Chapter Summaries

The Old Doctor battled the Gray-robed Man, whose Plague Gourd unleashed a devastating beam that left the Old Doctor badly injured. Lu Qing revealed that he had already cured Ji Fei, then killed the fleeing Gray-robed Man with a spirit-qi arrow and approached the fallen Plague Gourd.

• The Old Doctor used his Sword Qi Domain to overwhelm the Gray-robed Man, then strengthened his sword qi with spiritual qi to counter the Plague Gourd's devouring gray qi.
• The Gray-robed Man fed essence blood to the Plague Gourd and fired a beam of gray light, which the Old Doctor deflected at great cost as Lu Qing blocked the resulting ripple from reaching the formation.
• Lu Qing told Ji Family Head that he had removed Ji Fei's Miasma Mark, then gave the injured Old Doctor a spirit rune to purify the gray light in his body.
• Lu Qing identified the Gray-robed Man as Qi Old Four and accused him of using over a hundred thousand lives in Feng Province to cultivate Plague Qi.
• Qi Old Four fled on the Plague Gourd, but Lu Qing shot him through the chest and struck the gourd, killing him and sending the treasure crashing to the ground.
• Lu Qing walked toward the fallen Plague Gourd as the onlookers stared in shock.

Lu Qing captured the Plague Gourd and confirmed that the ancient Plague Old Man was still inside it. After helping the Ji Family and the villagers, he resumed the journey with his companions and learned more about Hu Ze Zhi’s ordeal, then prepared to enter seclusion to deal with the gourd.

• Lu Qing used the Universe Qi Bag to capture the Plague Gourd after the Plague Old Man revealed his presence inside it.
• Lu Qing confirmed that Old Four of the Qi Family was dead, and he and Old Doctor gave the Ji Family Head prescriptions for his son and the recovering villagers.
• Lu Qing and his companions departed, while the Ji Family Head promised to care for the villagers and urged his Innate Realm cultivators to keep cultivating after the Spiritual Qi Revival.
• Hu Ze Zhi told Hu Lao San that Zheng, Wang, and their companions had tried to steal her Xuan Xin Token, and Hu Lao San thanked Lu Qing and Old Doctor for rescuing her.
• Lu Qing asked Ma Gu to stop the carriage so he could enter seclusion, and he told Old Doctor to stand guard while he handled the Plague Gourd.

Lu Qing confronted the Plague Old Man inside the Universe Qi Bag and demanded that he open his True Spirit to be refined, but the ancient spirit artifact refused and insisted it could endure imprisonment. Lu Qing left him suppressed in the bag and told the Old Doctor they needed to return to Nine Li Village so he could kill an old enemy as soon as possible.

• Lu Qing suppressed the Plague Gourd inside the Universe Qi Bag and forced the Plague Old Man to speak by threatening to imprison him for years.
• Lu Qing exposed the Plague Old Man’s plan to use Qi Changfeng and the Qi Family to spread plague and restore his True Spirit.
• The Plague Old Man admitted his identity, tried to bargain with secret arts, and refused Lu Qing’s demand to imprint his True Spirit.
• Lu Qing tested the Universe Qi Bag’s fierce winds against the Plague Gourd, then withdrew when they failed to harm it.
• The Plague Old Man resolved to wait for Lu Qing to negotiate, while worrying his True Spirit would deteriorate without spiritual qi within three years.
• Lu Qing told the Old Doctor that the matter was temporarily settled and urged him to return to Nine Li Village, where Lu Qing wanted to kill an old fellow.

Lu Qing and his companions returned to Cang County, where the Wei family welcomed them home. In a sealed secret chamber, Lu Qing revealed that his urgent matter concerned the Giant Cauldron Wei Shanhai had brought back years ago.

• Ma Gu and Wei Zi'an arrived at Cang County with Lu Qing and their companions, drawing attention with their powerful Dragon Blood Horses.
• Grand Steward Wei welcomed the group at the Wei residence, and Madam Wei joyfully reunited with Xiao Yan and examined Wei Zi'an.
• Lu Qing asked Madam Wei to summon Wei Shanhai, who returned from Nine Li Village and led Lu Qing and the old doctor to his secret chamber.
• Lu Qing used a domain to seal the chamber, shocking Wei Shanhai with his mastery of a complete domain.
• Lu Qing told Wei Shanhai that he needed to discuss the Giant Cauldron Wei Shanhai had brought back years ago.

Lu Qing warned Wei Shanhai that the recovering Li Fire Cauldron could endanger the Wei Clan and Cang County unless someone refined it, then traded Wei Shanhai a strand of World Source Energy and a cultivation method for the cauldron. As Lu Qing began refining it in the Wei Residence’s underground chamber, the cauldron let his Divine Soul Power enter, and a voice roared in his mind.

• Lu Qing explained the Spiritual Qi Revival and warned Wei Shanhai that the Li Fire Cauldron’s recovering Artifact Spirit could bring disaster if it was not refined.
• Wei Shanhai agreed to trade the cauldron to Lu Qing for World Source Energy and a complete cultivation method.
• Lu Qing and Old Doctor followed Wei Shanhai into the underground chamber and saw that the Li Fire Cauldron had grown seven or eight times larger amid intense Fire Element Energy.
• Lu Qing sent his Divine Soul Power toward the cauldron and used the Li Fire Sect inheritance’s refinement method to enter it.
• A dignified voice roared in Lu Qing’s mind, demanding to know who had offended it.

Lu Qing confronted Senior Yan, the Li Fire Cauldron’s Artifact Spirit, and proved he was a Li Fire Sect successor with its complete control art and tribulation-tempered Divine Soul. Senior Yan agreed to cooperate after Lu Qing began refining the cauldron’s restrictions, but he demanded three rules before surrendering control.

• Senior Yan attacked Lu Qing, who used the Fire Control Art and the Li Fire Cauldron’s control method to dispel the flames and bind the Artifact Spirit.
• Lu Qing identified himself as a Li Fire Sect successor and explained that surviving a Heavenly Tribulation had strengthened and transformed his Divine Soul Power.
• Lu Qing offered to help the Li Fire Cauldron advance in rank and gain freedom, but threatened to refine it by force when Senior Yan hesitated.
• Lu Qing began refining the cauldron’s first restriction, prompting Senior Yan to agree to cooperate and set three rules.
• Senior Yan’s first rule required Lu Qing to swear by Divine Soul Oath that he would not enslave the Artifact Spirit, and Lu Qing agreed.

Lu Qing negotiated with Yan, the Li Fire Cauldron’s Artifact Spirit, and successfully refined the Spirit Artifact after swearing a Divine Soul Oath. As the Wei Clan celebrated and heard about Lu Qing’s recent exploits, Wei Xinghe began a breakthrough in the rear courtyard.

• Lu Qing refused Yan’s demands to loosen the cauldron’s restrictions and limit its use, then persuaded him to cooperate by revealing the Universe Qi Bag and threatening to refine the cauldron later by force.
• Yan accepted Lu Qing’s terms after Lu Qing agreed to his first demand, and the two swore a Divine Soul Oath that Lu Qing would not enslave him if he helped refine the cauldron.
• Lu Qing took control of the Li Fire Cauldron, absorbed the fire-element power in the underground chamber, and shrank the cauldron into his hand.
• Wei Shanhai congratulated Lu Qing and said taking the cauldron might have saved the Wei Clan from disaster; Lu Qing invited him to observe future pill refinement.
• At the Wei Clan’s feast, Wei Zi'an recounted their journey and Lu Qing’s killing of Wang Cangyi, prompting Madam Wei to thank Lu Qing for removing the clan’s enemy.
• A powerful aura erupted from the rear courtyard, and Wei Shanhai realized Wei Xinghe was making a breakthrough.

Wei Xinghe broke through to the Innate Realm, while the aura from his breakthrough helped Ma Gu, Wei Zi'an, and Hu Ze Zhi advance as well. Lu Qing and the others left the County Town for Nine Li Village, where Xiao Yan’s joyful return revealed their arrival to the villagers.

• Wei Xinghe condensed his Innate body and entered the Innate Realm, drawing the attention of the city’s martial experts and making Yan Canghai question his stalled cultivation.
• Ma Gu, Wei Zi'an, and Hu Ze Zhi broke through while sensing Wei Xinghe’s breakthrough, and Wei Shanhai noticed their rapid progress.
• Wei Xinghe emerged from seclusion, congratulated his son, and recognized that Lu Qing and Old Doctor Chen were beyond his ability to comprehend.
• Lu Qing, Old Doctor Chen, Xiao Yan, Hu Ze Zhi, and Hu Lao San left the County Town for Nine Li Village, while Lu Qing reassured Xiao Yan that the sleeping Xiao Li was undergoing a safe transformation.
• The carriage reached Nine Li Village, and Xiao Yan leaped down to greet Uncle Zhang and announce that she was back.

Lu Qing returned to Nine Li Village with Xiao Yan and their companions, reunited with the villagers, and discovered that the Thousand-Year Ginseng had stayed to tend the Medicine Field. He entered the Ten Thousand Mountains to inspect the changes caused by the spiritual qi revival and reached the Jade Cave Chamber, where he found little had changed.

• Lu Qing arrived at Nine Li Village, greeted Grandpa Zhang, and removed the faded red ropes from the Letter Tree.
• Xiao Tian delivered supplies from Master Ma, and Lu Qing arranged for Hu Ze Zhi and her father to stay at the Wei Family Residence.
• Lu Qing found the Medicine Field thriving and discovered the Thousand-Year Ginseng had remained there; the old doctor repaid it with a drop of Earth Vein Spirit Liquid.
• Lu Qing told the old doctor he planned to study formations to create a Spirit Medicine Garden and said he would inspect the mountains the next day.
• Lu Qing entered the Ten Thousand Mountains alone and found that plants had grown more vigorously while venomous animals had become more dangerous.
• Lu Qing reached the Jade Cave Chamber after paying respects at Li Weitian's grave and found that the valley had changed little.

Lu Qing explored the Jade Cave Chamber, found that its formations and Earth Vein Spirit Liquid had revived, and learned from Yan about Talisman Gate and the Great Calamity of the Five Signs of Decay. He brought the Plague Gourd into the Li Fire Cauldron and prepared to refine the Plague Old Man's remnant soul.

• Lu Qing passed through the revived defensive formation and discovered that the Jade Cave Chamber had dense spiritual qi and was producing Earth Vein Spirit Liquid much faster.
• Lu Qing released Yan from the Li Fire Cauldron, and Yan recognized the cave as a Talisman Gate refuge and explained that Talisman Gate had been a powerful sect in the ancient Cultivation Era.
• Yan began to explain the Great Calamity of the Five Signs of Decay, but tried to bargain with Lu Qing for the freedom to sense the outside world.
• Lu Qing transferred the Plague Gourd from the Universe Qi Bag into the Li Fire Cauldron and asked Yan to help refine the Plague Old Man's remnant soul.
• Yan identified the Plague Gourd as the natal spirit artifact of the ancient Nascent Soul cultivator Plague Old Ghost and warned that destroying its Artifact Spirit could lower the gourd's rank.
• Lu Qing entered the cauldron space and confronted the Plague Old Ghost, declaring that he would refine him completely.

Lu Qing trapped Plague Old Man in the Li Fire Cauldron’s Spirit Artifact Space and ordered Yan to refine him. Plague Old Man’s True Spirit was destroyed, and Lu Qing received the diminished Plague Gourd, which Yan suspected still held a mystery.

• Plague Old Man realized Lu Qing had trapped him in a Spirit Artifact Space, but refused Lu Qing’s demand to submit and accept a divine soul imprint.
• Yan appeared, exposed how Plague Old Man had survived the Great Calamity of the Five Signs of Decay, and transformed into a Li Fire Dragon to attack the Plague Gourd.
• When Yan’s flames could not initially refine the Plague Gourd, Lu Qing used the cave dwelling’s grand formation to pour spiritual energy into the Li Fire Cauldron.
• As Yan’s empowered flames threatened his True Spirit, Plague Old Man begged to serve Lu Qing, but Lu Qing ordered Yan to continue refining him.
• Plague Old Man tried to detonate the Plague Gourd, but Yan stopped him and burned his True Spirit to nothingness.
• Yan gave Lu Qing the now-diminished Plague Gourd and warned that it seemed to contain another mystery.

Lu Qing discovered that the Plague Gourd contained Chaos Divine Iron and began refining it into his Lifebound Magical Treasure with Yan's help. Meanwhile, the monks of Hanging Sky Mountain learned that Xuan Ming, Xuan Nu, and the others had died, and the Great Elder ordered an investigation.

• Lu Qing used his ability to learn that the Plague Gourd contained Chaos Divine Iron and had become a purified, damaged Superior Treasure Artifact.
• Yan explained that the gourd's Chaos Divine Iron made it an ideal Lifebound Magical Treasure for Lu Qing, who decided to refine it with Yan's help.
• Lu Qing and Yan burned away the Plague Old Man's remaining restrictions and began refining Lu Qing's own restrictions into the gourd, while Yan recognized the Li Fire Sect's secret artifact-refining technique.
• A little monk reported that the Soul Lamps of Xuan Ming, Xuan Nu, and the others had gone out, prompting the Great Elder and the monks to rush to the Soul Tower.
• The Great Elder confirmed the deaths, ordered Xuan Yi to send people from Avici Pavilion to investigate, and went to report the news to the abbot.

The Great Elder learned that Xuan Ming and the other Hanging Sky Mountain disciples had perished, while the Abbot and Elders chose to wait for their cultivation to recover. Xuan Yi ordered Avici Pavilion to investigate, and Lu Qing finished forming the beginnings of a magic treasure from the gray gourd.

• The Great Elder reported that Xuan Ming and the others’ Soul Lamps had gone out, and the Abbot confirmed they had perished but could not identify their killers.
• The Abbot and Elders decided to wait for heaven-and-earth rules to stabilize while Xuan Yi arranged for Avici Pavilion to investigate.
• Xuan Yi told Wu Xing to send people to search for Xuan Ming and the others, and Wu Xing saw the expedition as a chance to gather intelligence and escape Hanging Sky Mountain’s control.
• Lu Qing completed the final restraint in the gray gourd with the Li Fire Cauldron, forming an early-stage magic treasure.

Lu Qing refined the Five Elements Gourd into his lifebound magical treasure, discovering that it purified his spiritual power as it cycled through his Dantian. Yan explained the ancient Five Signs of Decay and speculated about whether powerful cultivators from the Ancient Cultivation Era might have survived in secret realms, leaving Lu Qing relieved and Yan curious about his reasons.

• Lu Qing named the gourd the Five Elements Gourd, refined it with his Lifeblood Essence, and bonded it as his lifebound magical treasure.
• The Five Elements Gourd entered Lu Qing’s Dantian and purified his spiritual power, while Yan discovered that he practiced the Five Elements Body Refining Art.
• Lu Qing told Yan that he knew the art’s shortcomings but had chosen it because it suited him, then asked about the Five Signs of Decay.
• Yan explained that the calamity weakened cultivators’ bodies, cultivation, and True Spirits as the world’s laws changed, and described rumors of ancient plans to escape it.
• Lu Qing asked whether the Four Great Secret Realms could have sheltered ancient survivors, and Yan said they could not have evaded the calamity without extraordinary means.
• Lu Qing asked if cultivators could have survived by possessing Artifact Spirits, and Yan said a few might have before noticing Lu Qing’s relief and asking whether he held a grudge against the secret realms.

Lu Qing learned that Hanging Sky Mountain’s hidden ground was likely only an ordinary Secret Realm, then returned to Nine Li Village and planned to build a defensive array against dangers from the mountains. After Xiao Li awakened, Yan recognized it as a Black Night Spirit Fox and suspected it descended from the King of Black Night.

• Yan explained that Secret Realms often appeared and vanished, and that the Li Fire Sect’s former Secret Realm had likely collapsed long ago.
• Lu Qing returned to Nine Li Village and found that Xiao Li had awakened and rushed to greet him.
• Lu Qing told the Old Doctor that mutated venomous creatures in the mountains could eventually threaten nearby villages.
• Lu Qing planned to build a warning and defensive array around the village, and Wei Shanhai promised to gather the required materials within three days.
• Yan identified Xiao Li as a Black Night Spirit Fox and said it might descend from the King of Black Night, one of the Twelve Demon Kings under the Supreme Demon Emperor.

Lu Qing learned that Xiao Li was likely the ancient King of Black Night’s daughter, then forged thirty-six Law Pillars and used them to begin a formation around Nine Li Village. The formation cooled the village amid increasingly extreme weather, and the Old Doctor decided to visit nearby villages.

• Yan explained that Xiao Li was likely the juvenile daughter of the King of Black Night, preserved for tens of thousands of years by an Exotic Treasure.
• The Wei Clan delivered refined iron to Lu Qing, who used the Li Fire Cauldron to forge thirty-six Law Pillars for his planned formation.
• Lu Qing placed the Law Pillars around Nine Li Village, drawing in spiritual qi and changing the village’s climate.
• The villagers noticed the sudden cooling and relaxed after Lu Qing told them the change was harmless.
• Lu Qing and the Old Doctor discussed the dangerous shifts in the weather, and the Old Doctor said he wanted to visit nearby villages.

Lu Qing reforged the Old Doctor’s sword into a Dharma sword and gave Yan Heavenly Meteorite Iron to repair the Li Fire Cauldron. While the Old Doctor left to treat people in nearby villages, Ma Gu arrived at the Half-Mountain Courtyard with Wei Zi'an and revealed his ambition to pursue martial arts rather than marry.

• The Old Doctor decided to visit nearby villages to assess how the changes in heaven and earth had affected ordinary people, and Lu Qing agreed to guard Nine Li Village.
• Lu Qing and Yan reforged the Old Doctor’s sword and Lu Qing’s War Blade using the Li Fire Cauldron, then Lu Qing gave Yan Heavenly Meteorite Iron to absorb and repair the cauldron.
• Lu Qing gave the Old Doctor his new Water-Fire Dharma sword and a jade slip containing the Flying Sword Refinement Method before the Old Doctor set out to provide free treatment.
• The Wei Clan’s caravan arrived with Grand Steward Wei, Ma Gu, and Wei Zi'an, who said Ma Gu had come to escape his family’s pressure to marry.
• Ma Gu declared that he wanted to focus on martial arts, reach the Innate Realm, and pursue the legendary path of cultivation instead of starting a family.

Lu Qing completed a formation that protected Nine Li Village, produced Vitality Mist, and began gathering qi to cultivate a Spirit Field at Half-Mountain Courtyard. As the Thousand-Year Ginseng thrived in the gathering energy, several uninvited guests arrived at State Prefecture City.

• Lu Qing installed the remaining Law Pillars, completing a formation around Nine Li Village that produced Vitality Mist and helped protect the village from hidden intruders below the Foundation Establishment Stage.
• Villagers and Wei Shanhai discovered the mist's health benefits, while Lu Qing explained that it was only a byproduct of the formation.
• Lu Qing placed Spirit Gathering Tablets around the Medicine Field, drawing Earth Qi and spiritual qi toward it to cultivate spiritual materials.
• Yan praised Lu Qing's preparations, and Lu Qing said he had no interest in founding a sect but needed to prepare because he had offended several factions.
• The Thousand-Year Ginseng rejoiced as the Medicine Field grew richer in qi, while several uninvited guests arrived at State Prefecture City.

A mysterious group entered Cang Prefecture City to investigate Lu Qing and the deaths of Xuan Ming and the others, but left after failing to learn his origins and secretly killing several locals. Meanwhile, Lu Qing’s Medicine Field flourished under the Spirit-Gathering Stele, and Yan advised him to plant Spirit Grain to nourish Xiao Yan.

• Elder You led a group into Cang Prefecture City to investigate Lu Qing, but ordered them not to provoke him or pursue his secrets.
• The group failed to uncover Lu Qing’s origins, killed noble family heads, disciples, servants, and guards, then fled the prefecture.
• Lu Qing watched the Spirit-Gathering Stele bring the Medicine Field’s spiritual qi to its limit and reclaimed nearby plots as Spirit Fields.
• Lu Qing asked Yan what to plant in the new Spirit Fields, and Yan recommended Spirit Grain to nourish Xiao Yan’s body.

Lu Qing learned that he could use the Spirit Pointing Art to turn ordinary rice seeds into Spirit Grain seeds, so he asked the villagers to gather high-quality seeds. The villagers brought nearly a thousand jin to the Half-Mountain Courtyard, where Lu Qing began selecting the seeds richest in vitality.

• Yan told Lu Qing to use the Spirit Pointing Method to transform good-quality rice seeds into Spirit Grain seeds.
• Lu Qing asked Grandpa Zhang to gather about ten jin of the village's best rice seeds, and Grandpa Zhang recruited the villagers to help.
• Old Man Lin urged the group to ask Lu Qing whether he also needed wheat seeds, while he and Old Chen argued about his generosity.
• The villagers carried nearly a thousand jin of rice and rice seeds to the Half-Mountain Courtyard despite Lu Qing needing far less.
• Lu Qing used the Spirit Pointing Art to sense the seeds' vitality and levitated the best ones into a bamboo basket, astonishing the villagers.