Chapter Summaries

Song Changsheng and his companions explored the Immortal Cave while Black Deacon’s followers prepared to break the array outside. Song Changsheng found a study and discovered a preserved Jade Slip containing the Secret Art Spirit Transformation Energy.

• Song Changsheng broke the passage’s arrays, which he believed were tests set by the Immortal Cave’s owner, and led the group into a Stone Chamber.
• Zhu Yiqun searched for treasures while Song Changsheng and Zhuang Yuechan followed him through the Immortal Cave.
• Black Deacon ordered Skeleton Man to activate the Blood Demon Baleful Array using black clay jars placed at the array’s weak points.
• Song Changsheng suggested that the group split up to search the many Stone Chambers, and Zhuang Yuechan and the others agreed.
• Song Changsheng found a study filled with damaged Jade Slips and uncovered several preserved ones.
• Song Changsheng read a Jade Slip recording the Secret Art Spirit Transformation Energy.

Song Changsheng explored the immortal cave, found a rare secret art, and joined Zhu Yiqun, Zhuang Yuechan, and an injured Xu Yunhe at the cave’s final chamber. They began dividing the deceased cave master’s belongings by agreement, with Zhuang Yuechan proposing that Song choose three items first.

• Song Changsheng found a rare secret art that used Spirit Transformation Energy to wear down an opponent’s spiritual power, along with less valuable array and artifact-refining methods.
• Song Changsheng bypassed a chamber containing an almost third-tier sword-path killing array, while Xu Yunhe entered it and later emerged badly wounded but exhilarated.
• Song Changsheng discovered the cave master’s remains beside a Universe Bag in a brightly lit chamber, where Zhu Yiqun and Zhuang Yuechan soon joined him.
• Xu Yunhe arrived through Song Changsheng’s passage, and the group agreed to divide the remains’ belongings by splitting valuables equally and choosing the unknown items by luck.
• Song Changsheng opened the Universe Bag and proposed the distribution method, and Zhuang Yuechan suggested he choose three items first because of his contribution to their entry.

Song Changsheng and the others divided the Immortal Cave’s treasures, and he traded for the master’s formation and artifact-forging inheritances. When Blood Demons breached the Mystic Sun Heavenly Gang Array with a demonic formation, Song Changsheng realized their attack had been planned for years and fought back with the array.

• Song Changsheng took a jade box, bottle, and blood-red tablet, then exchanged a sword-technique inheritance with Xu Yunhe for an artifact-forging inheritance.
• Zhuang Yuechan offered Song Changsheng a formation inheritance in exchange for resources and his emerald-green jade box, and he accepted after recognizing its value.
• The group divided the remaining cultivation resources, with Zhuang Yuechan taking two shares.
• Song Changsheng discovered that Blood Demons were about to breach the Mystic Sun Heavenly Gang Array, and the group hurried outside the Immortal Cave.
• Song Changsheng recognized the Blood Demon Yin-Baleful Array and realized the Demonic Cultivators’ attack three years earlier had been planned to create it.
• Song Changsheng activated the formation and sent blades of baleful wind against the Blood Sea.

Song Changsheng and the others were trapped by Black Deacon’s Blood Sea until Zhuang Yuechan’s Talisman Treasure shielded them and a burly Foundation Establishment body cultivator arrived. The newcomer defeated Black Deacon and annihilated his fleeing soul.

• Song Changsheng’s weakened Mystic Sun Heavenly Gang Array shattered under Black Deacon’s Blood-Colored Flood Dragon, leaving him and the others exposed.
• Zhuang Yuechan crushed her Jade Pendant and used its Talisman Treasure to shield the group for the time it took to burn one stick of incense.
• A burly man arrived, charged Black Deacon, and overwhelmed him with a barrage of punches despite the Blood Demon’s Death Qi.
• Black Deacon enlarged his body into a blood-colored giant, but the burly man pierced his heart with a golden fist and destroyed his body.
• Black Deacon’s soul fled toward the horizon, and the burly man caught and annihilated it.

Niu Dazhuang arrived after the fight and revealed that Zhuang Yuechan was his junior sister and a disciple of Sunset City's Great City Lord, Mu Guibai. When he learned Song Changsheng belonged to the Song Clan, he confronted Zhuang Yuechan and took her away, leaving Song Changsheng confused about the rift between Sunset City and his clan.

• Niu Dazhuang returned with more than twenty heads after killing the fleeing Blood Demons, and Zhuang Yuechan reprimanded him for bringing them back.
• Zhuang Yuechan introduced Niu Dazhuang to Zhu Yiqun, Xu Yunhe, and Song Changsheng, and the group learned he was the Head Disciple of Sunset City's Second City Lord, Zhan Tianxia.
• Zhuang Yuechan revealed that Mu Guibai was her master, and Niu Dazhuang learned that Song Changsheng was a Song Clan Disciple.
• Niu Dazhuang warned Zhuang Yuechan against getting involved with the Song Clan, but she defended Song Changsheng and cited her master's order that the two sides keep to themselves.
• Niu Dazhuang took Zhuang Yuechan away on his flying sword, while Song Changsheng admitted he did not know why Sunset City and the Song Clan had to keep their distance.
• Zhu Yiqun urged Song Changsheng to stop worrying and helped him search the battlefield for spoils.

Song Changsheng recovered the Lu Wu Bell, and he and his companions settled the spoils and remains from the battle before Wang Wanzhou arrived. Wang Wanzhou warned that the Earth Fire Sect was unsettled and left Song Changsheng with questions about a grudge between the Lineage and Sunset City as they headed back to the Market.

• Song Changsheng claimed the Lu Wu Bell and wondered whether the sword cultivator's Natal Spirit Sword had fallen into Xu Yunhe's hands.
• Zhu Yiqun and Song Changsheng agreed to let Zhu handle and sell the thirty-one Demonic Artifacts, while they resolved to bury the fallen cultivators and protect the senior's remains.
• Xu Yunhe volunteered to gather the senior's remains, and Zhu Yiqun remarked that Xu had gained much despite losing an arm.
• Wang Wanzhou arrived, heard Song Changsheng's account of the Blood Demons, and told him to ask his grandfather about the grudge between the Lineage and Sunset City.
• Wang Wanzhou took Song Changsheng toward the Market, while Zhu Yiqun waited for his family's Old Master and Xu Yunhe.

Song Changsheng was ambushed by Earth Fire Sect cultivators after leaving the Market, and Wang Wanzhou fought them to give him a chance to escape. Song Changsheng fled toward Liuyun Market but became trapped in an Earth-Wood Universe Formation.

• Mo Zhexian emerged from the forest after Song Changsheng left, and Zhu Yiqun complained that he had watched the earlier fight without helping.
• Cheng Yufei and Du Huating intercepted Wang Wanzhou and Song Changsheng, demanding that Wang Wanzhou hand Song Changsheng over.
• Wang Wanzhou fought Cheng Yufei and Du Huating, then hurled Song Changsheng away while they kept him occupied.
• Song Changsheng headed toward Liuyun Market, but realized he was going in circles and narrowly avoided a vine and an earthen spike.
• Song Changsheng called out to whoever had set up the Earth-Wood Universe Formation, but more vines and earthen spikes attacked him.

Song Changsheng endured an Earth-Wood Universe Formation while studying its patterns, then broke through it and killed the Earth Fire Sect Array Master. Meanwhile, Song Luyao and Song Lu Huai joined Wang Wanzhou against Cheng Yufei and Du Huating, leaving the opposing pair at a disadvantage.

• Song Changsheng used the Lu Wu Bell to shield himself while he studied the Second-Tier Low-Grade Earth-Wood Universe Formation.
• The Earth Fire Sect Array Master sent four disciples into the formation to attack Song Changsheng and break the Lu Wu Bell.
• Song Luyao and Song Lu Huai arrived to support Wang Wanzhou, turning his fight against Cheng Yufei and Du Huating into a three-on-two battle.
• Song Changsheng used a Giant Spirit Palm Talisman to kill two Earth Fire Sect Disciples and badly injure the other two.
• Song Changsheng destroyed the formation eye, broke the formation, and advanced to Second-Tier Array Master.
• Song Changsheng killed the Earth Fire Sect Array Master after the man recognized his breakthrough.

After surviving an Earth Fire Sect ambush, Song Changsheng reunited with the elders who had secretly been protecting him, and their clans launched a counterattack against the sect. He consolidated his new formation skills, then began opening the treasures from the Immortal Cave, ending as the first jade box flashed with dazzling light.

• Song Changsheng killed the two wounded Qi Condensation cultivators, recovered, and reflected on how close he had come to dying in the ambush.
• Wang Wanzhou, Song Luhai, and Song Luyao arrived; Song Luhai explained that they had been tracking him and had fought the Chou Clan elder on the way.
• Song Luyao identified the dead array master as Chu Suiyang and called for the allied families to retaliate against the Earth Fire Sect.
• The Song Clan, Wang Clan, Li Clan, their subordinate families, and Monster Hunting Teams seized several Earth Fire Sect resource sites, forcing the sect to retreat.
• Song Changsheng stayed at Liuyun Market, advanced as a Second-Tier Low-Grade Array Master, completed formation patterns, and comprehended the Heavenly Sun Demon Refining Array.
• Song Changsheng opened two jade bottles, finding a Beauty Retention Pill for his mother and a Blazing Sun Pill suited to his Fire Spiritual Root, then opened a jade box that filled the room with dazzling light.

Song Changsheng examined the treasures and inheritances found in the Immortal Cave, discovering a Substitute Death Paper Figure and an array inheritance left by He Yunxuan. He began studying He Yunxuan’s method of Engraving Arrays with the Body and learned that three jade tablets were linked to a secret of the Blood Demon Sect.

• Song Changsheng found a Water-Avoiding Pearl and a drained Spirit Seed in two jade boxes.
• Song Changsheng discovered a Substitute Death Paper Figure, bound it with his blood, and pressed it against his chest.
• Song Changsheng reviewed the artifact-refining inheritance and prepared to study the array inheritance in the other jade slip.
• He Yunxuan appeared in Song Changsheng’s Sea of Consciousness and explained that he had left behind his worldly array knowledge and developed Engraving Arrays with the Body.
• He Yunxuan asked Song Changsheng to deliver a copy of the method to Gu Yiyi at the Array Dao Academy and warned him that three jade tablets concerned a dangerous Blood Demon Sect secret.
• Song Changsheng saluted He Yunxuan and began comprehending the array inheritance, discovering the Engraving Arrays with the Body method.

Song Changsheng decided to risk cultivating He Yunxuan’s method of turning his body into a walking array and began preparing the rare materials it required. After a month of steady cultivation and study, he reunited with Zhu Yiqun, who hinted that he had nearly died.

• Song Changsheng judged He Yunxuan’s body-as-array method feasible and chose to risk his Dao Path and life cultivating it before reaching Foundation Establishment.
• Song Changsheng reviewed the materials he needed, finding that the Dragon Blood Orchid and Heart Protection Pill were still difficult to obtain.
• Song Changsheng began studying He Yunxuan’s inheritance and cultivating Spirit Transformation Energy while the Earth Fire Sect remained quiet and Zhu Yiqun could not be reached.
• A month later, Song Changsheng received Zhu Yiqun’s message and went to meet him at their usual pavilion.
• Zhu Yiqun greeted Song Changsheng with an awkwardly enthusiastic hug, then said he had nearly failed to return alive.

Song Changsheng sought a Dragon Blood Orchid and a Heart Protection Pill, and Zhu Yiqun found a lead on the pill through a reclusive senior. To obtain it, Song Changsheng agreed to bid on an item for the senior at an upcoming Market auction, despite suspecting the task hid a danger.

• Zhu Yiqun told Song Changsheng that his Master had left him to evade enemies and that the Demonic Artifacts had sold for over two thousand Spirit Stones.
• Song Changsheng asked Zhu Yiqun to find a Dragon Blood Orchid and Heart Protection Pills; Zhu Yiqun said Dragon Blood Orchids were scarce but he knew a senior who might still have a pill.
• Zhu Yiqun reported that the senior had one Heart Protection Pill left but would trade it only for Song Changsheng's help bidding on an item at the Market auction.
• Song Changsheng weighed the risks against his need for the pill and agreed to bid for the senior.
• Zhu Yiqun gave Song Changsheng the senior's jade slip and a Universe Bag containing ten thousand Spirit Stones.

Song Changsheng attended an Eight Directions Pavilion auction to sell an unknown black stone in exchange for a Heart Protection Pill, with Zhu Yiqun joining him to provide cover. The auction reached the mysterious stone’s unveiling, but bidding had not yet begun.

• Song Changsheng examined the black stone and agreed to bring it to the auction after learning he would receive the Heart Protection Pill even if it did not appear.
• Song Changsheng entered the auction in a black robe and sat inconspicuously, while Zhu Yiqun joined him and said he had come to cover for him.
• Su Rou opened the auction with a Magic Artifact nearing Spirit Artifact status, which a Foundation Establishment Cultivator bought for twenty-three thousand Spirit Stones.
• Song Changsheng spent five hundred Spirit Stones on a second-tier metal ingot, then waited for the unknown black stone to appear.
• Su Rou presented the black stone, explaining that its value and origin were unknown and that it had failed to sell at other auctions.

Song Changsheng won the mysterious black stone at auction after provoking a bidding contest, then sensed something ominous about it. Suspecting it was a trap meant to expose Zhu Yiqun’s injured senior, he insisted on meeting the senior before handing over the stone, while an unseen watcher followed him.

• Song Changsheng outbid an old man to buy the black stone for three thousand five hundred Spirit Stones.
• After touching the stone, Song Changsheng felt a profound aversion and told Zhu Yiqun he would not hand it over if it was an evil object.
• Zhu Yiqun assured Song Changsheng that his family’s Old Man hated evil-path cultivators and needed the stone to treat his injuries.
• Song Changsheng suspected the stone was a trap set by the senior’s enemy and asked Zhu Yiqun to arrange a meeting, refusing to give up the stone without seeing the senior.
• Song Changsheng and Zhu Yiqun left the Auction House separately and shook off followers, but someone continued watching Song Changsheng.

Song Changsheng exchanged Feng Wuming’s blood-nourished stone for a Heart Protection Pill from a rogue cultivator and learned that the cultivator needed the stone to draw gu insects from his body. After the cultivator warned him about silver masks and vanished, Feng Wuming discovered his trail had been severed and decided to target Song Changsheng instead.

• Song Changsheng evaded his followers, while Feng Wuming watched Treasure Seeking Pavilion from a tavern and left the waiter under the influence of his gu.
• Zhu Yiqun told Song Changsheng that the rogue cultivator with the Heart Protection Pill had agreed to meet him at a Spiritual Herbs stall.
• The stall owner warned Song Changsheng that Feng Wuming was a formidable Gu Master who had already noticed him.
• Song Changsheng traded Feng Wuming’s blood-nourished stone and Spirit Stones for the Heart Protection Pill, then heard the stall owner warn him to beware of silver masks.
• Feng Wuming found the meeting place after both men had left, realized his backup plan had been discovered, and decided to begin with Song Changsheng.

Song Changsheng discovered that Feng Wuming had planted a Fire Poison Gu in his dantian and destroyed it using his Primal Chaos Qi, though the process left him severely weakened. Song Luyao and Song Xianyun arrived with allies to hunt Feng Wuming, who launched an attack as the search reached his inn.

• Song Changsheng spotted Feng Wuming in a silver mask, sent a message to Song Luyao, and stayed in his room to cultivate.
• Feng Wuming’s Fire Poison Gu afflicted Song Changsheng, who used the Essence of the Sun and Essence of the Moon transformed from his Primal Chaos Qi to refine it away.
• The Fire Poison Gu’s death inflicted a severe backlash on Feng Wuming, while Song Changsheng collapsed after nearly exhausting his spiritual power.
• Song Luyao and Song Xianyun arrived at Liuyun Market and joined Wang Wanzhou, the Li Clan, and Du Huating to search for Feng Wuming.
• Feng Wuming learned of the search through his puppet spies and prepared his remaining Life-Bound Gu Insects.
• As Song Xianyun searched near the inn, Feng Wuming burst through the roof and sent a Gu Insect toward his heart.

Song Xianyun used a Treasure Pearl to drive off Feng Wuming, who sacrificed his Life-Bound Gu to escape, and Song Changsheng recovered from his injuries. Song Changsheng left for Vast Peak, while Song Changqian asked Song Luyuan to let her set out on a training journey.

• Song Xianyun used the Treasure Pearl to damage Feng Wuming's Gu Insects and restrain him.
• Feng Wuming detonated his three Life-Bound Gu Insects to cover his escape, and the others searched the Market for hidden Gu Insects.
• Song Changsheng woke and learned Feng Wuming had escaped; Song Xianyun reassured him that the Song Clan's Treasure Pearl could counter Gu Insects.
• After recovering, Song Changsheng bid farewell to his fellow cultivators and left for Vast Peak with Song Xianyun.
• Song Changqian told Song Luyuan she wanted to train elsewhere, and he reluctantly agreed to let her go.

Song Changsheng returned to his courtyard, prepared for his next cultivation breakthroughs, and used a Marrow Cleansing Pill and a Blazing Sun Pill to reach Qi Condensation Great Perfection. Comprehending the Dao Scripture gave him the Illusion Breaking Eye, and he spent the following five months pursuing a Great Dao Foundation while waiting for news of the Dragon Blood Orchid.

• Song Changsheng cleaned his long-empty courtyard, planned to seek the Dragon Blood Orchid, improve his artifact forging, and prepare to condense a Dao Foundation.
• Song Changsheng posted a five-hundred-Spirit-Stone task for the Dragon Blood Orchid and exchanged his free clan quota for a Marrow Cleansing Pill.
• Song Changsheng took the Marrow Cleansing Pill to expel impurities, then refined a Blazing Sun Pill and advanced to Qi Condensation Great Perfection.
• Song Changsheng comprehended the Dao Scripture and gained the Illusion Breaking Eye, a Secret Art for seeing through delusions and locating things such as Formation Eyes.
• Song Changsheng spent five months absorbing the Essence of the Sun and Moon as he attempted to condense a Great Dao Foundation, while no news of the Dragon Blood Orchid arrived.

Song Changsheng pursued a high-grade Yin-Yang Dao Foundation while working to advance his Artifact Forging Technique. After half a year of practice with materials from Song Luzhou, he still had not managed to refine a Second-Tier Low-Grade Magic Artifact.

• Song Changsheng cultivated with Sun Essence Moon Splendor and saw the outline of his Yin-Yang Dao Foundation nearing completion.
• Song Changsheng went to the Hall of Hundred Arts, where Song Luzhou gave him the artifact-forging materials he had requested.
• Song Changsheng complained that the bag contained only twenty portions of Second-Tier Low-Grade materials, and Song Luzhou defended the cost and scarcity of the supplies.
• Song Changsheng returned to his courtyard and practiced artifact forging with the materials, including fifty portions of First-Tier Peak Grade materials.
• After another half year, Song Changsheng had brought his skill close to Second-Tier Low-Grade but failed all five attempts to refine a Second-Tier Low-Grade Magic Artifact.

Song Changsheng obtained a high-quality Dragon Blood Orchid for his array research, then met Song Qinghong, a young Array Master who admired him and wanted to trade another orchid for his insights. Song Changsheng gave Qinghong a Jade Slip of his array-setting knowledge, and Qinghong left him the second Dragon Blood Orchid.

• Song Changsheng learned that Hunter Captain Shangguan Jian had completed his Dragon Blood Orchid mission and accepted Shangguan's well-preserved orchid.
• Song Qinghong arrived with another Dragon Blood Orchid, but the Clan Elder told him the mission had already been completed.
• Song Qinghong asked Song Changsheng to exchange the orchid for his insights into the Dao of Arrays, explaining that Song Changsheng was his idol.
• Song Changsheng gave Song Qinghong a Jade Slip of his array-setting insights and told him to keep the orchid.
• Song Qinghong left the orchid with Song Changsheng and identified himself as Song Qinghong.