Chapter Summaries

Ling Pengyun broke through to the Golden Core Late Stage after years of seclusion in Ice Snow Forest. He learned the Ling Clan had accumulated a large supply of water- and ice-attributed spirit iron, took it from the valley storeroom, and returned to his cave to strengthen his Lifebound Magic Treasure.

• Ling Pengyun swallowed a Creation Purple Cloud Pill and successfully broke through to the Golden Core Late Stage, greatly increasing his spiritual power and divine sense.
• Ling Pengyun left seclusion and went to the General Affairs Hall, where his parents, Ling Xiaoshun and Yang Qiuyun, welcomed him.
• Ling Xiaoshun told Ling Pengyun that the Ling Clan had gathered roughly three hundred and seventy thousand jin of water- and ice-attributed spirit iron from the Ice Snow Forest veins.
• Ling Pengyun decided to use the spirit iron to transform the Azure Sea Heavy Yuan Treasure Pearl into a Spirit Treasure Prototype and possibly upgrade his Azure Sea Heavy Yuan Magic Shield.
• Ling Pengyun took all the spirit iron from the valley storeroom and returned to his cave abode to merge it into his Lifebound Magic Treasure.

After a year of refining his Azure Sea Heavy Yuan Treasure Pearl, Ling Pengyun raised it to the peak of a Third Rank magic treasure but could not advance it to a spirit treasure without rare materials and the sect’s Nascent Soul techniques. Yan Siyi visited him in Ice Spirit Valley, and their conversation left him encouraged by his treasure’s power and informed him of the Black Mountain Zhao Family’s growth in Thunder Essence Country.

• Ling Pengyun finished tempering his Azure Sea Heavy Yuan Treasure Pearl with spirit iron, bringing it to the limit of a Third Rank High Grade magic treasure.
• Yan Siyi visited Ling Pengyun after leaving seclusion because she had reached a firm bottleneck near the Golden Core Fifth Layer.
• Ling Pengyun told Yan Siyi that advancing his lifebound treasure further required rare Heavy Yuan Treasure Iron and a refining method withheld by the sect.
• Yan Siyi reassured Ling Pengyun that his treasure’s immense weight already gave it power comparable to some weaker Spirit Treasure Prototypes.
• Yan Siyi told Ling Pengyun that the Black Mountain Zhao Family had relocated its spirit veins to Thunder Essence Country and gained two Golden Core cultivators.

Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi discussed the Three Great Immortal Sects’ support for Golden Core Forces and the possibility of a major upheaval in the future. Four years later, Ling Pengyun finished reforging his defensive treasure and distributed his remaining spirit iron to Ling Yunhong, while Yan Siyi continued studying spirit cooking.

• Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi reasoned that the Three Great Immortal Sects might be backing several Golden Core Forces to grow into Nascent Soul Forces, perhaps in preparation for a major move within the next thousand years.
• Ling Pengyun returned to seclusion and began reforging the Azure Sea Heavy Yuan Treasure Shield, while Yan Siyi stayed at Ice Spirit Valley to study the Way of the Spirit Chef.
• After four years, Ling Pengyun completed the shield’s reforging, making it several times stronger than the Profound Yang Treasure Shield, which he gave to Yan Siyi.
• Ling Pengyun gave his remaining spirit iron to Ling Yunhong so he could temper his water- and ice-attributed Lifebound Magic Treasures.

Ling Pengyun reviewed the clan members’ cultivation and visited its branches before seeing Ling Li Hu’s experimental Winged Shadow Tiger mutation. He praised the mutated tiger’s speed and Corrosive Lightning but noticed its vitality was declining and asked whether the mutation method was responsible.

• Ling Pengyun learned that Ling Yunhong and Ling Chengxin had improved their alchemy, then urged Ling Yunhong to give more attention to cultivation.
• Ling Pengyun checked Ling Chengyuan and Ling Pengshan’s progress toward mastering the clan techniques needed for a Golden Core breakthrough.
• Ling Pengyun visited the Thousand Stars Lake branch, where he promised Lin Fan three inferior Golden Core spirit objects if Lin Fan mastered the Divine Sense Tempering Technique and Meridian Tempering Technique.
• Ling Pengyun met Ling Li Hu at Cloud Stepping Valley and learned that he had developed an experimental mutation method for Winged Shadow Tigers.
• Ling Li Hu demonstrated that his mutated Winged Shadow Tiger was unusually fast and could attack with Corrosive Lightning.
• Ling Pengyun praised the tiger but noticed its vitality was falling and asked Ling Li Hu whether the mutation method caused it.

Ling Pengyun visited White Cloud City, where the Ling Clan had turned its valuable spirit-vein region into a market city and strengthened its position near Demon Race territory. After visiting allied forces, he agreed to help his nephew Wu Hong obtain a better wind-attribute cultivation technique.

• Ling Li Hu explained the flaw in his Winged Shadow Tiger mutation method, and Ling Pengyun urged him to continue refining it with his master, Lin Fan.
• The Ling Clan developed White Cloud City into a market city, drawing many independent cultivators and recruiting two independent Golden Core cultivators as Guest Elders.
• Ling Pengyun visited Ling Penglin and Ling Pengcheng, learning of their progress and the city's arrangements for its Guest Elders.
• Ling Pengyun visited Pure Heart Daoist Temple, Medicine King Valley, and the Serpent Dragon Lake Branch of the Hundred Spirits Sect, where Wu Hong's family asked him to find a stronger wind-attribute technique.
• Ling Pengyun agreed to help Wu Hong and recalled that the Qiu Clan's Wood Origin Wind Riding Treasure Canon could be cultivated by Wind Spirit Root cultivators up to Golden Core Completion.

Ling Pengyun gave Wu Hong the Wood Origin Wind Riding Treasure Canon and arranged for Spirit Talisman Old Ancestor to train three Ling Clan talisman crafters. After selecting Ling Renyang, Ling Licui, and Wang Quan, Ling Pengyun visited Liu Haochan to seek Quasi Fourth Rank or Fourth Rank Heavy Yuan Treasure Iron.

• Ling Pengyun passed the Wood Origin Wind Riding Treasure Canon to Wu Hong for three hundred thousand spirit stones, and Spirit Talisman Old Ancestor's family rewarded him with spirit stones and Third Rank Spirit Talismans.
• Ling Pengyun asked Spirit Talisman Old Ancestor to train three Ling Clan talisman crafters, then held competitions among the clan's First Rank and Second Rank crafters.
• Ling Pengyun selected Ling Renyang, Ling Licui, and Wang Quan for training, while the other finalists remained in the clan as key prospects.
• Ling Pengyun left the clan lands and visited Liu Haochan to seek Quasi Fourth Rank or Fourth Rank Heavy Yuan Treasure Iron.

Ling Pengyun learned that high-grade Heavy Yuan Treasure Iron might be found in the Mystic Magnet Mountain Range and decided to seek it there. While preparing for the journey with Yan Siyi, he broke through to the Golden Core Middle Stage in body cultivation and gained ten years of lifespan.

• Liu Haochan told Ling Pengyun that the Northern Wilderness lacked high-grade Heavy Yuan Treasure Iron and pointed him toward the Mystic Magnet Mountain Range in the Central Province, warning him of its gravity and Ape Monkey Race inhabitants.
• Ling Pengyun decided to visit the Mystic Magnet Mountain Range, left Liu Haochan, and returned to Ice Spirit Valley ten days later.
• With Yan Siyi still in seclusion, Ling Pengyun cultivated the Geng Metal Overlord Body Art to prepare for the dangerous journey, which he planned to make with her.
• After four years of cultivation aided by body-tempering pills made by Ling Yunhong, Ling Pengyun shook his bottleneck and advanced his body cultivation to the Golden Core Middle Stage.
• Ling Pengyun found that his physique and qi and blood had strengthened, and that the breakthrough had added at least ten years to his lifespan.

Ling Pengyun continued cultivating his Spirit Plant arts while waiting for Yan Siyi to emerge from seclusion. Ling Clan Grand Elder Ling Chengyuan failed his first attempt to enter the Golden Core Realm and became a Pseudo-Core cultivator, but Ling Pengyun assured him the clan would support another attempt.

• Ling Pengyun considered Yan Siyi’s ten years of seclusion and resumed cultivating the Spirit Plant path and artifact refinement.
• Ling Chengyuan advanced his meridians and divine sense to the Golden Core Realm, then gathered Golden Core Spirit Objects to prepare for a breakthrough.
• Ling Chengyuan’s breakthrough failed, leaving most of his spiritual power condensed as Solidified Spiritual Power and making him a powerful Pseudo-Core cultivator.
• Ling Chengyuan worried that his failure had saddled the clan with a large debt, but Ling Pengyun comforted him and promised the clan could fund another attempt.
• Ling Chengyuan thanked Ling Pengyun and vowed not to disappoint him during his next attempt to enter the Golden Core Realm.

Ling Pengyun expanded the Ling Clan’s reserves of Golden Core spirit objects and prepared its spirit plants for future breakthroughs. Ling Pengshan entered the False Core Realm and returned to service, taking charge of the clan’s Qian Family branch on Mountain Sea Island.

• Ling Pengyun bought three Golden Core spirit objects at an auction in the Boundless Sea Region and deposited them in the clan repository, bringing its total to eight.
• Ling Pengyun reflected on the clan’s spirit plants and pools, the Azure Wave Spirit Plant Body Tempering Art, and their future supply of Golden Core spirit objects.
• Ling Pengshan asked Ling Pengyun for a Golden Core Demon King’s core instead of attempting to condense a Golden Core, then successfully entered the False Core Realm.
• Ling Pengshan asked to serve the clan again, and Ling Pengyun assigned him to manage the Qian Family branch on Mountain Sea Island.
• Ling Pengyun gave Ling Pengshan powerful treasures and life-saving spirit objects, then brought the Wind Shadow Peng back to the clan.

After years of cultivation, Ling Pengyun mastered the introductory level of the Spirit Awakening Art and used it to transform an ordinary tree into an Ice Snow Spirit Fruit Tree. He tended the Ling Clan’s spirit trees and inspected his two Ten Thousand Jade Blood Jade Trees, whose growth had been fed by blood and demonic beast souls.

• Ling Pengyun used the Spirit Awakening Art thirty times to transform a snow-white ordinary tree into an Ice Snow Spirit Fruit Tree that bore three spirit fruits.
• Ling Pengyun advanced his Azure Sea Nurturing Art and artifact-refining method to minor mastery, while making little progress on the Wood Origin Longevity Art.
• Ling Pengyun tended the Third Rank Middle Grade Ice Snow Spirit Fruit Tree and the clan’s Frosty Spirit Tree with the Embryo Planting Art and Spirit Awakening Art.
• Ling Pengyun descended into an underground cavern and found the Second Generation and Third Generation Ten Thousand Jade Blood Jade Trees absorbing blood and demonic beast souls.
• Ling Pengyun’s Second Generation Ten Thousand Jade Blood Jade Tree had reached Early-Stage Foundation Establishment and could nurture Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects, while his Third Generation tree had grown even faster.

Ling Pengyun strengthened his Ten Thousand Jade Blood Jade Tree with Demon King blood, welcomed pregnant Ling Chengping and Lin Fan to Ice Spirit Valley, and celebrated Yan Siyi’s breakthrough to Golden Core Fifth Layer. After Ling Chengping gave birth to Ling Han, Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi traveled to the Central Province Cultivation World, where they arrived at Stone Talisman Market.

• Ling Pengyun discovered that his third-generation Ten Thousand Jade Blood Jade Tree’s natal flying sword had advanced to the Second Rank and began feeding the tree diluted Golden Core Demon King blood.
• Ling Chengping arrived at Ice Spirit Valley with Lin Fan and revealed that she was pregnant; Ling Pengyun asked them to stay and promised to use the Wood-Drawing Profound Origin Art to aid the child.
• Yan Siyi left seclusion after twenty years and appeared at the family gathering having advanced to Golden Core Fifth Layer.
• Five months later, Ling Chengping gave birth to a boy, and she and Lin Fan named him Ling Han.
• After Ling Chengping recovered, Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi traveled through the Fu Yun Immortal Sect’s teleportation array to Stone Talisman Market in the Central Province Cultivation World.

Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi traveled through the Central Province Cultivation World and the Jade Green Boundless Forest to reach the Mystic Magnet Mountain Range, home of the Gold Devouring Ape Race. As they prepared to enter the mountains, two approaching cultivators put them on alert.

• Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi left Stone Talisman Marketplace by Teleportation Array and traveled south toward the Jade Green Boundless Forest.
• The couple reached Flame Demon City, entered the Endless Forest, and cautiously crossed several Golden Core Demon Race territories.
• Ling Pengyun observed the dense wood-vein power in the forest but decided he could not safely cultivate the Wood Origin Longevity Art there.
• Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi arrived outside the Mystic Magnet Mountain Range and learned that the Gold Devouring Ape Race there was backed by the Earth Splitting Bear Clan.
• As the couple prepared to enter the mountains, two cultivators approached, and Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi readied their magic treasures.

Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi joined Bei Shan and Bei Yan to enter the Mystic Magnet Mountain Range, where the growing gravity tested their bodies. As they observed the Gold Devouring Apes tempering themselves and practicing staff arts, Ling Pengyun recognized that the intelligent race was far stronger than ordinary demonic beasts.

• Bei Shan and Bei Yan invited Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi to travel with them, and the four swore a Heavenly Dao Oath not to attack one another.
• Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi told Bei Shan and Bei Yan that they intended to remain in the Mystic Magnet Mountain Range rather than visit the other Mystic lands.
• The four entered the range, where gravity increased until it reached ten thousand jin after they advanced three thousand li.
• Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi endured the gravity with their strong physiques while Bei Shan and Bei Yan relied on spiritual power to protect themselves.
• Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi watched nearby Gold Devouring Apes use the gravity to temper their bodies and practice powerful staff arts.

Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi learned that an unowned Third Rank Treasure Pool in the Mystic Kui Mountain Range was about to advance and produce valuable body-tempering spirit water. Bei Shan invited them to seek it together, and Ling Pengyun asked him to prove he could locate it before they agreed to face the dangers.

• Ling Pengyun, Yan Siyi, Bei Shan, and Bei Yan spotted a Golden Core Initial Stage Gold Devouring Ape leading a patrol and hid in an abandoned mine tunnel.
• Bei Yan concealed the group’s auras with her Glass Lamp while Bei Shan explained that the ape patrols were searching for outsiders near an approaching treasure.
• Bei Shan said rumors described an unowned treasure pool in Earth Splitting Bear territory that was nearing advancement to Third Rank Middle Grade.
• Bei Shan revealed that he and Bei Yan intended to find the pool and invited Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi to join them, noting his skill as an Array Formation Master.
• Ling Pengyun explained that the spirit water would benefit their body cultivation but asked Bei Shan to show how he could find the pool before they accepted the risk.
• Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi swore a Heavenly Dao Oath not to reveal Bei Shan and Bei Yan’s methods or plot against them.

Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi learned that Bei Shan Zhenren was a Spirit Finder and agreed to help him seek an Unowned Spirit Pool in exchange for spirit water and aid in finding Heavy Origin Spirit Iron. After escaping the Gold Devouring Apes and crossing the Mystic Magnet Mountain Range, the group continued toward their destination.

• Bei Shan Zhenren revealed his Spirit Finder identity and proposed that Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi join him in searching for the Unowned Spirit Pool.
• Ling Pengyun negotiated for eighty percent of the Spirit Pool's spirit water, while Bei Shan Zhenren offered to search for Heavy Origin Spirit Iron or other mineral veins; Ling Pengyun accepted.
• The four cultivators signed a Soul Contract protecting their agreement and Bei Shan Zhenren's secret identity.
• Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi swiftly killed a patrolling Golden Core Middle Stage Gold Devouring Ape, then the group hid until the searches eased and crossed the Mystic Magnet Mountain Range.
• After reaching a desolate forest, Bei Shan Zhenren thanked Ling Pengyun for saving them, and Ling Pengyun suggested Bei Shan and his wife could have escaped on their own.

Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi followed Bei Shan Zhenren and Bei Yan Zhenren through the Mystic Kui Mountain Range as they searched for an unowned Third Rank Body Tempering Spirit Pool. After weeks without finding their target, Bei Shan Zhenren announced that he would use another method and sat down to prepare.

• Ling Pengyun captured rare strange bugs in the Mystic Kui Mountain Range to give to the family’s Beast Tamers.
• Bei Shan Zhenren used his Vein Finding Disc to locate a Third Rank Body Tempering Spirit Pool, but the valley it indicated was already occupied by Dragon Mane Elephants.
• Ling Pengyun’s group searched the range for three or four months, finding five known spirit pools and clashing with patrolling Dragon Mane Elephants without suffering casualties.
• Bei Shan Zhenren proposed recruiting a Golden Core Late Stage cultivator, but Ling Pengyun opposed the idea, and Bei Shan Zhenren accepted his decision.
• After the Vein Finding Disc yielded no new results for nearly half a month, Bei Shan Zhenren said he would use another method and sat cross-legged on a tree branch.

Bei Shan Zhenren used the Big Dipper Vein-Seeking Technique to locate an Unowned Spirit Pool and led Ling Pengyun, Yan Siyi, and Bei Yan Furen to a desolate valley. After they dug beneath it, they uncovered a karst cave filled with dense Water Spiritual Energy.

• Bei Shan Zhenren sacrificed essence blood and mortal blood to activate his Vein Finding Disc, which pointed north toward the Unowned Spirit Pool.
• Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi suspected the mortal blood was connected to the pool and agreed to remain cautious as they followed Bei Shan and Bei Yan.
• The four reached a wolf-inhabited valley, concealed their excavation with Bei Shan Zhenren's Aura Concealment Array Formation, and dug beneath the valley floor.
• After finding soil containing the mighty power of heaven and earth, Bei Shan Zhenren dug a narrow pit that opened into a karst cave emitting dense Water Spiritual Energy.

Ling Pengyun, Yan Siyi, and the Bei Shan couple entered a cavern containing a Third Rank Water Vein and encountered a vast swarm of Kui Yuan Armor-Devouring Bugs. As Bei Shan Zhenren and Bei Yan Zhenren engaged part of the swarm, Ling Pengyun prepared to face three powerful bugs alongside his wife.

• Bei Shan Zhenren sealed the cavern entrance and reminded Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi of their Soul Contract before leading them inside with Bei Yan Zhenren.
• Ling Pengyun noticed the deliberately placed Fluorescent Pearls and grew wary of the rumors surrounding the hidden spirit pool.
• A swarm of over ten thousand Kui Yuan Armor-Devouring Bugs emerged, including five Golden Core bugs, and Bei Shan Zhenren assigned Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi three of the strongest to fight.
• Bei Yan Zhenren trapped many bugs in an illusion-inducing mist while Bei Shan Zhenren used an earth-element formation to attack them.
• Ling Pengyun recognized the bugs from the Northern Wilderness Cultivation World's Strange Bug Ranking, questioned the identity of the blue-shelled insects, and summoned his two Third Rank High Grade Lifebound Magic Treasures.

Ling Pengyun discovered that many of the Kui Yuan Armor-Devouring Bugs were mutated and competed with Bei Shan Zhenren and Bei Yan Zhenren to capture them. After killing the Golden Core Late Stage insect and helping Yan Siyi defeat two Golden Core Initial Stage insects, he turned to assess the Bei couple’s battle.

• The Golden Core Late Stage Kui Yuan Armor-Devouring Bug slowed and damaged Ling Pengyun’s Azure Sea Heavy Yuan Treasure Pearl with its powerful water-flow treasure and tough body.
• Ling Pengyun realized the blue-shelled Kui Yuan Armor-Devouring Bugs were mutated and saw that Bei Shan Zhenren and Bei Yan Zhenren had already captured more than half of the low-level mutants.
• Ling Pengyun and the Bei couple raced to capture the remaining mutated insects; Ling Pengyun secured seventy-two, while the Bei couple captured over forty.
• Ling Pengyun captured about five hundred ordinary insects, then killed the Golden Core Late Stage insect with the Azure Sea Sky Sword Art.
• Ling Pengyun joined Yan Siyi and helped her kill the two Golden Core Initial Stage insects.
• Ling Pengyun surveyed the Bei couple’s battle and saw them suppressing two Golden Core Middle Stage insects and several thousand low-level insects.

Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi helped Bei Shan Zhenren and Bei Yan Furen defeat the Kui Yuan Armor-Devouring Bugs, then discovered a Jade Lotus Pod and a valuable Body Tempering Spirit Pool in the cavern. Bei Shan Zhenren offered them three lotus seeds under their Soul Contract, but Ling Pengyun suspected the couple had known about the treasure beforehand.

• Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi attacked a Golden Core Middle Stage insect demon, while Bei Shan Zhenren and Bei Yan Furen focused on another; together they killed the remaining demons and insects.
• Bei Shan Zhenren offered to split the final Golden Core insect demon's spoils, but Ling Pengyun let the couple keep them and reminded them to search for his spirit iron.
• Bei Shan Zhenren gave Ling Pengyun thirty captured Qi Refinement Kui Yuan Armor-Devouring Bugs, and the four cultivators continued deeper into the cavern.
• Ling Pengyun and the others broke through two weakened formations and found a spirit pool with a Jade Lotus Pod bearing nine longevity-enhancing seeds.
• Bei Shan Zhenren claimed that the Soul Contract gave him and Bei Yan Furen everything except the spirit water, then offered Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi three lotus seeds.
• Ling Pengyun questioned whether Bei Shan Zhenren and Bei Yan Furen had already known the Jade Lotus Pod was there.