Chapter Summaries

Ling Pengyun returned to Yan Sun Mountain after killing the Swamp Crocodile King and recruited talented rogue cultivators to serve the Ling Clan. He arranged for a contact to recruit more Guest Elders and offered Foundation Establishment cultivators a share of Lingxiao Marketplace’s tax revenue in exchange for maintaining order.

• Ling Pengyun returned Yan Sun Mountain to Pure Heart Old Daoist and gifted him meat from a Golden Core demon beast.
• Ling Pengyun questioned thirteen masters of the hundred arts, discovered one had once acted as a Heretical Cultivator, and offered him a chance to earn Guest Elder status by recruiting three friends from Five Elements Marketplace.
• Ling Pengyun offered the other twelve masters Guest Elder positions and promised a First Rank Spirit Vein to those who served the Ling Clan well for thirty years.
• Ling Pengyun gathered more than thirty Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators and offered them thirty percent of Lingxiao Marketplace’s tax revenue to help maintain peace in the territory.

Ling Pengyun organized the Ling Clan’s new territories, moving cultivators to Lingxiao Ridge and establishing six artificial islands in the Muddy Swamp Territory. Ling Chengxin and Lin Fan arrived at Lingxiao Ridge and learned that Ling Pengyun had already conquered the swamp, leaving Lin Fan disappointed that he had missed the chance to earn help advancing his cultivation.

• Ling Pengyun persuaded thirty itinerant Foundation Establishment cultivators to manage Lingxiao Ridge and transported the remaining cultivators there.
• Ling Pengyun left Ling Pengqiu in charge of Lingxiao Ridge and moved Ling Penglin, Ling Chengxia, Qian Fei, clan members, and skilled itinerant cultivators to Lingyun Island.
• Ling Pengyun and the young clan members built six artificial islands over Second Rank High Grade spirit veins and named them Spirit Medicine Island, Spirit Beast Island, Shrub Island, Earth Spirit Island, Yunyi Island, and Hongyun Island.
• Ling Penglin and Niu Chang protected the islands with arrays while the clan’s alchemists, crafters, and spirit plant farmers began working there.
• Ling Chengxin and Lin Fan arrived in Lingxiao Ridge and learned that Ling Pengyun had killed the Swamp Giant Crocodile Clan’s Golden Core Demon King and claimed the Muddy Swamp Territory.
• Ling Chengxin rejoiced that the Ling Clan could leave the Hundred Spirits Sect’s shadow, while Lin Fan regretted arriving too late to receive help advancing his cultivation.

Ling Pengyun welcomed Lin Fan into the Ling Clan as a Beast Taming Guest Elder and gave him a second-rank flying sword, while the clan continued building up its new territory. After congratulating Ling Pengyun, Hundred Spirits True Person led the Hundred Spirits Sect in helping the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect conquer the Yellow Sand Thick Earth Turtle Territory.

• Ling Chengxin brought Ye Fan to Lingyun Island, where they met Ling Pengyun and Ling Chengxin introduced Lin Fan as the Ling Clan’s new Beast Taming Guest Elder.
• Ling Pengyun gave Lin Fan a Second Rank Low Grade flying sword and offered him a spirit vein if he served the Ling Clan faithfully for thirty years.
• Ling Pengyun assigned Ling Chengxin to refine pills and Lin Fan to care for the spirit beasts on Spirit Beast Island.
• Hundred Spirits True Person read news of Ling Pengyun’s victory over the Muddy Swamp and traveled there to congratulate him.
• Hundred Spirits True Person and Bao Yuan Zhenren led their forces in conquering the Yellow Sand Thick Earth Turtle Territory, while the Turtle King escaped into White Cloud Spirit Fox territory.
• The Hundred Spirits Sect claimed roughly a thousand spirit veins, about one-third of the conquered territory, and the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect accepted its share.

Ling Pengshan offered the Yang Clan the chance to manage First Rank Spirit Veins in the Muddy Swamp Territory, which the Ling Clan had recently occupied. Yang Mingtian accepted the arrangement and requested three hundred veins, then received a map to choose from.

• Ling Pengshan traveled to the Yang Clan and asked Yang Mingtian to help manage spirit veins in the Muddy Swamp Territory.
• Ling Pengshan explained that the Ling Clan lacked the manpower to use more than two thousand spirit veins and offered to split spirit plant profits, with three parts for the Ling Clan and seven for the Yang Clan.
• Yang Mingtian agreed to the opportunity and requested three hundred First Rank Spirit Veins for his clan.
• Ling Pengshan approved the request and gave Yang Mingtian a distribution map showing which veins the Ling Clan had claimed and which remained available.

Ling Pengshan arranged for the Yang Clan and five allied Foundation Establishment Families to manage spirit veins in the Muddy Swamp Territory, while the Ling Clan prepared to relocate its mortals there. The Hundred Spirits Sect’s fleet completed four trips, carrying two hundred thousand Ling Clan mortals to the Muddy Swamp.

• Yang Mingtian selected three hundred First Rank Spirit Veins, and Ling Pengshan arranged for the Yang Clan to tend the Rock Scale Snake Den’s spirit plants in exchange for half the harvest.
• Ling Pengshan offered spirit veins to the Cloud Mist Wen Clan, Azure Bamboo Wang Clan, Tiger's Roar Liu Clan, Shen Clan, and Sun Clan, which each took fifty.
• The Ling Clan rented out five hundred and fifty spirit veins and reserved nearly a thousand more to avoid provoking the Hundred Spirits Sect.
• Ling Pengshan spent nearly three months relocating villagers beside towns, then gathered several million ordinary fish to stock the future Muddy Swamp lake.
• The Hundred Spirits Sect’s fleet made four trips and relocated two hundred thousand Ling Clan mortals to the Muddy Swamp.

Ling Pengshan prepared to leave Huai River County for the Ling Clan’s new territory in the Muddy Swamp, where he asked Liu Mengting to accompany him. Liu Mengting accepted, and the two prepared to travel together.

• A Hundred Spirits Sect fleet arrived for the fifth and final transport of Ling Clan mortals to the Muddy Swamp Territory, and Ling Pengshan told Ling Pengliang he would leave to manage the new territory’s affairs.
• Ling Pengshan entrusted Ling Pengliang with managing the Ling Clan’s remaining affairs in Huai River County.
• Liu Mengting lamented that Ling Pengshan might leave without saying goodbye, then found him at her courtyard gate.
• Ling Pengshan invited Liu Mengting to accompany him to the Muddy Swamp Territory and said he wished to keep playing chess with her in the years ahead.
• Liu Mengting understood Ling Pengshan’s feelings, agreed to go with him, and began packing while Ling Pengshan sat beside their chessboard.

While clearing Black Mud near a Second Rank earth spirit vein, Ling Pengyun discovered a rare medium-sized Yellow Rock Steel mine. Its enormous potential could enrich the Ling Clan, but its shortage of Weapon Refiners meant the ore would be difficult to turn into spirit stones quickly.

• Ling Pengyun sensed concealed spiritual energy beneath the Black Mud and blasted open a deep hole, revealing First Rank High Grade Yellow Rock Steel ore.
• Ling Pengyun examined the ore and considered how its sale could ease the Ling Clan’s mounting expenses for formations across the Muddy Swamp Territory.
• Ling Pengyun used his divine sense to determine that the mine stretched more than two thousand five hundred zhang and held at least five hundred thousand jin of ore.
• Ling Pengyun estimated the raw ore’s value at roughly six hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones and imagined the Ling Clan becoming known for earth-element defensive magic artifacts.
• Ling Pengyun recognized that the clan had only three Weapon Refiners and resolved that it needed to recruit artisans while cultivating its own members.

Ling Pengyun discovered a medium-sized Yellow Rock Steel Mine and established plans to organize the Ling Clan’s combat forces and practitioners of the hundred arts. He assigned roles for the clan’s new halls and prepared to negotiate leases for the remaining spirit veins in the Muddy Swamp Territory.

• Ling Pengyun revealed the Yellow Rock Steel Mine’s scale to Ling Chengxia, Ling Wanduo, and the other young clan members, who swore Heavenly Dao Oaths to keep it secret.
• Ling Pengyun proposed a War Hall that would focus on combat and receive a tenth of the clan’s annual spirit stone income, and Ling Chengxia and the thirty-one Wan Generation clan members agreed to join.
• The fifth group of fifty thousand mortals arrived and settled on prepared islands with Second Rank spirit veins in the Muddy Swamp Territory.
• At a council meeting, Ling Pengshan reported the clan members and young cultivators he had brought, along with the spirit veins leased to neighboring families.
• Ling Pengyun assigned the experienced cultivators to help Ling Pengqiu establish and guard Lingxiao Marketplace, and directed Ling Pengshan to teach the newly arrived youths cultivation.
• Ling Pengyun proposed leasing the remaining thousand spirit veins to the Hundred Spirits Sect and Pure Heart Dao Hall, recruiting Guest Elders, and establishing five halls for common cultivation arts under Ling Pengshan’s management.

Ling Pengyun reorganized the Ling Clan and put its vast Muddy Swamp Territory to use by leasing out spirit veins, while Ling Pengqiu opened Lingxiao Marketplace with a major auction. The marketplace brought in more than three hundred thousand Spirit Stones, and Ling Pengyun left Ling Chengxin responsible for developing the clan’s alchemy.

• Ling Pengyun proposed new clan halls and revised the requirements for elders, and the clan approved the changes after a three-day meeting.
• Ling Pengyun borrowed Spirit Stones and formation materials from Hundred Spirits True Person and Pure Heart Old Daoist, then arranged leases for the Muddy Swamp Territory’s spirit veins.
• Ling Pengqiu built Lingxiao Marketplace and publicized its opening auction; all one hundred shops were leased before the marketplace opened.
• Nearly thirty thousand cultivators attended the auction, where the Ling Clan sold its spiritual objects and earned more than three hundred thousand Spirit Stones from sales, entry fees, and shop leases.
• Ling Pengyun instructed Ling Chengxin to advance his alchemy and learn to refine Small Hundred Spirits Water and Meridian Protecting Pills for the clan’s future auctions.

Ling Pengyun allocated the Ling Clan’s auction earnings toward strengthening his lifebound magic item and preparing Golden Core resources for Ling Pengqiu, while Ling Pengshan outlined plans to expand Lingxiao Marketplace. The chapter ended with Ling Pengyun still seeking a Third Rank artifact-refining heritage, which he needed to advance his treasure.

• Ling Pengyun proposed saving the auction earnings, using two hundred thousand spirit stones to buy Water Spirit Iron for his lifebound magic item, and reserving one hundred thousand for Golden Core resources for Ling Pengqiu; the clan approved.
• Ling Pengyun instructed Ling Pengshan to recruit practitioners of the hundred arts, and Ling Pengshan reported that Gathered Arts Hall had already recruited eighteen First Rank practitioners.
• Ling Pengshan proposed dividing Lingxiao Marketplace into Inner City and Outer City areas, with new shops and residences at different prices, and Ling Pengyun approved the plan and promised him priority in using rare lifespan-enhancing items he might find.
• Ling Pengshan reported that no Third Rank artifact-refining heritage had surfaced, though he had bought a useful First Rank Fish Farming Heritage for three thousand spirit stones.
• Ling Pengyun was disappointed that he still lacked the Third Rank heritage needed to inscribe the Azure Sea Heavy Yuan Spirit Pattern onto his treasure and make use of his powerful demon materials.

Ling Pengshan learned that a red-nosed brewer was offering the Ling Clan a Second Rank brewing heritage in exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill. After verifying the heritage and negotiating, he offered the old man spirit stones and a Guest Elder position, leaving the brewer to weigh the offer against his grandson’s urgent need to achieve Foundation Establishment.

• Ling Pengshan accepted the First Rank Fish Farming Heritage and left the market town with Ling Penglin and Ling Chengxin, while Ling Pengqiu entered seclusion.
• A Cheng Generation clansman told Ling Pengshan that an elderly First Rank High Grade brewer wanted to trade a Second Rank brewing heritage for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• Ling Pengshan examined the brewing manual and recognized that its First Rank recipes matched those from a heritage the Ling Clan had bought more than a decade earlier.
• The red-nosed old man confirmed that he had previously sold the First Rank brewing heritage to Ling Pengyun and insisted that the Second Rank heritage was genuine.
• Ling Pengshan offered twenty-five thousand spirit stones for the heritage, conditional on the old man joining the Ling Clan as a Guest Elder.
• The old man recalled that his grandson had failed at Foundation Establishment once, had only recently recovered from injured meridians, and had one year left before the age limit.

Zhang Qiuyang offered the Ling Clan his Second Rank Brewing Heritage and sought help buying a Foundation Establishment Pill for his grandson, Zhang Xun. After Zhang Xun demonstrated his brewing talent, Ling Pengshan offered the family support in exchange for Zhang Xun and Zhang Qiuyang becoming lifelong Guest Elders, and they agreed before leaving with Ling Pengshan for the Muddy Swamp Territory.

• Zhang Qiuyang asked Ling Pengshan to lend him five thousand spirit stones for a Foundation Establishment Pill for Zhang Xun, offering to join the Ling Clan as a Guest Elder.
• Zhang Qiuyang explained that Zhang Xun could become a Second Rank brewer and repay the debt, so Ling Pengshan summoned him to demonstrate his brewing skills.
• Zhang Xun brewed a First Rank High Grade spiritual wine, and Ling Pengshan recognized his talent and offered a Foundation Establishment Pill, a Meridian Protecting Pill, Small Hundred Spirits Water, and a cultivation site.
• Ling Pengshan required Zhang Xun to become a lifelong Guest Elder of the Ling Clan, and Zhang Xun and Zhang Qiuyang agreed after considering the benefits and loss of freedom.
• Ling Pengshan personally escorted Zhang Xun and Zhang Qiuyang from Lingxiao Marketplace toward the Muddy Swamp Territory.

Ling Pengyun gave Zhang Qiuyang the promised Foundation Establishment resources, and Zhang Xun successfully advanced to Foundation Establishment. Zhang Xun and his grandfather decided that joining the Ling Clan offered the Zhang Family its best future, just as Ling Pengshan arrived at their courtyard.

• Ling Pengyun recognized Zhang Qiuyang and promised him a Foundation Establishment Pill, Small Hundred Spirits Water, and a Meridian Protecting Pill after half a month.
• Ling Pengyun told Ling Pengshan to arrange for suitable Ling Clan women to meet Zhang Xun and Lin Fan, hoping to recruit both talented Guest Elders into the clan.
• Ling Pengyun bought the promised Foundation Establishment resources from the Hundred Spirits Sect and handed them to Zhang Qiuyang and Zhang Xun.
• Zhang Xun used the three resources to break through smoothly to Foundation Establishment, and Zhang Qiuyang celebrated the Old Zhang Family's first Foundation Establishment Cultivator in over two hundred years.
• Zhang Xun and Zhang Qiuyang agreed that the Zhang Family should join the Ling Clan rather than remain only Guest Elders.
• Ling Pengshan arrived at Zhang Qiuyang and Zhang Xun's courtyard, and they hurried to open the gate for him.

Zhang Xun and Zhang Qiuyang welcomed Ling Pengshan’s marriage proposal and began arranging a connection with Ling Chenglan while staying on Lingyun Island to repay their debt. Meanwhile, Ling Chengxin attempted to refine Spirit Gathering Pills on Earth Fire Island, but three of the five pill portions failed during the final stage.

• Ling Pengshan congratulated Zhang Xun on reaching Foundation Establishment, gave him a Nurturing Pill, and introduced three Ling Clan women as potential marriage partners.
• Zhang Xun favored the quiet Ling Chenglan, grew closer to her through frequent visits, and stayed on Lingyun Island with Zhang Qiuyang to brew spirit wine and repay their debt.
• On Earth Fire Island, Ling Chengxin prepared to refine Spirit Gathering Pills using a demon beast core, spirit herbs, and the island’s earth fire.
• Ling Chengxin divided the medicinal liquid into five portions, but three cracked during condensation and burned away, leaving two intact portions to continue solidifying.

Ling Chengxin struggled to improve his alchemy results and turned to studying the Explosive Tempering God Art, while Ling Wanxu and Ling Chenggang advanced the Ling Clan’s mining operation with divine-sense training and newly made puppets. The chapter left Ling Wanxu resolved to meet Ling Pengyun’s expectations as he prepared to strengthen his divine sense.

• Ling Chengxin produced only two Second Rank High Grade Spirit Gathering Pills and decided to pause refining to comprehend the Fifth Layer of the Explosive Tempering God Art.
• Ling Wanxu controlled fifteen Mining Wood Puppets in the Yellow Rock Steel Mine, using his unusually strong divine sense while studying the Explosive Tempering God Art.
• Ling Chenggang finished another Mining Wood Puppet and brought it to Ling Wanxu, asking whether his divine sense could handle it.
• Ling Wanxu said he expected to comprehend the Explosive Tempering God Art’s First Layer within three days, and Ling Chenggang praised him before warning him not to grow proud.
• Ling Wanxu solemnly promised Ling Chenggang that he would cultivate properly and fulfill Ling Pengyun’s expectations.

After breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer, Yan Siyi learned that Ling Pengyun had secured the Lingxiao Ridge and Muddy Swamp territories and traveled to join him. In the Muddy Swamp Territory, she discovered three Azure-robed cultivators fighting a rare Crimson Cloud Python, which they badly wounded with Spirit Talisman Caves.

• Yan Siyi broke through to the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer after more than a year in seclusion at Lingxiao Inn.
• Yang Qiuyun told Yan Siyi that Ling Pengyun had led the Ling Clan to occupy the Lingxiao Ridge and Muddy Swamp territories.
• Yan Siyi left the Five Elements Marketplace alone and flew safely to the Muddy Swamp Territory.
• Yan Siyi used Aura Observation Technique and saw three Azure-robed Qi Training cultivators besieging a Crimson Cloud Python.
• The aged cultivator and his two companions attacked the python with Spirit Talisman Caves after it revealed that it could use the Foundation Establishment spell Fire Source Armor.
• The spell attacks broke through the python's armor and scales, leaving it with more than a dozen large wounds.

Yan Siyi bought a powerful fire python from three Pure Heart Daoist Temple cultivators and searched the lake where it had lived. Deep underground, she discovered a First Rank High Grade Fire Spirit Vein beside a pool of mysterious crimson liquid.

• Three Qi Training Middle Stage cultivators defeated and bound a fire python on a deserted island.
• Yan Siyi arrived and offered the cultivators one thousand spirit stones for the fire python, which they accepted before leaving.
• Yan Siyi stored the unconscious python in a Beast Taming Pouch and reasoned that the nearby lake might conceal something unusual.
• Yan Siyi followed an underground tributary into a vast river and found a cave leaking fire spiritual energy.
• Yan Siyi discovered a First Rank High Grade Fire Spirit Vein and a pool of crimson liquid deep inside the cave.

Yan Siyi reunited with Ling Pengyun and Ling Chengxia after breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer, bringing a promising fire python and news of a Fire Essence Spirit Pool. The family arranged for the python to go to Ling Peng Qiu and began securing the pool while continuing to develop the Muddy Swamp Territory.

• Yan Siyi found a First Rank High Grade Fire Essence Spirit Pool beneath the fire python's dwelling, then traveled to Lingyun Island and learned that Ling Pengyun and Ling Chengxia were clearing the Muddy Swamp Territory.
• Yan Siyi reunited with Ling Pengyun, Ling Chengxia, and the Wan Generation clansmen, and introduced the fire python she had bought from Pure Heart Daoist Temple cultivators.
• Ling Chengxia declined to raise the fire python because he was already supporting four Golden Scale Pythons with Twin Spirit Bodies, but cheered Yan Siyi by giving her Purple Star Grapes.
• Yan Siyi proposed giving the fire python to Ling Peng Qiu, and Ling Pengyun agreed that he would be pleased to receive it.
• Yan Siyi told Ling Pengyun and Ling Chengxia about the Fire Essence Spirit Pool, and Ling Pengyun summoned Ling Penglin to protect it with an array.

Ling Penglin discovered that the Fire Essence Spirit Pool could benefit from the near-advancement of its underlying Fire Vein, and Ling Pengyun approved spending thirty-five thousand spirit stones to raise both to the Second Grade. After the vein advanced, a strange blue flame erupted beneath the Underground River, leaving Ling Penglin baffled about its nature.

• Ling Penglin examined the Fire Essence Spirit Pool and found that its First Rank High Grade Fire Vein was close to advancing to the Second Grade.
• Ling Penglin told Ling Pengyun that advancing the vein could also raise the spirit pool’s rank, and he approved taking thirty-five thousand spirit stones from the Clan Repository.
• Ling Penglin retrieved the spirit stones and the Spirit Ascension Array Formation, then activated the array at the Fire Spirit Vein.
• The Fire Spirit Vein consumed more than thirty-three thousand spirit stones and advanced to the Second Grade.
• A blue flame erupted beneath the main Underground River, and Ling Penglin initially mistook it for Earth Fire before dismissing that explanation.

Ling Penglin discovered a Spirit Volcano beneath the Underground River and strengthened the newly advanced fire spirit vein to support it and the nearby Fire Essence Spirit Pool. The pool produced twenty-five portions of century-old Fire Essence Spirit Liquid, and the awakened Flame Sprite formed a mysterious bond with Ling Penglin.

• Ling Penglin identified the underwater blue flames as Deep Blue Spirit Fire and discovered that they were forming a Flame Sprite embryo inside a newly born Spirit Volcano.
• Ling Penglin realized that the remote Spirit Volcano could not be moved near the clan without a third-rank Migration Grand Array, so its future Flame Sprite would guard the local Fire Essence Spirit Pool.
• The fire spirit vein fed power to the Spirit Volcano and pool until Ling Penglin used the Vein Enhancement Grand Array and two thousand spirit stones to stabilize the vein.
• The Fire Essence Spirit Pool advanced to the second rank and produced twenty-five portions of century-old Fire Essence Spirit Liquid, which Ling Penglin collected for Yan Siyi.
• The Spirit Volcano advanced to the First Rank Middle Grade, and its Flame Sprite awakened at Qi Training Middle Stage before approaching Ling Penglin without attacking her.
• Ling Penglin sensed a faint bond with the Flame Sprite and guessed that it had formed when she raised the fire spirit vein's rank.