zhao offered Fan Zhong’s family the choice of joining the Outsiders, settling in Ping'an Market, or returning to Sichun City with three generations of guaranteed status, and let Fan Yan decide.
• Yin Ni found the family a courtyard and told He Zhao that the Ping'an Market Master had secured him one month’s access to the Sha Pool in Longevity Market.
• He Zhao spent more than twenty days refining his formation skills and developing a new technique, then set out with only two days left before the deadline.
• He Zhao used escape arts and a Cloud Soaring Talisman to travel toward Longevity Market, but encountered a woman and her younger brother fleeing a ship from Dragon Head Market.
• The young man threw an object toward He Zhao and called for him to catch it, but He Zhao curved his clouds aside and dodged it.

He Zhao became caught in Dragon Head Market’s pursuit of Wang Miao, killed her brother, and stole her damaged Flying Boat while the market’s men chased her for information about a Sha Beast. The chase ended with Wang Miao’s suicide, leaving He Zhao interested in the secret but unable to question her.

• He Zhao killed Wang Miao’s brother with a [Five Thunders Talisman] after the siblings tried to involve him in their conflict.
• Wang Miao fled in her Flying Boat as He Zhao pursued her, while Third Young Master Liu Peng and Dragon Head Market’s crew followed and fired the Shocking Sha Cannon.
• Wang Miao revealed that the secret Dragon Head Market sought was a Sha Beast, a rare resource that could let a Pill-Swallowing Realm Sha Refiner advance further.
• After the cannon fire forced Wang Miao to abandon her slowing Flying Boat, He Zhao claimed the damaged vessel and followed the pursuit from the Different Dimension.
• Liu Peng cornered Wang Miao and demanded the Sha Beast’s location, but Wang Miao killed herself before revealing it, and He Zhao decided to head to Longevity Market.

He Zhao watched Liu Peng pursue Wang Miao and her younger brother, then learned they had faked their deaths to escape after discovering a Sha Beast in Dragon Head Market. The Wang siblings fled as Liu Peng attacked their ancestral land, but He Zhao intercepted them and trapped them in a sea of thunder.

• Liu Peng found Wang Miao’s apparent corpse and ordered the Treasure Boat back toward Dragon Head Market, while He Zhao recovered a box of Malevolent Jade nearby.
• Wang Miao and her younger brother revived each other, revealed their plan to fake their deaths, and explained that a Sha Beast in Dragon Head Market could allow someone to advance beyond the Pill-Swallowing Realm.
• Liu Peng tracked the siblings to the Wang Family ancestral land, where Wang Miao told the Pill-Swallowing Ancestor about the Sha Beast and the Treasure Boat arrived to attack.
• The Pill-Swallowing Ancestor sent the siblings toward Longevity Market and fought Liu Peng’s cannon barrage as they escaped Yan Mountain.
• He Zhao appeared in the siblings’ path, called out to them, and unleashed a sea of thunder before they could flee.

He Zhao used the Fire Meteor Technique to destroy Liu Peng’s Treasure Boat and most of its crew, while the Wang Family Ancestor sacrificed himself to stop them from escaping. Liu Peng survived far from the impact site, but He Zhao found him and ordered White Tiger to kill him.

• He Zhao killed the Wang Siblings with ten Five Thunders Talismans and watched Liu Peng’s Treasure Boat attack the Wang Family Ancestor.
• He Zhao activated the Fire Meteor Technique, and the Wang Family Ancestor self-destructed against the Treasure Boat, trapping it in chaotic Killing Intent.
• Liu Peng ordered the crew to flee, but the meteor destroyed the Treasure Boat and killed those who jumped overboard.
• The meteor devastated the area, and He Zhao searched the crater and surrounding wilderness for survivors.
• He Zhao found the badly injured Liu Peng three hundred miles away, admitted that he had caused the disaster, and summoned White Tiger to kill him.

He Zhao visited Longevity Market to undergo Pulse Building in its Sha Pool, where his extraordinary absorption drained the pool and damaged its Stalactite Crystal. After gaining insight into establishing more than five Sha Meridians, he left for Ping'an Market to cultivate.

• He Zhao entered Longevity Market with Ping'an Market's Market Master Token and met Market Master Li, who agreed to let him use the Sha Pool.
• He Zhao absorbed Killing Intent so rapidly that he drained half the pool, then emptied it and consumed part of the Stalactite Crystal while imprinting Natal Talismans.
• He Zhao considered establishing nine Sha Meridians to improve his chances of reaching the Pill-Swallowing Realm, rather than stopping at five.
• He Zhao thanked Market Master Li and left for Ping'an Market to cultivate after gaining insight into Perfect Pulse Building.

He Zhao reverse-engineered and improved six shops’ pill recipes, traded them for Malevolent Jade, and used it to build four sha pulses before beginning Internal Alchemy. After learning that reaching Golden Liquid Returns to the Core could take months, he went to Ping'an Market Master to ask about the limits of the Pill-Swallowing Realm.

• He Zhao reverse-engineered and improved six famous shops’ pill recipes, then traded them for enough Malevolent Jade to build four sha pulses.
• He Zhao secretly planted the six rival recipes on his pursuers to set the shopkeepers against one another.
• He Zhao used the Malevolent Jade to form wind, thunder, yin, and yang sha pulses and engraved four Natal Talismans, including the Life Extension Talisman.
• He Zhao began cultivating Internal Alchemy, but realized strengthening his Three Treasures could take at least three months.
• He Zhao visited Ping'an Market Master, called him Master, and asked why no one in the North advanced beyond the Pill-Swallowing Realm.

Wei Shan explained the Yin God Realm, Sha Beasts, and his failed efforts to create a body-tempering method, then gave He Zhao the method and asked him to support Ping'an Market after Wei Shan died. He Zhao returned to Green Mountain Courtyard with new leads about Sha Beasts and Dragon Head Market, and opened the book titled Nine Annihilations Golden Body.

• Wei Shan explained that Sha Beast Blood could help Pill-Consumption cultivators break through to the Yin God Realm and described Sha Beasts' abilities and weaknesses.
• Wei Shan gave He Zhao his body-tempering cultivation method, reasoning that He Zhao's unusually strong body might let him succeed where others had failed.
• Wei Shan told He Zhao about his conflict with Dragon Head Market and asked him to support Ping'an Market after his death.
• Wei Shan suggested Dragon Head Market might hold information about Sha Beasts or even a Sha Beast corpse, and urged He Zhao to defeat its Market Master someday.
• He Zhao returned to Green Mountain Courtyard and opened the book, which was titled Nine Annihilations Golden Body.