Chapter Summaries

At the Spirit Herb Banquet, Xiao Chen posed as a rogue cultivator while meeting local cultivators and learning about their invitations, treasures, and trading customs. Lü Jingfu became convinced that Xiao Chen was a wealthy successor to a remote Hidden Dao Heritage, and the chapter ended as Xiao Chen offered a Fairy Mushroom Soul Cleansing Pill in exchange for Mutated Demon Cores.

• Xiao Chen introduced himself as Golden Light Rogue Cultivator from the Far South Land, prompting the other guests to question his background and Lü Jingfu to observe him closely.
• Lu Lihui invited the guests to his family's Poetry and Wine Meet, Hou Xingyao discussed an expedition to the Sword Burial Secret Realm, and Lü Jingfu invited them to a Golden Core Tea Party aboard his new spirit ship.
• At the Spirit Herb Banquet's pill exchange, Gao Changgeng offered a True Essence Nascent Soul Pill for a Spirit Body cultivation method or medicine, but no one could meet his request.
• Wen Ruoxi offered a Four-Turn Rejuvenation Pill for a powerful life-preserving treasure, and Lü Jingfu explained Talisman Treasures and the Life-Replacing Straw Man to Xiao Chen.
• Xiao Chen offered a Fairy Mushroom Soul Cleansing Pill for Mutated Demon Cores, strengthening Lü Jingfu's belief that he was a Hidden Dao Heritage Successor with an unusual need for them.

At the Spirit Herb Banquet, Xiao Chen outbid Gao Changgeng for the Qianyuan Creation Pill with rare spirit fruits, drawing attention to his resources and origins. After trading seven more Purple-Gold Bodhi Fruits to Lantern-Bearing True Monarch, Xiao Chen returned to his inn and cultivated until he ran out of Demon Cores, then wondered how to obtain more while the Jin Family remained nearby.

• Ink Plum True Monarch paid ten Mutated Demon Cores for the Fairy Mushroom Soul Cleansing Pill after explaining that Outer Sea Demon Core prices were falling.
• Ji Shengcun presented the Qianyuan Creation Pill, and City Lord Huo confirmed it was genuine before Ji Shengcun explained its drawbacks and accepted bids in Fourth-Order Spiritual Items only.
• Xiao Chen and Gao Changgeng competed for the Qianyuan Creation Pill, and Xiao Chen won by offering three Purple-Gold Bodhi Fruits after Gao Changgeng could not meet the bid with spirit herbs.
• City Lord Huo asked Xiao Chen to remain after the banquet, and Xiao Chen traded seven of his remaining Purple-Gold Bodhi Fruits to Lantern-Bearing True Monarch at 320,000 Spirit Stones each.
• Xiao Chen returned to his inn, refined all thirty-two Demon Cores, and raised his Total True Essence to 307 strands before wondering where to find more while the Jin Family had not left.

Xiao Chen joined Xu Gongtong’s Demon Core trade in the In-Between Sea, unaware that the Xu Family had lured him there to kill him and seize his Fourth-Order Spirit Medicines. After drinking their poisoned tea, he ambushed Xu Gongtong and fought off the conspirators, leaving the island searching the flames for his Storage Ring.

• Lü Jingfu sought Demon Cores to win Xiao Chen over, while Xu Gongtong invited Xiao Chen to help the Xu Family escort a trade in the In-Between Sea.
• Xiao Chen met Xu Gongtong and Ge Dongyan at the South City Gate, and the three traveled by Cloud Piercing Shuttle to a Desolate Island to meet the sellers.
• The conspirators secretly poisoned Xiao Chen’s Spirit Tea with Dawn Spring Night Rain, but he drank both cups without suspicion and remained able to fight.
• Xu Gongtong approached Xiao Chen to question his origins, and Xiao Chen struck him with his Crimson Gold Quadruple Mace, breaking his Golden Core.
• Xiao Chen fought the remaining conspirators with the True Yang Fire Dragon, spells, and weapons, killing them as Ge Dongyan fled and Xu Gongtong pleaded for his life.
• Xiao Chen killed Xu Gongtong with the East Flower Wind Sword, then searched the island’s flames for his Storage Ring after an explosion damaged it.

Xiao Chen stayed clear of a Yin Spirit Calamity, then searched the Storage Rings he had seized and found Dao Comprehension Crystals and a record pointing to Killing Intent in the Lightless Sea. After improving his cultivation and comprehending the Way of Wood, he broke through to mid-stage Golden Core.

• Xiao Chen gathered the Spirit Tools and Storage Rings from the battlefield, then kept his distance from the strange mist spreading across the sea.
• City Lord Huo and Ink Plum True Monarch identified the mist as a Yin Spirit Calamity and ordered the nearby cultivators to withdraw; Xiao Chen returned to Hundred Herbs City.
• Xiao Chen opened the seized Storage Rings and found Spirit Stones, pills, alchemy manuals, two Dao Comprehension Crystals, and a biography describing Killing Intent on an island in the Lightless Sea.
• Xiao Chen used pills and Traceless Elk Heart Blood to raise his Total True Essence and Qi and Blood Concentration, but his first attempt to break through mid-stage Golden Core failed.
• Xiao Chen used a Purple-Gold Bodhi Fruit and a wood-attribute Dao Comprehension Crystal to comprehend the Way of Wood, then successfully broke through to mid-stage Golden Core.

Xiao Chen advanced to the mid-stage Golden Core, chose Rocket-Propelled Fist from the Portable Forge, and traveled to Three Immortals Island for a ruin expedition. He learned the Yin Spirit Calamity was projecting a fake version of the same ruin and met the Three Immortals Sect’s leaders, who began assigning roles for the exploration.

• Xiao Chen broke through to the mid-stage Golden Core, expanded his Spiritual Sense range, and received three Hextech Enhancement choices.
• Xiao Chen chose Portable Forge and selected Rocket-Propelled Fist, a Divine Artifact that pulled an enemy into melee range and stunned them for one breath.
• Xiao Chen tested the Greater Spring Return Spell, then traveled to Three Immortals Island after buying White Jade Little Azure Dragon and hearing that the Yin Spirit Calamity had reached its maximum coverage.
• Cao Mingjie introduced Xiao Chen to Ma Wenbo and Yu Zhenyang, who said they had recruited Qiu, a near-Golden Core Great Perfection cultivator, for their journey to the ruin.
• Cao Mingjie and Yu Zhenyang explained that the Yin Spirit Calamity projected a fake version of the ruin they planned to explore in the Outer Sea.
• Ma Wenbo asked what Xiao Chen excelled at so they could divide their exploration duties, and Xiao Chen said he knew a little of everything.

Xiao Chen cultivated Creation Qi aboard the Three Immortals Sect’s Spirit Boat as the group traveled toward a ruin in the Outer Sea. After choosing a shorter route and entering the Outer Sea, they encountered the Subduing Ice Sect, whose Right Protector barred their passage and stopped them from turning away.

• Xiao Chen accepted a supporting role in the expedition and joined Yu Zhenyang, Cao Mingjie, Ma Wenbo, and Qiu Fanghui aboard the Three Immortals Sect’s Spirit Boat.
• Xiao Chen used the Qianyuan Creation Pill to condense Creation Qi, then found he could use it to perform spells he had never learned, though nurturing it drew on his essence.
• Yu Zhenyang presented two routes to the ruin, and the group chose the shorter route through the Blackwater Zone despite its dangers.
• The group entered the Outer Sea and spotted another Spirit Boat, which approached and kept pace with them.
• The Right Protector of the Subduing Ice Sect declared the sea ahead sealed for sixty thousand miles; after Qiu Fanghui advised avoiding a confrontation, Yu Zhenyang turned the boat around.
• The Right Protector ordered the group to stop before they could leave.

Xiao Chen and the Three Immortals Sect’s cultivators reached Lightless Island after the Subduing Ice Sect’s Right Protector mistook Xiao Chen for a hidden expert and let their ship pass. At the Lightless Tavern, Xiao Chen learned when the Heaven Star Sect ruins would open and noticed three women who appeared to be Heavenly Sound Sect disciples.

• Qiu Fanghui falsely claimed to know Elder Peng Qinglan and offered the Right Protector one hundred thousand Spirit Stones to let their ship pass.
• The Right Protector’s Fortune Character Shell warned him of danger, and he suspected Xiao Chen was a powerful hidden expert, so he called them allies and gave them a Subduing Ice Flag.
• Xiao Chen and the others passed through the Sea Seal area and reached Lightless Island on June 30.
• At the Lightless Tavern, a cultivator named Cheng Jie told Xiao Chen that the Heaven Star Sect ruins would open on the tenth of the seventh month, during the third quarter of the Hour of the Pig.
• While the others praised Qiu Fanghui over dinner, Xiao Chen spotted three women with matching patterned sachets who appeared to be Heavenly Sound Sect disciples.

Xiao Chen explored the Lightless Sea’s markets, learned that the Yin Corpse Sect openly traded in Corpse Puppets and coercive tools, and bought intelligence about the New Ruin. He discovered that the West Market also sold people as slaves, and the chapter ended as a Yin Corpse Sect cultivator ordered two from the seller.

• Xiao Chen watched Heavenly Sound Sect cultivators leave a restaurant after encountering a Yin Corpse Sect youth and his motionless Corpse Puppets, then agreed to meet Yu Zhenyang and Cao Mingjie again in five days.
• Xiao Chen compared prices in the East Market, sold his Spirit Tools at the Rare Weapon Workshop, and learned that the West Market was the Outer Sea’s real marketplace.
• Xiao Chen saw poisons, Spirit Severing Talismans, and Spirit Severing Nails openly for sale, was refused entry to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, and bought ruin and faction intelligence from Morning Radiance Pavilion.
• Xiao Chen surveyed the West Market’s informal Stalls, spotted fake goods and a group of restrained cultivators for sale, and saw a Yin Corpse Sect cultivator ask Old Jin for two more.

Xiao Chen and the Three Immortals Sect prepared for Heaven Star Island, weighing the factions and rivals who would enter the ruin. When the island appeared, they reached its first trial and chose a path away from the major sects.

• Xiao Chen studied Morning Radiance Pavilion’s intelligence, learning about the major powers, the ruin’s seven-day opening, and likely competitors including Fairy Su Ruo, Zhang Gongxian, and a Flame Manipulation School successor.
• Xiao Chen shared the intelligence with Yu Zhenyang, Cao Mingjie, and Ma Wenbo, and the group prepared talismans, arrays, medicines, and other supplies for the expedition.
• Xiao Chen learned that the Subduing Ice Sect Left Protector, a Five Thunder Temple cultivator, and the Eight Great Families would also compete for the ruin.
• On the tenth of the seventh month, Xiao Chen and the Three Immortals Sect flew to the ruin, where the fog receded and an Anti-Air Restriction forced the cultivators to approach Heaven Star Island by sea.
• A white-robed youth identified the island as Heaven Star Island, and the awakened symbols revealed a road that split into nine paths; Yu Zhenyang chose the far-right path to avoid the major sects.

Xiao Chen and his companions survived the mist-filled narrow paths by relying on his strength, then reached the palace district of the ruins. After breaking into an empty palace, Xiao Chen found an unfamiliar pearl, leaving its purpose unknown.

• Demonic Beasts ambushed cultivators along the narrow paths, and Xiao Chen killed a dog-headed beast after entering the mist alone.
• Xiao Chen led Yu Zhenyang's group through the path, killing numerous beasts until they reached the palace district.
• Xiao Chen noticed the beasts had stopped attacking and suspected that a leader was directing them.
• The group found valuable spirit plants and used Yu Zhenyang's formation to break the restrictions on a palace.
• Xiao Chen entered the palace and found a smooth, round pearl on a Spirit Tool-grade tray, but could not identify it.

Xiao Chen and his companions searched the themed palaces for matching treasure pearls before three Late-stage Golden Core cultivators ambushed them in a killing formation. Xiao Chen broke free, destroyed the formation, and killed two attackers, leaving the blue-robed cultivator facing him alone.

• Xiao Chen's group opened two palaces, found matching treasure pearls, and copied the Ancient Spirit Script characters carved beneath them.
• After collecting a third pearl, the group encountered other teams working on the remaining palace restrictions, and Xiao Chen prepared to continue exploring.
• Three cultivators trapped Xiao Chen's group in a Sword Formation and attacked while Yu Zhenyang tried to break it.
• Xiao Chen crushed the chains binding him and used the Wind Thunder Pair Swords to cut through the formation and kill the Green Robe Cultivator.
• Xiao Chen struck down the retreating Red Robe Female Cultivator, leaving the blue-robed cultivator as the sole surviving attacker.

Xiao Chen defeated the Huo Family cultivators, learned that they served the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, and discovered a Nascent Soul Demonic Cultivator was protecting their secrets. After parting ways with Yu Zhenyang’s group, he looted the Huo Family’s storage rings and spotted Yin Corpse Sect cultivators searching the palace complex.

• Xiao Chen charged Huo Mingcheng while Yu Zhenyang, Ma Wenbo, and Cao Mingjie killed the blue-robed cultivator, and Qiu Fanghui pursued another Huo Family cultivator.
• Xiao Chen interrogated Huo Mingcheng, who revealed that the attackers belonged to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance before a Silencing Restriction killed him.
• Xiao Chen killed the last Huo Family cultivator, collected the treasure beads with Yu Zhenyang’s group, and decided to leave the Golden Light Rogue Cultivator identity behind and explore the Core Area.
• Yu Zhenyang’s group declined to accompany Xiao Chen to the Core Area, so Xiao Chen gave them the choice to explore elsewhere and began cracking the six Storage Rings.
• Xiao Chen found valuable pills, formations, spiritual materials, Spirit Tools, and a Nine-Leaf Azure Light Grass among the rings.
• A group of Yin Corpse Sect cultivators entered the palace complex, and Xiao Chen wondered why they had returned from the Core Area.

Xiao Chen killed a nine-member Yin Corpse Sect squad, then explored a valley of restricted houses and discovered that some contained Heavenly Star Tokens while others held rewards or nothing. After learning that the tokens were sought by Heavenly Sound Sect disciples, he decided to collect them before heading to the Core Area and began cultivating a powerful new spell.

• Xiao Chen killed Skinny Dog and the other eight Yin Corpse Sect cultivators after they threatened him and invoked Young Master Dai.
• Xiao Chen reached a valley filled with small houses, broke into them, and found a mechanical puppet guarding a token he suspected was a Heavenly Star Token.
• Three Heavenly Sound Sect disciples asked Xiao Chen to trade for Heavenly Star Tokens, but he denied having seen one, and they continued searching peacefully.
• Xiao Chen explored more houses and discovered that they contained either token-bearing puppets, nothing, or rewards such as spirit materials and spells.
• Xiao Chen found the complete Yellow-grade Crimson Sky Mountain Severing Palm spell and began cultivating it before heading to the Core Area.

Xiao Chen reached the Star Gazing Platform, discovered that his Heavenly Star Pearls could activate its altars, and claimed an Earth Mother Heavy Marrow Jade. When Dai Tian Rui demanded the activation method and attacked him, Xiao Chen overpowered him, triggering Dai Tian Rui’s life-preserving treasure and provoking a threat of revenge from his Great-Grandfather.

• Wen Suo Ruo rejected Dai Tian Rui’s proposed alliance as he continued pestering her, while Zhang Gongxian watched and considered pursuing a marriage alliance with her.
• After reaching the Star Gazing Platform, Xiao Chen found that a Heavenly Star Pearl opened an altar and revealed an Earth Mother Heavy Marrow Jade.
• Dai Tian Rui demanded that Xiao Chen hand over the altar’s activation method, but Xiao Chen insulted him and refused.
• Dai Tian Rui attacked Xiao Chen with his Triple Ghost Wail sword technique, but Xiao Chen dodged the strike and seized him by the throat.
• Dai Tian Rui’s life-preserving treasure saved him from Xiao Chen, and he vowed to find his Great-Grandfather after they left the ruin.

Xiao Chen defeated the Yin Corpse Sect cultivators who tried to protect Dai Tian Rui, revealing overwhelming fire techniques and calling himself the Golden Light Rogue Cultivator. Dai Tian Rui survived multiple attacks through hidden life-saving treasures, and the chapter ended with him relying on a barrier left by his Nascent Soul great-grandfather while Xiao Chen prepared to break it.

• Dai Tian Rui threatened Xiao Chen, but Xiao Chen attacked and shattered the protection of Dai Tian Rui’s four Iron Corpses with Cloud Dragon Tail Swing.
• Xiao Chen seized Dai Tian Rui, who escaped being killed with a Life-Replacing Straw Man, while Zhang Gongxian and the Yin Corpse Sect disciples moved to defend him.
• Xiao Chen rejected Zhang Gongxian’s demand to stop and fought the assembled Yin Corpse Sect, killing or incapacitating the group while the observers watched.
• Xiao Chen told the dying Zhang Gongxian that the Golden Light Rogue Cultivator had killed him, and Dai Tian Rui killed Zhang Gongxian before claiming he had been coerced.
• Xiao Chen struck Dai Tian Rui, triggering a Nascent Soul Ancestor’s protective barrier; Dai Tian Rui boasted that it would hold for ten days as Xiao Chen considered using his Rocket-Propelled Fist.

Xiao Chen killed Dai Tian Rui by breaking the Grand Void Cloud Light Barrier with his Mechanical Grappling Claw, then opened the twelve Altars and reached the Star Gazing Platform for the Starlight Baptism. He received the Heaven Star Sect’s inheritance, condensed a Star Core, and the platform produced a piece of Nascent Soul Transformation Jade as the baptism ended.

• Xiao Chen used flames to conceal his Mechanical Grappling Claw, shattered the Grand Void Cloud Light Barrier, and killed Dai Tian Rui; the cultivators watching celebrated while Wen Suo Ruo and others marveled at his power.
• Xiao Chen opened all twelve Altars and collected six intact treasures, including Fourth-Order Spiritual Items and three Inheritance Jade Slips.
• The Altars sent pillars of light through Heaven Star Island, drawing cultivators toward the Star Gazing Platform; Wen Suo Ruo discovered that a Heavenly Star Token was needed to pass its restriction.
• Xiao Chen ascended the platform and received an overwhelming share of Star Energy, then viewed the Heaven Star Sect’s history and acquired the All Heaven Stars Spirit Induction Secret Method.
• Xiao Chen swallowed a Purple-Gold Bodhi, learned the secret method, and condensed a Star Core in his Divine Court Acupoint.
• When the Starlight Baptism ended, the platform revealed a piece of Nascent Soul Transformation Jade, which could improve the success rate of Nascent Soul Formation.

Xiao Chen gained the Star Radiance Body Tempering Secret Art in the Heaven Star Island ruin and planned to flee the Lightless Sea after offending the Dai Family. When three Nascent Soul True Lords waited outside the exit, he vanished before their eyes using Night's Edge, leaving them unable to find him.

• Xiao Chen took the Nascent Soul Transformation Jade, studied two inheritance slips, and received the Star Radiance Body Tempering Secret Art after a Heaven Star Sect elder refused to demonstrate it.
• Xiao Chen decided to leave the Lightless Sea and studied a sea chart while the Dai Family and Yin Corpse Sect prepared to intercept those leaving the ruin.
• Dai Fei'ang learned that Dai Tian Rui and the Yin Corpse Sect's other True Disciples had died, then joined Bone Offering True Monarch and Zhi Qin True Monarch to guard the exit.
• Xiao Chen flew out of the ruin and taunted Dai Fei'ang, who recognized him as a Half-step Nascent Soul and demanded to know his master.
• Xiao Chen used Condensing Fire Palm on himself to trigger Night's Edge, vanished as Dai Fei'ang's giant hands closed, and evaded all three True Lords' attempts to locate him.

Xiao Chen escaped Yin Corpse Sect’s blockade after killing Dai Tian Rui, and rumors of his exploits spread across the Inner Sea as the sect hunted for him. He continued east toward the Compassion Sea, survived being swallowed by a Sea Wing Luan, and left the chapter far beyond the blockade while people who had met him reacted to his growing fame.

• Dai Fei'ang and Bone Offering True Monarch failed to track Xiao Chen after he escaped, so Yin Corpse Sect sealed the area and mobilized its forces to hunt him.
• Zhi Qin True Monarch and the assembled cultivators wondered how Xiao Chen had slipped away, while the Execution Elder, Wen Suo Ruo, and Subduing Ice Sect Left Protector each drew their own conclusions or plans from his escape.
• Rumors that Golden Light Rogue Cultivator killed Dai Tian Rui and escaped three Nascent Soul True Lords spread across the Storm Sea and Inner Sea, prompting a bounty-driven search around Lightless Sea.
• Xiao Chen rested beyond the blockade, was swallowed by a Sea Wing Luan, killed and roasted the bird from inside it, then continued east across the sea.
• Lü Jingfu regretted failing to befriend Xiao Chen, while Mu Yayang, Gao Changgeng, and Ling Tianyi reacted to reports of his strength and exploits.

Dai Fei'ang’s hunt for Xiao Chen continued without success, while reports from the Heaven Star Island ruin convinced powerful figures across the Inner Sea that the Golden Light Rogue Cultivator belonged to a hidden ancient heritage. After hearing of Xiao Chen’s achievements, Cui Yunxian found renewed confidence in her own path and returned to seclusion, determined to reach Nascent Soul.

• Dai Fei'ang destroyed Ghost Face Qing’s hiding place, captured him with a Yin Spirit, and killed him after realizing he was not Xiao Chen.
• Wen Suo Ruo and the Execution Elder’s testimony about the ruin drew the attention of Shu Yu True Monarch and Che Guang True Monarch, who speculated about Xiao Chen’s origins.
• Lantern-Bearing True Monarch and City Lord Huo concluded that Xiao Chen’s heritage may have known about Heaven Star Island’s interior and agreed to investigate further.
• Rumors about the Golden Light Rogue Cultivator’s hidden sect spread across the Inner Sea, and Cui Yunxian heard the accounts after emerging from three years of seclusion.
• Cui Yunxian took Xiao Chen’s escape from a Nascent Soul True Lord as proof that the Path of Enlightenment could be walked, then returned to seclusion and asked A Xiu to gather information about him.

Xiao Chen encountered a Frost Condensing Mist Lock while crossing the Kunpeng Sea and waited for it to disperse while opening fourteen Storage Rings. He uncovered Yin Corpse Sect supplies, useful treasures, and a bloodstained spearhead fragment before preparing to continue his journey.

• After seven days of flight, Xiao Chen found an island, recovered, and realized the sea’s dense spiritual qi might conceal Hidden Dao Heritages.
• Xiao Chen entered a Frost Condensing Mist Lock, escaped its freezing Cold Poison, and confirmed its danger by watching his True Yang Fire Dragon freeze into an ice sculpture.
• Xiao Chen returned to the island to wait out the temporary disaster and spent three days cracking fourteen Storage Rings.
• Xiao Chen found millions of Spirit Stones, Talismans, Spirit Tools, pills, and other supplies, then destroyed jars containing half-refined infant corpses.
• Xiao Chen examined secret volumes, spells, and treasure boxes, finding several feminine gifts alongside useful cultivation materials, Dao Comprehension Crystals, and Azure Sky Sword Cleansing Leaves.
• Xiao Chen discovered that the final box held a Magic Treasure Fragment containing the bloodline pressure of a Spirit Transmutation Demonic Beast, which he considered using for Body Refining.