Recaps

Luo Chen forced the Fu Family into a confrontation at Wubao Fort, seeking to strengthen the Luo Tian Association and his influence with Miao Wen. Wang Yuan shattered the fort’s defenses with one punch, and the Battle Hall launched its attack.

• Fu Zhang rejected the Luo Tian Association’s demands to return Sikong Shoujia’s belongings and provide three Blood Talismans, while Luo Chen secured Miao Wen’s permission to act after presenting Jade Marrow Pills.
• Luo Chen led the Luo Tian Association’s Battle Hall toward Wubao Fort, with Duan Feng, Sima Xian, Sima Wenjie, Zeng Wen, Qin Liangchen, and Wang Yuan among the force.
• Fu Zhang offered Sikong Shoujia’s tortoiseshell and broken sword, but Luo Chen demanded three Blood Talismans as well and declared that the Fu Family’s fate was its own doing.
• Fu Zhang activated the Copper Walls Iron Walls Grand Formation, reinforced with Earth Guard Talismans, to defend Wubao Fort.
• Wang Yuan punched a ten-meter hole through Wubao Fort and shattered its grand formation, after which a shout to kill rang out.

Luo Chen directed the Luo Tian Association’s attack on the Fu Family and withdrew his forces as unaffiliated cultivators flooded the fort to seize the spoils. When Fu Zhang unleashed the Fu Family’s Talisman Treasure against him, Luo Chen advanced to face it, and their clash ended with a blazing golden light engulfing the battlefield.

• Luo Chen assessed the Luo Tian Association’s advantage over the Fu Family while watching Duan Feng battle Fu Zhang and tracking four hidden Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Luo Chen arranged for an unaffiliated cultivator to stir up the crowd, prompting thousands of unaffiliated cultivators to rush into Fu Family Fort and fight over its resources.
• Luo Chen ordered the Luo Tian Association’s Battle Hall to withdraw, told Duan Feng and the others to retreat if necessary, and prepared to re-enter the fort once the fighting settled.
• Fu Zhang, wounded and grieving his family’s defeat, activated a golden Talisman Treasure and charged at Luo Chen with the phantom of a massive hammer.
• Luo Chen advanced instead of retreating and sent six Flood Dragons from his Azure Banner against the hammer; as the phantom dissipated, golden light engulfed Fu Zhang and Luo Chen.

After surviving the battle with the Fu Family, Luo Chen recovered from his injuries and advanced to Qi Refining Ninth Layer. He assessed the long road to Qi Refining Completion and reviewed his Attribute Panel, ending by wondering whether his Achievement Points were enough to learn a Tier 2 Pill Formula.

• Luo Chen explained to Wang Yuan why he had deliberately taken Fu Zhang’s Talisman Treasure attack, and Wang Yuan agreed that their preparations had made the risk manageable.
• Luo Chen instructed Wang Yuan, Murong Qinglian, Gu Cai Yi, and Zeng Wen to handle the Luo Tian Association’s affairs, compensate the families of fallen cultivators, and sell the refined Jade Marrow Pills while he recovered.
• Luo Chen descended into the Spirit Vein Cave to cultivate, and four days later he reached Qi Refining Ninth Layer.
• Luo Chen examined his Spiritual Qi Cloud and realized that filling his Dantian to reach Qi Refining Completion would likely take another five or six years.
• Luo Chen reviewed his Attribute Panel, noted that Spirit Eye Art was close to Great Perfection, and considered learning pill arts that could help him refine Blood Fiend Pills.
• Luo Chen saw that he had 34 Achievement Points and wondered whether they were enough to learn a Tier 2 Pill Formula at Entry Level.

After the Luo Tian Association strengthened its business and settled the Fu Family’s spoils, Luo Chen studied talisman-making materials to improve his spells and threaten Foundation Establishment cultivators. His overnight experiments advanced his Fireball Spell and brought his Spirit Eye Art to Great Perfection.

• Gu Cai Yi reported that the Nangong Family would supply Fuzhu Beast Milk, the Great River Gang had resumed its Jade Washing Herb supply, and the major families were considering the Luo Tian Association’s Jade Marrow Pills.
• Luo Chen tested Qu Lingjun’s knowledge of medicinal herbs, gave him an annotated Hundred Herbs Compendium, access to herbs for experiments, and a protective talisman.
• Wang Yuan told Luo Chen that the association was considering a Talisman Making hall; Luo Chen rejected the plan but asked to study the Fu Family’s talisman-making books and supplies.
• Luo Chen analyzed the Fireball Spell through the Spirit Eye Art, strengthening the spell and Flying Firefly while seeking a faster way to fuse fireballs.
• At dawn, Luo Chen realized that his Spirit Eye Art had reached Great Perfection.

Luo Chen achieved Great Perfection in the Spirit Eye Art and discovered its powerful new abilities before Miao Wen summoned him to Elder Pang Renxiong. After Pang extracted Mi Shuhua’s hidden Soul Seed from Luo Chen, they followed it toward a concealed enemy, where Luo Tianhong called on the elder to draw his sword.

• Luo Chen’s Great Perfection Spirit Eye Art let him see spiritual qi, distant details, vitality, deathly intent, and hidden formation patterns, though using it caused him pain.
• Luo Chen practiced observing his surroundings from the mountain, and Miao Wen arrived to take him to the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion.
• Pang Renxiong used a Soul Gathering Lamp to extract the Soul Seed Mi Shuhua had left inside Luo Chen and ordered them to follow it to its source.
• Miao Wen explained that Mi Shuhua had possessed several Magic Treasures and likely had not died in the earlier battle, revealing that they were hunting a hidden enemy.
• Luo Tianhong followed the Soul Seed to the Great River, where a powerful hostile Mana fluctuation rose from the water, and called for the elder to unsheathe his sword.

Luo Chen watched Pang Renxiong defeat and kill a black-robed Golden Core Cultivator with the Demon Locking Pagoda and a Sword Pellet, then learned the enemy’s treasures had been used in a scheme against the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. After Pang Renxiong bestowed two Magic Treasures on Miao Wen and Luo Tianhong, he turned his attention to Luo Chen.

• Miao Wen and Luo Tianhong retreated with Luo Chen from the Golden Core battle, and Luo Tianhong saved Luo Chen when the shockwaves knocked him from the air.
• Pang Renxiong confronted the black-robed Golden Core Cultivator, who denied killing Fei Bai Wen and attacked with the Sky Moon Purple Gold Wheel and Demon Locking Pagoda.
• Luo Tianhong explained that Pang Renxiong had used Mi Shuhua and the abandoned treasures as bait to draw out the culprit behind Fei Bai Wen’s death.
• The black-robed cultivator trapped Pang Renxiong with the Demon Locking Pagoda, but Pang Renxiong broke free, struck him down, and used a hidden golden chain to seize his Golden Core before killing him.
• Pang Renxiong recovered a Sword Pellet that belonged to a fallen Jade Cauldron Sword Sect Golden Core Cultivator, then gave the Sky Moon Purple Gold Wheel to Miao Wen and the Rotten Ke Chess Piece to Luo Tianhong.
• Pang Renxiong recognized Luo Chen as Pill Dust Master Luo Chen and addressed him.

After Pang Renxiong killed the Black-Robed Cultivator, he accepted Luo Chen as his disciple and ordered him to leave for the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. Luo Chen said farewell to Great River Market and entrusted the Luo Tian Association and Qu Lingjun to his friends, but three terrifying auras erupted as he reached the Inner City gates.

• Luo Chen praised Pang Renxiong for killing the Demon Cultivator, and Pang Renxiong ordered Miao Wen and Luo Tianhong to publicize the victory.
• Pang Renxiong rewarded Luo Chen with five bottles of Tier 2 Elf Pills and ordered him to join the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect as his disciple.
• Luo Chen told Wang Yuan he would leave the next day, gave him Elf Pills, and worried over leaving the Luo Tian Association behind.
• Luo Chen announced his departure, gave the association members plans for new businesses, and entrusted Qu Lingjun to Zhou Yuanli's care.
• Luo Chen said farewell to Great River Market and flew toward the Inner City with Liu Qiang and Zhou Yuanli escorting him.
• Three terrifying auras erupted inside the Inner City just as Luo Chen reached its gates, and someone shouted for them to run.

Three Ghost Kings emerged in Great River Market, where Pang Renxiong fought them while a Gray-Robed Cultivator and Zhenlong Black Market forces supported the attack. Luo Chen escaped to Slanting Moon Valley with his companions, where he learned that many association members’ relatives remained trapped in the Inner City and awkwardly asked Wang Yuan to return the Elf Pills he had given him.

• Three Ghost Kings broke free beneath Great River Market, and Pang Renxiong confronted the Gray-Robed Cultivator who had tampered with a Sword Pellet to weaken his attack.
• Luo Tianhong and Miao Wen activated the Jade Cauldron Grand Formation as Pang Renxiong fought the Ghost Kings, while the Gray-Robed Cultivator used his Divine Sense to control them.
• Luo Chen recognized the Ghost Kings and fled toward Slanting Moon Valley with Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang, then spotted Tian Xingzi leading Zhenlong Black Market cultivators toward the Inner City.
• Luo Chen met Wang Yuan and other Luo Tian Association members, explained the upheaval, and reached Slanting Moon Valley, where members grieved for relatives still trapped inside Great River Market.
• Luo Chen asked Wang Yuan whether he could return the bottle of Elf Pills Luo Chen had given him.

Luo Chen and Wang Yuan watched the Golden Core battle’s aftermath unfold as Great River Market’s Inner City became a deadly Ghost Domain. As survivors emerged and Luo Chen learned that Bai Mei Ling was missing, his grief was interrupted by a voice recruiting Li Wanchun into the Duan Family.

• Wang Yuan took Luo Chen to the Mass Burial Grounds, where they used changes in the ghosts to track the battle and saw signs that Pang Renxiong had slain the three Ghost Kings before another Sword Cultivator struck Fallen Phoenix Mountain.
• Half a month later, Luo Chen led Luo Tian Association cultivators to watch the Ghost City, where sixteen groups had entered without returning and the Inner City remained filled with the Ghost Kings’ essence.
• Old Chu escaped the Inner City with several Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion workers, and Luo Chen questioned Li Wanchun, who said he had survived inside the shop’s formation and agreed to join the Luo Tian Association.
• Senior Hua left the Inner City with four illusory figures, while other sect shops’ cultivators emerged without their missing workers, leading Luo Chen to fear Bai Mei Ling had died inside.
• Liu He Cai confirmed that Bai Mei Ling had belonged to Hundred Herbs Hall, and Luo Chen mourned her while Zhou Yuanli handled recruiting the abandoned independent cultivators.
• Luo Chen turned sharply when he heard someone loudly invite Li Wanchun to join the Duan Family.

After Li Wanchun chose the Duan Family over the Luo Tian Association, Luo Chen prepared the association for the power vacuum left by the destroyed Inner City and used Pang Renxiong’s token to restart trade with the Great River Gang. He left determined to secure more partnerships and seize an opportunity for the Luo Tian Association in Great River Market.

• Li Wanchun chose to join the Duan Family, and Luo Chen accepted his decision before leaving with the Luo Tian Association cultivators.
• Luo Chen told Murong Qinglian, Gu Cai Yi, and Duan Feng that sect cultivators were withdrawing and urged them to keep the association operating and capture the vacant pill market.
• Luo Chen presented Pang Renxiong’s token and explained how the association could use its apparent ties to the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect to deter rivals and attract partners.
• Luo Chen met Wang Haichao aboard the Great River Gang’s ship and persuaded him to resume their Jade Washing Herb trade by invoking the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect’s likely response to the massacre.
• After leaving the Great River Gang, Luo Chen planned to approach other families and resolved to use the upheaval in Great River Market to carve out a place for himself.

After Great River Market’s spirit energy surged, Luo Chen resumed cultivation and discovered that Elf Pills greatly accelerated his progress, prompting him to seek a steady supply. He reviewed the Luo Tian Association’s finances, then disguised himself and Wang Yuan to visit the Zhenlong Black Market, where they found several Foundation Establishment Cultivators already gathered.

• The destruction of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect’s isolation array let spirit energy from the First-Order Spirit Vein spread across Great River Market, and Luo Chen settled in to cultivate while the Luo Tian Association resumed refining Jade Marrow Pills.
• Luo Chen used Simple Heart Hand to extract a portion of an Elf Pill and found that it sharply improved his Evergreen Art’s spirit-energy purification, nearly doubling his cultivation speed.
• Luo Chen realized his supply of Elf Pills would run out and began considering channels that could provide them reliably.
• Murong Qinglian reported the Luo Tian Association’s accounts, and Luo Chen set Wang Yuan’s monthly stipend at three thousand Spirit Stones before taking eight thousand Spirit Stones in profit.
• Luo Chen and Wang Yuan disguised themselves and entered the Zhenlong Black Market, where they saw several people with Foundation Establishment auras.

Luo Chen bought a Sword Pellet and Lucid Liquid at the Zhenlong Black Market, then sold Blood Burning Pills to Tian Xingzi. Tian Xingzi approached him to propose cooperation, leaving Luo Chen surprised by the offer.

• Luo Chen bid five thousand six hundred Spirit Stones for a Jade Cauldron Sword Sect Sword Pellet, despite the risk of retaliation.
• Luo Chen bought a bottle of Lucid Liquid and stocked up on Dust Transformation Pills and Golden Jade Liquid as the black market auctioned a large supply of goods.
• Wang Yuan bought a pair of top-grade Magic Tool gloves, while Luo Chen sold ten Blood Burning Pills to Tian Xingzi for one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones each.
• Tian Xingzi summoned Luo Chen and asked whether he was a Pill Refiner; Luo Chen denied it and said he knew a friend who was one.
• Tian Xingzi proposed cooperation, and Luo Chen reacted with surprise.

Luo Chen negotiated a potential partnership with Tian Xingzi of the Zhenlong Black Market to secure pills and medicinal ingredients, then joined Wang Yuan in buying an incomplete Body Tempering method. After discovering the Beast Skin held a concealed second section, Luo Chen revealed that the purchase had given them far more than they expected.

• Luo Chen told Tian Xingzi he needed to consult his friend before agreeing to cooperate, then asked the black market to source Lustrous Pearl Liquid, Elf Pills, and Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Tian Xingzi explained that some pills were difficult to obtain, but Luo Chen considered partnering with the Zhenlong Black Market to secure resources and ingredients.
• During free trading, Luo Chen found Wang Yuan bargaining with a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator over an incomplete Sky Peng Transformation method priced at seven thousand Spirit Stones.
• Luo Chen and Wang Yuan pooled their Spirit Stones to buy the Beast Skin, each paying three thousand five hundred.
• After they shook off two followers, Luo Chen carefully split the Beast Skin into two pieces and gave Wang Yuan the section containing Sky Peng Transformation, revealing that the other piece was also covered in writing.

Luo Chen discovered a hidden Tier 2 Emperor Flow Paste formula in the beast skin and blood-refined a Sword Pellet to strengthen himself. After the Luo Tian Association fulfilled the Duan Family’s urgent pill order, Luo Chen decided to meet Tian Xingzi.

• Luo Chen and Wang Yuan found a concealed Emperor Flow Paste formula beneath the beast skin, and Luo Chen began studying its unusual ingredients and Water Method refining requirements.
• Luo Chen used Xiao Wuyan’s Blood Refinement method to bind the Sword Pellet to himself and tested its powerful Sword Light.
• Qiu Ying told Luo Chen that the Duan Family wanted its shipment early, and Luo Chen arranged for Duan Feng to deliver fifty bottles of pills.
• Duan Feng returned safely with two thousand Spirit Stones, easing Luo Chen’s worry that he might clash with the Duan Family.
• Luo Chen decided to meet Tian Xingzi, who had been waiting for him.

Luo Chen attended the Zhenlong Black Market, bought a ghost-detecting lantern, and negotiated with Tian Xingzi over Blood Burning Pill ingredients. Tian Xingzi revealed that he had secured three Foundation Establishment Pills for five thousand Spirit Stones each, and Luo Chen agreed to buy them when they arrived.

• Luo Chen entered the Zhenlong Black Market and was given a seat among the Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Great River Market’s four local Foundation Establishment leaders attended the auction and bought ghost-fighting robes and lanterns commissioned by the black market.
• Luo Chen bought a Green Firefly Lantern and a Netherworld Pill, then watched the auction continue without bidding on a Golden Bright Spirit Monkey corpse.
• Luo Chen gave Tian Xingzi a broad list of ingredients for the Blood Burning Pill cooperation, mixing in materials for other pills to conceal the recipe and obtain resources he needed.
• Tian Xingzi told Luo Chen that three Foundation Establishment Pills would soon arrive at five thousand Spirit Stones each, and Luo Chen agreed to buy them and proceed with the pill-refining cooperation.
• Luo Chen left the black market early as heavy snow fell and slipped into the night after concealing his aura.

Luo Chen studied the Spirit Communication Pill recipe and gathered most of its ingredients while continuing to advance his cultivation, body tempering, and spirit eyes. He left the chapter preparing to refine the pill and strengthen himself on all three fronts for Foundation Establishment.

• Luo Chen declined Qin Liangchen’s suggestion to explore Great River Ghost City, then learned that Qin’s new arm had slowed his cultivation and postponed his prospects for Foundation Establishment.
• Luo Chen gave Qin Liangchen a delivery task, and Qin returned with most of the requested ingredients, including Snow Fox Blood, while Netherworld Yin Fiend and North Sea Jade Scallops remained outstanding.
• Luo Chen confirmed that his completed Spirit Communication Pill recipe could be learned through the system, then began processing its ingredients and delegated further preparation to his medicine apprentices.
• Luo Chen assessed his Qi Refining progress and used Lucid Liquid to strengthen his Spirit Eyes, resolving to obtain more of it.
• Luo Chen drank Golden Jade Liquid to temper his body and planned to strengthen his soul with Spirit Communication Pills as he pursued Foundation Establishment.

Luo Chen demonstrated All Wonders Pill refinement, rewarded Qu Lingjun with a High-Grade Jade Marrow Pill, and tried to master Mountain Collapse before turning to the Spirit Communication Pill. He left the chapter having identified a possible cause for Mountain Collapse’s failure, but his first Spirit Communication Pill attempt failed when the Snow Fox Demon Blood’s hallucinatory effect distracted him.

• Luo Chen rescued Tang Quan’s failing All Wonders Pill refinement and produced ten High-Grade pills, then gave Qu Lingjun a reward for mastering the Hundred Herbs Compendium.
• Qu Lingjun showed Qu Hancheng the High-Grade Jade Marrow Pill Luo Chen had given him and told his grandfather not to reveal the Chairman’s progress.
• Luo Chen’s attempt to cast Mountain Collapse failed and injured his meridians, so he suspected the Fireball Spell’s excessive power had disrupted the balance between the three spells.
• Luo Chen activated Entry Level Spirit Communication Pill refinement and began processing its ingredients in the Four Symbols Cauldron.
• The Snow Fox Demon Blood’s hallucinatory effect distracted Luo Chen and ruined the first batch, after which he chose to rest and recover.

Luo Chen learned that a Ghost General had appeared in Ghost City and continued developing the Luo Tian Association while advancing his pill-refining skills. After finally producing three Spirit Communication Pills, he swallowed one and experienced a vision of his younger self losing everything while trying to refine pills, ending with the young Luo Chen seeking to join the Mountain Shattering Gang.

• Luo Chen accepted Qu Lingjun’s Soul Nourishing Tree as a birthday gift and comforted him as they built a snowman of his parents.
• Zeng Wen reported that a Ghost General had appeared near White Stone Plaza, where nine of the Nangong Family’s ten Late Stage Qi Refining cultivators had died and Nangong Qin had escaped.
• Luo Chen discussed cultivation and the Luo Tian Association’s need for a formation expert with the cultivators gathered at Bright Moon Hall.
• Luo Chen refined Blood Burning Pills until he reached Proficient Level, then spent nine attempts before producing three Spirit Communication Pills.
• Luo Chen swallowed a Spirit Communication Pill and saw a vision of his younger self failing to refine the All Wonders Pill and losing his savings.
• The young Luo Chen left home and asked to join the Mountain Shattering Gang.

Luo Chen reflected on a decade of failures in Pill Refining before succeeding in refining the Spirit Communication Pill, whose dreamlike effect strengthened his Divine Soul Foundation. Confident in his improved spirit, he resumed cultivating the Soul Subduing Art and tested it on a captured pheasant.

• Luo Chen endured years of mining and failed Pill Refining attempts, then finally produced the All Wonders Pill after refusing to give up.
• Luo Chen experienced a ten-year dream in a stick of incense after taking the Spirit Communication Pill, then woke with a stronger Divine Soul Foundation and analyzed the pill’s effects and risks.
• Luo Chen decided to resume cultivating the Soul Subduing Art so he could better counter the yin souls and ghostly creatures in Ghost City.
• Luo Chen took Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang into the wilderness, sent Liu Qiang to capture live animals, and began practicing the Soul Subduing Art.
• Luo Chen fixed two eerie green beams on a pheasant, freezing it in place and frightening Liu Qiang.

Luo Chen practiced the Soul Subduing Art, feeding extracted beast souls to the Soul Nourishing Tree and discovering that the art stabilized his strengthened divine soul. After learning that Ghost City might hold multiple Ghost Generals and that the Nangong Family was weakened by its losses, he resolved to strengthen his power; Nangong Jin privately considered diverting danger toward Luo Chen.

• Luo Chen used the Soul Subduing Art on several pheasants and a hyena, feeding their souls to the Soul Nourishing Tree while practicing with Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang standing guard.
• Luo Chen found that practicing the Soul Subduing Art made his enlarged divine soul more stable, which could let him take Spirit Communication Pills more frequently.
• Nangong Qin visited the Luo Tian Association to buy two hundred bottles of Jade Marrow Pills, and Luo Chen agreed before questioning him about Ghost City.
• Nangong Qin told Luo Chen about Ghost City, and Luo Chen concluded that the Nangong Family lacked people and would need time to recuperate after losing nine Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators.
• Nangong Qin told Nangong Jin that Luo Chen had seemed as imposing and perceptive as a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator, and Nangong Jin urged his son to recover and pursue Qi Refining Completion.
• Nangong Jin privately worried about his family being cut off and considered diverting the disaster toward Luo Chen.

Luo Chen attended the Zhenlong Black Market, where he bought Sound Transmission Thousand Paper Cranes and an expensive Water Method Pill Refining Technique from Tian Xingzi. After a final remark about time running out, Luo Chen stopped Wang Yanchang, leaving his reason unclear.

• Gu Cai Yi worried that Jade Marrow Pill output had fallen, and Luo Chen said he was deliberately keeping profits from drawing envy.
• Tian Xingzi auctioned Sound Transmission Thousand Paper Cranes, and Luo Chen bought a pair for one thousand Spirit Stones.
• Luo Chen sold Tian Xingzi twenty Blood Burning Pills and claimed a suitable Water Method Pill Refining Technique could increase production.
• Tian Xingzi sold Luo Chen a Tier 1-to-Tier 3 Water Method Pill Refining Technique for eight thousand Spirit Stones, requiring a Great Dao Oath against sharing it.
• Luo Chen bought medicinal materials from Wang Yanchang for next month's pills and, after recalling Tian Xingzi's remark that time waited for no one, called Wang back.

Luo Chen secured a doubled supply of medicinal materials, learned the Falling Cloud Rising Smoke Method, and strengthened his divine soul through Spirit Communication Pills and Soul Subduing Art practice. As his cultivation and pill-making improved, he realized his many responsibilities were consuming too much time and began considering what to prioritize.

• Luo Chen asked Wang Yanchang to double next month's material supply, and Tian Xingzi approved the request.
• Luo Chen carefully checked for hidden marks, cleansed himself, and cultivated through the night, finding that his strengthened divine soul let him circulate the Evergreen Art more often.
• Luo Chen swore not to share the Jade Slip's contents, endured its overwhelming information, and learned the Falling Cloud Rising Smoke Method and its Silk Washing Hand and Cloud Transformation Hand.
• Luo Chen studied the new pill arts while continuing cultivation and refining, then used Spirit Communication Pills and demon beast souls to strengthen his divine soul and raise his Soul Subduing Art proficiency.
• Luo Chen reviewed his growing workload of cultivation, pill refining, and spell research, decided he needed to prioritize, and froze when he unexpectedly repeated the words “Time waits for no one.”

Luo Chen discovered that processing Exploding Ape Demon Blood with the Silk Washing Hand improved the yield of Blood Burning Pills, then learned why Duan Feng hated the Duan Family and refused to return. Duan Feng vowed to kill Duan Qiankun for his parents’ deaths, while Luo Chen withheld a thought that might endanger him.

• Luo Chen refined eight Blood Burning Pills in one batch and decided his fifty-eight pills were enough to fulfill Tian Xingzi’s request while keeping eight for the Luo Tian Association.
• Gu Cai Yi told Luo Chen that the Duan Family kept pressing for Jade Marrow Pills and had been contacting Duan Feng, so Luo Chen told her to limit their supply and blame shortages on the Nangong Family.
• Luo Chen visited Duan Feng at the Battle Hall and learned that the Duan Family had favored Duan Rui, used Duan Feng’s father’s Foundation Establishment Pill for him, and tried to marry Duan Feng’s mother to Nangong Qin.
• Duan Feng told Luo Chen that his mother had killed herself to resist the marriage arrangement and that he had left the Duan Family, later losing to Nangong Qin on the Dao Discussion Stage.
• Duan Feng said he had accepted the Duan Family’s gifts but would never return except to take revenge on Duan Qiankun for his parents’ deaths.
• Luo Chen considered telling Duan Feng something that might help him but swallowed the words when he saw Duan Feng’s fury.

Luo Chen considered how to free himself from Luo Tian Association’s daily affairs and streamline his cultivation, while Duan Qiankun reflected on his family’s failures and sought help from an old friend. After hearing Sima Hui Niang explain why her siblings had joined the association, Luo Chen asked whether she wanted to take on a greater role.

• Luo Chen withheld the truth about Duan Qiankun’s Heaven and Earth Root from Duan Feng, comforted him, and reminded him that Feng Xia and his friends stood by him.
• Duan Qiankun learned that Jade Marrow Pills were scarce, regretted his past choices for the Duan Family, and arranged to meet an old friend about refining Elf Pills.
• Luo Chen decided to delegate association affairs, prioritize Spirit Communication Pills and Blood Burning Pills, and focus his spell training on the Fireball Spell while maintaining his key cultivation methods.
• Luo Chen summoned Sima Hui Niang, who explained how her siblings had traded across the region and why they had chosen to join the Luo Tian Association.
• Luo Chen asked Sima Hui Niang whether she was willing to take on a greater role in the Luo Tian Association.

Luo Chen’s appointment of Sima Hui Niang as President freed him to focus on cultivation and spell research. After developing a Fire Shield Art that could melt the spiritual marks on enemy weapons, he visited Zhenlong Black Market and demanded the entire Blazing Cloud Peng corpse being auctioned by Xiong Kun.

• Luo Chen watched Sima Hui Niang’s appointment take effect as the association’s members began routing decisions through her and its operations improved.
• Luo Chen let Sima Hui Niang discipline Zeng Wen, then reflected that she could play the bad cop while he preserved his relationships with the association’s members.
• Luo Chen refined three Spirit Communication Pills and used his insights into gathering and dispersing power to develop a Fire Shield Art that melted the spiritual mark on Liu Qiang’s flying dagger.
• Luo Chen met Tian Xingzi at Zhenlong Black Market and delivered fifty pills.
• Luo Chen recognized Xiong Kun, the cultivator auctioning a Blazing Cloud Peng corpse, and declared that he wanted the entire beast.