Chapter Summaries

Carefree True Immortal realized the strength of the force that had captured him and stopped pleading after Yi He examined him as a possible body-seizure vessel. Meanwhile, the Yan Family expelled the Yin Family from Yin Family Fort, and Red Leaf Ridge rejected the Yan Family’s proposal to manage the newly vacant territory, leaving the land’s administration unresolved.

• Jia Shuiqing challenged Carefree True Immortal’s claims about his courage, and he admitted he had killed three Golden Core cultivators but no Nascent Soul cultivators.
• Qu Jianlei asked whether Carefree True Immortal’s body could serve for Body Seizure, but the Great Serpent judged it a poor choice and Yi He found it unsuitable.
• The Yan Family surrounded Yin Family Fort, killed several Yin Family descendants who resisted, and ordered the family to leave within three days.
• The Yin Family departed, and Yan Xuemin proposed giving Red Leaf Ridge the land’s management rights while the Yan Family handled its affairs.
• Hua Xiezhi refused the proposal on behalf of Red Leaf Ridge, saying the True Immortal had decided against taking responsibility for the territory.

Hua Xiezhi refused Red Leaf Ridge’s involvement in managing Yin Family Fort, while the Su Family considered opening an inn with Red Leaf Ridge’s permission. Qu Jianlei confronted Carefree True Immortal, who agreed to surrender Secret Manuals, and Red Leaf Ridge arranged ransoms and punishments for the captured cultivators.

• Hua Xiezhi rejected Yan Xuemin’s proposal to have Red Leaf Ridge manage Yin Family Fort and advised the other forces to use a shareholding system.
• The Su Family refused to lease land to outside forces, then asked Red Leaf Ridge whether it could build an inn; Hua Xiezhi said the family could decide, provided the inn did not disturb Red Leaf Ridge.
• After waiting a month without visitors, Qu Jianlei challenged Carefree True Immortal, who cited his past fight against the Tiger-Men; Qu Jianlei produced another Tiger-Human Nascent Soul corpse.
• Carefree True Immortal agreed to hand over Secret Manuals in exchange for a chance to live, and Qu Jianlei asked whether anyone might try to rescue him.
• Old Lady Jia and Paranoid negotiated with Carefree True Immortal’s people, allowing three True Persons to ransom themselves with Secret Manuals.
• Red Leaf Ridge offered Ji Yang’s body parts for sale as punishment for the night raid and placed restrictions on the other captured Golden Core Realm cultivators.

Over three months, Red Leaf Ridge’s reputation grew as Wu Laoliu and the restricted Golden Core cultivators collected manuals, while Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao gained cultivation guidance and became known for helping people in exchange for rare texts. The chapter leaves Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao traveling with two family representatives to the Liu Family Ancestral Land to arrange fifty years of protection in exchange for a Golden Core Thunder Cultivator secret art.

• Visitors, including members of two of the Seven Great Families, brought manuals to Red Leaf Ridge, and Wu Laoliu became its prominent spokesman.
• Wu Laoliu released two redeemed Golden Core cultivators to gather manuals and repay their debts, while Qi Yang, Huan Wei, and Ba Jiudao remained under restrictions.
• The Great Serpent helped Wu Laoliu correct a Critical Strike Power secret art, and Ba Jiudao's successful cultivation persuaded Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao to collect manuals more eagerly.
• Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao gained a reputation for helping people who offered rare manuals, and sellers began seeking them out with requests for protection and assistance.
• Two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Liu and Gao Families asked Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao to exchange a Golden Core Thunder Cultivator secret art for fifty years of protection for both families.
• After verifying the copied secret art and accepting the proposed deal, Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao teleported with the two representatives to the Liu Family Ancestral Land.

After Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao delivered the Thunder Method secret art to the Liu Family, Qin Laoda and two Golden Core cultivators confronted them and invoked True Immortal Ke Liang while probing Red Leaf Ridge. The Great Serpent ended the confrontation, but Red Leaf Ridge took no action for two and a half months, leaving the two uneasy before more than a dozen people arrived through the Yan Family's Teleportation Array.

• Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao verified the Liu Family's Thunder Method copies, accepted its promise of defensive protection for fifty years, and departed.
• Qin Laoda and two Golden Core cultivators stopped Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao, questioned them about Carefree True Immortal and Red Leaf Ridge, and demanded they reveal their restrictions.
• The Great Serpent intervened before a fight began, and Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao returned to report Qin Laoda's message.
• After two months without a response from Red Leaf Ridge, Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao asked Wu Laoliu whether they should continue visiting marketplaces.
• Wu Laoliu dismissed their concerns, and the Great Serpent said Red Leaf Ridge would not retaliate over such a small matter.
• Half a month later, more than a dozen people emerged from the Yan Family's Teleportation Array.

Dai Wanwan visited Red Leaf Ridge to ask about Carefree True Immortal and challenged its cultivators to a sparring match. Bentley faced one of her Golden Core Realm Sword Cultivators in a distant valley, where the fight began with a lightning-fast sword strike.

• Dai Wanwan arrived at Red Leaf Ridge and asked Hua Xiezhi about Carefree True Immortal, but Hua said he had left after handing over his Secret Manuals.
• Dai Wanwan's companion challenged Hua Xiezhi, and Xiang Xue warned him against disrespecting Red Leaf Ridge; Dai Wanwan then proposed a moderate sparring match with Secret Manuals as stakes.
• Bentley accepted the challenge and led the Golden Core Realm cultivator to an uninhabited valley more than a thousand kilometers away.
• A Great Serpent warned away would-be spectators, and the opponent attacked Bentley with a swift white sword strike.
• Bentley vanished with his movement technique, leaving the Sword Cultivator surprised by its speed and wondering how much energy it had cost.

Bentley defeated a Golden Core Realm Sword Cultivator with the Wind and Thunder Mace, prompting Dai Wanwan to step forward for the next duel. Rhine replaced Bentley and revealed a strange magic treasure that wielded spatial power, leaving Dai Wanwan caught in its expanding black lines.

• Bentley paralyzed the Golden Core Realm Sword Cultivator with lightning and nearly crushed him with the Wind and Thunder Mace before Dai Wanwan intervened and declared the match over.
• Dai Wanwan prepared to fight Bentley, but another Golden Core Realm cultivator offered to take his place; Dai Wanwan insisted on facing Bentley herself.
• Rhine arrived at First One's direction and challenged Dai Wanwan, warning that their fight might leave one of them dead.
• Dai Wanwan tested Rhine's strange pipe-like magic treasure with her Sleeve Sword and discovered that its faint lines carried the power of space.
• Dai Wanwan attacked the treasure's main body despite the black mist surrounding it, and Rhine's spatial power stiffened her as black lines spread across hundreds of square kilometers.

Rhine used the Ink Marker to defeat Dai Wanwan, who conceded before her Heart Sword was damaged, and the visitors from Red Leaf Ridge left after discussing rumors about Carefree True Immortal. Back at Red Leaf Ridge, Jing Yuexin urged Rhine to practice controlling the Ink Marker, while Rhine complained that matching a Sword Cultivator’s speed was difficult.

• Rhine’s Ink Marker disrupted Dai Wanwan’s escape, and Dai Wanwan conceded rather than risk her Heart Sword.
• Rhine acknowledged that Dai Wanwan might have won if she had not been given time to use the Ink Marker, while Dai Wanwan said her unfinished sword formation would eventually let her challenge Rhine again.
• Dai Wanwan told Hua Xiezhi that she had come because of rumors that Carefree True Immortal had died despite sending Secret Manuals to Red Leaf Ridge, then left with her group.
• Yan Xuemin told Hu Real Person that Dai Wanwan had been crushed in a one-on-one battle, prompting Hu to worry about having Red Leaf Ridge nearby.
• Bentley praised Rhine, and Jing Yuexin advised her to practice with the Ink Marker; Rhine protested that Dai Wanwan was a Sword Cultivator.

Qu Jianlei’s group decided to investigate the growing unrest around Qi Ya and seek information about reaching Central Province and other worlds. Zhao Sanshui of the Nanwan Zhao Family arrived at Red Leaf Ridge on private business, where the ridge reluctantly agreed to receive him alone.

• Qu Jianlei assigned Duo Gan and Qinghu to gather information with Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao, and the two Golden Core cultivators left through the Teleportation Array the next day.
• More than ten days later, Zhao Sanshui arrived at the Yan Family’s Teleportation Array with six Zhao Family cultivators and set off for Red Leaf Ridge.
• Red Leaf Ridge warned Zhao Sanshui to slow his Flying Shuttle, then refused his party entry when his Golden Core cultivator announced their visit.
• Zhao Sanshui addressed Red Leaf Ridge himself and asked to meet its master, and the ridge allowed him to enter while requiring his companions to wait at the gate.
• Zhao Sanshui entered Red Leaf Ridge alone, cautious about the ridge’s strength but confident in his own abilities.

Zhao Sanshui visited Red Leaf Ridge and questioned Chaoyun about the death of Carefree True Immortal, then tried to buy the enslaved Wu Laoliu. After Chaoyun refused and challenged Zhao Sanshui's intentions, the meeting ended with the threat of war hanging between them.

• Zhao Sanshui met Chaoyun in a pavilion and asked about Red Leaf Ridge's role in Carefree True Immortal's death.
• Chaoyun dismissed Zhao Sanshui's warnings and insisted Red Leaf Ridge owed outsiders no explanations.
• Zhao Sanshui asked to buy Wu Laoliu, but Chaoyun refused, saying Wu Laoliu had learned Red Leaf Ridge's secret techniques and could not be allowed to leave alive.
• Zhao Sanshui revealed that Wu Laoliu was Wu Minxi, a fugitive wanted by Hundred Herbs Valley for stealing the Seven Stars Soul Return Needle Manual.
• Zhao Sanshui offered Hundred Herbs Valley's bounty and a gift from the Zhao Family, but Chaoyun said they could discuss Wu Laoliu's release if the valley came in person.
• Chaoyun asked whether Zhao Sanshui was trying to declare war on Red Leaf Ridge for the Zhao Family.

Zhao Sanshui abandoned negotiations with Red Leaf Ridge and warned his family to avoid provoking them, while the Yan Family prepared for possible trouble on its territory. Paranoid and Qu Jianlei questioned Wu Laoliu, who explained how he had been falsely blamed for stealing a secret manual from two major sects.

• Paranoid threatened Zhao Sanshui during their meeting, and Zhao Sanshui left Red Leaf Ridge without reaching an agreement.
• Back at the Nanwan Zhao Family, Zhao Sanshui told his family to stay away from Red Leaf Ridge and said he would prioritize the family's survival over personal honor.
• Yan Jinhai emerged from seclusion, heard that the Zhao Family and Red Leaf Ridge had parted on bad terms, and considered preparations with Yan Xuemin.
• Paranoid summoned Wu Laoliu, and Qu Jianlei listened as Wu explained that he had identified a secret manual for a Seven Stars Sect cultivator and fled after becoming suspicious.
• Wu Laoliu recounted how the Seven Stars Sect and Hundred Herbs Valley later accused him of stealing the manual, though he denied possessing it.
• Wu Laoliu explained why he had not appealed to Hundred Herbs Valley, and Claire recognized that neither sect was likely to protect a rogue cultivator caught between them.

Wu Laoliu offered information about Central Province as Red Leaf Ridge considered its growing political risks. The Li Family sent Li Yuren to offer mediation over Wu Laoliu, and the chapter ended with news that Duo Gan’s group had settled in Three Rivers Plain.

• Wu Laoliu said he knew useful leads about Central Province, and Qu Jianlei asked him to organize what he knew.
• Qu Jianlei told the team to remain alert while they waited for Duo Gan’s group to report back.
• Li Yuren visited Red Leaf Ridge and said the Li Family was willing to mediate its dispute with Hundred Herbs Valley over Wu Laoliu.
• Paranoid told Li Yuren that Red Leaf Ridge would keep Wu Laoliu and would defend itself if challenged, then exchanged a Jade Tablet and Flawless Crystal with him.
• Qu Jianlei judged that the Li Family’s visit was a public statement of support, and Mu Yu explained that the Li and Zhao Families’ marriage alliance made a deep feud unlikely.
• Duo Gan’s group reported that they had reached Three Rivers Plain and settled in its largest market.

Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao continued gathering Secret Manuals in Three Rivers Plain while their allies protected them from escalating challenges. Qu Jianlei and his group arrived near True Immortal Ke Liang's Abode, where their deliberate provocation finally drew Qin Laoda and five other Golden Cores out to confront them.

• Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao were challenged by three Golden Cores; after Huan Wei narrowly lost and Ba Jiudao barely won, Qinghu injured the last opponent with her divine sense.
• Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao chose to recover in Three Rivers Plain, and a Yan Family disciple sent word to Red Leaf Ridge.
• Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin traveled to Three Rivers Plain with Bentley, Rhine, Claire, and Yuanyuan, then set up four Mobile Palaces near True Immortal Ke Liang's Abode.
• When Ke Liang's people failed to respond, Qu Jianlei had Qinghu, Bentley, and Rhine fell trees and level the ground nearby, provoking the observers.
• Qin Laoda and five other Golden Cores came out; Qin Laoda addressed Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao, but Yuanyuan emerged and told him to speak to her instead.

Yuanyuan and the others confronted Ke Liang over the injuries to Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao, then Qu Jianlei negotiated terms with him. Ke Liang agreed to provide assistance, and Qu Jianlei laid out demands, including uncovering who had orchestrated the search for Carefree True Immortal and allowing a Secret Manuals trading point to be established.

• Yuanyuan rebuffed Qin Laoda’s objections and challenged Ke Liang’s side over Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao’s injuries.
• Ke Liang appeared and denied responsibility, while Duo Gan challenged him and made clear the group was prepared to fight with reinforcements.
• Ke Liang entered Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao’s Mobile Palace, where he met Qu Jianlei and realized the group had several powerful Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.
• Ke Liang refused to accept blame but offered to swear upon his Dao Heart; Qu Jianlei said the group wanted assistance rather than a forced oath.
• Ke Liang acknowledged that his side had offended Red Leaf Ridge and invited Qu Jianlei to state his demands.
• Qu Jianlei demanded an investigation into who had set the search for Carefree True Immortal in motion and permission for Huan Wei and Ba Jiudao to establish a Secret Manuals trading point.

Qu Jianlei and True Immortal Ke Liang agreed on terms to settle their conflict and establish a cautious relationship between Red Leaf Ridge and Ke Liang. Ke Liang later brought more than two hundred Secret Manuals, including rare Nascent Soul techniques and Out-of-Body Realm records, leaving Qu Jianlei impressed by the haul and concerned about its cost.

• Qu Jianlei required Ke Liang to protect two Golden Core Realm cultivators at a purchasing point outside Red Leaf Ridge and to provide Secret Manuals for copying, and Ke Liang agreed to all three conditions.
• Qu Jianlei and Ke Liang agreed to keep Red Leaf Ridge’s true strength and the terms of their meeting secret.
• Ke Liang left with Qin Laoda and the other five, then returned at midnight with more than two hundred Secret Manuals from his own collection and his deceased friend’s collection.
• Qu Jianlei found five Nascent Soul Realm Techniques, a damaged stone slip that seemed to contain an Out-of-Body Realm technique, and two sets of Out-of-Body Realm cultivation insights among the manuals.
• Ke Liang offered to provide the Secret Manuals without payment, but Qu Jianlei insisted on appraising them and paying for the copies; Qu Jianlei said he was not in a hurry to attempt the Out-of-Body Realm.

Ke Liang and Qu Jianlei negotiated compensation for a valuable gift, shifting from Spirit Stones and a Tiger-Human Nascent Soul corpse to scarce Flawless Crystal. Qu Jianlei refused to disrupt the market promised to the Yan Family, so Ke Liang listed rare resources independent cultivators needed, and Qu Jianlei recognized Soaring Void Beast Hide as one of them.

• Ke Liang sent Qin Laoda and another Golden Core Realm cultivator to help Bentley build a residence, while Qin Laoda delivered two Secret Manuals and seized people who tried to pry into the matter.
• Ke Liang met Qu Jianlei after Bentley reported that the appraisal was complete, and Qu Jianlei valued the gift at a floor price of fifteen hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones, with a possible auction price of five or six thousand or more.
• Qu Jianlei offered barter, but Ke Liang rejected half a Tiger-Human Nascent Soul corpse and said he needed Flawless Crystal instead.
• Ke Liang asked to buy all the Flawless Crystal Qu Jianlei's side had, but Qu Jianlei said they had promised the Yan Family not to disrupt the market.
• Qu Jianlei asked Ke Liang to name scarce resources independent cultivators lacked, then stopped him when he listed Soaring Void Beast Hide.

Qu Jianlei and True Immortal Ke Liang traded scarce supplies, including Space Stone, Tiger-Human Corpses, and Flawless Crystal, while keeping their respective market commitments in mind. Ke Liang later brought Qu Jianlei evidence and captives connected to a rumor campaign against Red Leaf Ridge, and Qu Jianlei accepted his account without soul-searching but used the Turtle Shell and seashell to demonstrate his caution.

• Qu Jianlei offered Ke Liang Space Stone and Tiger-Human Corpses, then agreed to add Flawless Crystal when Ke Liang could not provide Extreme Spirit Stones.
• Ke Liang accepted the supplies and promised to hold them rather than disrupt the market, while Qu Jianlei declined to identify his group’s origins.
• Ke Liang investigated the rumor campaign and traced it to a descendant of Carefree True Immortal, members of his clan, and hired teams from the Merchant Alliance and Wind and Rain Pavilion.
• Ke Liang killed more than a hundred people connected to the rumors, including two Golden Core True Persons, and brought two captives and more than twenty corpses to Qu Jianlei.
• Qu Jianlei said he believed Ke Liang and would not search the captives’ souls, then placed the Turtle Shell and seashell down to show that he remained cautious.

After divining that Ke Liang had killed Carefree’s valued descendant, Qu Jianlei learned that Lingyin Li Family disciple Li Yuqing had helped spread rumors against Red Leaf Ridge. Red Leaf Ridge captured Li Yuqing and confronted representatives of the Li Family, leaving relations between the branches strained.

• Qu Jianlei used ancient divination tools to confirm Ke Liang’s account, and Ke Liang warned him that Lingyin Li Family disciples had helped fan the rumors.
• Qu Jianlei led his group to the Qingyang Sect Street Market, where he silently took out the Li Family’s senior cultivators before they returned to Red Leaf Ridge.
• Yi He soul-searched a captured Foundation Establishment cultivator, confirming that Li Yuqing had spread rumors to help the Lingyin Li Family probe Red Leaf Ridge’s resources.
• Qu Jianlei sent Hua Xiezhi to inform the Yan Family, and Yan Xuemin traveled to the Li Family before returning with two Golden Core True Persons.
• The Li Family representatives denied that Emerald Screen Mountain was involved and asked to see Li Yuqing, but Hua Xiezhi refused, saying Red Leaf Ridge had already confirmed the facts through a soul search.

Red Leaf Ridge negotiated with the two Li Family True Persons over the captured conspirators and demanded Secret Manuals as compensation. Xiang Xue and Hua Xiezhi’s apparent genius sparked marriage questions and left the Li envoys wondering about Red Leaf Ridge’s strength, while Jing Yuexin and Qu Jianlei reflected on the team’s cultivation and marriage prospects.

• Hua Xiezhi told the male True Person that Red Leaf Ridge had searched Li Yuqing’s soul, and Xiang Xue demanded Secret Manuals as compensation for the Li Family’s attempt against them.
• The male True Person said only the Li Family’s Old Ancestors could decide the demand, and the two envoys declined to take the injured Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator with them because of the rivalry between the two Li Families.
• The female True Person asked Xiang Xue about her age and relationship status, and Xiang Xue said she was over one hundred and had no plans to seek a companion.
• The Li True Persons questioned Hua Xiezhi about her age and core formation, then left wondering whether Red Leaf Ridge gathered heaven-chosen geniuses and what cultivation arts it used.
• Jing Yuexin told Qu Jianlei that the team members had been forced into their apparent genius, and Qu Jianlei worried about marriage among the team members.

Paranoid and the Lingyin Li Family began negotiating over Li Yuqing’s capture and the Secret Manuals Red Leaf Ridge wanted. The chapter ended with Li Jingtian asking to see Red Leaf Ridge’s purchasing criteria.

• Qu Jianlei and Jing Yuexin discussed the risks of team members forming relationships with cultivators from this world.
• Li Yuren returned to Red Leaf Ridge with Li Jingtian and Yan Xuemin to negotiate Li Yuqing’s release and the Li Family’s response.
• Paranoid allowed Li Jingtian to inspect Li Yuqing, but refused to produce the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator whose soul had been searched.
• Li Jingtian challenged Paranoid’s claims about fighting Alien Races, and Paranoid said he could provide no evidence of Red Leaf Ridge killing a Tiger-Human Nascent Soul.
• Li Jingtian asked to see Red Leaf Ridge’s purchasing criteria after Paranoid made clear the team would accept the Li Family’s Secret Manuals.

Red Leaf Ridge and the Lingyin Li Family negotiated compensation for Li Yuqing and agreed to settle the dispute with a wager duel. The planned Foundation Establishment matches were changed to Golden Core matches because Red Leaf Ridge lacked enough low-level cultivators.

• Li Jingtian questioned Red Leaf Ridge’s low valuations for Secret Manuals, and Wu Laoliu argued convincingly for the appraisal method.
• Red Leaf Ridge refused the Li Family’s request to inspect its Tier 4 Spirit Vein and demanded three Nascent Soul Techniques plus other Secret Manuals as compensation.
• After nearly ten days of negotiations, the Lingyin Li Family agreed to provide one Nascent Soul Technique and many other Secret Manuals.
• Li Jingtian proposed a wager duel, and Qu Jianlei accepted so the Li Family could not portray Red Leaf Ridge as afraid to fight.
• The Li Family proposed five Foundation Establishment matches, but Hua Xiezhi said Red Leaf Ridge lacked enough low-level cultivators, so the sides switched to a Golden Core wager duel.