Chapter Summaries

Li Chengjie struggled to defeat Liu Xingyue through the Yi Men Market formation, which Chen Xin'er controlled to shield and reposition her. Realizing he could not overpower the formation, Li Chengjie considered spending nearly all his Replication Points to copy Chen Xin'er's formation knowledge and control experience.

• Liu Xingyue launched three icy silver shuttles at Li Chengjie while the Mysterious Water Barrier withstood his Golden Flame Sword.
• Li Chengjie raised a Flame Wall to blunt the shuttles and redirected his sword toward Liu Xingyue, but Chen Xin'er shifted her out of its path.
• Chen Xin'er warned Li Chengjie that continuing the fight would attract Chen Family and Liu Family reinforcements.
• Li Chengjie used his system to scan Chen Xin'er and learned that copying her formation mastery and related experience would cost 1000 Replication Points.
• Li Chengjie decided that learning Chen Xin'er's formation secrets was his best chance to break the stalemate, despite the steep cost.

Li Chengjie copied Chen Xin'er's formation knowledge and used it to disrupt the Yi Men Market formation and kill Liu Xingyue. Chen Xin'er unleashed the formation's full power to trap and attack him, leaving him struggling to hold out.

• Li Chengjie copied Chen Xin'er's formation mastery and identified a weak point in the Yi Men Market formation.
• Li Chengjie struck the Li Position Node, disrupting the formation and injuring Chen Xin'er with backlash.
• Li Chengjie interrupted Liu Xingyue's teleportation and destroyed her shield before killing her with a flaming palm.
• Chen Xin'er activated Dragon Trapping Sky Locking, combining the formation's trapping, suppression, and attack powers against Li Chengjie.
• Li Chengjie defended himself with a Sword Light Shield, but the formation's relentless attacks threatened to trap him soon.

Li Chengjie used his knowledge of the marketplace formation to seize Liu Xingyue’s Storage Bag, destroy her corpse, and escape Chen Xin’er’s formation. Severely injured, he headed for Cangwu City to seek a place to heal, where the Liu Family would have less freedom to pursue him.

• Li Chengjie struck key formation nodes to disrupt Chen Xin’er’s control and reach Liu Xingyue’s corpse.
• Chen Xin’er shifted the corpse, but Li Chengjie interfered with the formation and seized Liu Xingyue’s Storage Bag before burning her remains to ashes.
• Chen Xin’er spent Essence Blood to intensify the formation, but Li Chengjie broke through a weak point in its light screen and escaped.
• Chen Xin’er ordered the Chen Family cultivators to report the incident to the Lineage and keep it secret, fearing the Liu Family’s response.
• Li Chengjie chose to fly to Cangwu City, where the Jin Family’s protection would limit the Liu Family’s actions, and set off to find a place to heal.

Three months after escaping Yi Men Market, Li Chengjie arrived in Cangwu City and rented Listening Bamboo Lodge for three years so he could cultivate in seclusion. The chapter ended with Jin Zitong warning a young Jin Family cultivator not to pry into the origins of paying customers.

• Li Chengjie entered Cangwu City under the name Li Mo and registered as a Foundation Establishment Late Stage rogue cultivator.
• At the Cave Mansion Department, Li Chengjie asked about third-rank Golden Core Cave Abodes and learned that Listening Bamboo Lodge was vacant.
• Li Chengjie inspected Listening Bamboo Lodge, judged its secluded setting and formations suitable, and rented it for three years for 240,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones.
• The steward, Jin Zitong, gave Li Chengjie the Cave Abode control talisman and Cangwu City resident token.
• A young Jin Family cultivator questioned Li Chengjie's wealth and identity, so Jin Zitong reminded him that the Jin Family's rules required them to treat customers without probing their origins.

After a year of seclusion, Li Chengjie reached the late Golden Core stage and greatly improved his alchemy and formation skills. He remained unable to remove the Soul Erosion Mark left by a Fourth Order Talisman and concluded that he needed Nascent Soul cultivation or a specialized method or treasure to break it.

• Li Chengjie broke through to the late Golden Core stage three months before ending his year of seclusion.
• Li Chengjie advanced to refining Third-grade high-level pills and became a Tier 3 mid-grade formation master, strengthening the formations protecting Listening Bamboo Lodge.
• Li Chengjie reviewed his cultivation progress and system panel, which showed his cultivation and skills had improved substantially.
• Li Chengjie found that his efforts to remove the Soul Erosion Mark in his Sea of Consciousness had achieved little.
• Li Chengjie realized he would need to reach the Nascent Soul Realm or find a specialized method or Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to remove the mark.

After a year in seclusion, Li Chengjie visited Treasure Pavilion in Cangwu City to find a better alchemical furnace. He inspected the Earthfire Qilin Furnace and detected signs that it was far older than the branch elder claimed, leaving him poised to negotiate its purchase.

• Li Chengjie emerged from seclusion with late Golden Core cultivation, third-grade high-level alchemy, and Tier 3 mid-grade formation mastery.
• He went to Treasure Pavilion and asked to see third-grade alchemical furnaces.
• The floor manager showed Li Chengjie the Earthfire Qilin Furnace, a third-grade mid-level furnace priced at four hundred thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.
• Elder Song claimed the furnace had recently arrived from Treasure Pavilion's main pavilion in the Great Yan Dynasty and offered to let Li Chengjie inspect it.
• Li Chengjie sensed signs of extensive past use in the furnace, then asked for a discount; Elder Song offered to reduce the price by twenty thousand spirit stones.

Li Chengjie bought the Earthfire Qilin Furnace from Elder Song and spent a day nourishing its formations. He then prepared the Three Yang Quenching Yuan Fruit and other ingredients to refine a Golden Core Pill.

• Elder Song offered Li Chengjie a discount on the Earthfire Qilin Furnace, and Li Chengjie bought it for three hundred and eighty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.
• Elder Song escorted Li Chengjie out of Treasure Pavilion and invited him to return for alchemy help or unusual materials.
• Li Chengjie returned to Listening Bamboo Lodge, sealed the Cave Abode, and nourished the furnace's formation patterns with Crimson Sun Spiritual Energy.
• Li Chengjie brought out the Three Yang Quenching Yuan Fruit and the auxiliary ingredients Liu Xingchen had prepared, along with his own supplementary materials.
• Li Chengjie prepared to refine the Golden Core Pill, knowing that a mistake could destroy the precious ingredients and the furnace.

Li Chengjie refined the Three Yang Quenching Yuan Fruit and its auxiliary ingredients in preparation for a Golden Core Pill. After a day and night of extracting the fruit seed’s Origin Power, he reached the moment to condense the core.

• Li Chengjie reviewed Wang Chengzhi’s alchemy insights and carefully prepared the auxiliary ingredients, fruit flesh, and seed.
• Li Chengjie fused the auxiliary ingredients and Three Yang Quenching Yuan Fruit flesh into a dark-gold medicinal paste.
• Li Chengjie suppressed the seed’s resistance with his Crimson Sun Dan Yuan and the Earthfire Qilin Furnace’s arrays while extracting its Origin Power.
• After a day and night, Li Chengjie watched the seed’s Origin Power finish fusing into a crimson-gold medicinal mass, ready for Core Condensation.

Li Chengjie refined two exceptional Golden Core Pills, sacrificing a third that became a Waste Pill. After recovering, he decided to sell only one pill to avoid drawing too much attention and considered approaching the Treasure Pavilion.

• Li Chengjie used a secret art and gathered Spiritual Energy to condense three Golden Core Pills in the furnace.
• When the rightmost pill began to destabilize, Li Chengjie focused on saving the other two, leaving the damaged pill to become a Waste Pill.
• The furnace yielded two high-quality Golden Core Pills with pill patterns and one failed Waste Pill, leaving Li Chengjie exhausted.
• After meditating for a day, Li Chengjie examined the pills and recognized their great value to Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Li Chengjie decided not to sell both pills at once and considered selling one through the Treasure Pavilion.

Li Chengjie disguised himself as the early Golden Core cultivator Han Santong and consigned a high-grade Golden Core Pill to Treasure Pavilion’s upcoming auction. After securing confidentiality and a favorable commission, he left to plan his next move.

• Li Chengjie changed his appearance and suppressed his aura to pose as a newly advanced early Golden Core cultivator named Han Santong.
• Li Chengjie visited Treasure Pavilion and asked Elder Song to arrange an auction for an item entrusted to him by a friend.
• Li Chengjie revealed a high-grade Golden Core Pill, and Elder Song agreed it merited a place among the auction’s grand finales.
• Li Chengjie and Elder Song signed a confidential consignment contract with a half-percent commission and set the auction for fifteen days later.
• Li Chengjie left Treasure Pavilion and began calculating his next move.

Treasure Pavilion’s planned auction of a Golden Core Pill stirred excitement and schemes among Cangwu City’s Rogue Cultivators and major powers. As the factions prepared to compete for the pill, Liu Ruihe returned to the Liu Family base after searching for clues about Liu Xingchen’s death.

• Treasure Pavilion confirmed it would auction a Golden Core Pill in fifteen days, and rumors spread throughout Cangwu City.
• Rogue Cultivators debated the pill’s price and the dangers of winning it, while recognizing that the major powers were better positioned to bid.
• The Wang Family and Li Yuanshan ordered their factions to prepare funds and pursue the pill within their means.
• The Profound Water Sect and Divine Wind Valley also declared interest in obtaining the Golden Core Pill for their disciples.
• Liu Ruihe returned to the Liu Family base in Cangwu City after a year spent searching for clues about Liu Xingchen’s death.

Liu Ruihe sensed the Soul Erosion Mark in Cangwu City’s West City District and realized that the murderer he had searched for had infiltrated the city. He avoided confronting the dangerous target and used a Ten Thousand Mile Instantaneous Talisman to report the discovery to the Liu Family headquarters.

• Liu Ruihe returned to the Liu Family stronghold after a year of fruitless searching for the killer of Xingchen Elder and Liu Xingyue Elder.
• Liu Ruihe detected the Soul Erosion Mark’s fluctuation moving toward the West City District and followed it to its apparent stopping point.
• Liu Ruihe judged that the target was powerful enough to defeat him and decided not to pursue the murderer alone.
• Liu Ruihe entered the stronghold’s guarded Secret Chamber and activated its protective array formations.
• Liu Ruihe used the Ten Thousand Mile Instantaneous Talisman to report the mark’s location and his belief that the murderer had hidden in Cangwu City.

Elder Song met with Jin Yiheng at Treasure Pavilion, where Jin questioned the origin of an exceptional Golden Core Pill set to appear at the auction. Elder Song confirmed the pill’s quality but refused to reveal whether it came from outside Star Luo Kingdom or from a local source, citing Treasure Pavilion’s rules.

• Elder Song welcomed Jin Yiheng to a private room on Treasure Pavilion’s fifth floor and shared tea with him.
• Jin Yiheng mentioned the rumors surrounding Treasure Pavilion’s upcoming auction and asked what treasure had caused such a stir.
• Elder Song acknowledged that the auction included a Golden Core Pill of exceptional quality.
• Jin Yiheng asked whether the pill had been brought in from another region or originated within Star Luo Kingdom.
• Elder Song refused to disclose the pill’s source, explaining that Treasure Pavilion’s rules protected information about merchandise origins.

Jin Yiheng paid Elder Song one million low-grade Spirit Stones for an indirect clue about the Golden Core Pill’s origin. He left believing the pill had been produced in Cangwu City, revealing that a powerful alchemist or force had emerged nearby without the Jin Family’s knowledge.

• Elder Song refused to disclose the Golden Core Pill’s origin directly, citing Treasure Pavilion rules.
• Jin Yiheng offered one million low-grade Spirit Stones under the pretext of borrowing Elder Song’s teacup.
• Elder Song accepted the money and hinted that the teacup came from a local Cangwu City kiln.
• Jin Yiheng interpreted the hint to mean the Golden Core Pill came from Cangwu City rather than another region or Medicine King Valley.
• Jin Yiheng left the Treasure Pavilion, realizing the Jin Family had overlooked a local source capable of producing a Golden Core Pill.

Jin Yiheng identified Li Mo as a possible link to the locally produced Golden Core Pill, and Great Elder Jin Keyu ordered Jin Lieshan and Jin Yiheng to bring him to the Jin Family and recruit him if he controlled the pill supply. They set out for Listening Bamboo Lodge in Qixia Mountain to investigate.

• Jin Yiheng told Jin Keyu and Jin Lieshan that Song Xiaohui had hinted the Golden Core Pill came from Cangwu City, not Medicine King Valley.
• Jin Yiheng connected the pill to Li Mo, a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had rented Listening Bamboo Lodge and bought a Third-grade Mid-level Earthfire Qilin Furnace.
• Jin Lieshan urged the Jin Family to bring Li Mo in for questioning, while Jin Yiheng cautioned that the evidence was only a suspicion.
• Jin Keyu ordered Jin Lieshan and Jin Yiheng to capture Li Mo if necessary and offer him generous benefits if he was an Alchemist or controlled the pill supply.
• Jin Lieshan and Jin Yiheng left to find Li Mo at Listening Bamboo Lodge in Qixia Mountain.

Jin Yiheng and Jin Lieshan visited Li Chengjie, suspecting his wealth and alchemy interests marked him as the Alchemist they sought. After Li Chengjie politely refused to join the Jin Family, Jin Lieshan erupted in anger, leaving the meeting on the brink of force.

• Jin Yiheng and Jin Lieshan found that Li Chengjie's Cave Abode was protected by a carefully reinforced Third-Tier Formation and took it as evidence of his wealth and possible alchemy skills.
• Li Chengjie learned that two Jin Family Elders had arrived, kept his cultivation aura at Foundation Establishment peak, and opened the formation to welcome them.
• Jin Yiheng questioned Li Chengjie about buying the Earthfire Qilin Furnace and upgrading his formation, and Li Chengjie claimed he had inherited savings and hired a Formation Master.
• Jin Yiheng invited Li Chengjie to join the Jin Family as an honored Alchemist, but Li Chengjie refused, citing his freedom, modest skills, and deceased master.
• Jin Lieshan slammed the tea table and accused Li Chengjie of refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.

Li Chengjie revealed his true late Golden Core cultivation when Jin Lieshan tried to seize him, then drew Liu Xingchen’s Golden Flame Sword. Recognizing the weapon, Jin Yiheng halted the attack and treated Li Mo as a potential ally against the Liu Family.

• Jin Lieshan threatened to capture Li Chengjie and search his soul over the Golden Core Pill, then attacked him with a spiritual claw.
• Li Chengjie revealed his late Golden Core cultivation and drew the Golden Flame Sword, stopping Jin Lieshan’s attack.
• Jin Yiheng recognized the sword as Liu Xingchen’s and suspected Li Chengjie was the cultivator who had killed him.
• Jin Yiheng stepped between Jin Lieshan and Li Chengjie, called off the attack, and apologized for the misunderstanding.
• Li Chengjie kept his aura and sword ready, then calmly confirmed that he could be addressed as Li Mo.

Treasure Pavilion’s quarterly grand auction drew cultivators from across Cangwu City, all focused on the Golden Core Pill. As the hall waited for the auction to begin, older Foundation Establishment cultivators despaired of obtaining it while favored heirs and sect disciples eagerly anticipated the chance.

• Cultivators crowded into Treasure Pavilion’s protected auction hall, where the Golden Core Pill was the most anticipated item.
• Foundation Establishment peak cultivators from different factions discussed how their elders and sects favored younger, better-connected candidates over them.
• Jin Haoxuan and Wang Qingyong waited impatiently in their families’ private boxes, each intent on obtaining the pill.
• Tong Xiaming anticipated that the Divine Wind Valley would secure the pill for him, while Su Yun’er worried that fierce competition within the Profound Water Sect could cost her the opportunity.

The Jin Family debated how much to bid for the Golden Core Pill and how to use the auction to win over or manipulate its suspected Alchemist. The final item was announced, leaving the bidding about to begin.

• Jin Lieshan questioned whether the Jin Family should spend up to two million Spirit Stones on the Golden Core Pill, and Jin Yiheng argued that securing ties with its Alchemist could help the family escape its dependence on Medicine King Valley.
• Jin Lieshan objected that the Alchemist had rejected their earlier invitation, while Jin Yiheng warned that trying to suppress a late Golden Core cultivator who had killed Liu Xingchen could provoke a dangerous feud.
• Jin Lieshan worried that the Alchemist might join Medicine King Valley, but Jin Yiheng revealed that the man had previously been pursued there while preparing to join the sect.
• Jin Yiheng planned to make the Alchemist a generous offer after the auction, then leak information about him to the Liu Family and Medicine King Valley if he refused, hoping to rescue him later and force his loyalty.
• Jin Lieshan praised Jin Yiheng's scheme, and the auctioneer announced the Golden Core Pill as the final auction item.

The Jin Family won the Golden Core Pill at the auction for 2.2 million Low-grade Spirit Stones after outbidding the Wang Family, Li Family, and Divine Wind Valley. Jin Yiheng then told Jin Lieshan to prepare an invitation so the family could make a final attempt to recruit Li Mo at Listening Bamboo Lodge.

• The auctioneer revealed a superior-quality Golden Core Pill and opened bidding at 1.2 million Low-grade Spirit Stones.
• Rogue Cultivators and representatives of several forces drove the price upward until the Wang Family, Li Family, and Divine Wind Valley joined the contest.
• Jin Yiheng waited for the right moment, then bid 2 million and raised his offer to 2.2 million.
• The Wang Family, Li Family, and Divine Wind Valley withdrew, and the Jin Family won the Golden Core Pill.
• Jin Yiheng told Jin Lieshan to prepare an invitation for the Jin Family's final attempt to recruit Li Mo at Listening Bamboo Lodge.