Chapter Summaries

After a Nascent Soul cultivator was killed, the local powers organized patrols while Xiao Chen spent the day studying food and arranging for Master Cai to gather intelligence. The Grand Auction was delayed for the arrival of Seven Crane True Monarch from the Mo Family, and Master Cai was summoned to welcome him as Xiao Chen continued eating, unconcerned.

• Master Cai returned without reliable information, while Xiao Chen read the Nine Nine Delicacies Record and Master Cai resolved to follow him.
• True Lord Hua Jian gathered the local True Lords, who agreed to patrol in pairs and stage a crackdown on the Rebellious Immortal Alliance.
• Xiao Chen asked Master Cai to find out about rogue cultivators' private gatherings so Chen Fan could look for opportunities.
• Xiao Chen and Master Cai went to the Grand Auction, but found the hall empty and the event delayed.
• A Gao Family cultivator reported that Seven Crane True Monarch of Sacred Beast Villa, a Mo Family Direct Lineage member, was coming to investigate the suspected Rebellious Immortal Alliance cultivator.
• Master Cai grew fearful that Seven Crane True Monarch would expose the Cai Family, while Xiao Chen ate and received a summons to the marketplace gate.

Seven Crane True Monarch arrived at Gui Yun Market with seven powerful spirit cranes, prompting Xiao Chen to plan for the Grand Auction and ask Master Cai how much he could spend discreetly. The auction began with the Golden Core Formation, and Xiao Chen spotted Chen Fan in the audience ready to bid.

• The Eight True Lords and Golden Core cultivators welcomed Seven Crane True Monarch, whose seven Fourth-Order Spirit Beasts and Spirit Tools astonished the crowd and caught Xiao Chen’s eye.
• After the Gao family proposed that each family contribute a valuable Spiritual Item for the auction, Master Cai worried that the Cai Family might lose one of its few remaining treasures.
• Xiao Chen asked how many Spirit Stones he could spend in the Cai Family’s name, and Master Cai said they could plausibly bid on up to seven Spiritual Items while keeping a low profile.
• Xiao Chen decided to conceal his spending and seek useful Spiritual Items and Artifact Refining Materials at the auction.
• The Grand Auction opened with the Golden Core Formation, and Xiao Chen spotted Chen Fan beside Xu Qingyi, watching the item intently.

Chen Fan secured a Golden Core Formation after Xiao Chen encouraged him to bid, while Xiao Chen used the Cai Family to acquire several Fourth-Order spirit materials. The auction then introduced a one-use Formation Breaking Cone provided by Seven Crane True Monarch, leaving the crowd to consider its high starting price.

• Chen Fan raised his bid to 467,800 Spirit Stones and won the Golden Core Formation after Xiao Chen urged him to keep competing.
• Xiao Chen bid two million Spirit Stones through Master Cai and won the Flowing Luster Treasure Pearl.
• Xiao Chen spent another two million Spirit Stones on most of a Fourth-Order Snail shell, then bought a Barren Green Ox horn and Blood Moon Wolf claws for two million and three million Spirit Stones.
• Mu Wenbo presented the Formation Breaking Cone provided by Seven Crane True Monarch and explained that Master Guyan had enhanced it to break most Fourth-tier Grand Arrays, but it could only be used once.
• Mu Wenbo set the Formation Breaking Cone’s starting price at One Million Spirit Stones, with bids required to rise by at least ten thousand.

Xiao Chen used the Cai Family’s fear of a Reinforced Formation Breaking Cone to justify bidding twenty million Spirit Stones and secretly supplied the funds himself. The bid stunned the auction, and Gui Yun True Monarch sent an attendant to investigate how the Cai Family would pay.

• The Three Great Families bid against each other for the Reinforced Formation Breaking Cone, driving its price to 8.2 million Spirit Stones while Master Cai worried about the threat it posed to the Cai Family’s array.
• Xiao Chen bid ten million Spirit Stones, but Old Master Jin raised the price to eleven million and explained that the Jin Family intended to use the cone to help annex the Cai Family.
• Xiao Chen ordered Master Cai to bid twenty million Spirit Stones and argued that the Cai Family could plausibly spend heavily to protect its grand array.
• Master Cai worried that the Cai Family would need to pay with Mid-Grade Spirit Stones to support that explanation, so Xiao Chen gave him a Storage Ring containing 200,000 Mid-Grade and nine million Low-grade Spirit Stones.
• The twenty-million bid stunned the cultivators and Nascent Soul True Lords, and Gui Yun True Monarch sent an attendant to watch how the Cai Family settled the payment.

The Cai Family won the Reinforced Formation Breaking Cone for twenty million Spirit Stones, while Xiao Chen arranged further business through Master Cai. After Gui Yun Sect officials invited Master Cai for tea, Xiao Chen reassured him that their cover had not been exposed.

• The Cai Family raised its bid by ten million Spirit Stones and won the Reinforced Formation Breaking Cone for twenty million, stunning the auction hall and drawing crowds to record the sale.
• Seven Crane True Monarch learned about the Cai Family and decided to invite Master Cai for a conversation, hoping to meet the decisive patriarch behind the bids.
• Xiao Chen learned that the final Ze Realm Talisman granted a hundred-year residence in a Blessed Land and one cleansing, but chose not to bid; the Jin Family later bought it for 1.2 million Spirit Stones.
• Master Cai gave Xiao Chen information on rogue cultivator gatherings and agreed to contact outside-region Fourth-Order Artifact Forgers about custom Fusion Spirit Tools.
• Gui Yun True Monarch and True Lord Hua Jian dismissed their suspicions after hearing that the Cai Family had spent ancestral Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, and True Lord Hua Jian invited Master Cai to tea.
• Master Cai feared the invitation meant he had been exposed, but Xiao Chen told him the officials had likely invited him because the Cai Family bought an auction item and reassured him that their cover remained intact.

After Chen Fan won the Golden Core Formation, Xiao Chen secretly tested his combat ability by letting two pursuers attack him, then rewarded his promising performance with Spirit Stones and a list of items to seek. Chen Fan later found a sculpture containing ancient Sword Intent for Ten Spirit Stones, and Xiao Chen headed to the lucky draw stalls to look for a bargain himself.

• Xiao Chen stopped four groups pursuing Chen Fan and let two Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivators continue after him.
• Chen Fan defeated the two robbers with a powerful Talisman attack and his swordsmanship, then returned safely with Xu Qingyi.
• Xiao Chen praised Chen Fan’s combat potential, gave him One Million Spirit Stones, and sent him to search the Dark Market while stabilizing his cultivation.
• Chen Fan spent several tens of thousands of Spirit Stones on spiritual items over two days.
• Chen Fan showed Xiao Chen a Golden Tail Tiger sculpture he had won for Ten Spirit Stones, and Xiao Chen identified the ancient Sword Intent sealed inside as a treasure worth at least One Hundred Thousand Spirit Stones.
• Xiao Chen learned about the lucky draw stalls at San Dao Gou and decided to visit them himself.

Xiao Chen won the second Golden Tail Tiger statue by buying every remaining lottery slip, then discovered it held a fragment of music that might be connected to Venerable Dai Jian. He summoned Zhang Cunfu to ask him to investigate Dai Jian’s records, but learned Zhang had been selling Xiao Chen’s spiritual items to a mysterious bulk buyer.

• Xiao Chen spent one thousand Spirit Stones on lottery draws without winning anything valuable, then bought all the remaining slips for twelve thousand Spirit Stones and obtained the Golden Tail Tiger statue.
• Xiao Chen studied the statue and found a fragment of music, then suspected that it and the first statue might have been left behind by Venerable Dai Jian.
• Xiao Chen decided to ask Zhang Cunfu to obtain Gui Yun Sect records about Venerable Dai Jian and summoned him using their agreed Secret Mark.
• Zhang Cunfu told Xiao Chen that he had sold nearly half of the spiritual items and met a mysterious cultivator who was buying spiritual items in bulk.

True Lord Su Bai discovered that Zhang Cunfu was secretly selling Gui Yun Market’s spirit items and used the opportunity to supply the Rebellious Immortal Alliance. Xiao Chen approved the trade and asked Zhang Cunfu to gather information on past Genius Cultivators; after their latest exchange, Zhang Cunfu offered True Lord Su Bai even more goods.

• True Lord Su Bai investigated a secret spirit-item seller and learned that it was Zhang Cunfu, then disguised himself as a merchant to buy contraband from him.
• True Lord Su Bai purchased goods worth more than nine million Spirit Stones, including nearly five million Spirit Stones’ worth of scarce items.
• Zhang Cunfu asked Xiao Chen whether he could sell a large quantity of Refined Spirit Ore to the merchant, and Xiao Chen approved while instructing him to conceal the trade and seek further orders.
• Xiao Chen asked Zhang Cunfu to dispose of miscellaneous items and gather detailed intelligence on past Gui Yun Sect Genius Cultivators, especially those who later achieved great things.
• True Lord Su Bai paid for another shipment, and Zhang Cunfu offered to sell him more spirit items, leaving Su Bai stunned.

Xiao Chen cultivated auxiliary spells while protecting Chen Fan through his Golden Core breakthrough, which produced an unusual five-colored spiritual energy vortex. After Chen Fan succeeded, Xiao Chen gave him two Spirit Tools and asked him to secretly collect Soul Nurturing Jade, then returned to Pingyi to await word from the Cai Family.

• Xiao Chen made slow progress cultivating the Refraction Illusion Art and Star Radiance Tracking Art, then considered collecting Soul Nurturing Jade to strengthen his Spiritual Sense.
• After thirty days of seclusion, Chen Fan successfully broke through to Golden Core as a five-colored spiritual energy vortex formed around him.
• Chen Fan emerged three days later, and Xiao Chen questioned him about the unusual breakthrough phenomenon, but Chen Fan reported nothing out of the ordinary.
• Xiao Chen gave Chen Fan a spirit sword and spirit shield and asked him to collect Soul Nurturing Jade discreetly without attracting the Gui Yun Sect's attention.
• Xiao Chen returned to Pingyi to wait for news from the Cai Family.

Xiao Chen met Shattered Gold True Monarch to discuss commissioning custom Fusion Spirit Tools and learned that their costs could reach tens of millions of Spirit Stones. The chapter left him weighing whether to use a spearhead or Flying Sword Fragment as the foundation for an offensive Spirit Tool, while realizing the refining costs would be far higher than expected.

• Xiao Chen advanced the Azure Wave Piercing Bone Needle to a proficient grasp and heard that Shattered Gold True Monarch was willing to refine a Spirit Tool for a fee of One Million Spirit Stones, with the Cai Family covering all material and equipment costs.
• Xiao Chen agreed to meet Shattered Gold True Monarch at Waterfall Gazing Mountain and adopted the alias Daoist Jinguang to conceal his identity.
• Shattered Gold True Monarch explained that Fusion Spirit Tools had to be designed around their Magic Treasure Fragments, then examined Xiao Chen's spearhead and Flying Sword Fragment.
• Shattered Gold True Monarch said the Flying Sword Fragment improved sturdiness and efficiency, while the spearhead offered stronger offensive potential but required many precious materials to restore.
• Xiao Chen asked about the difference in combat power between a Flying Sword and a spear, and Shattered Gold True Monarch explained that Fusion Spirit Tools could cost tens of millions of Spirit Stones because Spirit Fusion increased material costs and refining losses.

Xiao Chen commissioned Shattered Gold True Monarch to plan a top-tier Complete Fusion Spirit Tool, choosing power and durability over several cheaper weapons. After examining Xiao Chen’s abundant materials from Fourth-tier Sea Fish, Shattered Gold True Monarch wondered whether his client had come from the south.

• Xiao Chen asked Shattered Gold True Monarch about the cost and materials needed to enhance every part of a spear with the Spirit Fusion Technique.
• Xiao Chen agreed to the estimated cost of at least sixty million Spirit Stones and asked Shattered Gold True Monarch to list the required materials.
• Shattered Gold True Monarch eagerly accepted the commission and drafted eight refinement plans with different materials and substitutes.
• Xiao Chen chose a plan with many substitute materials and showed Shattered Gold True Monarch materials from Fourth-tier Sea Fish.
• Shattered Gold True Monarch confirmed that several fish materials could serve as substitutes, then was astonished when Xiao Chen produced a large pile of them and suspected he had come from the south.

Xiao Chen arranged the materials and funding for a Complete Fusion Spirit Tool, then checked Chen Fan’s progress with the All Heaven Stars Spirit Induction Secret Method. Chen Fan discovered that Heavenly Star Energy let him cultivate with little spiritual energy and wanted to share the method, but Xiao Chen feared the Holy City would violently suppress it.

• Shattered Gold True Monarch confirmed a refining plan that required Xiao Chen to provide thirteen million Spirit Stones for materials, while warning that the Fourth-Order Spirit Materials needed for another Complete Fusion Spirit Tool would be difficult to obtain.
• Xiao Chen decided to hunt Sea Race Great Demons for Fourth-Order materials and planned to learn more about the war before choosing targets near Cloud Wave Sword Abode.
• Xiao Chen met Zhang Cunfu, accepted the Rebellious Immortal Alliance’s new Order List and three-million-Spirit-Stone deposit, and then went to check on Chen Fan.
• Chen Fan told Xiao Chen that he had sensed Heavenly Star Energy and could cultivate in the wilderness, where spiritual energy was scarce.
• Chen Fan asked permission to spread the All Heaven Stars Spirit Induction Secret Method to help rogue cultivators, while Xiao Chen feared the Holy City would hunt down its practitioners and erase the method.

Chen Fan accepted Xiao Chen’s counsel about cultivating strength before helping others, while Xiao Chen returned to the Compassion Sea and learned that the southern front was under growing pressure. On his way to Cloud Wave Sword Abode, Xiao Chen entered a Ghost Mist and spotted a familiar altar among a reflected crowd.

• Xiao Chen explained why Chen Fan’s plan to spread the Heavenly Star Secret Method could not benefit most Wilderness Cultivators, and Chen Fan apologized for failing to consider its limits.
• Chen Fan took Xiao Chen’s advice to cultivate himself while weak and help others when strong, and Xiao Chen assigned him to collect Soul Nurturing Jade before leaving the Xu Family.
• Xiao Chen tested crossing from a distant mountain ravine and confirmed that his landing point in the Compassion Sea stayed fixed, then returned to the Heavenly Dipper Sect.
• A Heavenly Dipper Sect Elder told Xiao Chen that the Giant Octopus, an ambush, and six new Fourth-Order great demons had increased pressure on the southern front, prompting the Sect Master to reinforce Cloud Wave Sword Abode.
• Xiao Chen learned that no one had answered his bounty for Star Sand Wave Stabilizing Shield fragments, then set out for Cloud Wave Sword Abode.
• Xiao Chen recognized a strange Coral Sea as Ghost Mist and, while leaving, spotted a crowd gathered around an altar that looked familiar.

Xiao Chen crossed the Listening Wave Sea and learned that the Cloud Wave Sword Abode was evacuating young disciples as Sea Race reinforcements increased the pressure. He joined the Sword Abode’s leaders, including acting Sect Master Cloud Vortex True Monarch, and they began planning their resistance to the Sea Race.

• Xiao Chen saw a Ghost Mist projection of a Sea Witch Tribe ritual and suspected that survivors might still possess fragments of the Star Sand Wave Stabilizing Shield.
• Xiao Chen reached the Listening Wave Sea and encountered spirit ships carrying young Cloud Wave Sword Abode and Esteem Truth Temple disciples to safety in the Storm Sea.
• Xiao Chen arrived at Listening Wave Island, where Rift Void True Monarch welcomed him and brought him to meet Gang Yuan True Monarch, Han Chuan True Monarch, and Cloud Vortex True Monarch.
• Gang Yuan True Monarch introduced Cloud Vortex True Monarch as the Sword Abode’s acting Sect Master, while Cloud Vortex privately doubted that Xiao Chen’s reputation reflected his own abilities.
• Cloud Vortex True Monarch gave Xiao Chen a Six Side Flag and hosted him in the Sect Hall, where the group shared a meal before discussing how to resist the Sea Race.

Xiao Chen and the other True Monarchs chose Cloud Vortex True Monarch’s plan to ambush the Sea Race swordfish while the Giant Octopus and the other demons were occupied. As the attack began, Xiao Chen concealed himself beside the right-flank Array Foundation and waited for the Sea Race to tire before striking.

• Gang Yuan True Monarch proposed luring the Giant Octopus away from its allies, while Cloud Vortex True Monarch suggested trapping the Sea Race demons and killing the weaker swordfish first.
• Xiao Chen agreed with Cloud Vortex True Monarch’s plan, and Gang Yuan True Monarch, Han Chuan True Monarch, and Rift Void True Monarch trusted his judgment.
• Xiao Chen offered to treat Lü Shuang Daoist and Surging Wave Daoist, but Cloud Vortex True Monarch explained that their injuries came from violent sword qi caused by their sect’s secret method.
• The next morning, Xiao Chen concealed himself at the formation’s right flank as the Sea Race attacked, identifying the swordfish and the Red Flower Crab as targets.
• After the Sea Race demons entered the formation and the swordfish began damaging an Array Foundation, Xiao Chen remained hidden and waited for them to grow tired.

Xiao Chen ambushed and swiftly killed a swordfish Sea Race Great Demon, stunning the Human True Lords and disrupting the battle. After a grouper escaped the formation, Xiao Chen pursued it across the waves, and the chapter ended as he prepared an Azure Wave Piercing Bone Needle for their fight.

• Cloud Vortex True Monarch activated the formation and launched the Human cultivators' ambush against the Sea Race Great Demons.
• Xiao Chen struck the swordfish with Azure Wave Piercing Bone Needles, shattered its bones, and killed it and its Demon Infant in less than twenty breaths.
• Cloud Vortex True Monarch, Gang Yuan True Monarch, Han Chuan True Monarch, and Rift Void True Monarch were astonished by Xiao Chen's speed and strength.
• A grouper escaped the weakened formation while the Six-fin Barracuda and other Sea Race Great Demons tried to break free or fight back.
• Xiao Chen chased the grouper through the water faster than it could swim, forcing it to turn and face him as he formed another Azure Wave Piercing Bone Needle.

Xiao Chen killed the grouper and Red Flower Crab, shifting the battle against the trapped Sea Race in the Human cultivators’ favor. The Six-fin Barracuda tried to use its Sea God Talisman to get the second grouper out, but the grouper dodged it, and Cloud Vortex True Monarch announced that the talisman had been caught.

• Xiao Chen destroyed the first grouper’s body, dragged back and killed its Demon Infant, then joined the fight against the Red Flower Crab.
• Xiao Chen pierced the Red Flower Crab’s weak abdominal shell and killed it while preserving its shell as Artifact Refining Material.
• Xiao Chen went to assist Han Chuan True Monarch against a second grouper as the Six-fin Barracuda recognized him and considered how to escape.
• The Six-fin Barracuda activated the Sea God Talisman and sent it toward the grouper, claiming it would send the grouper out to seek reinforcements.
• The grouper dodged the talisman, accusing the Six-fin Barracuda of trying to sacrifice it, and Cloud Vortex True Monarch cried out that the talisman had been caught.

The Sea God Talisman transformed the Giant Octopus into a vastly stronger creature with overwhelming regenerative power, allowing it to shrug off the cultivators’ attacks and destroy the Mountain Protecting Grand Array. As the defenders prepared to evacuate the disciples, Gang Yuan True Monarch asked Xiao Chen to leave with Han Chuan True Monarch and Rift Void True Monarch in case the Six-fin Barracuda was waiting outside.

• The Giant Octopus caught the Sea God Talisman, mutated under its influence, and smashed the grouper to pieces while helping the Six-fin Barracuda escape.
• The Giant Octopus’s enhanced strength shattered restrictions and damaged the Mountain Protecting Grand Array as the Six-fin Barracuda fled from the formation.
• Gang Yuan True Monarch, Han Chuan True Monarch, Cloud Vortex True Monarch, and Xiao Chen attacked the Giant Octopus, but it regenerated from their injuries almost immediately.
• The Giant Octopus began destroying the Array Foundations, prompting Han Chuan True Monarch to suggest evacuating the disciples.
• Gang Yuan True Monarch ordered Han Chuan True Monarch and Rift Void True Monarch to escort the disciples away and asked Xiao Chen to accompany them in case the Six-fin Barracuda ambushed them.

Xiao Chen used the Big Dipper Spirit Fire to overcome the Giant Octopus’s powerful regeneration and save the Cloud Wave Sword Abode’s grand array. Cloud Vortex True Monarch thanked him and welcomed him as the Sword Abode’s most honored guest.

• Xiao Chen drew the Giant Octopus close and concealed the Big Dipper Spirit Fire in a Sky-rushing Palm, then evaded its tentacle as the flame caught on its body.
• The Giant Octopus tried to extinguish the flame with its tentacles, seawater, and a frost spell, but the fire spread and burned through its flesh despite its regeneration.
• The Giant Octopus cut off part of its body to contain the flames, but Xiao Chen revealed that the Big Dipper Spirit Fire had spread through its blood and meridians, engulfing and destroying it.
• Gang Yuan True Monarch identified the fire as the Big Dipper Demonic Fire, and the other True Lords praised Xiao Chen’s powerful method.
• Cloud Vortex True Monarch thanked Xiao Chen for saving the Cloud Wave Sword Abode and declared him its most honored guest.

After Xiao Chen single-handedly ended the Sea Race offensive on the southern front, he learned to process Demonic Beast materials and arranged a large spiritual-item purchase from the Cloud Wave Sword Abode. He also heard that Sea Race reinforcements had worsened the fighting elsewhere, with desperate breakthrough attempts costing many cultivators their lives.

• Cloud Vortex True Monarch and Han Chuan True Monarch praised Xiao Chen for resolving the southern front crisis, and Xiao Chen collected the swordfish and Red Flower Crab for processing.
• Xiao Chen studied the records and watched a Golden Core Disciple dismantle the beasts, learning about their spirit materials and obtaining twenty thousand jin of crab meat.
• Xiao Chen declined a division of the spoils and arranged to buy items from his procurement list through Cloud Vortex True Monarch for 3,600,000 Spirit Stones.
• Cloud Vortex True Monarch reported that Sea Race reinforcements had appeared near the Shallow Sky Sea and Universal Salvation Temple, where Bright Lantern Arhat had failed his breakthrough.
• Cloud Vortex True Monarch explained that sects were rushing promising Golden Core cultivators into breakthroughs under pressure from the war, and fewer than one in ten succeeded.