Chapter Summaries

Li Chengjie defeated Liu Fangdong, a peak Golden Core cultivator, in their fierce battle. The Liu Family Ancestor died after Li Chengjie stopped his attempted self-detonation and pierced his brow with the Golden Flame Sword.

• Li Chengjie wounded Liu Fangdong and dismissed his strength, while Liu Fangdong demanded to know his identity.
• Liu Fangdong began reversing his Golden Core, intending to destroy himself and take Li Chengjie with him.
• Li Chengjie used the Profound Light Mirror to confine Liu Fangdong's soul and interrupt the reversal.
• Li Chengjie unleashed the Heart Fire-infused Golden Flame Sword, which broke through Liu Fangdong's Profound Light Mirror and Azure Nether Sword.
• The Golden Flame Sword pierced Liu Fangdong's brow, killing him among the shattered ruins.

Li Chengjie killed Liu Fangdong and searched his belongings, while Gao Chen abandoned his doubts about Li Chengjie and began his Golden Core breakthrough. The chapter ended with Li Chengjie examining Liu Fangdong’s inheritance and treasures.

• Li Chengjie took Liu Fangdong’s Azure Nether Sword and Storage Bag after killing him, and found Azure Wave Market deserted and devastated.
• Gao Chen recalled watching Li Chengjie defeat Liu Fangdong and reconsidered his decision to invite him into the Monster Hunting Guild.
• Gao Chen swallowed the Golden Core Pill Li Chengjie had given him and began attempting to break through to the Golden Core stage.
• Li Chengjie converted Liu Fangdong’s belongings into 1,520 Replication Points, bringing his total to 2,810, and discovered valuable pills, materials, and magic treasures.
• Li Chengjie examined Liu Fangdong’s three Jade Slips, learning the Azure Nether Sword Art, the contents of his travelogue, and clues to Ice Soul Cliff and Venerable Xuanbing’s resting place.
• Li Chengjie inspected a restriction-sealed bronze cauldron and identified three third-rank Talismans: the Golden Light Escape Talisman, Mountain Suppressing Talisman, and Profound Origin Protective Talisman.

Ling Lanyan and Yi Shenming arrived at Azure Wave Market and confronted Li Chengjie over his killing of Medicine King Valley Elder Yang Zhaohui. Li Chengjie defended himself, and Ling Lanyan demanded that he surrender or face death, leaving the confrontation on the brink of battle.

• Li Chengjie sensed two powerful Golden Core cultivators approaching Azure Wave Market and prepared his weapons.
• Ling Lanyan and Yi Shenming arrived, saw Liu Fangdong's corpse and the battle's destruction, and identified Li Chengjie as the killer of Yang Zhaohui.
• Ling Lanyan accused Li Chengjie of murdering a Medicine King Valley Elder and insisted he should have surrendered to the valley.
• Li Chengjie challenged Medicine King Valley's claim to authority, pointing out that its people had ambushed others and that Liu Fangdong had died for the same reason.
• Ling Lanyan demanded that Li Chengjie kneel, surrender his possessions, and submit to judgment, while Yi Shenming warned him not to resist.

Li Chengjie fought Ling Lanyan and Yi Shenming, but Medicine King Valley’s Crimson Cloud Cauldron and Measuring Heaven Ruler weakened his magic treasures. After a failed attempt to reach Ling Lanyan, Li Chengjie was trapped between the Valley Master and Yi Shenming’s pursuing attacks.

• Yi Shenming attacked Li Chengjie with three coordinated magic treasures, but Li Chengjie used the Earth Suppressing Mountain Pearl’s Gravity Field Domain to slow them and repelled Yi Shenming’s flying sword.
• Ling Lanyan released mist from the Crimson Cloud Cauldron, dissolving much of Li Chengjie’s Gravity Field Domain and the Azure Origin Shield’s spiritual light.
• Li Chengjie formed a defensive triangular formation with his three treasures, but Ling Lanyan used the Measuring Heaven Ruler to reduce their power.
• With Yi Shenming’s attacks overwhelming him, Li Chengjie broke free of the Dark Gold Chain at the cost of a shoulder wound and lunged at Ling Lanyan.
• Ling Lanyan blocked Li Chengjie with his shield and escaped a hundred zhang with the Blazing Heaven Wings, while Yi Shenming’s three treasures closed in on Li Chengjie from behind.

Li Chengjie fought Ling Lanyan and his five Dharma Artifacts but was ultimately immobilized by the Soul Suppressing Beads. Though he admitted defeat, he refused to surrender his life, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Li Chengjie used Heart Fire Power to break free of Yi Shenming’s Dark Gold Chain and scorch Yi Shenming’s spiritual sense.
• Ling Lanyan attacked at tremendous speed, shattered Li Chengjie’s defense with a flaming punch, and offered to spare him if he knelt.
• Li Chengjie unleashed his remaining strength in a sword strike, but Ling Lanyan blocked it with the Blazing Sky Shield and sent the Golden Flame Sword flying.
• Ling Lanyan used the Soul Suppressing Beads to pin Li Chengjie down and suppress his spiritual power.
• Ling Lanyan demanded Li Chengjie’s storage Dharma Artifact and the secrets of his origins and inheritance, but Li Chengjie said he would not let Ling Lanyan slaughter him.

Li Chengjie used Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk to recover from Ling Lanyan’s suppression and fought back with the Blood Bone Soul Shattering Sword. The chapter left Ling Lanyan reeling from the sword’s greatly strengthened Soul Attack as it struck his Blazing Sky Shield.

• Ling Lanyan increased the Soul Suppressing Beads’ pressure on Li Chengjie and demanded his Storage Bag.
• Li Chengjie used Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk to heal his injuries and restore much of his core essence.
• Li Chengjie forced the Soul Suppressing Beads away and used the Earth Suppressing Mountain Pearl to slow Ling Lanyan’s attack.
• Li Chengjie sent the Blood Bone Soul Shattering Sword at Ling Lanyan and poured his powerful Divine Sense into it.
• Ling Lanyan blocked the sword with the Blazing Sky Shield, but its strengthened Soul Attack shook his Sea of Consciousness.

Li Chengjie turned the fight around by detonating the Blood Bone Soul Shattering Sword and using its spiritual sense impact to leave Ling Lanyan defenseless. He killed Ling Lanyan and left Yi Shenming fleeing from the ruins of Azure Wave Market.

• Li Chengjie detonated the Blood Bone Soul Shattering Sword, sending its spiritual sense impact through the Blazing Sky Shield and wounding Ling Lanyan's soul.
• With Ling Lanyan stunned and his magical treasures' connections disrupted, Li Chengjie charged in and drove the Golden Flame Sword through his heart.
• Li Chengjie twisted the blade to destroy Ling Lanyan's heart and used Heart Fire Power to incinerate the remnants of his soul.
• Yi Shenming watched Ling Lanyan die, realized he could not defeat Li Chengjie, and fled.

Li Chengjie pursued Yi Shenming after killing Medicine King Valley Master Ling Lanyan and defeated him despite Yi Shenming's escape talisman and desperate secret art. After killing Yi Shenming, Li Chengjie took his Storage Bag and turned toward Azure Wave Market to retrieve Ling Lanyan's belongings.

• Li Chengjie chased Yi Shenming, whose attempt to use a Ten Thousand Mile Instantaneous Talisman was stopped when Li Chengjie's Golden Flame Sword severed his left hand.
• Li Chengjie struck Yi Shenming with Sword Qi, damaged his shield, and drove him into the mountain forest.
• Yi Shenming unleashed Blood Flame Burst, but Li Chengjie used the Earth Suppressing Mountain Pearl and Golden Flame—Heaven Incineration to overwhelm it.
• Li Chengjie killed Yi Shenming by piercing his brow with the Golden Flame Sword and incinerating his soul.
• Li Chengjie collected Yi Shenming's Storage Bag and headed toward Azure Wave Market to retrieve Ling Lanyan's five artifacts and Storage Bag.

After defeating Ling Lanyan and Yi Shenming, Li Chengjie collected their treasures and converted their Spirit Stones into Replication Points. He returned to his hidden Cave Abode, refined the Measuring Heaven Ruler, and discovered its power could analyze objects as well as suppress magic treasures.

• Li Chengjie collected the five magic treasures and Ling Lanyan's Storage Bag from the ruins, then searched its valuable contents and Medicine King Valley inheritance.
• Li Chengjie cremated Ling Lanyan and returned to his concealed Cave Abode with the Measuring Heaven Ruler.
• Li Chengjie converted the Spirit Stones in Yi Shenming's and Ling Lanyan's Storage Bags into 4060 Replication Points, bringing his total to 6870.
• Li Chengjie studied the Measuring Heaven Ruler's restrictions and successfully replaced Ling Lanyan's remaining imprints with his own.
• Li Chengjie tested the ruler on a piece of black ironstone and found that it could judge an object's properties and weaknesses.

Li Chengjie refined the five treasures taken from Ling Lanyan, including the Blazing Heaven Wings, and recovered in his Cave Abode. Meanwhile, the Liu Family and Medicine King Valley learned that their leaders had died and began investigating what happened near Azure Wave Market.

• Li Chengjie refined the Crimson Cloud Cauldron, Blazing Sky Shield, Blazing Heaven Wings, and Soul Suppressing Beads after first refining the Measuring Heaven Ruler.
• Li Chengjie took an Azure Cloud Soul Nourishing Pill to recover while keeping watch on the situation outside his Cave Abode.
• The Liu Family discovered that Liu Xingchen and its peak Golden Core Ancestor, Liu Fangdong, had died, and its Clan Leader prepared to visit Medicine King Valley.
• Medicine King Valley Elders confirmed Ling Lanyan's death and considered whether a powerful cultivator, a Nascent Soul expert, or the Jin Family was responsible.

Medicine King Valley elders learned through a soul search that Li Chengjie had killed several of their elders and likely Valley Master Ling Lanyan, then taken the Measuring Heaven Ruler. They recognized him as a rapidly advancing threat and considered how much stronger he might have become.

• Tan Cheng brought Li Xu, a captured Azure Wave Market merchant, before Medicine King Valley’s elders and reported his claims about escaping on a Treasure Pavilion Cloud Shuttle.
• Li Xu said Li Chengjie had slain a Liu Family Golden Core Elder and described him as a green-robed Golden Core cultivator.
• Wang Chengzhi used a Fourth Order Soul Searching Talisman on Li Xu, whose memories revealed that he was actually Li Dongxu, a Flowing Cloud Sect survivor.
• The extracted memories showed Li Chengjie had killed Liu Xuancheng and other Medicine King Valley Elders, while Li Dongxu and fellow refugees had fled Azure Wave Market and slandered him.
• Wang Chengzhi and Elder Gu Song concluded that Li Chengjie had likely harmed Ling Lanyan and taken the Measuring Heaven Ruler, and warned that his strength had grown rapidly.

After Medicine King Valley lost its master, Wang Chengzhi persuaded its elders to unite with four allied factions and issue a Joint Execution Order against Li Chengjie. He began drafting the proclamation and arranging the campaign, while the valley prepared for war.

• Elder Gu Song and the other elders demanded revenge for the deaths of Valley Master Ling Lanyan and Liu Fangdong.
• Wang Chengzhi argued that Medicine King Valley should rally the Liu, Chen, Heavenly Sword, and Thick Earth factions instead of seeking help from the hostile Royal Jin Family.
• Elder Gu Song and Elder Yu Ding approved Wang Chengzhi's plan, assigning him to draft the order and contact the allied factions.
• Wang Chengzhi drafted a proclamation portraying Li Chengjie as a dangerous outsider who had seized Azure Wave Market and killed cultivators from Medicine King Valley and the Liu Family.
• Elder Gu Song oversaw the valley's preparations, while Elder Yu Ding took charge of coordination, rewards, and intelligence networks.

Wang Chengzhi assembled an alliance to hunt Li Chengjie, drawing forces from Medicine King Valley and four allied powers. Two Golden Core rogue cultivators then joined the expedition, which gathered at Greeting Guest Flat five days later, ready to march into the Northern Territory.

• Wang Chengzhi organized Medicine King Valley's force of eight Golden Core cultivators and two hundred Foundation Establishment elites, while Elder Gu Song stayed to command the valley.
• The Liu Family, Chen Family, Heavenly Sword Pavilion, and Thick Earth Gate each committed troops and Golden Core leaders, bringing the alliance to fourteen Golden Core cultivators and nearly nine hundred Foundation Establishment elites.
• Wang Chengzhi ordered all five forces to gather at Greeting Guest Flat five days later for an oath-taking ceremony before marching into the Northern Territory.
• Daoist Mo Yuan and Wu Jianian, two mid Golden Core rogue cultivators, offered to join the expedition and agreed to follow the alliance's commands in exchange for rewards and spoils.
• The allied forces assembled at Greeting Guest Flat, where their banners flew and auras surged before the campaign.

Wang Chengzhi led the five-faction alliance north to hunt Li Chengjie and reclaim the Measuring Heaven Ruler. At the ruins of Azure Wave Market, Gao Chen broke through Foundation Establishment and formed a Golden Core amid a vast spiritual phenomenon.

• Wang Chengzhi rallied Medicine King Valley, the Liu Family, the Chen Family, the Heavenly Sword Pavilion, and the Thick Earth Gate to pursue Li Chengjie in the Northern Territory.
• The five-faction alliance set out toward Azure Wave Market and the Cold Abyss Mountain Range.
• A surge of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi gathered above the ruins of Azure Wave Market as a hidden power awakened inside Gao Chen.
• Gao Chen absorbed the converging Spiritual Energy and formed a Golden Core, causing the extraordinary phenomenon to fade.
• Gao Chen emerged from the breakthrough with his Foundation Establishment shackles shattered and his aura rising into a new realm.

The Royal Jin Family debated the Five Family Alliance’s campaign against Li Chengjie and decided to intervene under the banner of preserving peace in the Northern Territory. Great Elder Jin Keyu ordered a Peace Order that formed a royal coalition and offered Li Chengjie safe passage if he surrendered the Measuring Heaven Ruler and left Star Luo.

• Jin Yiheng reported the Five Family Alliance’s mobilization and the breakthrough phenomenon near Azure Wave Market to the Jin Family elders.
• Jin Lieshan urged the Jin Family to exploit Medicine King Valley’s losses and the coming conflict to strengthen its own position.
• Jin Yiheng warned Jin Keyu that Li Chengjie was dangerous and could evade a quick defeat by using the Measuring Heaven Ruler and guerrilla tactics.
• Jin Keyu ordered the Royal Jin Family to issue a Peace Order, presenting its intervention as an effort to prevent war and protect Northern Territory cultivators.
• Jin Keyu announced that the Jin Family would join the Li Family, Wang Family, Profound Water Sect, and Divine Wind Valley, offering Li Chengjie safe passage if he surrendered the seized items and left Star Luo.

Jin Keyu assembled a royal alliance to mediate the Northern Territory conflict, sending a powerful force toward Azure Wave Market. There, newly advanced Golden Core cultivator Gao Chen thanked Li Chengjie, who completed a formidable Tier 3 mid-grade formation.

• Jin Keyu ordered Jin Yiheng to recruit allied families and sects and Jin Lieshan to assemble Jin Family troops for the mediation.
• Jin Hongxi led the royal mediation army, including peak Golden Core elders and more than eight hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, toward Azure Wave Market.
• After forming his Golden Core, Gao Chen kowtowed nine times to thank Li Chengjie for the Golden Core Pill and entered his Cave Abode.
• Gao Chen watched as Li Chengjie used artifact-refining and formation techniques to craft a metal-and-fire Tier 3 mid-grade formation.
• Li Chengjie completed the formation, whose golden and crimson lights joined into a powerful Spiritual Light Field.

After Gao Chen formed his core, Li Chengjie installed a Golden Flame Mountain Suppressing Array around the Azure Wave Market ruins to fortify them against the approaching danger. Back in the Cave Abode, Li Chengjie began refining a soul-nourishing pill, leaving Gao Chen to watch in awe.

• Li Chengjie praised Gao Chen for forming his core, and Gao Chen thanked him for the Golden Core Pill.
• Li Chengjie brought Gao Chen to the Azure Wave Market ruins and deployed the formation components across the area.
• Li Chengjie activated the Third-grade Mid-level Golden Flame Mountain Suppressing Array, concealing its barrier after it enclosed the ruins and nearby land.
• Li Chengjie returned to the Cave Abode and brought out the Crimson Cloud Cauldron and precious soul-nourishing ingredients.
• Li Chengjie began refining a pill with Pure White Dan Fire, starting with the Ghost Soul Grass.

Li Chengjie refined three superior-quality Soul Nurturing Pills, revealing his exceptional alchemy to Gao Chen. Impressed and devoted, Gao Chen pledged himself to Li Chengjie, who then invited him to address them as martial brothers.

• Li Chengjie extracted and fused the ingredients before refining three Third-Tier top-grade Soul Nurturing Pills.
• Gao Chen was astonished by Li Chengjie's alchemy and renewed his pledge of loyalty.
• Li Chengjie told Gao Chen to rise and fulfill his responsibilities.
• Li Chengjie said that now they were both Golden Core cultivators, they should stop addressing each other as benefactor and disciple.
• Li Chengjie invited Gao Chen to call him Senior Brother, and Gao Chen reacted with shock and emotion.

Li Chengjie prepared for his coming confrontation while the Medicine King Valley Five Family Alliance learned that the Royal Jin Family Alliance was racing toward Azure Wave Market. Wang Chengzhi ordered his forces to accelerate and kill Li Chengjie before the Jin Family could intervene, as Jin Hongxi’s coalition also hurried south.

• Li Chengjie reflected on Gao Chen’s loyalty and potential before settling into cultivation in his Cave Abode.
• Wang Chengzhi received an urgent message that Jin Hongxi had formed a Royal Mediation Allied Army with the Li Family, Wang Family, Profound Water Sect, and Divine Wind Valley, and was heading for Azure Wave Market.
• Liu Xuanfeng, Chen Zhenyue, Han Qianye, and Shi Shouxin warned that the Jin Family could exploit the Five Family Alliance’s weakened state and seize the Measuring Heaven Ruler.
• Wang Chengzhi ordered the Cloud Boat to use its Swift Travel Formation at full power so they could defeat Li Chengjie and reclaim the Measuring Heaven Ruler before the Jin Family arrived.
• Jin Hongxi’s Royal Jin Family Alliance traveled south aboard its golden Cloud Boat, with Jin Lieshan, Jin Yiheng, and Elders from its allied forces following.

Jin Hongxi learned that the Medicine King Valley Alliance was about to reach Azure Wave Market far ahead of his group, so he used Directional Escape Talismans to close the distance. The ten Golden Core cultivators activated the talismans and prepared to rush toward the battle over the Measuring Heaven Ruler.

• A cultivator at Black Stone Ridge warned Jin Hongxi that the Medicine King Valley Alliance had passed through and was racing toward Azure Wave Market.
• Jin Yiheng calculated that the Medicine King Valley Alliance would arrive within a quarter of an hour, while Jin Hongxi’s group would need until the following day by Cloud Boat.
• Jin Hongxi revealed five Directional Escape Talismans and explained that they could teleport the group closer to Azure Wave Market, though they would suffer spatial aftereffects.
• Jin Hongxi distributed top-grade third-rank Spirit Recovery Pills and promised the allied elders a share of the spoils if they helped seize the Measuring Heaven Ruler.
• The ten Golden Core cultivators formed a circle on the Cloud Boat’s deck and crushed their Directional Escape Talismans to teleport toward Azure Wave Market.