Chapter Summaries

Xiao Chen attacked the Illuminating Void Sect, broke through its Mountain Protecting Grand Array, and searched its Sect Warehouse after learning its True Lord had died. He discovered a rare Core of the Deep Sea among the sect’s hidden treasures.

• Xiao Chen struck the Illuminating Void Sect’s Mountain Protecting Grand Array from a distance, then charged inside and began destroying its Array Foundations.
• The Grand Elder used the array’s power against Xiao Chen, but Xiao Chen killed him with the Mechanical Grappling Claw and broke the Main Array Flag.
• An attendant boy revealed that the True Lord’s Life Tablet had shattered, prompting many Golden Core cultivators and disciples to flee and weaken the array from within.
• Xiao Chen destroyed the remaining resistance, brought down the grand array, killed Robber Cultivators, and went to search the Sect Warehouse and Scripture Pavilion.
• Xiao Chen found only a little over five million Low-grade Spirit Stones, then uncovered a Core of the Deep Sea concealed among Yuan Magnetic Stones and took it with the surrounding ores.

Xiao Chen searched the Illuminating Void Sect warehouse and uncovered a fortune of spirit stones, a complete Fourth-Order Mountain Protecting Grand Array, and aged Spirit Wine. After finding no hidden chamber in the open warehouse, he discovered a concealed passage beneath the stairs and entered Mirror Reflection True Monarch’s secret lair.

• Xiao Chen searched the upper floors, took the Spirit Tools, and found Fourth-Order Raw Ore, refined spirit mines, Array Foundation Blanks, and a complete Mountain Protecting Grand Array.
• Xiao Chen found and collected 388,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, then considered raiding the Yin Corpse Sect’s warehouse in the future.
• Xiao Chen collected the Spirit Wine aged for more than fifty years and left the younger wine, Raw Ore, and lower-floor supplies for the Heavenly Dipper Sect and Ink Barrier Sect cultivators.
• Xiao Chen searched the warehouse for a secret chamber, then found a concealed passage beneath the stairs and followed it into a hidden room made with Spirit-Concealing Ore.
• Xiao Chen discovered Demonic Path sacrifices, captive cultivators, and a Golden Core cultivator on a table, along with a tooth from a Fifth-Order Demonic Beast.

Xiao Chen searched the Illuminating Void Sect’s hidden chamber and freed its prisoners, discovering that Chu Tianze had been captured after sneaking into the sect as a Spirit Planter. He left Chu Tianze with proof of his protection and permission to gather spirit herbs while awaiting the Ink Barrier Sect.

• Xiao Chen stored the Giant Tooth by replacing a Gold Plated Cold Jade Bed, then found materials for making eleven Black Abyss Blood Escape Evasion Talismans among the secret chamber’s jars.
• Xiao Chen destroyed the secret chamber and searched the Sect Warehouse, where he allowed two honest dungeon laborers to take spiritual items.
• Xiao Chen broke into the dungeon, healed the prisoners with a Greater Spring Return Spell, and released them.
• Xiao Chen recognized Chu Tianze, who explained that he had joined the Ink Barrier Sect, infiltrated the Illuminating Void Sect, and been imprisoned after eating a valuable spirit flower.
• Xiao Chen told Chu Tianze he could gather Tier 3 Spirit Grass and gave him a stone bearing Xiao Chen’s pressure as proof that the Ink Barrier Sect could safely receive him.

Xiao Chen searched the Illuminating Void Sect’s Scripture Pavilion and found clues that the Star Sand Wave Stabilizing Shield may have been damaged during one of two major events. He planned to consult the Ink Barrier Sect, then discovered Mirror Reflection True Monarch’s array diagrams, Spirit Wine recipe, and inheritance.

• Xiao Chen browsed the pavilion’s ancient books and read how Star Sand Venerable forged the Star Sand Wave Stabilizing Shield to defeat a powerful flood dragon.
• Xiao Chen connected the shield’s possible damage to either the campaign against the Sea Witch Tribe or the Second Great Exploration and decided to ask Yunfeng True Monarch about the Ink Barrier Sect’s records.
• Xiao Chen examined Mirror Reflection True Monarch’s Five Elements Consecutive Lock Spirit Illumination Array diagram and judged the complex formation difficult to arrange.
• Xiao Chen found a recipe for Fourth-Order Lingering Fragrance Spirit Wine and decided not to wait for the unripe spirit fruits in the garden.
• Xiao Chen used an Inheritance Jade Slip and obtained Mirror Reflection True Monarch’s two Heaven-Grade and ten Earth-grade inheritances, along with two Divine Sense Secret Arts.

Xiao Chen searched the Illuminating Void Sect’s remaining facilities, gathered its inheritance, and left for the south after finding the Pill Hall ruined. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Dipper Sect True Lords worried about the danger he faced at the sect’s Mountain Protecting Grand Array and debated how to attack it, unaware that he had already dealt with the array and ended the battle.

• Xiao Chen examined the Illuminating Void Sect’s Divine Sense Secret Arts and found that its inheritance contained tracking, concealment, and defensive methods but no direct Spiritual Sense attacks.
• Xiao Chen found the Pill Hall destroyed by an Elder who had killed its occupants and himself, then left the Three Leaf Islands after confirming he had secured the important resources.
• The Heavenly Dipper Sect fleet advanced cautiously toward the Illuminating Void Sect while its True Lords celebrated Jin Luan’s death and warned other sects to watch for Sea Race reinforcements.
• Yunfeng True Monarch warned Gang Yuan True Monarch and the others that the Illuminating Void Sect’s grand array could deliver powerful attacks and might endanger Xiao Chen.
• Gang Yuan True Monarch proposed asking Xiao Chen to use his talisman treasure again, but Han Chuan True Monarch objected that they were relying on Xiao Chen too much.
• Gang Yuan True Monarch resolved to test the array himself and use a top-tier array if necessary, unaware that Xiao Chen had already destroyed the threat and ended the western battle.

Xiao Chen returned to the allied spirit ship after destroying the Illuminating Void Sect’s formation and killing its Nascent Soul cultivators, shocking the assembled True Monarchs. He accepted an invitation to consult Ink Barrier Sect’s ancient records and repaid Cloud Cliff True Person by giving him a rare ingredient for a breakthrough pill.

• Gang Yuan True Monarch and the others greeted Xiao Chen and warned him that the Illuminating Void Sect’s Mountain Protecting Grand Array could unleash Illuminating Void Divine Light.
• Xiao Chen revealed that he had intercepted Mirror Reflection True Monarch’s spirit shuttle, killed the hostile Nascent Souls, seized their Storage Rings, and dismantled the sect’s grand array.
• Yunfeng True Monarch inferred that Xiao Chen’s talisman treasure could seize the Main Array Flag holder even inside a Mountain Protecting Grand Array, and Xiao Chen confirmed it.
• Xiao Chen asked to consult Ink Barrier Sect’s records on Ancient Magic Treasures, and Yunfeng True Monarch gave him a token granting access to its highest library floor.
• Gang Yuan True Monarch told Xiao Chen that Cloud Cliff True Person had brought a gift from Iron Fan True Monarch, so Xiao Chen stayed for Spirit Tea and welcomed the visitor.
• Xiao Chen gave Cloud Cliff True Person an Essence Storing Spirit Gathering Grass he had found in the Illuminating Void Sect’s warehouse, saying it would help with a Nascent Soul breakthrough.

Xiao Chen gave Cloud Cliff True Person an Essence Storing Spirit Gathering Grass and one million Spirit Stones, then accepted Iron Fan True Monarch’s apology and agreed to reconcile with the Azure Sea Immortal Sect. The chapter ended with Gang Yuan True Monarch advising Cloud Cliff True Person that his connection to Xiao Chen could become a valuable advantage.

• Xiao Chen offered Cloud Cliff True Person the spirit medicine and one million Spirit Stones, explaining how he could account for receiving them.
• Xiao Chen read Iron Fan True Monarch’s long apology letter and agreed to settle their past grievances if he could later consult the Azure Sea Immortal Sect’s Scripture Pavilion.
• Xiao Chen left the pavilion, leaving the gifts behind, and Cloud Cliff True Person tried to return the Spirit Stones.
• Gang Yuan True Monarch reassured Cloud Cliff True Person that accepting Xiao Chen’s gifts was safe and that their connection might benefit him.
• Gang Yuan True Monarch explained that Iron Fan True Monarch had sent Cloud Cliff True Person because Xiao Chen’s letter claimed the two were friends.

Xiao Chen searched the Ink Barrier Sect’s records for fragments of the Star Sand Wave Stabilizing Shield, posted a bounty, and returned to Secluded Doom Island. There, he reunited with Su Li and revealed that he had brought pastries and two Fourth-Order Xun Wind Singing Snake Eggs, which they decided to boil.

• Xiao Chen found records stating that only two fragments of the Star Sand Wave Stabilizing Shield had known locations, then arranged a bounty for information and trades involving the other fragments.
• Xiao Chen left the Ink Barrier Sect and planned to visit the New Cultivation World to commission Spirit Tools, seek formation-breaking methods, and meet Chen Fan before hunting Sea Race Great Demons.
• Xiao Chen returned to Secluded Doom Island after two months away and met Su Li beneath the World Illusion Moon Wheel.
• Xiao Chen gave Su Li a hundred boxes of Golden Thread Glazed Crisp and showed her two Fourth-Order Xun Wind Singing Snake Eggs.
• Su Li considered raising the eggs, but Xiao Chen explained that he had brought them back to eat, and they decided to boil them that night.

Xiao Chen told Su Li that Spirit Transformation cultivators were absent from the Compassion Sea and offered to arrange custom Spirit Tools for her, then shared his recent exploits and supplies with her. After spending several days on Secluded Doom Island and collecting Blood Crystals under the full moon, he traversed back to the New Cultivation World and began confirming how his return point worked.

• Xiao Chen told Su Li she could leave Secluded Doom Island because no Spirit Transformation cultivators were currently in the Compassion Sea, and offered to have custom Spirit Tools made for her.
• Xiao Chen recounted his recent battles and shared Talisman Making materials with Su Li, who resolved to train for Spirit Transformation and practice Witch Talismans.
• Xiao Chen searched the Storage Rings of Mirror Reflection True Monarch and Illusion Breaker True Monarch, finding Spirit Stones, spiritual items, Azure Sky Sword Cleansing Leaves, and Dao Comprehension Crystals.
• Xiao Chen and Su Li watched the Moon Witch Tribe's Inherited Memory and absorbed the accumulated Blood Crystals beneath the full moon before Xiao Chen said goodbye.
• Xiao Chen traversed to the New Cultivation World and concluded that he had returned to the place where he had been when he last left.

Xiao Chen returned to Gui Yun Market, reunited with Chen Fan, and learned that the Double Jade Assembly was drawing cultivators to trade. As Chen Fan explained how Soul Devouring Jade could be cultivated into valuable Soul Nurturing Jade, Xiao Chen discovered that Gui Yun Sect’s trade relied on cultivators sacrificing their Spiritual Sense over many years.

• Xiao Chen noticed cultivators traveling toward Gui Yun Market and Gui Yun Sect Golden Core Patrol Teams protecting the roads, then found Chen Fan haggling over a Magic Sword.
• Xiao Chen gave Chen Fan a better sword and dismissed his self-created technique as flawed, telling him to cultivate the Heavenly Star Secret Method after reaching Golden Core.
• Chen Fan told Xiao Chen that the Double Jade Assembly would take place in three days and that Gui Yun Sect patrols protected traders from Robber Cultivators.
• At the Xu Family courtyard, Xiao Chen offered five hundred thousand Spirit Stones, but Chen Fan said the family still had enough from Xiao Chen’s previous gift.
• Chen Fan explained that Wilderness Cultivators gathered at the Double Jade Assembly to sell Soul Nurturing Jade and Blood Absorbing Jade and trade for supplies.
• Chen Fan described how Gui Yun Sect sold Soul Devouring Jade cheaply, which cultivators could feed with their Spiritual Sense for five to ten years to produce Soul Nurturing Jade, risking lasting mental damage for a profit of about eight hundred Spirit Stones.

Xiao Chen learned that Gui Yun Sect and the Holy City profited from Double Jade, a trade that damaged the health and cultivation potential of Wilderness Cultivators. After Xu Dayou revealed that the coming auction would offer Pure Void Yuan Pills, Xiao Chen investigated their reputed Golden Core breakthrough effect and decided he needed better intelligence about the New Cultivation World.

• Chen Fan explained that the great blessed lands and Holy City collected most Double Jade and that past resistance had failed to end the trade.
• Xiao Chen warned Chen Fan and the Xu family to stop nourishing or planting jade in their bodies and told them not to involve future recruits in Double Jade.
• Xu Dayou returned from the mines and said the blessed land would auction three Golden Core Formation Pills, hoping the family could use their Spirit Stones and nourished jade to help Chen Fan bid.
• Chen Fan explained that the pills were Pure Void Yuan Pills, which reportedly gave Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivators a better chance of forming a Golden Core.
• Xiao Chen learned that the pills had an estimated success rate above eighty percent and concluded that the New Cultivation World had more advanced arts and potentially greater dangers.
• Xiao Chen decided to seek reliable information from Zhang Cunfu or a local Nascent Soul cultivator before revealing himself openly.

Xiao Chen treated Chen Fan’s mother, then met Zhang Cunfu to ask about the warehouse attack and assign him a job selling the spirit items in his Storage Ring. Zhang Cunfu accepted the ring in fear, unsure what dangerous goods Xiao Chen had entrusted to him.

• Xiao Chen gave Chen Fan a Three Revolutions Mysterious Origin Pill and Spirit Stones, then used three healing spells to clear the miasma from Chen Fan’s mother and restore her appearance.
• At Gui Yun Market, Xiao Chen saw Wanted Notices for members of the Rebellious Immortal Alliance and learned that a later warehouse attacker had been captured after killing Chief Manager Li and others.
• Xiao Chen used Spiritual Sense to summon Zhang Cunfu, who explained the attack and revealed that he had taken Chief Manager Li’s position by framing him.
• Zhang Cunfu offered to help resell spirit items to prove his value, and Xiao Chen handed him a Storage Ring filled with goods to sell.
• Xiao Chen told Zhang Cunfu to sell the goods as he usually peddled spirit items in private, leaving Zhang Cunfu afraid of what the ring contained.

Xiao Chen questioned Zhang Cunfu about the Double Jade Assembly and the Nascent Soul True Lords in Gui Yun Sect’s territory while arranging for him to sell a large stock of spiritual items. Zhang Cunfu offered to use his sect connections to obtain intelligence in exchange for Spirit Stones and Fourth-Order Spiritual Items.

• Zhang Cunfu inspected Xiao Chen’s Storage Ring and discovered more than twenty million Spirit Stones’ worth of Third-Order Spiritual Objects, then warned that selling them quickly could attract suspicion.
• Xiao Chen asked about the Double Jade Assembly, and Zhang Cunfu described its jade-buying process, auctions, and the Fourth-Order Spiritual Items offered by the Four Great Families.
• Zhang Cunfu named eight local Nascent Soul True Lords and explained why the Pingyi Cai Family and Hongqiu Shang Family retained their standing despite having no current True Lords.
• When Xiao Chen asked for reliable details about the True Lords, Zhang Cunfu shared that the Sect Master’s jade rings had helped him defeat a Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator.
• Xiao Chen asked whether Zhang Cunfu could obtain further intelligence through his sect connections, and Zhang Cunfu said he could acquire copied information for Spirit Stones or spiritual items.

Xiao Chen considered how to conceal his identity while competing in the Double Jade Assembly and decided Hong Xingfeng might help him learn about the local families. After observing Hong Xingfeng broker a questionable sublease of a Cai Family Spirit Field, Xiao Chen suspected the Cai Family had lost influence and followed Hong Xingfeng to ask about the family and arrange a meeting.

• Xiao Chen gave Zhang Cunfu Spirit Stones and a Water-element Spiritual Item for intelligence-gathering tasks, then established a secret way for them to meet.
• Xiao Chen weighed working with a local cultivator against using a false identity, worrying that local True Lords could detect his Breathless Shadowless Curse.
• Xiao Chen recognized Hong Xingfeng at Hao Wei Zhai and overheard him arranging a discounted sublease of the Cai Family's Spirit Field between a Wang-family cultivator and a Yang-family cultivator.
• The Yang-family cultivator questioned the lack of Cai Family approval but signed the Spirit Contract after Hong Xingfeng and the Wang-family cultivator pressured him.
• Xiao Chen suspected the Cai Family's declining prestige could make them useful allies, waited for the transaction to end, and followed Hong Xingfeng out of the market.

Xiao Chen followed Hong Xingfeng to a secret meeting and confronted a Red-bearded Man he suspected belonged to the Rebellious Immortal Alliance. The Red-bearded Man repeatedly tried to force Xiao Chen to reveal his spirit tools, and Xiao Chen finally seized him with the Mechanical Grappling Claw and struck him with the Sky-rushing Palm.

• Xiao Chen followed Hong Xingfeng to a pavilion, where Hong Xingfeng delivered thunder-containing stones to the Red-bearded Man.
• The Red-bearded Man detected Xiao Chen, accused him of being a Holy City lackey, and attacked with a saber technique that dissolved hostile true essence.
• Xiao Chen defended himself with the Four Symbols Suppressing Mountain Shield and counterattacked with Azure Wave Piercing Bone Needles, but fled when he could not quickly break the Red-bearded Man's Spirit Shield.
• The Red-bearded Man used talismans to bind Xiao Chen and repeatedly blocked his escape, hoping to learn what spirit tools he carried.
• Xiao Chen shattered the chains with the Sky-rushing Palm, then used the Mechanical Grappling Claw to knock the Red-bearded Man unconscious and struck his chest with another Sky-rushing Palm.

Xiao Chen defeated and killed the Red-bearded Man, then escaped with his Storage Ring before Gui Yun Sect could respond. While examining the ring, he discovered intelligence about a secret Holy City cultivator near Gui Yun Market and materials intended for a planned ambush.

• Xiao Chen used the Mechanical Grappling Claw and a barrage of spells to shatter the Red-bearded Man’s damaged shield and burn him and his Nascent Soul to ashes.
• Xiao Chen destroyed traces of the battle, flew a hundred thousand li away, and hid in a barren valley without encountering pursuers.
• Xiao Chen spent nearly a day breaking the Storage Ring’s restrictions and found Spirit Stones, pills, Talismans, an array diagram, a map, letters, spells, and spiritual items.
• Xiao Chen read True Lord Su Bai’s letter and learned that a disguised Nascent Soul cultivator from the Holy City had appeared near Gui Yun Market two months earlier.
• Xiao Chen learned that the Red-bearded Man had been asked to gather Thunder-containing Stones for an ambush, and he kept the materials for himself.
• Xiao Chen found a tough fourth-tier beast hide suitable for Artifact Refining and planned to use it when commissioning custom Spirit Tools.

After uncovering that the Cai Family was declining and living under an active defensive formation, Xiao Chen visited Master Cai to propose a deal concerning the family’s future. He revealed his overwhelming spiritual sense, and Master Cai realized his visitor was a Nascent Soul True Lord.

• Xiao Chen kept the unusual Wood-attribute spiritual material, concluded the Red-bearded Man belonged to the Rebellious Immortal Alliance, and decided to continue to the Cai Family.
• Xiao Chen reached Pingyi City and learned that the Cai Family’s ancestral estate had been moved outside the city after repeated deaths among its younger generation.
• An aged Golden Core cultivator told Xiao Chen that the Cai Family had lost prestige, withdrawn from public affairs, and leased out its distant Spirit Fields and spirit mines.
• Xiao Chen found the Cai Family Ancestral Home protected by a partly activated Fourth-tier Defensive Formation and asked to meet Master Cai.
• Master Cai received Xiao Chen, who introduced himself as the Golden Light Rogue Cultivator and proposed a transaction concerning the Cai family’s future.
• Xiao Chen swept the reception hall with his spiritual sense, and Master Cai recognized him as a Nascent Soul True Lord.

Xiao Chen negotiated with Master Cai to cooperate with the Rebellious Immortal Alliance, offering Breakthrough Spirit Pill ingredients in exchange for the Cai Family’s help. After arranging to join the Cai Family delegation at the auction, Xiao Chen spent the day studying their books before the Double Jade Assembly.

• Xiao Chen asked Master Cai about rumors of feng shui problems in Pingyi City, and Master Cai explained that his family had moved to protect its promising young cultivators.
• Xiao Chen proposed that the Cai Family bid on Fourth-Order Spiritual Items for him in exchange for his help against their enemies.
• Master Cai chose to cooperate, asking for a Rebellious Fate Nascent Soul Pill or, if one could not be obtained, two Main Ingredients for Breakthrough Spirit Pills.
• Xiao Chen agreed to provide the ingredients, and he and Master Cai arranged for Xiao Chen to join the Cai Family delegation at the auction under their name.
• Master Cai offered Xiao Chen a Formation Flag for the Cai Family's Linked Grand Array, but Xiao Chen declined it as a gesture of trust.
• Xiao Chen spent the following day studying more than a hundred books in the Cai Family's study room and postponed meeting the other family members.

Xiao Chen studied the Cai Family’s records and learned that the Holy City controlled access to high-tier treasures while guarding secrets about Spiritual Sense and Spirit Transformation. He realized Double Jade sustained the Holy City’s powerful cultivators and left determined to prioritize a defensive Spirit Tool before investigating the city further.

• Xiao Chen found that the historical record had a vast gap and that Cai Family ancestors considered the Holy City the only place to find opportunities for reaching the Venerable realm.
• Xiao Chen reasoned that alternatives to the Holy City might exist through the Rebellious Immortal Alliance and planned to cultivate promising explorers, including Chen Fan, while postponing his own visit.
• Xiao Chen read Cai Ancestor’s Theory of Spiritual Sense and learned that damaged or insufficient Spiritual Sense could prevent a Nascent Soul cultivator from reaching Spirit Transformation.
• Xiao Chen recognized that the Jade Ruyi could safely strengthen his Spiritual Sense and decided to prioritize commissioning a Spirit Tool that defended against Divine Sense Attacks.
• Xiao Chen learned that Soul Nurturing Jade could enhance Spiritual Sense and that the Holy City exchanged high-tier treasures for Double Jade, then concluded that the system extracted resources from cultivators throughout the New Cultivation World to empower its elite.

Xiao Chen chose not to pursue Double Jade before the auction and planned to use the Cai Family’s connections to obtain Spirit Tools and Formation Breaking Cones. As the Cai Family arrived at Gui Yun Market, they found the other families and Gui Yun Sect had excluded them from the usual gathering, and Master Cai learned the True Lords were meeting without any Golden Core cultivators.

• Xiao Chen weighed the risks of buying Double Jade, decided to focus on the auction, and read records about pills, Assembled Formations, and Formation Breaking Cones.
• Master Cai told Xiao Chen the Spirit Boat was ready, and Xiao Chen asked to travel as a secluded young Cai Family member rather than as a Guest Elder.
• Master Cai introduced the Cai Family’s thirteen Golden Core cultivators, revealing their aging numbers and the family’s precarious position.
• The Cai Family arrived above Gui Yun Market and discovered the other families and Gui Yun Sect had already entered the Large Garden without them.
• Master Cai asked around and learned that True Lord Hua Jian was holding a closed meeting limited to True Lords, leaving him feeling insulted and abandoned.