Chapter Summaries

Lin Xuan returned to Linhai City after three months of secluded cultivation, seeking pills to improve his cultivation and the repaired Black Gold Dragon Scale Shield. He met Dongfang Mingyu at Hundred Treasures Pavilion, where she was about to present the shield.

• Lin Xuan examined the Hundred Beasts Talisman and found it less useful to him than its reputation suggested.
• Lin Xuan spent three months cultivating, while Hu Song repeatedly visited and subtly probed him without revealing his purpose.
• Lin Xuan decided to seek suitable pills and returned to Linhai City when the three-month repair period for his Black Gold Dragon Scale Shield ended.
• Lin Xuan entered Hundred Treasures Pavilion, where the staff and customers recognized him as the cultivator who had beaten the Young Master of Ten Thousand Beasts Island.
• Dongfang Mingyu greeted Lin Xuan and praised him for returning as promised.

Lin Xuan visited Hundred Treasures Pavilion to collect his repaired Black Gold Dragon Scale Shield and discovered that its defensive power had increased by more than twenty percent. Dongfang Mingyu refused extra payment, explaining that she had improved it to repay his help.

• Lin Xuan and Dongfang Mingyu discussed the trouble with Ten Thousand Beasts Island, and she explained that Red Leaf Island Master had taken responsibility and promised to negotiate with Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts.
• Dongfang Mingyu presented Lin Xuan with the repaired Black Gold Dragon Scale Shield.
• Lin Xuan tested the shield and found that its defensive power had increased by more than twenty percent.
• Lin Xuan offered to pay for the improvement, but Dongfang Mingyu said he only owed the agreed repair fee of eighty thousand Spirit Stones.

Lin Xuan accepted Dongfang Mingyu’s offer to enhance his treasure and asked her about auctions in Linhai City. When she inspected his demonic beast materials and probed how he had killed their Transformation Late Stage source, he concealed his strength with a fabricated story.

• Lin Xuan accepted Dongfang Mingyu’s offer to enhance his treasure after she insisted it was her thanks for his aid.
• Lin Xuan paid Dongfang Mingyu eighty thousand mid-grade spirit stones and asked about secret-market auctions in Linhai City.
• Dongfang Mingyu explained that auctions were held twice a month and offered to have someone guide Lin Xuan there.
• Dongfang Mingyu invited Lin Xuan to let Hundred Treasures Pavilion appraise his goods, and he displayed materials from a demonic beast.
• Dongfang Mingyu recognized the materials as coming from a Transformation Late Stage Demon Race member and probed Lin Xuan about killing it.
• Lin Xuan claimed he and several friends had killed the beast together and that he alone had survived, leaving Dongfang Mingyu unsure whether he was truly a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

Lin Xuan sold the remains of a Transformation Late Stage Demon Race member to Dongfang Mingyu’s shop for five thousand high-grade Spirit Stones and obtained the auction’s location. Dongfang Mingyu and Aunt Xiu suspected he might be concealing his true strength, while Lin Xuan left the Marketplace with the Jade Slip.

• Dongfang Mingyu offered Lin Xuan five thousand high-grade Spirit Stones for the Demon Race materials, and he accepted.
• The shop brought out the payment, and Lin Xuan collected the Jade Boxes without counting them before leaving with Dongfang Mingyu’s escort.
• Dongfang Mingyu asked Aunt Xiu whether Lin Xuan was truly at the Nascent Soul Realm or had disguised his cultivation.
• Aunt Xiu said Lin Xuan appeared to be at the Nascent Soul Early Stage with unusually deep magic power, but her intuition warned that he was not as simple as he seemed.
• Dongfang Mingyu and Aunt Xiu decided not to provoke Lin Xuan as long as he did not interfere with them.
• Lin Xuan left the Marketplace with a Jade Slip showing the auction’s location.

Lin Xuan sold valuable demonic beast materials to Dongfang Mingyu, then attended the secret auction in Linhai City. After entering the auction grounds, he asked an elderly appraiser to assess treasures he wished to sell.

• Lin Xuan traded Shi Zheng's hide, fur, bones, and skeleton with Dongfang Mingyu and earned a surprising amount of high-grade Spirit Stones.
• Lin Xuan sensed a powerful woman spying on him inside Hundred Treasures Pavilion, but chose not to investigate her identity.
• Lin Xuan learned the Secret Market auction was being held the next day and stayed overnight at a remote inn.
• Lin Xuan paid two mid-grade Spirit Stones to enter the auction grounds and received a numbered waist token.
• A maid led Lin Xuan by boat to a mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, and Lin Xuan asked him to appraise the treasures he wanted to auction.

Lin Xuan consigned Ancient Beast scales to the Secret Market auction under strict anonymity and earned a crimson waist token granting him access to a private room. At the auction, Master Mo began with a costly blind bid, leaving Lin Xuan and the crowd wondering what the covered item was.

• Lin Xuan showed Elder Zhan an Ancient Beast scale, and Elder Zhan praised its value but asked whether he had more like it.
• Lin Xuan revealed more than twenty scales and requested an anonymous auction with his identity kept confidential; Elder Zhan agreed to the terms and gave him a crimson waist token.
• A maidservant escorted Lin Xuan to the painted pleasure boat, where he entered a private room reserved for distinguished guests.
• Master Mo Hen took the auction stage, and attendees discussed his reputation as a renowned treasure appraiser.
• Master Mo announced a blind bid for a covered item, setting its starting price at twenty thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones with minimum increases of one thousand.

Lin Xuan used the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Eye to glimpse the first blind-bid item, while Fatty Jia lost the bidding to a cultivator in a private box who paid thirty thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones. The crowd demanded to learn what the item was, but Master Mo said revealing it depended on the winning bidder.

• Cultivators bid on the covered treasure, and Fatty Jia raised the price to twenty-five thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones.
• Lin Xuan used the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Eye to see through the red cloth and make out a blurry outline of the treasure.
• A cultivator in a hexagonal private box bid thirty thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones, and Fatty Jia backed down.
• Master Mo declared the private-box cultivator the winner and refused to reveal the item without the bidder's permission.
• The crowd grew angry and demanded an explanation, so Master Mo said the winning bidder would decide whether to disclose the treasure.

Lin Xuan learned that the ancient book he had won contained a fragment of Master Womei’s cultivation method, while other bidders dismissed it as a likely loss. The auction continued with expensive materials, and Lin Xuan watched as Black Cloud Soil’s starting price sparked complaints.

• Lin Xuan asked Master Mo to include the divine-sense-blocking red cloth with the ancient book, and Mo Hen agreed.
• Mo Hen revealed the ancient book and explained that it recorded only a fragment of Master Womei’s cultivation method, prompting envy and then schadenfreude among the bidders.
• The ancient book and red cloth were teleported to Lin Xuan’s private room, and he stored them without examining them.
• Lin Xuan watched a black-robed cultivator win two jin of Pure Yang True Iron for 120,000 spirit stones, while he chose not to bid.
• Master Mo introduced Black Cloud Soil at a starting price of 70,000 spirit stones, and cultivators protested that a similar lot had sold for only 30,000 three months earlier.

At the Secret Market auction, Master Mo justified Black Cloud Soil’s sharply increased price by claiming its source would become inaccessible for a hundred years, and a mysterious black-qi cultivator won it for two hundred thousand Spirit Stones. As the auction moved toward its most valuable lots after a long intermission, Lin Xuan still awaited useful pills and the scales he had consigned for sale.

• Master Mo told the dissatisfied bidders that changes at Black Cloud Soil’s source would make it difficult to obtain for the next hundred years, though he refused to explain further.
• The bidding for Black Cloud Soil grew fierce, and a mysterious cultivator shrouded in black qi won it for two hundred thousand Spirit Stones.
• Lin Xuan declined to bid on the later materials and herbs, waiting for items useful to him and watching for the scales he had consigned.
• The auction progressed to finished treasures and medicinal pills, but no pills useful to the Lihe Realm appeared, while Lin Xuan’s scales remained unsold.
• Master Mo paused the auction before the most valuable lots, and after an hour of songs and dances, he returned to the stage.

Lin Xuan watched the auction’s first finale treasure, a collection of Ancient Beast scales, sell for an enormous price and learned that the next item was a powerful imitation of a Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure. The chapter left him tempted to bid on the Landscape Fan as the remaining finale treasures awaited.

• Qian Aotian arrived late, and cultivators discussed his formidable strength despite remaining in the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Fairy An appeared beside Master Mo, who announced that the auction had three finale treasures.
• Master Mo presented more than twenty defensive scales from a Lihe-level earth-attribute Ancient Beast, and the bidding drove their price from three hundred thousand to seven hundred thousand Spirit Stones.
• A seemingly unremarkable Core Condensation Realm cultivator won the scales, leading others to suspect that a powerful force stood behind him.
• Master Mo revealed the second treasure, a Landscape Fan imitation that possessed nearly half the power of its original, and Lin Xuan considered bidding for it.

At the Secret Market auction, Lin Xuan bid on a counterfeit Spirit Treasure called the Landscape Fan, hoping to obtain a weapon comparable to his damaged Demonic Fate Sword. He won it for 2.7 million Spirit Stones after a mysterious bidder challenged him, leaving Lin Xuan wondering who had placed that unsettling bid.

• Master Mo introduced the Landscape Fan as a powerful counterfeit Spirit Treasure and set its starting price at one million Spirit Stones.
• Lin Xuan bid two million Spirit Stones to discourage other cultivators from competing for the fan.
• A bidder in a private room in the southwest corner raised the price, and Lin Xuan sensed an oppressive presence in the stranger's voice.
• Lin Xuan raised his bid to 2.7 million Spirit Stones, and the other bidder fell silent.
• Master Mo awarded the Landscape Fan to Lin Xuan.

Fairy An revealed that the auction’s final treasure was a Supreme Qilin Fruit, and Mo Hen explained its extraordinary body-tempering effects. Bidding climbed to nine and a half million Spirit Stones as a white-robed woman and a mysterious cultivator in a private room competed for it.

• Fairy An opened the final treasure’s box and revealed a deep-red fruit that she transformed into a miniature qilin.
• Fairy An dismissed the crowd’s complaints, and Mo Hen identified the fruit as a Supreme Qilin Fruit with powerful effects for suitable body-tempering cultivators.
• Lin Xuan recognized the fruit’s unusual power but decided not to bid, intending to consult ancient books after the auction.
• Several wealthy bidders drove the price from five million to eight million Spirit Stones.
• A white-robed Nascent Soul Middle Stage woman bid eight million two hundred thousand Spirit Stones, hoping to obtain the fruit for her grandmother.
• A mysterious cultivator in a private room raised the price to nine million five hundred thousand Spirit Stones, leaving Lin Xuan stunned by his wealth.

After returning from the auction, Lin Xuan refined the Landscape Fan and was impressed by its power. A visitor named Hong Ye arrived at his cultivation cave, and Lin Xuan suspected she was the new island master who had succeeded True Person Withered Wood.

• Lin Xuan left the auction, teleported safely out of Linhai City, and returned to his cultivation cave.
• Lin Xuan examined the repaired Black Gold Dragon Scale Shield and began refining the Landscape Fan.
• After three days, Lin Xuan found that the Landscape Fan’s power rivaled the Demonic Fate Sword while consuming little magic power.
• Lin Xuan received a Sound Transmission Talisman and went to meet the visitor at his cave entrance.
• Hong Ye introduced herself, and Lin Xuan suspected she was the woman who had inherited the island master’s position after True Person Withered Wood fell.

Red Leaf Fairy revealed that she knew Lin Xuan was a Lihe Realm cultivator who had ascended from a lower realm and invited him to become Red Leaf Island’s Supreme Elder. Lin Xuan questioned her motives and the strength of her offer, leaving the invitation unresolved.

• Lin Xuan welcomed Red Leaf Fairy into his cultivation cave after confirming she had arrived without an ambush.
• Red Leaf Fairy identified Lin Xuan as a Lihe Realm cultivator, and he confirmed it by releasing his spiritual pressure.
• Red Leaf Fairy asked whether Lin Xuan had ascended from a lower realm, and he admitted it while demanding to know how she learned his origins.
• Red Leaf Fairy denied intending him harm and invited him to join Red Leaf Island as its Supreme Elder.
• Lin Xuan argued that he could establish his own power and questioned whether the position would grant real authority.
• Red Leaf Fairy offered to sign a Blood Curse Document to guarantee her sincerity, while Lin Xuan questioned whether it could bind him.

Lin Xuan questioned Red Leaf Fairy about the Blood Curse Document and how she had discovered his true identity, while she urged him to become Red Leaf Island’s Supreme Elder. He was tempted by her offer but had not yet agreed.

• Red Leaf Fairy explained that her high-grade Blood Curse Document could not be removed by a Lihe Realm cultivator, though it would lose its effect if Lin Xuan advanced to Dongxuan.
• Red Leaf Fairy described the benefits of becoming Red Leaf Island’s Supreme Elder and asked Lin Xuan to accept, but he said he had other questions first.
• Red Leaf Fairy said she had investigated Lin Xuan after he easily defeated Wan Menghao and showed little concern for Ten Thousand Beasts Island.
• Red Leaf Fairy revealed that Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts threatened Red Leaf Island and admitted she had sent Hu Song to assess Lin Xuan.
• Lin Xuan appreciated Red Leaf Fairy’s candor and considered that her offer could ease the burdens of cultivating as a lone Rogue Cultivator.

Lin Xuan agreed to become Red Leaf Fairy’s sworn elder brother and signed the Blood Curse Document with her. He gave her a bottle of pills as a first-meeting gift, and she was astonished to discover they were Aster Pills.

• Lin Xuan decided that joining Red Leaf Island benefited him and accepted Red Leaf Fairy’s invitation.
• Lin Xuan and Red Leaf Fairy each gave blood to the Blood Curse Document, becoming sworn siblings.
• Lin Xuan offered Red Leaf Fairy a bottle of pills that could increase a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator’s magic power.
• Red Leaf Fairy examined the pills and recognized them as Aster Pills, reacting with disbelief and joy.

Lin Xuan accepted authority as Red Leaf Island’s Supreme Elder and learned that Ten Thousand Beasts Island was plotting against the Red Leaf Sea Region. He refused to strike Wu Ziming immediately, instead suggesting he would set a trap for Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts.

• Lin Xuan gave Red Leaf Fairy thirty precious Aster Pills, and she presented him with the island’s Command Token.
• Lin Xuan asked Red Leaf Fairy to explain Ten Thousand Beasts Island’s designs, and she recounted Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts’ visit, the island’s internal divisions, and events at the City Lord’s Mansion.
• Lin Xuan agreed that Wu Ziming was a traitor but refused Red Leaf Fairy’s request to kill him, saying that doing so might alert Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts.
• Lin Xuan asked whether Red Leaf Fairy’s visit and his identity had been kept secret, and she assured him that only two or three trusted confidants knew about her visit and Wu Ziming had not noticed Lin Xuan’s true cultivation.

Lin Xuan planned to join Red Leaf Island in disguise and tested whether his Phantom Spirit Heaven Fire could remove the Blood Curse Document he had signed with Red Leaf Fairy. The fire destroyed one curse character, leaving him ready to erase the rest.

• Lin Xuan told Red Leaf Fairy he would join Red Leaf Island as an early Nascent Soul cultivator to lure Ten Thousand Beasts into a trap, and she returned to the island without revealing their plans.
• Lin Xuan examined the Blood Curse Document in his dantian, determined to remove it so he would not leave his fate in another person's hands.
• Lin Xuan's Nascent Soul attacked a curse character with Five Elements Sword Qi, but the character regenerated after being torn apart.
• Lin Xuan unleashed the Phantom Spirit Heaven Fire, which froze and corroded the curse character until it vanished without regenerating.
• Lin Xuan's Nascent Soul sent the three-colored flame toward another curse character.

Lin Xuan removed the Blood Curse Document, then joined Red Leaf Island as an external affairs elder and moved into a new cultivation cave. There, Red Leaf Fairy discussed Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts’ threats with him, and Lin Xuan proposed provoking him into action.

• Lin Xuan used the Phantom Spirit Heaven Fire to undo the Blood Curse Document, then rested and left his cultivation cave for Linhai City.
• Lin Xuan told the guards at the City Lord's Mansion that he wished to join Red Leaf Island and serve Red Leaf Fairy.
• With Red Leaf Fairy, Elder An, and Guo Ru arranging matters, Lin Xuan completed the formalities and received a new cultivation cave.
• Red Leaf Fairy visited Lin Xuan and explained that Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts wanted to marry her and absorb Red Leaf Island into his forces.
• Lin Xuan told Red Leaf Fairy to reject Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts harshly so they could lure him into a trap.

Lin Xuan advised Red Leaf Fairy to turn Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts’ marriage scheme into a chance to eliminate him, then kept a low profile while tensions between the islands escalated. On the hundredth day after his arrival, he answered a summons to accompany Red Leaf Fairy to pay respects at her grandfather’s tomb, arriving at a gathering of Red Leaf Island’s elite.

• Lin Xuan warned Red Leaf Fairy that Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts might try to seize her and proposed using the attempt to destroy him.
• Lin Xuan spent months cultivating in seclusion, ignored efforts by Red Leaf Island’s factions to recruit him, and quietly completed two routine missions.
• Red Leaf Fairy publicly rejected Venerable Ten Thousand Beasts’ marriage proposal, insulting him and provoking his fury, though he held back from attacking Red Leaf Island.
• Lin Xuan received a summons for the third anniversary of True Person Withered Wood’s death and flew to the appointed location.
• Lin Xuan found several enormous warships and thousands of disciplined cultivators assembled by the shore, while Red Leaf Island’s Nascent Soul experts gathered nearby.