Chapter Summaries

Li Chengjie emerged from the Yin Yang Path and joined Long Yuan, Yan Xingci, and Master Lakong before a sealed passage beneath the ruins. They found Spiritless Flowers growing beside a massive stone door that might seal the Netherworld, and Long Yuan's touch caused its runes to flare.

• Li Chengjie crossed the transformed Yin Yang Path and reached Long Yuan, Yan Xingci, and Master Lakong in a rune-covered chamber.
• Li Chengjie led the others through the deathly purple mist into a vast cave containing a towering black stone door.
• Li Chengjie recognized the white buds beneath the door as Spiritless Flowers, which bloomed when the Gate of the Netherworld opened.
• Master Lakong explained that an ancient being had sealed a passage between the Human Realm and the Netherworld, and that Spiritless Flowers grew near the seal.
• Long Yuan suspected that someone had fabricated the story about the Witch Curse Scepter to lure him to the ruins.
• Long Yuan pressed his hand against the stone door, causing its runes to abruptly light up.

Long Yuan claimed the Witch Curse Scepter, restoring his cultivation and lifting the curse that had kept the Witch Curse land from cultivation. After the seal began to fail, Li Chengjie saved the Spiritless Flowers, and the group left as Yan Xingci asked whether he could become a cultivator.

• Long Yuan bonded with the Witch Curse Scepter and pulled it free from the stone door, restoring Li Chengjie's sealed Spiritual Energy.
• The scepter's power lifted the curses across the Witch Curse land, allowing Spiritual Energy to flow there and making cultivation possible.
• The stone door began to lose its seal, so Li Chengjie uprooted and stored the Spiritless Flowers before they could open the Gate of the Netherworld.
• Long Yuan thanked Li Chengjie, Yan Xingci, and Master Lakong, gave them gifts, and vanished after saying they might meet again at the Tai Xu Sect.
• Yan Xingci asked Li Chengjie if he could become a cultivator, and Li Chengjie said he could, but not yet, before leading the group away.

After Li Chengjie and his companions lifted the seal, Gao Chen and An Changling regained their Spiritual Power, while Li Chengjie, Yan Xingci, and Master Lakong emerged from the sinkhole. Li Chengjie revealed Yan Xingci and Master Lakong's Spiritual Roots, gave them cultivation methods, and prepared to return to Lingling with Yan Xingci.

• Gao Chen and An Changling felt their sealed Spiritual Power return, but An Changling left for Lingling to claim the Storage Bags in the royal treasury.
• Li Chengjie, Yan Xingci, and Master Lakong emerged from the sinkhole, and Gao Chen greeted them.
• Master Lakong said he would return to his temple to settle succession before seeking the path of immortality, while Yan Xingci chose to pursue cultivation.
• Li Chengjie discovered Yan Xingci had a fire-element Heavenly Spiritual Root and Master Lakong had dual metal and wood Spiritual Roots.
• Li Chengjie gave Yan Xingci the Blazing Sacred Fire Art and Master Lakong the Qingmu Changchun Technique.
• Li Chengjie and Yan Xingci decided to travel to Lingling together, while Master Lakong left for his temple.

An Changling attacked the royal palace and seized its Storage Bags, but Li Chengjie arrived with Yan Xingci and Gao Chen and killed him. Jiang Rui survived and recovered after Li Chengjie gave him a healing pill.

• An Changling beat Jiang Rui, forced him to reveal the treasury, and took its Storage Bags before injuring him again.
• Li Chengjie, Yan Xingci, and Gao Chen arrived at the palace and found Jiang Rui badly wounded and An Changling hovering in the hall.
• An Changling attacked Yan Xingci, but Li Chengjie blocked the Sword Qi and revealed his Nascent Soul Cultivation level.
• Li Chengjie killed An Changling and collected all the Storage Bags.
• Li Chengjie gave Jiang Rui a healing pill, and Jiang Rui's condition improved.

Li Chengjie converted the Spirit Stones from the seized Storage Bags into Replication Points and prepared to leave Lingling City. Yan Xingci joined the Monster Hunting Guild as a Guest Elder, and Li Chengjie, Gao Chen, and Yan Xingci departed west aboard a Fourth Order Cloud Shuttle.

• Li Chengjie exchanged the Spirit Stones in the Storage Bags for 3,000 Replication Points, bringing his total to 3,050, and regretted that Long Yuan had left.
• Gao Chen persuaded Yan Xingci to join the Monster Hunting Guild, and Li Chengjie welcomed him as a fellow disciple.
• Li Chengjie gave Yan Xingci First Order pills to support his cultivation and said they would leave for the Western Territory immediately.
• Li Chengjie expanded his azure Cloud Shuttle into a Fourth Order vessel, and the three flew west from Lingling City.

Li Chengjie, Gao Chen, and Yan Xingci reached the Western Territory and learned about the powerful Golden Fire Xuanyuan Temple. Meanwhile, a mysterious man emerged from the Netherworld into the Human Realm and set his sights on Tianlan.

• Li Chengjie, Gao Chen, and Yan Xingci found a vast oasis and landed at Wusha Gulou, where city lord Wu Lanbu welcomed them.
• Wu Lanbu told Li Chengjie and his companions that the Western Territory was dominated by Golden Fire Xuanyuan Temple, whose temple master and other cultivators had reached the Spirit Transformation stage.
• Wu Lanbu explained that Golden Fire Xuanyuan Temple ranked third on the Canglan Continent, behind Shouxian Pavilion and the Daoyi Sect, and that its Golden Mystic Fire was a powerful treasure.
• Gao Chen said the group had come to gather information and suggested they visit Golden Fire Xuanyuan Temple.
• Netherworld Power escaped through the gate at Luoxia Mountain, overcame the Yin Yang Path, and gathered into a black-robed man who entered the Human Realm and looked toward Tianlan.

One month earlier, Sky Sword waited above Luoxia Mountain for Asura to emerge from the Netherworld and fought him with the Tai Xu Sword. Their battle continued as Sky Sword used his greater speed to cut through Asura’s claw attacks.

• Sky Sword watched the Netherworld gate’s seal weaken for a month, then waited as Asura emerged from the sinkhole.
• Asura challenged Sky Sword, and Sky Sword wounded him with a sword strike.
• Asura summoned a thirty-foot Netherworld phantom, but the Tai Xu Sword cut into it.
• Asura attacked Sky Sword with his claws, and the two clashed while comparing their years of cultivation.
• Sky Sword accelerated the Tai Xu Sword, which began cutting through Asura’s claw shadows.

Sky Sword and Asura tested each other until Asura revealed the Yellow Springs Banner and trapped Sky Sword in a barrier that devoured his strength. With his spiritual energy nearly gone, Sky Sword poured his Sword Intent, soul, and life into one final strike as Asura reacted in alarm.

• Sky Sword and Asura recognized that they had both been holding back and waiting for an opening.
• Asura revealed the Yellow Springs Banner, and Sky Sword identified it as an ancient Netherworld treasure.
• Asura unleashed Black Chains from the banner, while Sky Sword used the Tai Xu Mirror and his Sword Intent to fend them off.
• Asura reshaped the chains into a barrier that drained Sky Sword's spiritual energy, life force, and divine soul.
• With his body failing and the Tai Xu Mirror dimmed, Sky Sword poured his Sword Intent, spiritual energy, divine soul, and life into the Tai Xu Sword.
• Asura exclaimed in alarm as Sky Sword prepared his final sword strike.

Asura defeated and killed Sky Sword, then absorbed his body into the Yellow Springs Banner. At Shouxian Pavilion, the elders learned of Sky Sword’s death and began investigating its connection to the Netherworld realm gate seal.

• Sky Sword’s sword light pierced Asura’s defenses, but Asura opened the Road to Yellow Springs to withstand it.
• Sky Sword’s strike shattered into motes that wounded Asura, but Asura recovered the Yellow Springs Banner and killed Sky Sword.
• Asura drew Sky Sword’s body into the Yellow Springs Banner and took the Tai Xu Mirror and Tai Xu Sword.
• Kurongzi saw Sky Sword’s Soul Lamp go out and hurried to report his death to Xuanqing.
• Xuanqing gathered Shouxian Pavilion’s Grand Elders, and Qingxuzi linked Sky Sword’s fall to the Netherworld realm gate seal.

Xuanqing revealed that the lifted curse in the Witch Curse Lands had loosened the Netherworld gate and called the Human Realm’s major powers to prepare for an invasion. Meanwhile, Li Chengjie, Gao Chen, and Yan Xingci approached the Golden Fire Xuanyuan Temple, where Li Chengjie expected Xie Linxian Shenjun to receive them.

• Xuanqing told Kurongzi and the Shouxian Pavilion elders that the lifted Witch Curse Lands curse had weakened the Netherworld seal and that Netherworld cultivators had killed Sky Sword.
• Xuanqing ordered invitations sent to Tianlan Domain’s eight great Holy Lands and the Golden Fire Xuanyuan Temple to discuss the Netherworld invasion.
• After three months of cultivation, Yan Xingci had reached the third layer of Qi Refining, and Gao Chen encouraged him not to be impatient.
• Gao Chen doubted that they could meet Xie Linxian Shenjun, but Li Chengjie confirmed that paying their respects to him was their purpose.
• Li Chengjie showed a Jade Box and guided the Cloud Shuttle toward the Golden Fire Xuanyuan Temple as its mountain range came into view.

Li Chengjie and his junior brothers Gao Chen and Yan Xingci sought an audience with Xie Linxian Shenjun at Golden Fire Xuanyuan Temple. After a gatekeeper accepted Li Chengjie’s Spirit Stones, they were brought to Fu Jinhong, who demanded the item Li Chengjie intended to give Xie and dismissed his request to meet him personally.

• Li Chengjie asked the gatekeepers at Golden Fire Xuanyuan Temple for an audience with Xie Linxian Shenjun, but they mocked him and told him to leave.
• Li Chengjie discreetly gave a gatekeeper a Storage Bag of Spirit Stones and insisted that his gift be delivered to Xie personally.
• The gatekeeper returned and brought Li Chengjie, Gao Chen, and Yan Xingci inside to meet Fu Jinhong, the temple’s foreign affairs steward.
• Fu Jinhong demanded that Li Chengjie hand over the item for Xie, but Li Chengjie refused to entrust it to him.
• Fu Jinhong rebuked Li Chengjie for thinking he deserved to meet Xie Linxian Shenjun.

Li Chengjie sought an audience with Xie Linxian at the Golden Fire Xuanyuan Temple and offered him a rare Spiritless Flower. Xie Linxian recognized Li Chengjie as a fugitive wanted by the Treasure Pavilion, but let him approach, triggering Li Chengjie’s ability to identify him as a replicable target.

• Fu Jinhong accepted Li Chengjie’s Storage Bag and agreed to take him to Xie Linxian after hearing he had a spiritual medicine ranked among the top ten.
• Fu Jinhong led Li Chengjie, Gao Chen, and Yan Xingci through the Golden Fire Xuanyuan Temple to Xie Linxian’s Cave Abode.
• Xie Linxian’s spirit pressure stopped Li Chengjie and his companions, and Xie Linxian recognized Li Chengjie as a fugitive wanted by the Treasure Pavilion.
• Li Chengjie presented a Jade Box containing a Spiritless Flower, which Xie Linxian had never seen and believed was only legendary.
• Xie Linxian allowed Li Chengjie to approach, and Li Chengjie’s system detected Xie Linxian as a replicable mid-stage Spirit Transformation target.

Li Chengjie replicated Xie Linxian’s mid-stage Spirit Transformation cultivation insights, Golden Fire techniques, pill formulas, and ancient secret technique fragment. He absorbed the inheritance and advanced to a fourth-order mid-grade alchemist, but still needed time to digest the deeper cultivation insights.

• Li Chengjie spent 3,000 Replication Points to replicate all available knowledge from Xie Linxian, leaving him with 50 points.
• Li Chengjie absorbed Xie Linxian’s Golden Fire Alchemy Technique inheritance and cultivation experience, including methods for harmonizing Metal and Fire Attributes.
• Li Chengjie gained fifth-order mid-grade Pill Dao knowledge, twenty-three fourth-order and seven fifth-order pill formulas, and the Golden Fire Dual Refining technique.
• Li Chengjie received insights into the five realms of pill fire and mid-stage Spirit Transformation, along with a fragment covering Laws and Illusionary Arts.
• Li Chengjie used the Profound Light Mirror to digest the torrent of information and checked his System Panel, which recorded his advancement to fourth-order mid-grade alchemist.

Li Chengjie absorbed Xie Linxian’s cultivation insights and alchemy inheritance, then used the opportunity to break through to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage. Xie Linxian protected him during the breakthrough and discovered that the Spiritless Flower began to wither when exposed to spiritual energy.

• Li Chengjie studied the Golden Fire Alchemy Technique inheritance, Xie Linxian’s cultivation insights, and the Golden Fire Dual Refining method.
• The interaction of Li Chengjie’s cultivation techniques stirred his Nascent Soul and opened an opportunity to break through.
• Gao Chen and Yan Xingci sensed Li Chengjie’s breakthrough, and Xie Linxian sealed the Cave Abode to conceal its spiritual fluctuations.
• Xie Linxian opened the Jade Box and saw the Spiritless Flower begin to wither in the Cave Abode’s spiritual energy, so he quickly resealed it.
• Li Chengjie shattered his bottleneck, reached the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, and expanded his divine sense beyond three hundred zhang.
• Li Chengjie thanked Xie Linxian for protecting him, and Xie Linxian credited the breakthrough to Li Chengjie’s own fortune.

Li Chengjie visited Xie Linxian, who recognized his unusual dual-attribute spiritual power but respected his secrets and repaid his gift with a powerful talisman. Li Chengjie planned to stay at Golden Fire Xuanyuan Temple for several days, where Fu Jinhong welcomed him after receiving Xie Linxian’s instructions.

• Xie Linxian accepted Li Chengjie’s Spiritless Flower and offered to help, while Li Chengjie said he had come to seek alchemical guidance.
• Xie Linxian noticed Metal Attribute spiritual power in Li Chengjie and suggested he consider cultivating at Golden Fire Xuanyuan Temple, which possessed a Golden Fire Dual Attributes art.
• Xie Linxian gave Li Chengjie a Fifth Order Golden Fire Breaking Heaven Talisman in return for the Spiritless Flower.
• Li Chengjie told Xie Linxian he planned to stay at the temple briefly before leaving, though he had not chosen a destination.
• Li Chengjie left Xie Linxian’s Cave Abode with Gao Chen and Yan Xingci, who admired his composure during the visit.
• Fu Jinhong apologized to Li Chengjie and said Xie Linxian had instructed him to arrange their stay at the temple.

Li Chengjie and his companions left the Golden Fire Xuanyuan Temple and reached Linchuan Market, where he rented a Nascent Soul Cave Abode and a pill shop for ten years. The steward sent Zhao Chenghao to guide them, and Li Chengjie recognized him as a former Flowing Cloud Sect disciple who had helped others flee Azure Wave Market.

• Fu Jinhong hosted Li Chengjie, Gao Chen, and Yan Xingci in a guest courtyard at the Golden Fire Xuanyuan Temple after Lord Xie intervened.
• Several days later, Li Chengjie and his companions left the temple and traveled west toward Linchuan Market, where Li Chengjie planned to settle.
• The three arrived at Linchuan Market, presented Xie Linxian's Jade Slip at the gate, and were escorted to the rental office.
• Li Chengjie chose a South Peak Cave Abode and a pill shop on East Street, then paid 800,000 Spirit Stones for ten years' rent.
• Manager Tang assigned Zhao Chenghao to guide Li Chengjie to the Cave Abode, and Li Chengjie recognized him from Azure Wave Market.

Li Chengjie inspected his new residence and pill shop in Linchuan Market while Zhao Chenghao, a former ally who had abandoned him, confronted the consequences of their reunion. Li Chengjie left Zhao behind and continued to South Peak with Gao Chen and Yan Xingci, who learned why Zhao had feared him.

• Zhao Chenghao recognized Li Chengjie and anxiously guided him, Gao Chen, and Yan Xingci to a Cave Abode and a pill shop.
• Li Chengjie inspected the empty shop and told Gao Chen to clean it so they could open the next day.
• Li Chengjie walked away without acknowledging Zhao, who watched him leave with envy and regret over having fled after Liu Xuancheng died.
• As they headed to South Peak, Gao Chen explained to Yan Xingci that Zhao had once been the Vice Guild Master of the Monster Hunting Guild but had deserted during the Liu Family's attack.

Li Chengjie distributed several magic treasures from Xiao Qianshan and An Changling’s belongings to Gao Chen and Yan Xingci, then took the rest to Linchuan Market to sell. At Golden Fire Xuan Yuan Pavilion, Manager Zhou began appraising the large collection.

• Li Chengjie told Gao Chen and Yan Xingci that Zhao Chenghao had chosen his own path and that they should focus on their own.
• Li Chengjie let Gao Chen and Yan Xingci each select two treasures from more than one hundred and eighty items; Yan Xingci received a Crimson Longsword and a small shield, while Gao Chen chose an ice-blue longsword and silver-white armor.
• Li Chengjie refined a High-grade Spirit Treasure Golden Sharp Sword, set aside an Earth Element Shield that did not suit his cultivation, and gathered the remaining treasures for sale.
• Li Chengjie, Gao Chen, and Yan Xingci went to Golden Fire Xuan Yuan Pavilion, where Manager Zhou examined the treasures and arranged for attendants to register them.
• Gao Chen told Yan Xingci that a Top-grade Magic Treasure like his Crimson Longsword sold for eight hundred thousand Spirit Stones, while the Earth Element Shield was a Spirit Treasure too costly for them to afford.

Li Chengjie opened Li's Pill Shop and then went to Daode Zhai to seek Moral True Monarch, hoping to have a spirit treasure forged. After Long Baolin dismissed him, Li Chengjie offered him a Fourth Order Golden Yuan Pill, prompting Long Baolin to agree to pass along his request when his great-grandfather left seclusion.

• Li Chengjie exchanged 800 points for Replication Points, bringing his total to 850, and decided to seek Moral True Monarch.
• Ten days later, Li Chengjie opened Li's Pill Shop, where cultivators came to inspect the Fourth Order pills but none bought them.
• Li Chengjie told Gao Chen and Yan Xingci he planned to visit Moral True Monarch, the Western Territory's renowned artifact refiner.
• Li Chengjie went to Daode Zhai and asked Long Baolin to arrange for Moral True Monarch to forge him a spirit treasure.
• Long Baolin initially refused to help because Moral True Monarch was in seclusion, but Li Chengjie offered him a Fourth Order Golden Yuan Pill as a gift.
• Long Baolin accepted the pill and asked Li Chengjie to leave his calling card so he could pass along the request after his great-grandfather left seclusion.

Li Chengjie met Moral True Monarch to commission a high-grade Fire Attribute Spirit Treasure, but could not afford the six thousand High-grade spirit stones required. Before leaving, he used the system to replicate Moral True Monarch’s artifact-refining knowledge and cultivation inheritance, gaining new skills while remaining short of the funds for his weapon.

• Moral True Monarch examined Li Chengjie’s Golden Yuan Pills and asked what he wanted refined.
• Moral True Monarch quoted six thousand High-grade spirit stones, excluding materials, to refine a high-grade Fire Attribute Spirit Treasure.
• Li Chengjie found that he had enough Replication Points to copy Moral True Monarch’s inheritance and artifact-refining expertise.
• Li Chengjie replicated Moral True Monarch’s knowledge, spending 600 points and absorbing his techniques, insights, and materials expertise.
• Li Chengjie checked his System Panel and saw that his artifact-refining skills had improved, with 250 Replication Points remaining.