Chapter Summaries

Wang Yu comprehended the Prajna Heart Sutra and the Asura Killing Thought in Jingzhao Evil Suppression Prison, then dismantled the seclusion chamber and was transported back to the Corpse Wight’s nest. There, he found a Corpse Demon had taken over the territory and prepared to capture it.

• Wang Yu considered the origins of the Prajna Heart Sutra and suspected that Rakshasa interference had altered the inheritances in the Stone Skin Book.
• Wang Yu used the sword scars in Asura Venerable’s seclusion chamber to comprehend Asura Killing Thought and awaken his own Asura Killing Heart.
• Wang Yu found no treasure in the chamber, so he dismantled its stone platform, pillars, and slabs to take them with him.
• Wang Yu’s shackles activated their Space Talisman Seal and transported him back to the Corpse Wight’s nest.
• Wang Yu used the Mountain Searching Demon Finding Secret Art to locate a Corpse Demon occupying the nest and decided to destroy its soul while preserving its body.
• The Corpse Demon heard a ghostly wail, froze, and saw the Corpse Wight standing silently in the darkness.

Wang Yu returned from the Eastern Peak Capital Ruins with valuable spoils, defeated three Robber Cultivators who ambushed him, and came back to Guiling City. After receiving materials for Soul Essence Pills, he asked Ye Qing to contact Daoist Jin and tell her he could help her in exchange for choosing treasures.

• Wang Yu killed the Corpse Demon in the ruins, collected it and other valuable materials, and decided to leave the deeper ruins unexplored for now.
• Three Robber Cultivators ambushed Wang Yu in a marsh, but he killed all of them with his spells and divine abilities.
• Wang Yu collected the cultivators' spoils, including the defensive Vajra Shield, and returned secretly to Guiling City.
• Wang Yu rebuilt a chamber for practicing the Minor Asura Killing Fist and planned to use the incoming Soul Essence Pill materials to advance his divine sense.
• Ye Qing delivered the materials for a thousand portions of Soul Essence Pills, and Wang Yu asked him to contact Daoist Jin about preparing treasures for him to choose.

Wang Yu advanced his Cold Flame into the Third Tier and named it the Ice Dragon Pill Flame. He then proposed a plan to help True Person Qingyang obtain materials for his Life-Bound Magic Treasure while attracting higher-level trade back to Guiling City.

• Wang Yu began cultivating the Soul Essence Pill formula and learned its slow refinement required infusing each pill with divine sense.
• After the Third Tier Ice Attribute Demon Core arrived, Wang Yu learned Jin Miaoshan was in seclusion and could not yet respond to his message.
• Wang Yu used prepared materials and the Twelve Flame Spirit Seals to advance his Cold Flame, then subdued it and named it the Ice Dragon Pill Flame.
• True Person Qingyang asked Wang Yu for help finding materials to refine his Life-Bound Magic Treasure.
• Wang Yu suggested several ways to seek materials and proposed that Qingyang travel with senior figures to Heaven Treasure Pavilion, carrying Wang Yu’s scroll listing the Third Tier treasures he wanted to buy.

Wang Yu arranged for Heaven Treasure Pavilion to open a branch in Guiling City, securing its support and purchasing valuable cultivation resources. After the deal was completed, he ordered Xu Ruozhou to keep everyone away while he entered seclusion, as Han Jia and his children discovered their assigned site was beside Gold Abundance Pavilion.

• Wang Yu gave True Person Qingyang High-Grade Soul Essence Pills to bring Heaven Treasure Pavilion into Guiling City and asked him to invite the Ink Wash Gate Master along.
• Two months later, Han Jia arrived with Han Jinlong and Han Yinfeng, and he and Wang Yu settled the branch pavilion’s land, taxes, auction schedule, and other arrangements.
• Han Jia delivered Qingyang’s gathered items in the Ocean Heart Ring, and Wang Yu paid 5.56 million spirit stones for the ring and the spiritual items.
• Han Jia gave Wang Yu a Heaven Treasure Pavilion VIP Token for spending more than five million spirit stones, then left with his children to establish the branch pavilion.
• Wang Yu told Xu Ruozhou that he would enter seclusion and that no one could disturb him, while Han Jia’s party found that their assigned site was beside Gold Abundance Pavilion.

Wang Yu stayed out of the fierce price war between Heaven Treasure Pavilion and Gold Abundance Pavilion, then used its outcome to build connections and prepare a second Scent Listening Assembly. Five years later, the assembly arrived as Wang Yu completed his progress to Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer.

• Wang Yu refused to meet the sects and clans seeking guidance, and they divided the districts among themselves while he collected taxes from the growing trade.
• Heaven Treasure Pavilion and Gold Abundance Pavilion launched a citywide price war, which Gold Abundance Pavilion lost after half a year, though Ye Qing refused to abandon its small remaining share.
• Wang Yu cultivated in seclusion, then used Han Jia's connections to meet nearby pavilion masters and city lords and build a network.
• Wang Yu prepared the second Scent Listening Assembly by inviting prominent cultivators, procuring third-tier Spirit Incense, and arranging five hundred hand stoves.
• Five years after the first assembly, Wang Yu had reached Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer and gathered 1,466 drops of True Essence.

Wang Yu hosted the second Scent Listening Assembly, drawing powerful cultivators from across the region and strengthening Guiling City's influence. He discussed city management with Little Talisman Lord Luo Chen, but Luo Chen wanted a way to earn Spirit Stones directly without sharing profits or risking conflict with major merchant firms.

• Wang Yu left his cultivation room, having prepared a Two-Pattern Essence Condensation Pill and nearing the threshold for Peak Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment.
• Dragon Tiger Wanderer and Rain Flower Daoist introduced their invited guests, including Late Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator Jinshi and Peak Foundation Establishment cultivator Master Feng Hua.
• Nine Curves Talisman Master introduced Little Talisman Lord Luo Chen, a Core Formation True Person, and Wang Yu welcomed him and discussed establishing a trade route between their cities.
• The second Scent Listening Assembly gathered more than a hundred cultivators, including four Core Formation cultivators, while Wang Yu considered how the event could make Guiling City a regional center for trade.
• Luo Chen praised Wang Yu's management and asked for advice; Wang Yu proposed expanding resources or inviting major merchant firms to Sanmao City, but Luo Chen rejected both approaches.

Wang Yu taught Luo Chen a scheme to enrich Sanmao City by attracting settlers and secretly robbing local forces, and Luo Chen then offered the Dragon Soul Heavenly Water Essence at the Treasure Exchange Meeting. After Rain Flower Daoist arranged to obtain it, Wang Yu suspected that Luo Chen might try to seize it back and watched Master Feng Hua as the guests prepared to leave.

• Luo Chen asked Wang Yu for a way to gather resources, and Wang Yu explained the Extinction Scheme using Black Gloves and settlement incentives.
• Luo Chen opened the Treasure Exchange Meeting and offered the Dragon Soul Heavenly Water Essence for a concealment treasure or secret art.
• True Person He Gu and Earth Puppet Old Demon made offers, while Rain Flower Daoist secretly negotiated with Luo Chen.
• Luo Chen took Rain Flower Daoist to the third floor, and Master Feng Hua left to prepare to flee with the spirit item.
• Wang Yu left the hall, regrouped with Hermit Qingyang, and watched Master Feng Hua while suspecting a robbery might follow.

Wang Yu and Qingyang battled Earth Puppet Old Demon and his puppets after the old demon attacked Rain Flower Daoist and Feng Hua. Rain Flower died, Feng Hua fled, and Little Talisman Lord Luo Chen pursued her, while True Person He Gu arrived to offer Wang Yu help.

• Wang Yu ordered Qingyang to kill Earth Puppet Old Demon after the old demon threatened them and sent puppets after Rain Flower and Feng Hua.
• Wang Yu’s Yin Fiend Corpse struck Earth Puppet Old Demon, while Qingyang used his Crimson Crown Brush against the Third Tier Iron Puppet; Qingyang then teleported himself and Wang Yu away with a prepared scroll painting.
• Wang Yu and Qingyang divided their efforts to hold off the puppets and Earth Puppet Old Demon as Rain Flower gave Feng Hua his Cosmos Ring and sent her to escape.
• The Melee Puppet crushed Rain Flower’s skull before Wang Yu could reach him, and Wang Yu kicked the puppet away from Feng Hua’s path.
• Little Talisman Lord Luo Chen appeared and vanished in pursuit of Feng Hua, prompting Wang Yu to suspect he intended to reclaim the Dragon Soul Heavenly Water Essence.
• True Person He Gu arrived near Wang Yu and offered assistance.

Wang Yu and Qingyang defeated Earth Puppet Old Demon, but True Person He Gu failed to stop Luo Chen from pursuing Master Feng Hua. After the Scent Listening Assembly collapsed, Wang Yu began plotting to corrupt Luo Chen with Demon Seeds and recruited several agents to infiltrate Sanmao City.

• Wang Yu destroyed the Melee Puppet with He Gu's help, while Qingyang crushed Earth Puppet Old Demon with the [Landscape Tapestry], and the two divided the puppets and planned to split the old demon's possessions.
• Wang Yu announced that Earth Puppet Old Demon had been killed and assured the guests that Rain Flower and Feng Hua had left Guiling City safely, but the Treasure Exchange Meeting ended at dawn with few trades.
• Two days later, He Gu told Wang Yu that Luo Chen had overwhelmed him with talismans and that Master Feng Hua's poor concealment methods had left her in danger; Wang Yu paid He Gu and invited him to serve in Guiling.
• Wang Yu gave He Gu a Demon Seed and ordered him to provoke trouble in Sanmao City, await Luo Chen, and secretly plant the seed in him if possible.
• Wang Yu also sent Chao Yun Niang and the Blood Sabre Gang to Sanmao City with Demon Seeds, ordering them to seek Luo Chen's recruitment and act as hidden agents.
• Wang Yu returned to his cultivation chamber to inspect Earth Puppet Old Demon's assets and found an inheritance associated with Earth Demon Valley.

Wang Yu perfected the Ancient Soul Art, advanced his divine sense to the Third Tier, and unlocked a sixth placement slot. After reorganizing his cultivation arts and considering a future search for the Ancient Heavenly Soul Sect’s ruins, he learned of a rare Nascent Soul-level King Yama Ghost Market auction and prepared to attend.

• Wang Yu examined Earth Puppet Old Demon’s inheritance and found the Earth Spirit Vein Subduing Art and the rare Earth Hatred Puppet Master Scripture, which required a Nascent Soul cultivator’s body to refine its puppet.
• One month after the Scent Listening Assembly, Wang Yu perfected the Ancient Soul Art and quietly advanced his divine sense to the Third Tier Early Stage.
• Wang Yu unlocked Placement Slot 6, reorganized his arts, and assigned the new slot to techniques including the Ice Wheel Art.
• Wang Yu traced clues to the Ancient Heavenly Soul Sect’s ruins to the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest and considered having Guiling City Lord’s Mansion search there.
• Xu Ruozhou informed Wang Yu that the Purple Gold Merchant Guild president wished to see him, and the president invited him to a rare Nascent Soul-level King Yama Ghost Market auction three months later.
• Wang Yu agreed to prepare for the auction and summoned True Person Qingyang.

Wang Yu received the Starfall Cold Furnace and uncovered Ye Qing’s role in Young Master Jin Lin’s plot to provoke a conflict with Master Tian Shui. After hearing that True Person He Gu had succeeded in his mission, Wang Yu realized the scheme could frame him for Tian Shui’s death and an attack on the Guiling Branch Building.

• Ye Qing demanded an extra two hundred thousand spirit stones for the Starfall Cold Furnace, but Wang Yu paid only two hundred and twenty thousand in total and refused the added charge.
• Wang Yu secretly followed Ye Qing and overheard him discussing Jin Lin’s plan to bring Master Tian Shui to Guiling and provoke him into a deadly conflict with Wang Yu.
• Wang Yu considered why Jin Lin’s plan involved Guiling and recognized that Jin Lin might be counting on his reputation for rashly destroying Gold Abundance Pavilion.
• True Person Qingyang told Wang Yu that True Person He Gu had succeeded and would return in three months, prompting Wang Yu to suspect He Gu and the Purple Gold Merchant Guild’s president.
• Wang Yu realized He Gu could impersonate him at the King Yama Ghost Market auction, help kill Tian Shui, and leave Wang Yu blamed for ordering the Guiling Branch Building destroyed.

Wang Yu secretly prepared to counter Jin Lin’s scheme while attending the King Yama Ghost Market auction with Qingyang. At the market, he bought a Night Curse Poison Mushroom containing a Spotless Jade Toad egg, then joined Qingyang after he had sealed Luo Huzhou inside a painting.

• Wang Yu chose to let Jin Lin’s plan proceed until the right moment and instructed Qingyang to prepare Guiling’s forces.
• Wang Yu and Qingyang traveled with the Purple Gold Merchant Guild’s master to the King Yama Ghost Market, where Wang Yu entered alone to explore.
• Wang Yu recognized a Night Curse Poison Mushroom at a stall and bought it for thirty thousand spirit stones after spotting a Spotless Jade Toad egg on its stem.
• Qingyang secretly stayed with Luo Huzhou, then told Wang Yu he had sealed Luo inside a painting to prevent the scheme from detecting his death.
• Wang Yu and Qingyang went to the auction.

Wang Yu attended the King Yama Ghost Market’s Nascent Soul-level auction with Qingyang and bought the ancient Soul Gouging Evil Boat Curse to improve his ability to gather intelligence. The auction continued with increasingly powerful treasures, ending with several items sold for enormous sums.

• Wang Yu and Qingyang entered the ghost market’s auction tower and reviewed a list of more than sixteen hundred rare spirit items.
• King Yama and Yanfu opened the auction by selling a Thunderclap Treasure Liquid for four million spirit stones.
• Wang Yu bid on the Soul Gouging Evil Boat Curse and won it for two hundred and eighty thousand spirit stones.
• Wang Yu studied the curse and used his placement slot to begin practicing its black paper boat technique.
• Bidders competed for Fourth Tier treasures, including a Blood Skull Demon Sword and a high-grade Nascent Soul Pill.
• The auction concluded with a damaged Spirit Transformation Stage poison-path inheritance selling for two hundred Top Grade Spirit Stones.

Master Tian Shui was ambushed in Guiling by Ye Qing, nine death warriors, and True Person He Gu, who impersonated Wang Yu and tried to incite the city against Gold Abundance Pavilion. Tian Shui survived by unleashing Thunder Tribulation Pills, but the blast devastated the Central District and killed thousands.

• Ye Qing tried to turn Master Tian Shui against Wang Yu and Gold Abundance Pavilion, but Tian Shui recognized that Jin Lin had put him up to it.
• Ye Qing summoned nine Core Formation Ninth Layer death warriors, while True Person He Gu used Wang Yu's appearance to order Guiling's cultivators to attack the branch pavilion; the city did not respond.
• The death warriors destroyed Guiling's branch building, and Tian Shui's Heavenly Net Umbrella shielded him from their attacks.
• He Gu refused to cancel the assassination plan, so Tian Shui revealed his umbrella's defenses and prepared four Thunder Tribulation Pills.
• Tian Shui detonated the pills, annihilating much of the Central District and killing at least ten thousand people; he survived and asked Xu Ruozhou to thank the City Lord.

After Guiling City was devastated by Master Tian Shui’s Thunder Tribulation Pill, Wang Yu negotiated with Han Jia over Heaven Treasure Pavilion’s expansion. When Wang Yu learned that the Saint Offering had been robbed, he suspected Bai Family remnants and ordered an investigation and preparations to replace the stolen spirit stones.

• Wang Yu rebuked Xu Ruozhou for accepting only a promise of compensation from Master Tian Shui, then took the Thunder Tribulation Pill Tian Shui had left behind.
• Han Jia visited Wang Yu to discuss buying land and expanding Heaven Treasure Pavilion in Guiling City, but Wang Yu refused to sell the Thunder Jade Banana Garden.
• Xu Ruozhou reported that the Saint Offering had been robbed and everyone guarding it had been killed, prompting Wang Yu to summon his commanders.
• Wang Yu and Qingyang considered possible culprits before Xu Ruozhou suggested the Bai Family remnants, leading Wang Yu to order an investigation and demand the five local powers help replace the offering.
• Wang Yu ordered his men to search for the Bai Family’s Ancestral Residence and sent a letter to Cloud Ridge Prefecture City warning of a possible connection to Yellow Springs Temple.

Wang Yu investigated the disappearance of the Saint Offering escort at Thunderfall Pit and drew out the Bai Family Grand Elder, who attacked him and offered a recruitment deal from Yellow Springs Temple. Wang Yu defeated and devoured the Grand Elder, then wondered why the Demonic Fetus had absorbed his spiritual roots so completely despite their lack of blood relation.

• Wang Yu examined the route where the Saint Offering escort vanished and suspected a traitor or informant in Cloud Ridge Prefecture City.
• Wang Yu waited at Thunderfall Pit while Xu Ruozhou went to Thunder Rain City, then recognized the Bai Family Grand Elder emerging from Yellow Springs Ghost Mist.
• Wang Yu and Snow Jade overwhelmed the Grand Elder in battle, and Wang Yu seized his Melting Gold Spear.
• The Grand Elder offered Wang Yu a place in Yellow Springs Temple and the Nether Earth Finger inheritance, but Wang Yu refused.
• Wang Yu drained the Grand Elder’s essence and spiritual roots with the Profound Origin Demonic Fetus, then questioned why the devouring had been so complete.

Wang Yu exposed a plot by Yellow Springs Temple to seize the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect’s Saint Offering and trapped its late-stage Core Formation leader in Guiling City Lord’s Mansion. He and Qingyang then fought the remaining attackers, leaving the battle turning in their favor as the Ghost Wail Flute made the fleeing cultivators attack one another.

• Wang Yu killed a Yellow Springs Temple ambusher and used his probing conversation with the late-stage Core Formation leader to learn that Elder Dizang was behind the seizure.
• Wang Yu pretended to join Yellow Springs Temple, then used a Fleeing Void Talisman to teleport the leader into Guiling City Lord’s Mansion, where the Spirit Sealing Life Execution Formation trapped him.
• Wang Yu summoned Qingyang, Snow Jade, the Three-Tailed Snow Fox, the Yin Fiend Corpse, and an Iron Puppet to battle the remaining eighteen Yellow Springs Temple cultivators.
• Wang Yu used his illusion arts, Ice Dragon Pill Flame, Ice Wheels, Glass Soul Lantern, and Ghost Wail Flute to kill several Foundation Establishment cultivators and absorb their souls.
• Three Yellow Springs Temple cultivators fled toward the Core Formation battle, but Wang Yu’s Ghost Wail Flute made two of them attack their companion, killing him.

Wang Yu rescued Qingyang from a Yellow Springs Temple cultivator by sacrificing his Third Tier Melee Puppet, then escaped into Thunderfall Pit. He prepared to hide in its cavern maze while Qi Sheng pursued him with a tracking beast.

• Wang Yu used the Yin Corpse Descending Fiend Curse to weaken Qingyang's opponent, giving Qingyang a chance to counter with his Crimson Crown Brush.
• The Yellow Springs Temple cultivator summoned the Yellow Springs Skull and overwhelmed Qingyang, so Wang Yu's Third Tier Melee Puppet carried Qingyang to safety and then self-destructed.
• Wang Yu fled into Thunderfall Pit, while the two Yellow Springs Temple cultivators split up: one chased Qingyang, and Qi Sheng pursued Wang Yu with a Fragrant Luo Bat tracking the Yin Fiend Corpse's aura.
• Wang Yu descended into the cavern maze, sent nine phantom bodies in different directions, and set a concealment formation and trap before leaving the site.

Wang Yu fled Qi Sheng through Thunderfall Pit, then used the pit’s lightning qi to refine his body while hiding underground. As a thunderstorm gathered around him, he condensed Primal Mixed Blood and reached the late stage of Body Refinement Second Tier.

• Qi Sheng followed Wang Yu’s trail through Thunderfall Pit, broke through his traps, and continued pursuing him with the Fragrant Luo Bat.
• Wang Yu used Frost Moon Wings and the Purple Dragon Earth Travel Technique to evade Qi Sheng, discovering that Thunderfall Pit’s lightning qi accelerated his body refinement.
• Wang Yu sent Snow Jade ahead with the Nourishing Fiend Coffin, fiend corpse, and a bloodied Storage Bag to draw the pursuers away, then hid inside the Starfall Cold Furnace underground.
• Qi Sheng followed the fox’s scent while Wang Yu absorbed lightning qi and consumed Dragon Blood Secret Elixirs, building up essence blood in his spine.
• Wang Yu’s Wind Thunder Spirit Tattoo drew in enough lightning to trigger a massive thunderstorm across Thunderfall Pit.
• Wang Yu fused and refined his essence blood into Primal Mixed Blood, advancing to the late stage of Body Refinement Second Tier.

Wang Yu completed the Wind Thunder Secret Art while trapped in Thunderfall Pit, then discovered a lightning-attributed spiritual object while preparing to leave. He turned back toward it, leaving his next move uncertain.

• Wang Yu cultivated through the prolonged thunderstorm until the lightning patterns of his Wind Thunder Secret Art spread across his body and reached perfection.
• Qi Sheng decided to abandon his pursuit and escaped the thunderstorm inside the Azure Nether Cauldron.
• Wang Yu learned that Snow Jade and the Nourishing Fiend Coffin had been damaged by lightning, and he began nurturing a Corpse Demon material with lightning qi.
• Wang Yu reached Thunderfall Pit’s central region and found charred skeletons scattered across the ground.
• Wang Yu spotted a mass of masculine aura and Spirit Qi with the Grand Yin Nether Eye, then reconsidered leaving and turned toward it.