Chapter Summaries

Lin Xuan paid for a ten-year residence on Red Leaf Island and settled on a quiet island with a high-grade Spirit Vein. After resting, he examined his damaged Black Gold Dragon Scale Shield and realized repairing it would require more work and materials, so he planned to return to Linhai City.

• Lin Xuan disguised his cultivation as Nascent Soul Early Stage and paid Spirit Stones to obtain residency and lease a cave dwelling for ten years.
• Lin Xuan flew to a small island outside Linhai City, found its high-grade Spirit Vein, and carved out a cave dwelling before setting up formations.
• Lin Xuan rested overnight, then examined the Black Gold Dragon Scale Shield, which had been damaged on Penglai Mountain.
• Lin Xuan discovered that the shield had nearly lost its spirituality and that repairing it would require additional materials, so he decided to visit Linhai City again.

Lin Xuan saw an Ancient Warship approach Linhai City and watched Red Leaf Island mobilize its defenses before its senior cultivators negotiated with the ship. The warship entered the city peacefully, but Lin Xuan suspected the island would soon face trouble and intended to stay out of it.

• Lin Xuan spotted a massive Ancient Warship approaching Linhai City and heard cultivators debate whether it threatened Red Leaf Island.
• Red Leaf Island rang its warning bell, raised a protective barrier, and sent out soldiers and cultivators, including more than a hundred Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.
• A white-haired Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator gave orders, lowered the barrier, and went out to negotiate with the Ancient Warship.
• After a meal's time, the old cultivator escorted the warship into Linhai City, easing the immediate alarm.
• Lin Xuan suspected Red Leaf Island faced future troubles but decided he could avoid getting involved.

After Linhai City lifted its alert, Lin Xuan visited the western market to seek materials for repairing his damaged shield and to learn more about Spirit World cultivation arts. He studied the opening sections of several techniques and left still facing the future problem of finding a suitable art for his advancement.

• After several hours, Linhai City lifted its state of alert, and Lin Xuan entered with the returning cultivators.
• Lin Xuan went to the western market, hoping to find rare materials to repair the Black Gold Dragon Scale Shield.
• Lin Xuan entered Hundred Scrolls Tower and asked the attendant to bring him ancient texts.
• While waiting, Lin Xuan examined cultivation arts and considered how his current techniques would eventually prove insufficient for his progress in the Lihe Realm.
• The attendant returned and told Lin Xuan that the requested texts had been prepared.

Lin Xuan bought a large collection of rare ancient texts and then visited a shop to purchase a Spirit World Dharma Robe. After confronting the shopkeeper for trying to pass off low-quality goods, Lin Xuan was taken to a private room to see the shop’s best stock.

• Lin Xuan bought all the rare ancient texts displayed at Hundred Scrolls Tower, delighting the shopkeeper.
• Lin Xuan entered a defensive gear shop to find a Dharma Robe suited to the Spirit World.
• Lin Xuan examined a storage belt whose capacity exceeded his best Storage Bag by more than three times.
• Lin Xuan rebuked the shopkeeper for treating him as an ignorant customer and released killing intent, frightening the Core Condensation cultivator.
• The shopkeeper apologized and escorted Lin Xuan to a private room, where a maid arrived carrying the shop’s best stock.

Lin Xuan examined the shop’s storage belts and pressured the shopkeeper into revealing a mysterious cyan belt that came from the Sea of Ruins. The shopkeeper demanded thirty thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones, leaving Lin Xuan to decide whether to buy it.

• Lin Xuan examined three storage belts but pretended they were not good enough, pressuring the shopkeeper to show him something better.
• The shopkeeper brought out a plain cyan belt whose material Lin Xuan could not identify.
• Lin Xuan’s divine sense bounced off the belt, even when he used his full power.
• The shopkeeper explained that the belt came from the Sea of Ruins and that even a Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator could not probe it.
• Lin Xuan insisted on buying the belt as a curiosity, and the shopkeeper named a price of thirty thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones.

Lin Xuan bought an ancient Storage Bag and several valuable defensive and escape-enhancing garments, then went searching for materials to repair his Black Gold Dragon Scale Shield. At the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, he went upstairs to meet a female cultivator whose face shocked him.

• Lin Xuan paid three million Spirit Stones for the mysterious Storage Bag, while the shopkeeper eagerly offered to sell him more.
• Lin Xuan bought a higher-grade Dharma Robe, wind-enhancing cloth boots, and defensive silk underclothes for nearly another million Spirit Stones.
• Lin Xuan searched the market city for materials to repair his destroyed Black Gold Dragon Scale Shield but found nothing suitable.
• Lin Xuan entered the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, where a maid recognized his cultivation and directed him to the second floor.
• Lin Xuan saw the female cultivator approaching him and reacted with sudden shock.

Lin Xuan visited Hundred Treasures Pavilion and met its manager, Dongfang Mingyu, whose appearance reminded him of Qin Xin. He asked whether the pavilion could repair his damaged Black Gold Dragon Scale Shield, and Dongfang Mingyu said it was possible but would require effort and valuable materials.

• Lin Xuan mistook Dongfang Mingyu for Qin Xin at first, then recognized that she only resembled his wife and reflected on how far apart they might be in the Spirit World.
• Dongfang Mingyu welcomed Lin Xuan to Hundred Treasures Pavilion and offered him a Qilin Fruit, which he tasted and praised.
• Lin Xuan declined to buy treasures or commission a new item and showed Dongfang Mingyu his damaged Black Gold Dragon Scale Shield.
• Dongfang Mingyu recognized the shield as an extraordinary treasure and said the pavilion could repair it, though the work would be difficult and costly.

Lin Xuan agreed to pay eighty thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones for the Hundred Treasures Pavilion to restore the Black Gold Dragon Scale Shield to its former power. As Lin Xuan and Dongfang Mingyu left the shop, they heard fighting and screams from downstairs.

• Dongfang Mingyu offered Lin Xuan an ordinary repair that would leave the shield at seventy percent power or a special repair for eighty thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones that would restore it fully.
• Lin Xuan chose the special repair, and he and Dongfang Mingyu signed a Blood Curse Document to bind the transaction.
• After the deal, Lin Xuan chatted with Dongfang Mingyu, then accepted a bag of Qilin Fruit and prepared to leave.
• Lin Xuan and Dongfang Mingyu heard fighting, screams, and crashing sounds downstairs, and Dongfang Mingyu realized someone was causing trouble at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

Lin Xuan and Dongfang Mingyu discovered that the Young Island Master of Ten Thousand Beasts Island had wrecked Hundred Treasures Pavilion and killed its servants. The Young Island Master ignored Dongfang Mingyu’s demand for an explanation and tried to make her follow him, while Lin Xuan stayed to watch.

• Dongfang Mingyu and Lin Xuan descended into the hall and found the shop smashed, two shop assistants maimed, and a maidservant dead.
• Dongfang Mingyu recognized the emblem of Ten Thousand Beasts Island on the Young Island Master’s carriage, and Lin Xuan connected it to the emblem he had seen on an ancient warship.
• Dongfang Mingyu challenged the Young Island Master over killing the shop’s people, but he ignored her and invited her to follow him.
• Lin Xuan reasoned that the Young Island Master had likely gained his Nascent Soul cultivation through abundant resources without practical experience, and decided to stay and observe.
• The Young Island Master continued flirting with Dongfang Mingyu, who blushed with anger and shame.

Dongfang Mingyu faced harassment from the arrogant Young Island Master of Ten Thousand Beasts Island while cultivators questioned whether Red Leaf Island could still protect them. The confrontation left her furious and in danger, as the young master pressed his offer and Red Leaf Fairy had yet to appear.

• The Young Island Master insulted Red Leaf Island and boasted that Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts was stronger than its fallen ruler, True Person Withered Wood.
• Cultivators speculated that Ten Thousand Beasts Island might be preparing to take over Red Leaf Island, and many left the market in fear.
• The Young Island Master offered Dongfang Mingyu a place on Ten Thousand Beasts Island and promised to help her condense a Nascent Soul if she obeyed him.
• Dongfang Mingyu restrained her anger and warned him not to assume Red Leaf Island had no defenders.
• The Young Island Master admitted he had broken market rules, killed people, and seized their goods, while the crowd wondered why no patrol cultivators had arrived.
• Dongfang Mingyue finally lost her composure, but the Nascent Soul Realm young master still threatened her as a Core Condensation cultivator.

Lin Xuan stepped in when the Young Island Master of Ten Thousand Beasts Island tried to abduct Dongfang Mingyu, then swiftly beat him and took his Hundred Beasts Talisman. The Young Island Master survived, but Lin Xuan’s actions risked drawing Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts’ attention.

• The Young Island Master ordered his maids to seize Dongfang Mingyu, while the onlookers stayed out of the dispute.
• Lin Xuan intervened, drove back the maids with his Nascent Soul Early Stage pressure, and told the Young Island Master to leave.
• The Young Island Master brought out the Hundred Beasts Talisman, but Lin Xuan closed the distance before its beast souls could emerge.
• Lin Xuan punched and slapped the Young Island Master, knocked him down, and took the talisman.
• Lin Xuan spared the Young Island Master, leaving the maidservants fearful of Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts’ retaliation.

Lin Xuan drove off the brocade-robed young master and left Dongfang Mingyu’s shop. Dongfang Mingyu then entered a hidden Moment Map, where Aunt Xiu revealed that her father had sent her to protect the Sea Race princess and discussed the danger surrounding their secret plans.

• Lin Xuan sent the brocade-robed young master fleeing, then left after asking Dongfang Mingyu to repair the Black Gold Dragon Scale Shield.
• Dongfang Mingyu returned to her shop and used blood and an incantation to enter the Moment Map concealed in a mural.
• Dongfang Mingyu met Aunt Xiu, the late-stage Lihe Sea Race woman who had appeared on the Mystic Turtle Puppet.
• Aunt Xiu said Dongfang Mingyu’s father had sent her to protect the princess and urged her to return to Undersea Immortal City.
• Dongfang Mingyu refused, explaining that her presence in Red Leaf Sea Region helped conceal their plans and prevent a conflict between the Human Race and Sea Race that could benefit the Demon Race.

Dongfang Mingyu learned that her younger sister had run away, while Red Leaf Fairy faced a crisis as Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts sought to marry her and threaten Red Leaf Island. Elder Wu Ziming argued that the marriage could protect the island, leaving Guo Ru furious and Red Leaf Fairy under pressure to consider the proposal.

• Dongfang Mingyu heard that Princess Qi had run away from home, and the woman in black said the Seven Baleful Birds had been sent to find her.
• Red Leaf Fairy met with her trusted Nascent Soul Cultivators to discuss Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts' return and his marriage proposal.
• Guo Ru warned that Ten Thousand Beasts intended to claim both Red Leaf Fairy and Red Leaf Island through the marriage.
• Elder Wu Ziming argued that Red Leaf Island needed a powerful force to rely on and presented the marriage as a practical way to secure its future.
• Guo Ru accused Wu Ziming of betraying the old Island Master, while Wu defended the proposal by arguing that the age difference mattered little to cultivators.

Elder Wu argued that Red Leaf Island should accept Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts’s marriage proposal and use the match to preserve and eventually expand its power. Guo Ru remained alarmed as the elders rallied behind the scheme, and Venerable Iron Gall began urging the Eldest Miss to agree.

• Guo Ru challenged Elder Wu’s proposal, warning that Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts was a lustful tyrant who might take over Red Leaf Island.
• Elder Wu claimed the marriage would deter rival forces and proposed that the Eldest Miss’s eldest son inherit the old island lord’s surname and eventually claim both islands’ foundations.
• Several elders supported Elder Wu’s plan, while Guo Ru grew increasingly distressed and Elder An stayed silent.
• Elder Wu presented the plan to the Eldest Miss as a necessary sacrifice for Red Leaf Island’s future.
• Venerable Iron Gall stepped forward and urged the Eldest Miss to accept Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts as a husband.

Red Leaf Fairy struggled to decide how to protect Red Leaf Island from Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts, while Wu Ziming and his allies plotted to exploit the crisis. Elder An postponed the marriage decision, but his unexpected rebuke of Guo Ru left Red Leaf Fairy questioning his loyalties before he came to visit her.

• Wu Ziming argued that Red Leaf Fairy should marry Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts to improve her chances of advancing and protect Red Leaf Island, while Guo Ru opposed the proposal.
• Red Leaf Fairy asked Elder An to decide, and he urged everyone to delay the matter and monitor Ten Thousand Beasts Island rather than rush into a choice.
• Elder An reprimanded Guo Ru for accusing Wu Ziming, prompting Wu Ziming and his allies to suspect that Elder An might also be preparing to switch sides.
• Wu Ziming and his allies planned to trick Red Leaf Fairy into becoming a gift for Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts.
• Red Leaf Fairy returned to her room, worried about the island’s crisis and uncertain whether she could trust Elder An.
• Elder An arrived at Red Leaf Fairy’s door, and she invited him inside.

An Zhenyuan privately explained to Red Leaf Fairy why he had stayed silent during the hall discussion and warned that Wu Ziming might be betraying Red Leaf Island. He revealed that Wan Menghao had caused a violent incident in the western market, leaving Red Leaf Fairy to confront a new threat.

• An Zhenyuan told Red Leaf Fairy he had remained silent to avoid alerting a hidden enemy and asked what she thought of Wu Ziming’s proposal.
• Red Leaf Fairy admitted she did not want to marry Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts and had considered abandoning Red Leaf Island to become a Rogue Cultivator.
• An Zhenyuan urged her not to give up the island and said Wu Ziming’s proposal should not be trusted, though he lacked proof that Wu was colluding with Ten Thousand Beasts Island.
• An Zhenyuan pointed to a suspicious incident in the western market involving Wan Menghao, Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts’ son.
• An Zhenyuan said Wan Menghao had killed people and seized their goods before trying to abduct the beautiful female shopkeeper of Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

Red Leaf Fairy and An Zhenyuan discussed the threat posed by Wu Ziming’s apparent collusion with Ten Thousand Beasts Island and learned that Lin Xuan had stopped Wan Menghao from abducting a woman. They suspected Lin Xuan was an ascended cultivator whose strength could help Red Leaf Island, but remained wary of inviting an unknown ally into their crisis.

• Red Leaf Fairy learned that patrol cultivators had ignored Wan Menghao’s abduction attempt at West City Market, and she and An Zhenyuan suspected Elder Wu had secretly ordered them to stand aside.
• Red Leaf Fairy proposed moving against Wu Ziming, but An Zhenyuan urged patience because they lacked evidence and Wu had powerful allies.
• An Zhenyuan told Red Leaf Fairy that a stranger had defeated Wan Menghao and rescued the woman, restoring some of Red Leaf Island’s reputation.
• An Zhenyuan reported that the stranger was Lin Xuan, a mysterious recent arrival who had rented a cave residence and displayed unusual strength in the market.
• An Zhenyuan concluded that Lin Xuan was likely an ascended cultivator and could counter Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts, while Red Leaf Fairy worried about trusting an unknown force.

Lin Xuan returned to his cultivation cave and sorted through the treasures he had gained on Penglai Mountain, weighing their value and potential uses. He safely stored Taowu's Inner Core and ended with a closer look at a rare Vajra Sarira.

• Lin Xuan rested after his Marketplace visit, then began sorting the treasures he had obtained on Penglai Mountain.
• Lin Xuan examined the Crocodile Ancient Beast's Inner Core, Scales, and Spirit Bone, judging the Spirit Bone to be exceptionally valuable for refining an artifact.
• Lin Xuan inspected the Inner Core from Taowu's Split Soul, resisted swallowing it, and sealed it in a Jade Box with Restriction Talismans.
• Lin Xuan set aside Situ Fang's formation-related Jade Slips and magic artifacts, prioritizing his cultivation after advancing to Lihe.
• Lin Xuan examined the Spirit-Communicating Buddhist Treasure, a crimson Zen Staff, and then revealed a rare Vajra Sarira.

Lin Xuan investigated the plain belt he had bought at the Marketplace and discovered it was an extremely rare Instantaneous Bag. After binding it to himself, he prepared to explore its vast storage space.

• Lin Xuan examined the belt and found that his divine sense met a mysterious force resisting it.
• Lin Xuan pressed his divine sense against the belt until a blood-red pattern appeared and then burst apart.
• Lin Xuan used his blood to bind the belt, after which his divine sense entered it without obstruction.
• Lin Xuan recognized the belt as an Instantaneous Bag, a rare storage treasure with enormous capacity and a personal divine sense imprint.
• Lin Xuan realized that a previous owner’s imprint had been erased by a powerful being and celebrated the bargain he had made.

Lin Xuan discovered that the Instantaneous Bag contained a spacious cultivation cave with abundant spiritual energy and specialized rooms, then hosted a neighboring Nascent Soul cultivator, Hu Song. After Hu Song left, Lin Xuan suspected that the visit had been an attempt to probe him, though he could not identify the reason.

• Lin Xuan sent his Second Nascent Soul into the Instantaneous Bag and found a cultivation cave, a Spirit Eye Jade, and rooms for tending spirit insects and ghosts.
• Lin Xuan transferred his Dharma Treasures and Jade Luo Bees into the bag, then received a Sound Transmission Talisman from nearby cultivator Hu Song.
• Lin Xuan welcomed Hu Song into his cave, and the two talked throughout the night as Lin Xuan learned more about the region.
• Hu Song invited Lin Xuan to visit before flying away, and Lin Xuan concluded that the man had been probing him.
• Lin Xuan wondered whether his identity had been exposed and recalled his past conflict with Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts's personal disciple.