Recaps

Luo Chen attended the Zhenlong Black Market, where he learned its rules and watched a top-grade magic tool sell to a forceful outsider. As the auction grew heated over Life Restoration Water, Luo Chen entered the bidding.

• Luo Chen discovered that the Zhenlong Black Market was filled with Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivators and three Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
• Tian Xingzi introduced the market’s auction and appraisal rules, including the Five Colors Treasure Compass crafted by Hu Yanzhuo.
• Tian Xingzi auctioned the Azure Musk Gathering Dragon Flag, but Luo Chen could not afford the bids once a Black Tiger-masked cultivator drove up the price and won it with Spirit Stones and spirit materials.
• The Black Tiger-masked cultivator left quickly with the flag, and Tian Xingzi remarked that black-market bidding depended on one's eye, wealth, and nerve.
• When Tian Xingzi began auctioning three bottles of Life Restoration Water, Luo Chen shouted a bid of one thousand Spirit Stones.

Luo Chen secured Life Restoration Water and a Tier 2 Fire Element spell at the Zhenlong Black Market auction, but the Eight Hundred Year Heaven and Earth Root went to Foundation Establishment Cultivators. He then offered his Blood Burning Pills for appraisal, and Tian Xingzi claimed a bottle and agreed to pay the highest auction price.

• Luo Chen won a bottle of Life Restoration Water for one thousand Spirit Stones, while the other two bottles sold for higher prices.
• Luo Chen bought the Mountain Collapse spell manual for nine hundred Spirit Stones and watched Foundation Establishment Cultivators claim the Eight Hundred Year Heaven and Earth Root.
• An independent female cultivator sold the Lotus Hiding Carp, a Magic Tool that needed to be worn and nurtured by a female cultivator, for seven hundred Spirit Stones.
• Luo Chen recognized the value of the Lustrous Pearl Liquid but refrained from bidding when no one else showed interest.
• Luo Chen offered his Blood Burning Pills, and Tian Xingzi tasted one, kept a bottle, and promised to settle at the highest auction price.

After selling six Blood Burning Pills at the Zhenlong Black Market, Luo Chen bought Lustrous Pearl Liquid and learned that the market operated across multiple marketplaces. Following a warning about post-auction ambushes, he watched a fight in which Qiu Bai and Liu Han attacked the Sima Three Cultivators, then seized the Azure Musk Gathering Dragon Flag when Liu Han killed Qiu Bai; Luo Chen escaped with the flag while Liu Han discovered the other loot was gone too.

• Luo Chen sold six Blood Burning Pills for six hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones and bought five bottles of Lustrous Pearl Liquid from Sima Hui Niang, who offered to help sell more pills through her brothers' trading routes.
• A black-clothed cultivator gave Luo Chen a Zhenlong Embroidered Ball and warned him about dangerous routes after black-market auctions, so Luo Chen headed toward North Street under concealment.
• Luo Chen watched Qiu Bai trap and attack the Sima Three Cultivators with the Azure Musk Gathering Dragon Flag, while the eldest brother used a Blood Burning Pill and Sima Hui Niang fought to protect her siblings.
• Liu Han emerged as Qiu Bai's accomplice, and Qiu Bai used the flag to overwhelm the Sima Three Cultivators before Liu Han killed him with an Unorthodox Magic Tool.
• Luo Chen snatched the Azure Musk Gathering Dragon Flag and fled, while Liu Han found Qiu Bai's Storage Bag but discovered that the Sima siblings' bodies and their Storage Bags had vanished.

After escaping the auction battle with the Azure Musk Gathering Dragon Flag, Luo Chen returned to Great River Market and investigated its black markets and Mountain Shattering Gang businesses. As demon beasts rampaged through Azure Grain Mountain and drove fleeing cultivators toward the city, Luo Chen recognized that the struggle over the Golden Core Remains had reached a critical stage and ordered everyone back.

• Sima Hui Niang used her Life Restoration Water to treat Sima Xian after he was gravely injured, then collapsed from the power of the Top-Grade Magic Tool; Sima Wenjie rushed to find medicine for her.
• Luo Chen hid in a concealed cellar, reviewed his escape from Qiu Bai and Liu Han, and claimed and refined the Azure Musk Gathering Dragon Flag.
• Luo Chen entered the Inner City, returned to his courtyard, and later learned from the bodyguards that the Mountain Shattering Gang ran several black markets and had helped build his reputation as Pill Dust Master.
• Luo Chen made the bodyguards loudly advertise Duan Feng's Feng Hai Forging Family shop, then learned that Duan Feng had earned two thousand Spirit Stones by repairing and reselling used Magic Tools.
• A wave of cultivators fled Azure Grain Mountain, reporting that the demon beasts had gone berserk and that the Heavenly Craft Spirit-Seizing Array had contracted and expelled cultivators below Foundation Establishment.
• Luo Chen saw demon beasts hunting cultivators in the mountain and ordered his companions to return to the city.

Luo Chen returned to Slanting Moon Valley after the brief Beast Tide and explored Ever Yin Mountain, where he discovered a valuable wolf territory guarded by a Second-Order Frost Giant Wolf. The struggle in the Ancient Origin Mountain Range left many dead, and the chapter ended with news that Luo Wudi had been killed.

• Luo Chen divided the magic-tool business earnings with Duan Feng before suspending their work amid the unrest.
• Luo Chen learned that the Beast Tide had retreated and returned to Slanting Moon Valley to keep the Pill Hall operating.
• Sikong Shoujia told Luo Chen that thousands of cultivators were fighting over the Golden Core Remains and that Luo Erduo had died.
• Luo Chen explored a Frost Giant Wolf territory in Ever Yin Mountain and found Cold Cinnamon, valuable herbs, Cold Iron, and a pool containing Ice Soul Cold Qi guarded by an aged Second-Order Demon Wolf.
• Zeng Wen returned with only some of the Medicine Hall cultivators and told Murong Qinglian that Luo Wudi and his nephew had died under siege by independent cultivators.

Luo Chen heard how Luo Wudi and many other Mountain Shattering Gang cultivators died in the Golden Core Remains, then worried when Wang Yuan failed to return. Wang Yuan finally appeared at Qi Refining Ninth Layer and gave Luo Chen several valuable items, including a sealed Wave Swallowing Sea Gathering Pot that shocked him when its scent escaped.

• Zeng Wen told Luo Chen that Luo Erduo and Luo Wudi died after secretly taking a Second-Order Spirit Herb and being attacked by Profound Unity Society and independent cultivators.
• Zeng Wen warned Luo Chen that the Mountain Shattering Gang had suffered heavy losses in the ruins, and Luo Chen later learned that several hall masters and many cultivators had died or returned injured.
• Luo Chen noticed that Wang Yuan had not returned from the ruins and began to worry about his missing friend.
• After refining Blood Burning Pills, Luo Chen encountered Wang Yuan, who had reached Qi Refining Ninth Layer and said his gains would fund his cultivation until Qi Refining Completion.
• Wang Yuan gave Luo Chen a large Storage Bag, Monkey Wine, and a Wave Swallowing Sea Gathering Pot; when Luo Chen opened the pot slightly, its fragrance made him cry out, "Bro Wang, are you crazy?"

Wang Yuan proposed using cultivators’ essence blood to refine Blood Fiend Pills, but Luo Chen warned that the supply could not support their cultivation and might lead them into slaughter. After Wang Yuan revealed that Mi Shuhua had returned, Luo Chen was summoned to the Mi Family Residence, where Mi Shuhua offered him access to a powerful cultivation chamber and placed a Foundation Establishment Pill before him.

• Wang Yuan showed Luo Chen a pot containing essence blood from over a hundred cultivators and proposed refining Blood Fiend Pills to strengthen Luo Chen’s body.
• Luo Chen challenged the plan, arguing that the limited essence blood would yield few pills and could not sustain them without attracting the major sects; Wang Yuan took the pot away and agreed to reconsider.
• Wang Yuan told Luo Chen that Mi Shuhua had returned early, and Luo Chen kept the news to himself while continuing his daily cultivation and pill refining.
• Three days later, Zhou Yuanli summoned Luo Chen to the Mi Family Residence, where Mi Junping warned him that Mi Zifan resented him over the Small Spirit Gathering Array and might target Duan Feng.
• Mi Shuhua showed Luo Chen a chamber whose Second-Order Spirit Gathering Array created a rich cultivation environment, then revealed that he knew Luo Chen had reached the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.
• Mi Shuhua discussed Luo Chen’s prospects for Foundation Establishment and placed a Foundation Establishment Pill before him.

Mi Shuhua exposed Luo Chen’s concealed alchemy skill and pressured him into swearing to refine Mid-Grade Jade Marrow Pills in exchange for a sealed Foundation Establishment Pill. After realizing the pill was bait and weighing his options, Luo Chen suspected Mi Shuhua’s sudden urgency stemmed from serious injuries.

• Mi Shuhua confronted Luo Chen with Pill Hall records showing he had hidden his alchemy skill and embezzled Jade Marrow Pills, then demanded that he work wholeheartedly for the Mountain Shattering Gang.
• Luo Chen confessed to concealing his ability, and Mi Shuhua gave him a Foundation Establishment Pill sealed inside a jade box until he reached Qi Refining Completion.
• Luo Chen swore to refine as many Mid-Grade Jade Marrow Pills as possible while he remained in the Mountain Shattering Gang, and Mi Junping escorted him home.
• Luo Chen discovered that the jade box’s restrictions made the pill inaccessible and concluded Mi Shuhua had used it to manipulate him and drive a wedge between him and Qin Liangchen.
• Luo Chen considered escaping but decided he first needed to earn enough Spirit Stones and gather cultivation resources, then wondered whether Mi Shuhua’s urgent tactics meant he had suffered serious injuries.

Luo Chen realized Mi Shuhua was badly injured and nearly out of resources, so he prepared for the possibility of fleeing while refining Jade Marrow Pills for the Mountain Shattering Gang. After half a month, he tested his Great Perfection Aura Concealing Spell against a Tier 2 Demon Wolf and gained confidence that he could escape detection, but he stayed to collect his share of the profits and explain things to Wang Yuan.

• Luo Chen concluded that Mi Shuhua had returned gravely wounded and was pressuring him to refine Jade Marrow Pills because he was desperate for resources.
• Luo Chen bought supplies, warned Feng Xia and Yuan Xiaoyue to prepare for danger, and told them to flee if the situation became too risky.
• Luo Chen refined fourteen batches of Jade Marrow Pills with a fifty-percent success rate, producing 140 Mid-Grade pills, and Sikong Shoujia went to report the results to Mi Shuhua.
• Luo Chen spent the next half month improving his combat skills and learning the functions of the Azure Musk Gathering Dragon Flag, then easily killed a Unicorn Qian Sheep with one summoned Azure Flood Dragon.
• Luo Chen used his Great Perfection Aura Concealing Spell to imitate a Frost Demon Wolf and approached within five hundred meters of a Tier 2 Demon Wolf without being detected.
• Luo Chen decided not to flee yet because he still needed to collect his share of the pill profits and give Wang Yuan an explanation.

Luo Chen’s plans to leave Slanting Moon Valley were interrupted when a large force attacked, forcing him to activate the defenses and expose infiltrators among the returning cultivators. He captured several suspects and began torturing one for information, who finally offered to answer questions.

• Luo Chen planned to bid Wang Yuan farewell and escape after finishing his Jade Marrow Pills, but Zhou Yuanli warned that two scouts had stopped responding.
• Zhou Yuanli activated the Earthen Soil Array, and Murong Qinglian returned with the badly injured Gu Cai Yi, reporting that numerous enemies, including at least four Qi Refining Ninth Layer experts, had ambushed them.
• Luo Chen ordered the returning cultivators to show their identity tokens and submit to questioning, then identified two disguised infiltrators and ordered restrictions placed on everyone who entered.
• When seven cultivators outside fled, Luo Chen killed them with Jade Marrow Scrap Beads and secured the remaining survivors inside the formation.
• Luo Chen interrogated a captive with Silver Needles and Bright Spirit Breaking Evil until the man, overwhelmed by pain, begged him to ask questions.

Luo Chen prepared Slanting Moon Valley for a Great River Gang siege and realized the attackers were mostly trying to contain its cultivators rather than kill them. Mi Shuhua emerged from seclusion and ordered reinforcements, but learned that the other halls were also under attack.

• Zhou Yuanli reported that Gao Tingyuan led more than a hundred Great River Gang cultivators, including five at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, against Slanting Moon Valley, and Luo Chen ordered defenses raised and spies killed.
• Sikong Shoujia returned after being pursued by Dan Xiu and accused Luo Chen of provoking the siege, but Luo Chen reasoned that the attackers intended to trap the valley’s cultivators rather than seize it outright.
• Gao Tingyuan restrained Dan Xiu and told the Great River Gang leaders to maintain the encirclement while privately conferring with a silent companion.
• Mi Shuhua emerged from seclusion after receiving word of the siege and ordered Wang Yuan, Zeng Wen, and Chou Wu to reinforce Slanting Moon Valley instead of going himself.
• Mi Junping returned in alarm and told Mi Shuhua that the Mountain Shattering Gang’s other halls were also under fierce attack.

Mi Shuhua learned that the Mountain Shattering Gang faced coordinated attacks and sent Sikong Yuanhong to reinforce Slanting Moon Valley, while other Mi Family members received separate orders. As the siege escalated, Luo Chen identified signs that the Fu Family had joined the enemies and calmly prepared tea, leaving Sikong Shoujia stunned by his lack of worry.

• Mi Junping reported attacks on the Gang’s halls and headquarters, and Mi Shuhua suspected the Great River Gang had allied with the Connecting Cloud Commerce Alliance.
• Mi Shuhua sent Sikong Yuanhong and selected Mi Family cultivators to reinforce Slanting Moon Valley, while Mi Junping stayed behind and Mi Zifan went to notify Qin Liangchen.
• At Lancang Wharf, Wang Yuan faced Xu Renke, Yang Rusheng, and Chen Haoran, then countered Chen Haoran’s flying sword and charged at him.
• Luo Chen gave the injured Gu Cai Yi a Moon Laurel Pill and learned that Sikong Yuanhong’s reinforcements lacked Qi Refining Ninth Layer experts and that Wang Yuan would not arrive.
• Luo Chen concluded the attacks were coordinated, recognized Fu Zhang among the forces involved, and calmly asked Gu Cai Yi to make tea as Sikong Shoujia worried over the scale of the threat.

Luo Chen remained calm as Slanting Moon Valley was surrounded, trusting that his reputation as a pill refiner made him valuable to the attackers. Gao Tingyuan ordered repeated assaults on the valley’s protective array, ostensibly to wear down its defenders and draw out reinforcements, but Lan Tianyun suspected he also wanted to weaken the valley enough to avenge his younger brother.

• Luo Chen reasoned that the attackers would spare him and the valley’s productive cultivators, then brewed tea as the defenders took confidence from his composure.
• Dan Xiu demanded a harsher attack, while Fu Zhang explained the Fu Family’s interest in claiming the Mountain Shattering Gang’s demon beast hide, fur, and blood industries.
• Gao Tingyuan ordered more than sixty Middle Stage Qi Refining cultivators to bombard Slanting Moon Valley’s Tier 1 Earthen Soil Array, which held but consumed over a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones in one assault.
• Gao Tingyuan revealed messages saying Li Ao had gone to Horse Drinking Beach to intercept the Mi Family and Nangong Qin was waiting at Green Hemp Forest for Qin Liangchen.
• Gao Tingyuan ordered another, stronger barrage, and Lan Tianyun realized he was trying to exhaust the valley’s Spirit Stones and might be seeking revenge for his younger brother’s death.

The Li Family’s attack devastated the Mountain Shattering Gang, while Mi Shuhua learned that his forces were collapsing and flew toward Slanting Moon Valley to save Luo Chen. Realizing the attacks were a trap meant for him, he fled back to the Mi Family Residence, where a hidden sword struck at him as he arrived.

• The Li Family looted the battlefield at Horse Drinking Beach after destroying the Mi Family’s forces, and Li Ao pursued the wounded Sikong Yuanhong until he reached Severing Cloud Mountain.
• Mi Shuhua learned that the Mountain Shattering Gang’s halls had fallen or gone silent, and that Wang Yuan had died alongside Xu Renke in the Lancang River.
• Messages reported that the Great River Gang was battering the Mi Family’s Earthen Soil Array and that the Fu Family had joined the assault, so Mi Shuhua decided to intervene personally.
• Mi Shuhua flew toward Slanting Moon Valley to protect Luo Chen, then recognized that the attacks were designed to draw him out and rushed back to his residence.
• A sword tip appeared from the void as Mi Shuhua approached the residence, and an unseen attacker apologized to him.

Mi Shuhua was cornered by five Foundation Establishment cultivators who demanded the Storage Ring from the Golden Core Remains and his Magic Treasure. His attempts to bargain and stall failed, leaving him to unleash his treasures and fight back against the assault.

• Duan Qiankun revealed that Elder Zhou had persuaded him to betray Mi Shuhua, while Wang Haichao, Nangong Jin, and the hidden Li Yixian joined the attack.
• Mi Shuhua offered the others profits, Spirit Vein land, hunting grounds, and a Foundation Establishment Pill to spare his life, but Elder Zhou pointed out that his promises conflicted.
• Mi Shuhua offered Luo Chen and his Pill Dust Master reputation as a reason for the Connecting Cloud Commerce Alliance to protect him, but Elder Zhou still demanded his Storage Ring and Magic Treasure.
• Mi Shuhua realized the others would not let him go and laughed as they surrounded him.
• Elder Zhou recognized Mi Shuhua was stalling and ordered an attack, so Mi Shuhua unleashed his offensive and defensive Magic Treasures, swallowed a pill, and summoned a giant tower to destroy part of the Mi Family Residence.

The Earthen Soil Array fell after Min Longyu identified and exploited its weakness, leaving the Mountain Shattering Gang’s cultivators exposed to a massacre. Luo Chen was cut off from his allies and faced Gao Tingyuan as the attackers closed in.

• Dan Xiu’s attacks failed to break the Earthen Soil Array, but Min Longyu used an array disk to make Slanting Moon Valley quake and weaken the barrier.
• Sikong Shoujia rallied the valley’s cultivators against the invaders’ offer of surrender, and the Earthen Soil Array shattered as more than a hundred cultivators fled.
• Gao Tingyuan charged toward Luo Chen, but Lan Tianyun tried to stop him because Wang Haichao had personally ordered Luo Chen spared; Gao Tingyuan pushed past him and attacked.
• Sikong Shoujia drew Fu Zhang into battle, while Granny Yuan led her son toward the Medicine Hall and Luo Chen tried to escape with his companions.
• Dan Xiu blocked Luo Chen’s group, and Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang fought him while Murong Qinglian and Gu Cai Yi tried to get Luo Chen away.
• Gao Tingyuan’s blue Flood Dragon charged at Luo Chen, who shielded Gu Cai Yi with the Four Symbols Cauldron and then confronted Gao Tingyuan with his crimson spear.

Luo Chen revealed his Qi Refining Eighth Layer cultivation and defeated Gao Tingyuan’s ambush by detonating more than ten thousand Jade Marrow Scrap Beads. After overcoming Gao Tingyuan’s soul-binding technique and killing him, Luo Chen joined the others in the battle, where Duan Feng arrived and killed the fleeing Lan Tianyun.

• Gao Tingyuan recognized Luo Chen’s Soul Severing Nail and accused him of killing Gao Ting'e, then surrounded him with seven Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators.
• Luo Chen rode a cloud above the attackers and detonated more than ten thousand Jade Marrow Scrap Beads, devastating the battlefield.
• Luo Chen caught Gao Tingyuan as he tried to escape and killed him with the Fire Tipped Spear and two Soul Severing Nails.
• Gao Tingyuan’s ghostly gaze immobilized Luo Chen, but Luo Chen used Bright Spirit Breaking Evil to break the stalemate and finish him.
• Lan Tianyun drove Murong Qinglian, Gu Cai Yi, Zhou Yuanli, and Liu Qiang back with a talisman and fled, but Duan Feng arrived and killed him with a Flying Sword.

Luo Chen and his allies turned the battle for Slanting Moon Valley against the Great River Gang, only for Wang Haichao and Elder Zhou to arrive and claim the territory. Steward Miao drove them away, then invited Luo Chen into the Pill Hall.

• A mysterious black figure encountered a Jade Cauldron Sword Cultivator near the ruined Mi Family Residence, then vanished into the night.
• After Dan Xiu and Gao Tingyuan died, Luo Chen, Murong Qinglian, Duan Feng, and Gu Cai Yi helped turn the battle against the Great River Gang; Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang also joined after the Gang Leader’s control over them disappeared.
• Duan Feng broke Min Longyu’s formation, and Granny Yuan attacked the fleeing Min Longyu with her Kusanagi Gengjin Sword Art; Luo Chen shielded her from Min Longyu’s counterattack.
• Luo Chen’s side routed the Great River Gang, but Wang Haichao and Elder Zhou arrived and declared Slanting Moon Valley Great River Gang territory and invited Luo Chen to join the Connecting Cloud Commerce Alliance.
• Steward Miao arrived, asserted the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect’s claim to Slanting Moon Valley, and ordered Wang Haichao and Elder Zhou to leave; afterward, he invited Luo Chen into the Pill Hall.

After the battle at Slanting Moon Valley, Luo Chen examined the spoils and discovered a biography describing an unusual Soul Path Foundation Establishment method. With Mi Shuhua dead and the Mountain Shattering Gang shattered, Luo Chen founded the Luo Tian Association and began gathering its survivors under a new banner.

• Luo Chen learned that the Pill Hall and Medicine Hall had suffered heavy losses, then invited their survivors to follow him while promising a fair distribution of the spoils.
• Luo Chen recovered from the battle, inspected Dan Xiu's and Gao Tingyuan's Storage Bags, and read Gu Yue's Biography, which described Foundation Establishment through refining and merging nine hundred and ninety-nine souls.
• Luo Chen failed to find the Soul Path Foundation Establishment method among Gao Tingyuan's possessions, then learned from Murong Qinglian that Qin Liangchen had lost his arm escaping Nangong Qin's ambush.
• Luo Chen announced that Mi Shuhua was dead and the Mountain Shattering Gang had effectively fallen, then proposed establishing the Luo Tian Association and distributing spoils to both those who joined and those who left.
• Zhou Yuanli, Liu Qiang, Gu Cai Yi, Granny Yuan, Murong Qinglian, Duan Feng, and other cultivators joined the Luo Tian Association.

After Mi Shuhua’s death, Luo Chen established the Luo Heaven Association with Miao Wen’s backing, rewarded its survivors, and organized it into four halls. He ended the night by returning Qin Liangchen’s promised Foundation Establishment Pill, leaving Qin and Murong Qinglian determined to support him.

• Nearly all thirty-one low-level cultivators joined the Luo Heaven Association, while Mi Li learned that the Nangong Family had taken over the Mi Family Residence.
• Luo Chen distributed battle spoils to the survivors, then appointed Granny Yuan, Murong Qinglian, and Gu Cai Yi to lead the Pill, Merit, and Gold Halls.
• Luo Chen proposed establishing a Battle Hall and issuing a recall order to bring back surviving Mountain Shattering Gang cultivators, especially Wang Yuan.
• Luo Chen spoke with Qin Liangchen over wine and offered to ask Miao Wen about reattaching Qin’s destroyed hand.
• Luo Chen gave Qin Liangchen the Foundation Establishment Pill that Mi Shuhua had promised him, and Qin accepted it as his brother.
• Murong Qinglian told Qin Liangchen that they would help Luo Chen manage the association, and Qin called Luo Chen his brother.

After the Mountain Shattering Gang’s destruction, Luo Chen organized the Luo Tian Association while considering a dangerous Soul Path Foundation Establishment method and training in spells. The association began rebuilding its halls and recruiting cultivators, and Luo Chen planned to seek help for Qin Liangchen’s severed hand.

• The Great River Market factions competed over the Mountain Shattering Gang’s legacy as the Luo Tian Association emerged under Pill Dust Master and began rebuilding in Slanting Moon Valley.
• Murong Qinglian struggled to recruit former Mountain Shattering Gang members until Zeng Wen returned and agreed to serve in the Gold Hall.
• Luo Chen rejected the Soul Refining True Art’s method of Foundation Establishment but decided to learn its Soul Subduing Art and Soul Binding Oath, along with spells needed for Mountain Collapse.
• Luo Chen trained in the Earth Peak Technique with Zeng Wen and reviewed the association’s progress with Murong Qinglian, including plans to restore its halls and recover its shops.
• Luo Chen assigned the Sima siblings to separate halls and said he would seek help reattaching Qin Liangchen’s severed hand.

Luo Chen secured Miao Wen’s backing for the Luo Tian Association, but Miao Wen slaughtered the surviving Mi Family members and tested Luo Chen’s judgment before leaving Mi Li alive with her memories erased. As the association prepared its shops and Qin Liangchen sought artificial arms, Luo Chen concluded that only strength could keep others from forcing choices upon him.

• Luo Chen met Miao Wen, reported on the Luo Tian Association, and received a Small Five Elements Array and help with the association’s shops, supplies, and Qin Liangchen’s artificial arms.
• Miao Wen led Luo Chen, Mi Li, and Qin Liangchen to Severing Cloud Mountain, where he found the Mi Family survivors and discovered their grave held only a cenotaph.
• Miao Wen killed Sikong Yuanhong and the other Mi Family survivors, then asked Luo Chen whether Mi Li should also die; he ultimately spared her and gave her a Forget Worry Pill that erased her memories.
• Luo Chen realized Miao Wen had tested his character and resolved that his weakness had allowed others to impose choices on him, while the Luo Tian Association continued building its headquarters.
• Luo Chen trained Gold Hall’s attendants in customer service and VIP sales, then left with Qin Liangchen and Murong Qinglian to arrange Qin Liangchen’s artificial arms; they saw Mi Li sitting alone at the construction site.

Luo Chen arranged medicine and care for Qin Liangchen after Luo Tianhong successfully reattached his arm, then reunited with Wang Yuan and learned that Wang Yuan had advanced to the Second Realm of body refinement. As the Luo Tian Association expanded its pill business, Luo Chen sought a Fuzhu Deer milk deal with the Nangong Family but was rebuffed, and his party encountered the Fu Family’s newly built fort.

• Luo Tianhong successfully used the Golden Cicada Limb Regeneration Technique to reattach Qin Liangchen’s arm, and Luo Chen brewed Azure Golden Vitality Soup to support his recovery.
• Wang Yuan returned after surviving a dangerous fight, learned the Aura Concealing Spirit Art from Luo Chen, and revealed that his physique had reached the Second Realm of body refinement.
• Luo Chen expanded the Luo Tian Association’s pill operations, supervised Jade Marrow Pill production, and began training Qu Lingjun by giving him the Hundred Herbs Compendium to memorize.
• Luo Chen visited the Nangong Family to propose a Fuzhu Deer milk business, but Nangong Qin refused because the deal was unrelated to pills and the family wished to avoid displeasing Miao Wen.
• Luo Chen led his party through the wilderness and stopped when Sima Xian reported they needed to detour around a newly built Wubao Fort bearing the Fu Family name.

Luo Chen planned to use a staged Blood Talisman auction to provoke conflict between the Luo Tian Association and the Fu Family. After selling the talisman at the black market, he and Wang Yuan tracked a suspected ambush near Seven Stars Slope.

• Fu Zhang ordered the Fu Family to deny rumors that it possessed Blood Talisman techniques and arranged talks with the Chen Family and Divine Talisman Pavilion.
• Luo Chen convinced Wang Yuan that the Luo Tian Association needed a limited war, with the Fu Family as its target, and obtained Wang Yuan’s crude Blood Talisman.
• Luo Chen attended the Zhenlong Black Market auction, bought Golden Jade Liquid, and sold a Blood Talisman while claiming it had been made from a Fu Family cultivator.
• The Blood Talisman sold for two thousand three hundred Spirit Stones, and Tian Xingzi watched Luo Chen leave with suspicion.
• Luo Chen and Wang Yuan concealed their auras and waited outside the black market before Wang Yuan spotted activity near Seven Stars Slope, prompting them to move toward it.

Luo Chen and Wang Yuan ambushed the black-robed cultivator at Seven Stars Slope, where she used a Fu Family Blood Talisman to destroy Wang Yuan’s fake talisman and raze the slope. Luo Chen then advanced a plan to pressure the Fu Family, and the chapter ended with Fu Zhang raging after receiving Luo Chen’s letter.

• Luo Chen and Wang Yuan found three masked Luo Tian Association Battle Hall cultivators attacking the black-robed woman at Seven Stars Slope, then Wang Yuan joined the fight.
• The woman revealed herself as a skilled female cultivator and used a Fu Family Blood Talisman to unleash a blood-colored palm that destroyed Wang Yuan’s staff attack and left him dead in a vast crater.
• Luo Chen and Wang Yuan discussed how the battle publicized the Fu Family Blood Talisman, and Luo Chen was pleased that Great River Market’s cultivators were condemning the Fu Family.
• Luo Chen sent Sima Xian to deliver a letter to Fu Zhang and questioned him about nearby markets, powerful cultivators, and the possibility of Great River Market becoming an immortal city.
• After Sima Xian left, Luo Chen recognized the black-robed woman as Cool Moon Fairy of Snow Lotus Market, while Fu Zhang read Luo Chen’s letter and angrily smashed a sandalwood table.