Chapter Summaries

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.

Luo Chen realized the Fallen Cloud Sect might be preparing for war, then returned to Slanting Moon Valley as a Beast Tide attacked the Luo Tian Association. He helped defeat the horde and joined Wang Yuan in capturing a Second-Order Explosive Ape alive.

• Luo Chen bought Xiong Kun’s damaged Blazing Cloud Peng corpse for eight thousand Spirit Stones after Tian Xingzi brokered a compromise.
• Luo Chen deduced that the Zhenlong Black Market belonged to the Fallen Cloud Sect and that its bulk purchases of Blood Burning Pills and resources pointed to preparations for war.
• Sima Hui Niang organized the Luo Tian Association’s defense against a Beast Tide, but the Second-Order Explosive Ape and its forces overwhelmed the cultivators outside Slanting Moon Valley.
• Luo Chen arrived and rallied the association, using his Sword Pellet and magic tools to kill demon beasts while Wang Yuan fought the Second-Order Explosive Ape.
• Wang Yuan badly wounded the Explosive Ape, and Luo Chen restrained it with six Azure Wood Flood Dragons, leaving the two of them with the beast captured alive.

Luo Chen captured a Second-Order Explosive Ape and suspected that someone had deliberately directed the Beast Tide against the Luo Tian Association. An investigation traced the attack to the ape’s missing cub, which Liu Qiang had unknowingly bought from the Nangong Family’s beast farm, leaving Luo Chen focused on Ke Yuelin.

• Luo Chen kept the wounded Second-Order Explosive Ape alive for its demon blood, while Wang Yuan gave him its Demon Core and explained how demon beasts cultivated through their cores.
• Luo Chen returned to Slanting Moon Valley, ordered repairs and patrols, and questioned Sima Hui Niang and Zhou Yuanli about why the Beast Tide had targeted the association.
• Luo Chen concluded that human hands had likely lured the Beast Tide and ordered an investigation into anything that could have attracted the Second-Order Explosive Ape.
• Sima Hui Niang arranged repairs, rewards, and support for the Battle Hall after eleven cultivators died and two were severely injured; Luo Chen also gave her a Sound Transmission Thousand Paper Crane.
• Zhou Yuanli found a young Tier 1 Exploding Ape in the Beast Room and confirmed it was the cub of the captured beast; Liu Qiang revealed that he had bought it from Ke Yuelin at the Nangong Family’s beast farm.

Luo Chen tested his newly perfected Blazing Sun Spell against a Second-Order Frost Giant Wolf, then questioned Ke Yuelin about the Beast Tide and met with Nangong Jin to secure renewed cooperation. Ke Yuelin died before revealing who had directed him, leaving suspicion between the Li and Duan Families unresolved as Luo Chen returned with the Jade Marrow Pill deal intact.

• Luo Chen unleashed the Blazing Sun Spell against the Frost Giant Wolf and badly injured it, confirming he could threaten Foundation Establishment opponents.
• Luo Chen surveyed the Luo Tian Association and found that its cultivators had improved during the half-month training and pill supply.
• Nangong Jin presented Ke Yuelin to Luo Chen and denied that the Nangong Family had caused the Beast Tide.
• Luo Chen used the Soul Subduing Art to question Ke Yuelin, who identified someone named Duan before a Soul Restriction killed him.
• Luo Chen and Nangong Jin suspected either the Li Family or the Duan Family, then renewed their Jade Marrow Pill cooperation.
• Nangong Jin urged Nangong Qin to build ties with Luo Chen while keeping open the possibility of turning trouble toward their rivals.

Luo Chen concluded that the Duan Family had likely caused the Beast Tide to pressure Duan Feng and weaken the Luo Tian Association, but he chose to endure while he cultivated and prepared. At an auction, Tian Xingzi announced that the Zhenlong Black Market was leaving and postponed delivering the promised Foundation Establishment Pills, warning Luo Chen to prepare for the coming spring.

• Luo Chen explained to Wang Yuan why Duan Qiankun had reason to target the Luo Tian Association, while Wang Yuan said he wanted to test his strength against a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• Duan Feng told Luo Chen that the Duan Family had tried to lure him back, and Luo Chen concluded that the Beast Tide had been intended as a warning and a means to isolate him.
• Luo Chen bought the Ten Thousand Beasts Scripture at the Zhenlong Black Market auction, hoping it might help him subdue the Second-Order Explosive Ape beneath Slanting Moon Valley.
• Tian Xingzi gave Luo Chen Lucid Liquids and Tier 2 Elf Pills, but said the black market was leaving and the Foundation Establishment Pills would arrive later through a token.
• Tian Xingzi warned Luo Chen that the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect was unlikely to return after the snow melted and told him to prepare for spring; Luo Chen returned to the Luo Tian Association with the Ten Thousand Beasts Scripture.

Luo Chen enslaved the weakened Second-Order Explosive Ape and named it Little Red, then learned that several factions were squeezing the Luo Tian Association. He declared war on the Duan Family, and his gathered leaders began planning around the formidable Foundation Establishment cultivator Duan Qiankun.

• Luo Chen used the Spirit Enslavement Pill and Spirit Enslavement Seal to subdue the Second-Order Explosive Ape, then named it Little Red and ordered it fed so it could recover.
• Sima Hui Niang reported growing surveillance and business pressure from several families, including the Great River Gang's demand for exclusive Jade Marrow Pill sales rights.
• Luo Chen summoned the Luo Tian Association's leaders and announced that they would attack and destroy the Duan Family.
• Sima Hui Niang, Gu Cai Yi, Murong Qinglian, Duan Feng, and Wang Yuan pledged support, and Luo Chen framed the war as the Luo Heaven Association's founding battle and a path to greater resources.
• Sima Hui Niang and Duan Feng assessed the Duan Family's forces and warned that the main threat was Duan Qiankun, whose arsenal included a Magic Treasure.