Chapter Summaries

Ling Pengyun learned why the Three Great Immortal Sects were willing to sell him Nine Heavens Profound Qi and discovered which cultivators were the Northern Wilderness Cultivation World's five leading Nascent Soul Seedlings. The chapter left him aware of the sects' preparations as Black Flood Dragon Lake's return approached.

• Luo Xi criticized Sea Cloud Immortal Sect for offering Ling Pengyun a rare Nascent Soul Spirit Object, then left Ice Snow Valley with Fu Chen following her.
• Ling Pengyun revealed that he had reached the Golden Core Eighth Layer, and Yuan Hua said he planned to attempt the Nascent Soul breakthrough in a few years.
• Yuan Hua explained that Fu Chen and Luo Xi were also Nascent Soul Seedlings and would likely receive support to attempt breakthroughs soon.
• Yuan Hua told Ling Pengyun that Sea Cloud Immortal Sect had sold a Nascent Soul Spirit Object to Heavenly Star Sect for Liu Haochan's breakthrough.
• Ling Pengyun learned that he, Yuan Hua, Fu Chen, Luo Xi, and Liu Haochan were the Northern Wilderness Cultivation World's five leading Nascent Soul Seedlings.

Ling Pengyun focused on perfecting the Golden Core section of the Lingxiao Five Elements Treasure Tome while the Dragon Abyss Flood Dragon King helped his clan’s spirit beasts advance their bloodlines. The chapter ended with the Dragon Abyss Flood Dragon King returning to train the remaining Earth-Turning Dragon Earthworm and Pseudo Earth-Turning Dragon Earthworm.

• Ling Pengyun continued perfecting the Golden Core section of the Lingxiao Five Elements Treasure Tome, while Ling Li Ming cultivated its Foundation Establishment section and reached the second level of Foundation Establishment.
• Sea Cloud True Lord collected his wager from Fu Yun True Lord and the Cold Moon Palace Master, then discussed plans for the Demon Beast Uprising expected in a little over thirty years.
• Five years later, the Dragon Abyss Flood Dragon King offered Ling Pengyun five Golden Core flood dragons for his four Golden Flood Dragons, but Ling Pengyun refused and asked about the remaining spirit earthworms.
• The Dragon Abyss Flood Dragon King explained that it had raised the four Golden Flood Dragons’ bloodlines to Fourth Grade and expected the other two spirit earthworms to meet Ling Pengyun’s requirements within ten years.
• The Dragon Abyss Flood Dragon King returned the four Golden Flood Dragons to Ling Pengyun and went to check on the Earth-Turning Dragon Earthworm and Pseudo Earth-Turning Dragon Earthworm.

Ling Pengyun sent four Fourth Grade bloodline Golden Flood Dragons into seclusion to attempt Golden Core, then caught up with Ling Li Hu and Ling Pengxing about their progress and plans. After seeing Ling Pengxing’s great strength, Ling Pengyun discussed seeking Profound Yin Ghost Iron to restore the Ghost Immortal Lamp while avoiding the risks of retrieving the Ghost Immortal Sect’s hidden treasury.

• Ling Pengyun sent the four Golden Flood Dragons to Cloud Stepping Valley to charge for Golden Core.
• Ling Li Hu told Ling Pengyun that he expected to perfect the Thunder Winged Shadow Tiger Mutation Method within a hundred years, and Ling Pengyun learned that the method had already produced a force of over a hundred tigers.
• Ling Pengyun met Ling Pengxing and sparred with him, discovering that Ling Pengxing’s divine powers and five special spirit ghosts let him match ordinary Golden Core Eighth- or Ninth-Stage cultivators despite being at Golden Core Fifth Layer.
• Ling Pengxing proposed seeking the Ghost Immortal Sect’s hidden treasury to help restore the Ghost Immortal Lamp, but Ling Pengyun warned that retrieving it could draw the wrath of powerful enemies.
• Ling Pengyun said the Ling Clan would seek Profound Yin Ghost Iron through its branches and consider establishing a foothold in the Supreme Buddha Country Cultivation World.

Ling Pengyun discussed the Ghost Immortal Lamp and the Ling Clan’s ghost forces with Ling Pengxing, then asked him to hunt Golden Core Demon Kings for their corpses. Ling Pengxing accepted and set out for the Boundless Great Swamp after gathering intelligence.

• Ling Pengxing told Ling Pengyun that restoring the Ghost Immortal Lamp to Nascent Soul strength would require nearly ten thousand jin of scarce Third Rank Profound Yin Ghost Iron, while the clan had obtained only about a thousand jin.
• Ling Pengyun learned that the clan’s three Ghost Nurturing Grounds had produced over five hundred thousand evil ghosts, and ordered Ling Pengxing to build more grounds and increase their production.
• Ling Pengxing agreed that the stored ghosts could be unleashed against low-rank demonic beasts, while Ling Pengyun said the clan would rely on demon corpses to fight Golden Core Demon Kings.
• Ling Pengyun asked Ling Pengxing to hunt Golden Core Demon Kings in the Boundless Great Swamp and bring back their corpses to refine into demon corpses.
• Ling Pengyun returned to Cloud Stepping Valley to watch over four Golden Flood Dragons attempting to break through to the Golden Core Realm, while Ling Pengxing gathered intelligence and secretly headed into the swamp.

Ling Pengxing hunted a lone Golden Core Black Night Shadow Leopard, breaking through its formation with his Five Elements Spirit Ghosts and Ghost Immortal Sword before looting the territory and fleeing. Two months later, four Golden Flood Dragons began advancing together in Cloud Stepping Valley, drawing in an immense tide of spiritual qi as Ling Pengyun watched and hoped they would form high-quality Golden Cores.

• Ling Pengxing found a lone Golden Core Black Night Shadow Leopard guarding a Quasi-Third Rank Spirit Vein and concealed the area with a Third Rank High Grade array formation.
• Ling Pengxing sent out his five Five Elements Spirit Ghosts and struck the Vein Protecting Array Formation with his Armor Piercing Ghost Shadow Sword Blade, leaving a crack in it.
• Ling Pengxing's five ghosts broke through the damaged formation, killed the demon leopard, and slaughtered the remaining beasts before he looted the mountain and fled.
• Two months later, four Golden Flood Dragons in Cloud Stepping Valley condensed Solidified Spiritual Power together and drew spiritual qi from more than a hundred thousand li around them.
• Ling Pengyun watched the enormous Qi Infusion phenomenon and considered the four dragons' chances of advancing to the Golden Core Realm and forming stronger Golden Cores.

Ling Pengyun watched four Golden Flood Dragons break through to the Golden Core realm in Cloud Stepping Valley, where the Lightning Destruction Grand Array redirected their tribulation lightning for body tempering. After absorbing five bolts each, the dragons had gained Golden Core Third Layer physiques, though their bodies were badly injured.

• Ling Li Hu expanded the Aura Concealment Array and ordered nearby Ling Clan cultivators to keep the breakthrough phenomenon secret.
• Ling Pengyun observed the four Golden Flood Dragons condense Low Grade Golden Cores, which the Qi Infusion raised to pinnacle Middle Grade quality.
• The dragons’ merged tribulation clouds formed a massive storm, and the Lightning Destruction Grand Array intercepted the first four bolts and tempered their bodies.
• Over two days, the four Golden Flood Dragons absorbed five increasingly powerful tribulation bolts each, reaching Golden Core Third Layer physique strength while suffering severe injuries.

Jin Da and the other three Golden Flood Dragons tempered their bodies with a fifth bolt of tribulation lightning, then recovered through heavenly sweet dew and fused with their Golden Cores. All four suddenly entered an Enlightenment Opportunity, and Ling Pengyun left them in Ling Li Hu’s care while he withdrew to a cave.

• Jin Da asked his three brothers to absorb another bolt of tribulation lightning, and they agreed to share the risk and benefits.
• The Array Spirit released four bolts of tribulation lightning, and the flood dragons endured the pain until the lightning was spent, severely injuring themselves while strengthening their physiques.
• Jin Da realized the four had reached the peak of the Golden Core Third Layer but could not withstand the seventh bolt, so the Array Spirit absorbed the remaining lightning.
• The tribulation clouds sent down sweet dew that healed the flood dragons, restored and strengthened their scales, enlarged their bodies, and completed their fusion with their Golden Cores.
• The four flood dragons simultaneously entered an Enlightenment Opportunity, so Ling Pengyun told Ling Li Hu to watch over them and went to a cave.

Ling Pengyun found that the Lightning Destruction Grand Array had stored seventy-two tribulation lightnings and reached its maximum capacity. He decided the Ling Clan would need another high-grade spirit vein for a second array, then visited a lightning-rich cave where Ling Lifeng greeted him.

• Ling Pengyun counted seventy-two lightning fish in the Thunder Essence Spirit Pool and realized the array had reached its peak capacity.
• Ling Pengyun traced the stored tribulation lightning to past Golden Core breakthroughs by Ling Clan cultivators, spirit plants, a spirit beast, and four flood dragons.
• Ling Pengyun concluded that upgrading the existing array was impractical and that the Ling Clan should find another high-grade spirit vein to build a new one.
• Ling Pengyun entered a cave filled with lightning attribute spiritual energy and saw the Thunderous Purple Bamboo bend toward him in recognition.
• Ling Lifeng emerged from his cave, greeted Ling Pengyun respectfully, and asked why the Old Ancestor had come.

Ling Pengyun inspected the Near Third Rank Thunder Vein at Thunder Stone Cave and planned to use it for a Lightning Destruction Grand Array. Ling Penglin proposed moving the vein to the clan grounds, but the transfer had to wait until she finished building a defensive formation.

• Ling Pengyun praised Ling Lifeng's work at Thunder Stone Cave and promised to raise his salary by thirty percent.
• Ling Pengyun discovered that Thunder Stone Cave's companion Thunder Vein had only reached Near Third Rank, below the grade needed for a Lightning Destruction Grand Array.
• Ling Pengyun returned to the clan and told Ling Penglin to raise the vein's grade and build the array there.
• Ling Penglin proposed severing the vein's connection to Cloud Stepping Valley and moving it to the clan grounds to strengthen their defenses.
• Ling Pengyun agreed and moved the Third Rank Thunderous Purple Bamboo to a remote area south of the clan grounds.
• Ling Penglin continued building a Third Rank High Grade defensive formation with the Flame Demon Wolf King and expected to move the Thunder Vein within five years.

Ling Pengyun oversaw the final work on the Ling Clan’s defenses and explained the clan’s immense spiritual-vein resources. He persuaded Ling Xiaoshun and Yang Qiuyun to establish a branch in the Supreme Buddha Country Cultivation World to acquire Profound Yin Ghost Iron for Ling Pengxing’s mysterious Nascent Soul-related item.

• The Flame Demon Wolf King neared completion of the third Third Rank High Grade array it had been forced to build for the Ling Clan, while the clan’s territory was protected by nearly three thousand formations and more than five thousand spirit veins.
• The Ling Clan controlled ten Third Rank Spirit Veins in total, giving it resources to support Ling Pengyun’s attempt to reach the Nascent Soul realm.
• Ling Pengyun asked Ling Xiaoshun and Yang Qiuyun to leave the Northern Wilderness and establish a branch in the Supreme Buddha Country Cultivation World, but both parents initially refused.
• Ling Pengyun revealed that the branch’s main purpose was to obtain Third Rank Profound Yin Ghost Iron for Ling Pengxing’s mysterious item, which could give the clan another Nascent Soul combatant.
• Ling Pengyun explained that Ling Xiaoshun’s Golden Core cultivation and Yang Qiuyun’s business experience made them the best choices for the dangerous mission, and his parents grew excited and solemn about the prospect.

Ling Pengyun helped his parents prepare to establish a branch in the Supreme Buddha Country, waiting until his mother, Yang Qiuyun, was ready to choose her path into the Golden Core Realm. Yang Qiuyun safely formed a False Core, celebrated with a family banquet, and then left with Ling Xiaoshun to seek resources for the family’s ghost cultivator, while Ling Pengyun worried about Ling Chengxin’s safety.

• Ling Pengyun persuaded Ling Xiaoshun and Yang Qiuyun to establish a branch in the Supreme Buddha Country after Yang Qiuyun stabilized her cultivation and attempted the Golden Core Realm.
• After three years, Yang Qiuyun chose the safer False Core path, and Ling Pengyun gave her four portions of Golden Core Spirit Objects and a demon king’s Golden Core.
• Yang Qiuyun refined the demon king’s Golden Core into a False Core and endured her tribulation with help from the Lightning Destruction Grand Array.
• Ling Pengyun’s family held a small banquet for Yang Qiuyun rather than a public Golden Core Ceremony, and the family’s Golden Core cultivators came to congratulate her.
• Ling Xiaoshun and Yang Qiuyun left for the Supreme Buddha Country with family resources and a map to establish a branch and search for Third Rank Profound Yin Ghost Iron.
• Ling Pengyun worried that Ling Chengxin’s decision to remain with the family could leave her vulnerable if Black Flood Dragon Lake appeared.

Ling Lihao emerged from seclusion after his divine sense reached the Golden Core Late Stage, and he told Ling Pengyun he intended to attempt a breakthrough to Golden Core. He judged that his current preparations gave him a forty percent chance of success and decided not to delay.

• Ling Lihao's divine sense surged through Ice Snow Valley, alerting Ling Pengyun, Ling Chengxin, and Yan Siyi.
• Ling Lihao emerged from his cave abode and apologized for the disturbance, while Ling Pengyun praised his breakthrough to Golden Core Late Stage divine sense.
• Ling Pengyun reflected on Ling Lihao's formidable strength, his Third Rank Low Grade talisman-crafting skill, and the Spirit Talisman Cave he had supplied to the Ling Clan.
• Ling Pengyun asked whether Ling Lihao would attempt a Golden Core breakthrough or keep strengthening his divine sense and meridians.
• Ling Lihao explained that further training would take too long and that his current abilities and advantages gave him a forty percent chance of independently reaching Golden Core, so he chose to attempt the breakthrough.

Ling Lihao secretly prepared for a Golden Core breakthrough and, with Ling Pengyun’s aid, succeeded in Cloud Stepping Valley, where his core developed blue flecks. Ling Pengyun recognized that Ling Lihao might have condensed a Water Attribute Golden Core, leaving them to consider the significance of his unusual breakthrough.

• Ling Pengyun respected Ling Lihao’s wish to keep his Heavenly Spirit Root secret and celebrated with him alongside Yan Siyi and Ling Chengxin.
• Ling Chengxin advanced in cultivation and the Spirit Plant path while developing new spirit rice varieties and strengthening her divine sense and meridians.
• Half a year later, Ling Lihao entered seclusion and then went with Ling Pengyun to Cloud Stepping Valley to attempt his Golden Core breakthrough.
• Ling Lihao condensed a Golden Core that rose to top-tier high-grade quality and showed several blue flecks.
• Ling Lihao absorbed all nine bolts of tribulation lightning, reaching a physique comparable to a Golden Core Middle Stage demon beast.
• Ling Pengyun identified the blue flecks as a possible sign that Ling Lihao had formed a Water Attribute Golden Core, which could improve his future chances of reaching Nascent Soul.

Eight years after Ling Lihao entered the Golden Core realm, Ling Pengyun gave Yan Siyi Yin Yang Primordial Essence, transforming her Golden Core and helping her comprehend a defensive Five Elements divine ability. He gathered the clan’s Golden Core cultivators at the clan grounds to prepare for the Demon Beast Uprising five years away.

• Ling Pengyun regretted that Ling Lihao had not met the conditions to form a Water Attribute Golden Core, while Ling Lihao accepted his ordinary Golden Core and returned to secluded cultivation.
• After eight years of gathering Yin Yang Primordial Qi, Ling Pengyun gave the resulting Yin Yang Primordial Essence to Yan Siyi, whose five spirit roots transformed her middle-grade Golden Core into a Five Elements Golden Core.
• Yan Siyi gained an Enlightenment Opportunity and comprehended the Five Elements Mandarin Duck Shield Armor, then began refining it into the Lingxiao Five Elements Mandarin Duck Shield Armor while Ling Pengyun studied its method.
• Ling Pengyun returned to the clan grounds, where the Ling Clan’s Golden Core cultivators gathered, including Ling Pengcheng, whose cultivation had advanced to the peak of the Golden Core Third Layer.
• Ling Pengyun kept the newly advanced Ling Lihao hidden and explained that he had summoned the clan’s cultivators to prepare for the Demon Beast Uprising five years later.

Ling Pengyun prepared the Ling Clan for a potentially severe Demon Beast Uprising expected in five years, assigning Golden Core cultivators and clansmen to defend its territories. He also assessed the clan’s forces and resources, leaving the Ling Clan organized for the coming crisis.

• Ling Pengyun reported that the Sea Cloud Immortal Sect had detected snake and python demons leaving Black Flood Dragon Lake and warned that the coming Demon Beast Uprising could be unusually dangerous.
• Ling Pengyun assigned Ling Pengxing, Ling Pengcheng, and Ling Chengyuan to remain behind while he led the other eleven Golden Core clansmen to garrison White Cloud City.
• Ling Pengyun planned to keep Ling Pengcheng away from the front lines to protect him from demonic cultivators, while Ling Pengxing guarded Cloud Stepping Valley and Ling Chengyuan managed the clan’s affairs.
• Ling Chengyuan reported that the Ling Clan had about twenty-four thousand cultivators at home, and Ling Pengyun divided them among White Cloud City, the Lingxiao Mountain Range, Ice Snow Forest, and other territories.
• Ling Pengyun learned that the clan’s branches across several Cultivation Worlds had grown to tens of thousands of cultivators, while its mortal population exceeded fifteen million and it saved about fifty thousand spirit stones each year.

The Ling Clan prepared its resources and defenses for the Demon Beast Uprising, then joined Yan Kingdom’s other factions in defending White Cloud City from a massive siege. As Ling Pengyun fought two Golden Core Late Stage Demon Kings, fifteen newcomers arrived above the horde from the direction of the Boundless Great Swamp.

• The Ling Clan’s Golden Core cultivators reserved about 1.05 million spirit stones and a stockpile of Five Elements spirit objects to aid Ling Pengyun’s future cultivation and treasures.
• Ling Penglin told Ling Pengyun that raising the clan’s Near Third Rank Thunder Vein and completing the Lightning Destruction Grand Array would take roughly six or seven years.
• The Ling Clan and Yan Kingdom’s other factions gathered tens of thousands of cultivators and fortified White Cloud City before the Demon Beast Uprising began.
• A ten-million-strong demon beast horde and more than twenty Golden Core Demon Kings besieged White Cloud City, while Golden Core forces from Black Flood Dragon Lake initially stayed in the rear.
• After a month of failed attacks, fifteen streaks of escaping light arrived from the Boundless Great Swamp and revealed enormous forms above the horde as Ling Pengyun fought on the city wall.

Ling Pengyun and Yan Siyi fought off two Golden Core Completion flood dragons as White Cloud City came under attack by Demon Kings from Black Flood Dragon Lake. Ling Pengyun’s strength turned the battle in the city’s favor, though the fighting continued.

• A Thunder Flood Dragon from Black Flood Dragon Lake ordered its forces to attack White Cloud City and struck its outer formation with a powerful lightning spear, cracking it.
• Ling Pengyun intercepted the spear with powerful spells and a golden mountain, pinning the weapon and turning the attack against the Thunder Flood Dragon.
• Ling Penglin recognized that Ling Pengyun had unleashed three Spirit Treasure Prototypes at full power and repaired the damaged formation.
• Ling Pengyun gained a slight advantage against the Thunder Flood Dragon while Yan Siyi fought the Golden Core Completion water flood dragon.
• Ling Pengyun aided Yan Siyi with spells until she brought the water flood dragon to a standstill, while the city’s other defenders held back the remaining Demon Kings.

The Thunder Flood Dragon recognized Ling Pengyun’s overwhelming strength and decided to withdraw from White Cloud City, but first unleashed its strongest Divine Power to retrieve its trapped Thunder Breaking Spear. Ling Pengyun identified the attack as Violet Spirit Thunder Clouds as nine destructive bolts descended on his Crimson Phosphorous Gold Mountain.

• The Thunder Flood Dragon feared Ling Pengyun’s three Spirit Treasure Prototypes and realized that it and Mo Yu could not easily take White Cloud City.
• The Thunder Flood Dragon blamed Mo Ye Old Flood Dragon for concealing Ling Pengyun’s strength, unaware that Mo Ye had sworn not to reveal it.
• At the border of Chen Country, Mo Ye Old Flood Dragon sneezed while leisurely overseeing the demon beast attack and cursed whoever had made it happen.
• Seeing that its thirteen Golden Core Demon Kings were held back, the Thunder Flood Dragon ordered a retreat and tried to reclaim its pinned Thunder Breaking Spear.
• The Thunder Flood Dragon summoned Violet Spirit Thunder Clouds and struck Ling Pengyun’s Crimson Phosphorous Gold Mountain with nine bolts of lightning.
• Ling Pengyun recognized the attack as a top-tier mid-grade Divine Power capable of threatening even Pseudo Nascent Soul cultivators.

Ling Pengyun defended the Crimson Phosphorous Gold Mountain from the Thunder Flood Dragon’s Violet Spirit Thunder and then unleashed Pure Yang Profound Lightning when the dragon attacked again. The dragon’s cloud was destroyed, and it desperately raised defenses as the weakened lightning bore down on it.

• Ling Pengyun used two Earth Element Shields to protect the Crimson Phosphorous Gold Mountain, then countered the Thunder Flood Dragon’s nine bolts of Violet Spirit Thunder with Geng Metal Profound Lightning.
• The two attacks dissipated after colliding, leaving a small void fissure that Heaven and Earth Laws began to repair.
• The Thunder Flood Dragon burned its Demon Power to reach the False Infant Realm and launched another nine bolts of Violet Spirit Thunder at the mountain.
• Ling Pengyun spent his spiritual power to cast Pure Yang Profound Lightning, which shattered the nine bolts and destroyed the Violet Spirit Cloud.
• The Thunder Flood Dragon suffered backlash and hastily used defensive methods and Third Rank High Grade Defensive Spirit Talismans against the incoming lightning.

Ling Pengyun drove off the Thunder Flood Dragon and acquired its Thunder Breaking Spear, a powerful lightning-attributed Spirit Treasure Prototype. He decided to give the spear to Ling Yunhong to refine, since Ling Yunhong could use more of its power than the other clan members.

• The Thunder Flood Dragon suffered severe injuries and fled rather than risk entering its weakened period, while Ling Pengyun chose not to pursue it.
• Ling Pengyun retrieved the Crimson Phosphorous Gold Mountain and claimed the Thunder Breaking Spear left beneath it.
• Ling Pengyun assessed the spear alongside his other Spirit Treasure Prototypes and considered which clan member could best refine it.
• Ling Pengyun decided to give the Thunder Breaking Spear to Clan Head Ling Yunhong, who could unleash around seventy percent of its power.