Chapter Summaries

Lin Xuan, a seventeen-year-old disciple of Floating Cloud Valley without a Spirit Root, struggled to advance beyond the first layer of the Spirit Movement Stage despite three years of relentless effort. After failing his forty-ninth breakthrough attempt, he resumed cultivation by carefully circulating his spiritual power through his meridians.

• Lin Xuan failed to break through for the forty-ninth time in three months and despaired over his poor progress.
• Lin Xuan reflected on how his fellow disciples had advanced while he remained at the first layer, despite working harder than they did.
• Lin Xuan used the Internal Vision Technique and saw the scant spiritual power he had gathered after three years of cultivation.
• Lin Xuan gathered his spiritual power and carefully guided it from his dantian into his meridians to begin a heavenly cycle.

Unable to advance through ordinary cultivation, Lin Xuan entered Floating Cloud Valley’s Heart Refining Path and endured its fiery illusions to cultivate faster. After four days, his spiritual power had improved, and he left to attend a cultivation lecture.

• Lin Xuan found that circulating spiritual power had not improved his cultivation and decided to seek a breakthrough on the Heart Refining Path.
• Lin Xuan entered the path and cultivated amid illusions of flames, enduring the pain until he had to leave and rest.
• Lin Xuan repeatedly returned to the fiery illusion and cultivated there for four days, gradually improving his spiritual power.
• Lin Xuan left the Heart Refining Path to attend the scheduled cultivation lecture and encountered a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.
• The cultivator was surprised that Lin Xuan had endured the Heart Refining Path’s illusions and admired his willpower.

Lin Xuan endured ridicule from fellow disciples and learned the Spirit Energy Shield method from Zhang Yu, recording it for later study. He returned to the Heart Refining Path, cultivated through a freezing illusion, and pressed onward toward purer spiritual energy.

• Lin Xuan ignored senior disciples who mocked him for failing to reach the second layer of the Spirit Movement Stage.
• Zhang Yu taught the disciples how to use the Spirit Energy Shield, and Lin Xuan carefully memorized the method.
• Lin Xuan returned to his hut and wrote down the cultivation method in his notebook.
• Lin Xuan entered a freezing illusion on the Heart Refining Path and repeatedly cultivated through the bitter cold.
• After two days, Lin Xuan ventured deeper into the path in search of purer spiritual energy.

Lin Xuan endured the Heart Refining Path’s illusions to strengthen his spiritual power and learned to move a cup with the Object Manipulation Technique. After a month of training, he tried to advance to the second layer of the Spirit Movement Stage, but his spiritual power sphere burst apart.

• Lin Xuan endured the ice-blade illusion on the Heart Refining Path, absorbed spiritual energy, and completed his cultivation before leaving after nightfall.
• Lin Xuan overheard disciples mock him for lacking a Spirit Root and returned to his residence without reacting to their insults.
• Lin Xuan practiced the Object Manipulation Technique for hours until he managed to move a cup slightly.
• Lin Xuan returned to the Heart Refining Path, endured the Underworld illusion, and completed nine cycles of spiritual power through his meridians.
• After a month of cultivation, Lin Xuan attempted to reach the second layer of the Spirit Movement Stage, but his spiritual power sphere burst and dispersed.

After another failed attempt at cultivation, Lin Xuan went to Flying Cloud Hall to collect his monthly pills and endured the disciples’ mockery. Elder Ma gave him Waste Pills in an attempt to provoke and expel him, but Lin Xuan accepted them calmly and left without falling into the trap.

• After failing again, Lin Xuan steadied himself and continued striving to cultivate.
• Lin Xuan arrived at Flying Cloud Hall, where Spirit Movement Stage disciples mocked him for being a mortal without a Spirit Root.
• Elder Ma handed Lin Xuan two Waste Pills instead of the Marrow Cleansing Pills he was entitled to receive.
• Lin Xuan recognized that Elder Ma was trying to provoke him, accepted the Waste Pills and two additional bottles, and respectfully withdrew.
• Elder Ma was left stunned and furious when Lin Xuan gave him no grounds to expel him.

After receiving Waste Pills instead of the medicine he wanted, Lin Xuan searched a hidden gorge for spirit herbs to help him cultivate. He hid when Zhang Yu and Zhou Yan arrived injured, then overheard Zhou Yan reveal that she had ambushed and bound her own master.

• Lin Xuan ignored insults from fellow disciples and left Floating Cloud Valley to search a secluded gorge for medicinal herbs.
• After checking that no one was following him, Lin Xuan entered the gorge and began searching for herbs.
• Lin Xuan hid when Zhang Yu and Zhou Yan landed nearby, both injured and wary.
• Lin Xuan recognized Zhang Yu, a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage instructor, and Zhou Yan, a senior disciple at the great perfection of the Spirit Movement Stage.
• Zhou Yan said she had used the Gold Binding Rope to bind Zhang Yu, leaving him unable to break free.

Lin Xuan witnessed Zhou Yan murder her master, Zhang Yu, to seize a treasure, then became her target when she noticed him. He lured her into pursuing him and prepared a trap, but the chapter ended as Zhou Yan attacked with a powerful Spirit Tool.

• Zhou Yan killed Zhang Yu, crushed his Primordial Spirit, and found a small sandalwood box on his body.
• A passing rabbit drew Zhou Yan's attention to Lin Xuan, who attacked with Ice Bullet Arts before fleeing.
• Lin Xuan used the Light Body Technique and his knowledge of the terrain to escape, then stopped to check something on the ground.
• Zhou Yan caught up and, believing Lin Xuan was weak, dismissed his pleas for mercy.
• Zhou Yan launched her Spirit Tool at Lin Xuan in a deadly attack.

Lin Xuan used traps and his knowledge of the valley to kill Zhou Yan, who had attacked him despite their vast difference in cultivation. After searching her storage bracelet, he found two Spirit Stones, leaving him with the spoils of his narrow victory.

• Lin Xuan dodged Zhou Yan’s flying sword by falling into a concealed pit, then triggered a second trap that killed her with a net and sharpened bamboo.
• Lin Xuan explained how he had used his familiarity with the valley, the intact traps, and Zhou Yan’s expected reactions to outwit her.
• Lin Xuan rested, removed Zhou Yan’s storage bracelet, and searched its contents.
• Lin Xuan found two Spirit Stones in Zhou Yan’s bracelet and recognized them as valuable cultivation resources and currency.

Lin Xuan looted Zhou Yan’s treasures and discovered a trapped sandalwood box containing a strange seashell whose Blue Light Spots entered his body, leaving him unconscious. After waking the next morning, he disposed of Zhou Yan and Zhang Yu’s bodies, returned to Floating Cloud Valley, and began inspecting Zhang Yu’s Storage Belt.

• Lin Xuan found Spirit Stones, Pills, Talismans, and two top-grade Spirit Tools in Zhou Yan’s Storage Bracelet.
• Lin Xuan safely opened Zhou Yan’s trapped sandalwood box and found a strange seashell filled with Blue Light Spots.
• The Blue Light Spots entered Lin Xuan’s body, causing intense pain before he fainted, and the shell turned to sand.
• Lin Xuan woke the next morning, looted Zhang Yu’s Storage Belt, and buried both Zhou Yan and Zhang Yu in the pit trap.
• Lin Xuan returned to Floating Cloud Valley without revealing what had happened and began inspecting Zhang Yu’s Storage Belt.

Lin Xuan examined the Blue Light Spots absorbed from the shell, but his experiments revealed no effect on his body or cultivation. After Zhou Yan and Zhang Yu disappeared, Floating Cloud Valley launched a search, and Lin Xuan concluded he was safe because the sect did not seem to know about the shell treasure.

• Lin Xuan searched Zhang Yu's Storage Belt, claimed its treasures, and put on a tough defensive vest.
• Lin Xuan used Internal Vision and spiritual power to investigate the Blue Light Spots in his dantian, but they showed no reaction.
• Lin Xuan spent the following days cultivating and secretly testing the Blue Light Spots, while his health and slow cultivation remained unchanged.
• Master Yunhe ordered disciples to search for the missing Zhou Yan and Zhang Yu, causing an uproar in Floating Cloud Valley.
• Lin Xuan concluded that Zhou Yan and Zhang Yu had pursued the shell treasure on their own and believed the sect would not discover his involvement.

Lin Xuan went to Floating Cloud Valley’s Library Pavilion to search ancient books for clues about the mysterious Blue Light Spot, keeping the secret to himself. After passing the mountain-guarding Blazing Flame Tiger, he began searching the first floor, where he found only books cultivators considered worthless.

• Lin Xuan continued concealing the Blue Light Spot and decided to seek clues in the sect’s records rather than risk telling its elders.
• Lin Xuan arrived at Floating Cloud Valley’s Library Pavilion, where the Blazing Flame Tiger recognized him as a disciple and let him pass.
• Lin Xuan reviewed the library’s rules and learned that only the first floor was open to disciples like him.
• Lin Xuan searched through martial arts and medical books, found nothing useful, and grew more determined to cultivate and gain strength.

Lin Xuan searched books for clues about the Blue Star Sea, then experimented with moving its light spots through his meridians. He discovered that the spots could leave his body through his palm and naturally replenish overnight, but their purpose remained unknown.

• Lin Xuan read three books about strange cultivation encounters but found no information about the Blue Star Sea.
• Lin Xuan gathered the Blue Light Spots in his dantian and circulated them through his meridians.
• The Blue Light Spots escaped through Lin Xuan's right palm, then faded away, leaving the Star Sea in his dantian smaller.
• Lin Xuan found that the Star Sea had recovered to its original size after a night's rest.
• Lin Xuan decided to continue experimenting to discover what the light spots could do.

Lin Xuan discovered that the blue light in his dantian transformed a Waste Pill into a low-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill. He resolved to keep the power secret and considered how its ability could overcome his lack of a Spirit Root.

• Lin Xuan circulated the blue light through his meridians while holding a Waste Pill in his palm.
• The blue light flowed into the Waste Pill, and after absorbing some of it, the pill turned into a low-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill.
• Lin Xuan realized the blue light could turn waste into treasure and rejoiced at the possibilities.
• Lin Xuan decided to conceal the blue light and protect the secret of his dantian.
• Lin Xuan considered how the transformed pills could help him overcome his weak cultivation and lack of a Spirit Root.

Lin Xuan investigated how the Blue Light Spots transformed a Waste Pill into spiritual medicine and concluded they purified its impurities. His first controlled experiment confirmed the process but ended with the pill bursting, leaving him to suspect the purification had proceeded too quickly and to plan another attempt after recovering.

• Lin Xuan realized Floating Cloud Valley's discarded Waste Pills could give him a chance to obtain pills and accelerate his cultivation.
• Lin Xuan compared a transformed Waste Pill with an authentic Marrow Cleansing Pill and identified the black powder as separated impurities.
• Lin Xuan used his spiritual sense to watch Blue Light Spots enter another Waste Pill, remove impurities, and change the pill's color.
• Lin Xuan concentrated more Blue Light Spots into the pill, but it burst into burnt fragments before the purification was complete.
• Lin Xuan concluded that the Blue Light Spots could purify Waste Pills and suspected they had entered too quickly; he decided to recover before testing again.

Lin Xuan learned to purify Waste Pills with the Blue Light Spots, accumulating sixty Marrow Cleansing Pills while improving his technique. After a week of taking pills and meditating, he felt ready to break through to the second layer of the Spirit Movement Stage.

• Lin Xuan experimented with the Blue Light Spots, discovering that they had to enter a Waste Pill at the right speed to purify it successfully.
• After repeated practice, Lin Xuan improved his success rate and obtained sixty Marrow Cleansing Pills from Elder Ma’s two bottles of Waste Pills.
• Lin Xuan secretly stored the pills and planned to use them to support his cultivation, convinced that strength determined a cultivator’s prospects and lifespan.
• Lin Xuan took a Marrow Cleansing Pill three times a day and meditated for about a week, building up spiritual power until he was ready to attempt the second layer of the Spirit Movement Stage.

Lin Xuan used Marrow Cleansing Pills to break through to the second layer of the Spirit Movement Stage, confirming that pills could compensate for his lack of a Spirit Root. He discovered that the Star Sea in his dantian had expanded as well and began considering how its growth might support the purification of more pills.

• Lin Xuan consulted a book about Marrow Cleansing Pills, then swallowed eighteen pills and began breaking through to the second layer of the Spirit Movement Stage.
• Lin Xuan endured an intense wave of heat as the pills' medicinal power spread through his body.
• Lin Xuan successfully broke through, greatly increasing the quantity and quality of his spiritual power.
• Lin Xuan inspected his condition and found that the Star Sea had expanded, with more and brighter light spots.
• Lin Xuan reasoned that the Star Sea might grow alongside his cultivation and planned to test whether it could purify more pills as his spiritual power increased.

Lin Xuan tested whether the Blue Light Spots could upgrade a low-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill into a mid-grade one, using his improved spiritual sense to study how purification worked. The attempt failed when he ran out of energy, but he learned more about controlling the Blue Light Spots inside pills.

• Lin Xuan used his spiritual sense to examine a Marrow Cleansing Pill and saw the impurities mixed with its essence.
• He observed the Blue Light Spots push impurities out of the pill while passing through its essence.
• Lin Xuan tried to control the Blue Light Spots inside the pill by attaching his spiritual sense to them, but could only make them tremble once.
• He continued purifying the pill, but its tightly bound impurities consumed too much energy and the remaining impurities returned when the Blue Light Spots stopped.
• Lin Xuan examined the ruined pill and concluded that his spiritual sense could enter pills and that stronger cultivation might let him control the Blue Light Spots more effectively.

Lin Xuan used Marrow Cleansing Pills to rapidly improve his cultivation, then sought more pills at Danxia Mountain after his supply ran out. He met the mountain’s steward and prepared to ask about the discarded pills.

• Lin Xuan found that taking three Marrow Cleansing Pills each morning, noon, and evening helped him cultivate most effectively.
• After a week, Lin Xuan ran out of Marrow Cleansing Pills and identified the two red pills taken from Zhang Yu as Foundation Establishment Pills, which he hid away.
• Lin Xuan decided to seek more Marrow Cleansing Pills among the Waste Pills and went to Danxia Mountain, a forbidden pill-refining site.
• An outer sect attendant received Lin Xuan respectfully and brought him to a side hall to wait for the steward.
• The elderly steward arrived and examined Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan pretended to be an ignorant cultivator seeking an easy job and bribed Steward Feng with a Spirit Stone fragment to secure a steward post. He left for the Waste Pill Storage Room, the very position he had planned to obtain because it drew little attention.

• Lin Xuan asked Steward Feng for an easy position, pretending that he had no Spirit Root and little hope of advancing in cultivation.
• Steward Feng claimed there were no vacancies, so Lin Xuan offered him a Spirit Stone fragment as a token of respect.
• Steward Feng assigned Lin Xuan to the Waste Pill Storage Room, believing the post was worthless and that he had profited from the bribe.
• Lin Xuan accepted the assignment, while Steward Feng sent an attendant boy to escort him for his waist token and credentials.
• Lin Xuan had deliberately chosen the low-profile post and used a fragment instead of a full Spirit Stone to avoid drawing attention.

Lin Xuan took charge of the Waste Pill Room, hoping its discarded pills would supply his future needs without drawing attention. He discovered that the warehouse had been neglected for years and its contents were neither counted nor recorded.

• Lin Xuan received the Waste Pill Room steward’s waist badge and reviewed a map of Danxia Mountain’s first level.
• Lin Xuan went to the Waste Pill Room and met Zhao Ming, who had been acting as its steward while the post was vacant.
• Lin Xuan showed Zhao Ming his badge, announced he was the new steward, and ordered him to give a tour.
• Lin Xuan found the warehouse full of dusty, disorderly heaps of bottles and jars and asked about its records and inventory.
• Zhao Ming explained that no one had counted or organized the Waste Pills because cultivators considered them useless and harmful.