Chapter Summaries

Xiao Chen led a Li Fire Sect team to investigate the Xuan Family for sheltering Demonic Cultivators, but found the clan prepared to resist them. He used hidden thorns to bind and disable the Xuan Family cultivators, leaving their two visiting guests unharmed.

• Elder Chen gave Xiao Chen an old confession as a lead and assigned Chen Zixuan and Chen Zirui to join his patrol team.
• Xiao Chen led the fourteen disciples to He Yang County, where the Xuan Family had gathered numerous powerful Qi Refining cultivators.
• Xiao Chen accused the Xuan Family of sheltering Demonic Cultivators, while Clan Head Xuan and his allies denied the charge and pressured the Li Fire Sect team.
• After the Xuan Family threatened them, Xiao Chen triggered hidden thorns that bound the clan members and drained their Mana.
• Daoist Zhang and Daoist Zhao drew their Flying Swords at first, then dropped them and stood still as the only unbound guests.

Xiao Chen captured the Xuan Family and pursued two Demonic Cultivators hiding in an underground hall, killing them after a fierce battle. He discovered Wu Ji Spirit Soil among their possessions, an Earth Element Foundation Establishment Spirit Item.

• Xiao Chen subdued Clan Head Xuan and the Xuan Family, while the Li Fire Sect disciples tied up the captives.
• A rogue cultivator led Xiao Chen to a hidden underground hall, where he found two Demonic Cultivators with a maidservant and scattered bones.
• Xiao Chen chased the Demonic Cultivators beyond He Yang County as they used earth walls, Blood Escape, and a Crimson Great Banner to resist him.
• Xiao Chen destroyed the Demonic Cultivators' defenses with Thirty-Six Li Fire Thunders, then burned them to ash with the Fire Crow's Mystic Yang Fire.
• Xiao Chen picked up a clod of Wu Ji Spirit Soil and recognized it as an Earth Element Foundation Establishment Spirit Item.

Xiao Chen recovered the Wu Ji Spirit Soil, completed the mission at the Xuan Family estate, and asked Elder Chen about preparing for Foundation Establishment. He decided to wait for a favorable Wood Day and discovered a powerful Detection Art among the Demonic Cultivators’ belongings.

• Xiao Chen extinguished the flames, found a Bone Bottle containing three strange pills, and returned to He Yang County with the Wu Ji Spirit Soil.
• Xiao Chen broke open the Xuan Family warehouse’s Spirit Seal with the Earth Shaking Art, and his junior brothers inventoried its Spirit Stones and other goods.
• Xiao Chen and the Li Fire Sect cultivators escorted the Xuan Family away, after which rogue cultivators rushed in and looted the estate.
• Xiao Chen delivered the mission to Elder Chen and learned that Foundation Establishment depended on favorable timing, spiritual energy, and protection.
• Xiao Chen decided to wait eight days for a Wood Day before Foundation Establishment, then examined the Demonic Cultivators’ Storage Bags and found a High-Grade Magic Tool and the Yellow-rank Illusion Breaking Spirit Eye.

Xiao Chen left the Li Fire Sect to deliver pills to Plain County, where Blackwind Wanderer ambushed him on behalf of the Jiang Family. Xiao Chen survived the Foundation Establishment cultivator’s attacks and escaped, leaving Blackwind Wanderer stunned by his defenses and speed.

• After hearing that Robber Cultivators had returned to Plain, Xiao Chen accepted a pill-delivery mission and left the Li Fire Sect.
• A Jiang Family clansman informed Jiang Changhua of Xiao Chen’s departure, and Blackwind Wanderer went to wait along his route.
• Blackwind Wanderer attacked Xiao Chen with fireballs, but Xiao Chen survived with Golden Armor and countered by sending his Evergreen Sword before fleeing with Golden Light.
• Blackwind Wanderer pursued Xiao Chen and was astonished by his speed, then launched an Ice Blade that Xiao Chen destroyed with a Transformation Fire Treasure Talisman.
• Blackwind Wanderer fired his Heart Piercing Nail, which pierced Xiao Chen’s shield and broke through his armor and robe before Golden Light stopped it.
• Xiao Chen escaped while Blackwind Wanderer stared at the Heart Piercing Nail in disbelief.

After fleeing south from his pursuer, Xiao Chen used five Foundation Establishment Spirit Items to attempt Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment in a secluded cave. He completed the breakthrough with liquid mana, renewed vitality, and Spiritual Sense that reached twice the usual distance.

• Xiao Chen abandoned his Sect Mission, fled south for three days, and hid in a forest cave to prepare for Foundation Establishment.
• Xiao Chen arranged eight hundred Spirit Stones, raised the cave’s spiritual qi, and stationed two Azure Wood Divine Generals at the entrance.
• Xiao Chen consumed the Mutated Lion Heart and extracted Earth Spiritual Power from the Wu Ji Spirit Soil, then used the Thousand-Year Sword Bamboo and Spirit Accumulating Snow Lotus to build and convert his mana.
• Xiao Chen’s mana condensed into liquid, and he swallowed the Azure Wood Primal Fluid to complete the Five Elements conversion and undergo Moulting and Bone Rebirth.
• Xiao Chen projected his Spiritual Sense to observe the area within two hundred zhang and realized it extended twice as far as normal after Foundation Establishment.

Xiao Chen completed Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, refined a True Inner Core into a second mana reservoir, and received three Prism Hextech choices. He chose Divinity Veil, leaving himself immune to negative effects as he prepared to grow stronger.

• Xiao Chen refined the True Inner Core and placed it beside his dantian, gaining a second reservoir that could store Mana.
• Xiao Chen finished strengthening his body, absorbed the remaining spiritual energy, and returned his unused Spirit Stones to his Storage Bag.
• Xiao Chen realized he had spent six hundred and forty Spirit Stones and blamed Luo Yun Wanderer for forcing him to use so many.
• Xiao Chen received the Prism Hextech choices At All Costs, Treasured Spoils III, and Divinity Veil, then weighed their benefits.
• Xiao Chen chose Divinity Veil because he believed immunity to negative effects would remain valuable as his cultivation advanced.

After breaking through to Foundation Establishment, Xiao Chen tested his stronger Mana and discovered that the Divine Fire Summoning Banner could summon powerful fire soldiers. He prepared to try Sword Flight, then realized he had lost four Magic Tools and vowed to hunt down the man who took them.

• Xiao Chen consolidated his Foundation Establishment cultivation and learned that his lifespan and Mana had greatly increased.
• Xiao Chen tested his new strength by smashing through a thick Rock Wall with the Earth Shaking Art.
• Xiao Chen activated the Divine Fire Summoning Banner and found that it summoned nine armored fire soldiers with Foundation Establishment First Layer strength.
• Xiao Chen put away the banner and prepared to try Sword Flight, but discovered that his Evergreen Sword was missing.
• Xiao Chen recalled losing four Magic Tools while escaping and vowed to kill the man responsible if he caught him.

Xiao Chen arrived at the Liu Family estate to deliver pills and revealed that he had recently achieved Foundation Establishment. As the Hundred Poisons Devil attacked outside, the Liu Family explained why they had been forced to shelter behind their formation.

• Xiao Chen reached the Liu Family estate and entered after Liu Benxin brought Liu Zhishan to meet him.
• Liu Zhishan discovered Xiao Chen was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and Liu Zhiyuan welcomed him into the main hall.
• Xiao Chen delivered the sect's Qi Nourishing Pills and Returning Spring Pills, astonishing Liu Shiqing and Liu Benxin with his rapid breakthrough.
• An explosion outside prompted Liu Zhiyuan to explain that the Hundred Poisons Devil had come to harass the Liu Family again.
• Liu Zhishan said the Hundred Poisons Devil was likely a Luo Tian Sect lunatic wielding a weapon that released three strange poisons, and Liu Zhiyuan said the clan was searching its records for a countermeasure.

Xiao Chen went out to confront Hundred Poisons Devil, confident that his Poison Evasion Secret Art would protect him from the devil’s poison. As Xiao Chen repeatedly summoned fire soldiers despite Falling Star Powder, Hundred Poisons Devil exhausted several defenses and brought out his Three Talents Life-Reaping Bell.

• Xiao Chen learned that Hundred Poisons Devil was at Foundation Establishment Early Stage and volunteered to face him, while Liu Zhishan opened the formation and offered to accompany him.
• Hundred Poisons Devil spread Falling Star Powder toward Xiao Chen, but Xiao Chen felt no effect and summoned fire soldiers to attack.
• Hundred Poisons Devil used a Jade Bowl, poison bees, and poison soldiers to hold off successive waves of fire soldiers.
• Hundred Poisons Devil activated a Tier 2 freezing Talisman and another Talisman that raised three mud men, but Xiao Chen kept summoning more fire soldiers.
• Hundred Poisons Devil realized Xiao Chen’s forces seemed endless and brought out his demonic weapon, the Three Talents Life-Reaping Bell.

Xiao Chen resisted Hundred Poisons Devil’s poisons and killed him with Li Fire Thunders. The Liu Family began dealing with the fires left by the battle.

• Liu Zhiyuan warned Liu Zhishan that they should be ready to cover Xiao Chen’s retreat if the fight went badly.
• Hundred Poisons Devil used Rouge Tears, but Xiao Chen’s Divinity Veil blocked its illusion, and Xiao Chen pursued him when he tried to flee.
• Hundred Poisons Devil offered to leave Plain County and pay One Thousand Spirit Stones, then threatened Xiao Chen with Heavenly Rain, but Xiao Chen refused to let him go.
• Hundred Poisons Devil sacrificed his blood to unleash Heavenly Rain, but the poison left Xiao Chen unharmed.
• Xiao Chen unleashed Li Fire Cleansing Demons and reduced Hundred Poisons Devil to ash, then used Azure Thorn Technique to retrieve his Storage Bag.
• Liu Zhiyuan ordered Liu Zhishan to open the formation and take clansmen to put out the fires.

After Xiao Chen defeated Hundred Poisons Devil, Liu Zhiyuan speculated about his hidden strength and tried to arrange a match for him over dinner. Xiao Chen sampled the Liu Family’s Nine Brew Spring Wine, whose medicinal power began feeding his Inner Core.

• Liu Zhiyuan and the Liu Siblings discussed Xiao Chen’s low-grade Wood Spiritual Root and wondered whether he had concealed even greater strength.
• Liu Zhiyuan told Liu Zhishan to bring out three jars of Nine Brew Spring and invite the clan’s unmarried girls under twenty to meet Xiao Chen.
• Xiao Chen recalled his fire soldiers, collected Hundred Poisons Devil’s magical artifacts, and helped the Liu Family control the blaze.
• Liu Zhiyuan invited Xiao Chen to a meal and served him fifty-year-old Nine Brew Spring Wine.
• After three cups, Xiao Chen’s Inner Core began actively drawing in the Mana in his dantian.

Xiao Chen expanded his Inner Core by drinking the Liu Family’s Nine Brew Spring Wine, then began breaking the restriction on Hundred Poisons Devil’s Storage Bag. Luo Yun Wanderer learned that Xiao Chen had killed Hundred Poisons Devil and arranged to spread information about him, but news that Ye Fei and Miao Yingxue had disappeared forced him to evacuate his strongholds and suspend a plan against the South Lake Su Family.

• Xiao Chen drank the Liu Family’s Nine Brew Spring Wine until his Inner Core’s capacity grew from thirty-six to thirty-nine strands of Mana, leaving the Liu Family cultivators drunk.
• Xiao Chen helped Liu Shiqing carry the Liu Family cultivators into side rooms, then borrowed a guest room to work on Hundred Poisons Devil’s Storage Bag restriction.
• Luo Yun Wanderer learned that Xiao Chen had killed Hundred Poisons Devil and reviewed reports describing Xiao Chen’s rapid rise from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment.
• Luo Yun Wanderer sold information about Xiao Chen to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, hoping others would eliminate him.
• A subordinate reported that Ye Fei and Miao Yingxue had disappeared from the dungeon, and Luo Yun Wanderer ordered Miao Yingxue stripped of her position and her strongholds evacuated.
• Luo Yun Wanderer ordered his followers to leave their current base and suspended the plan against the South Lake Su Family.

Xiao Chen opened Hundred Poisons Devil’s Storage Bag and found cultivation resources, poison manuals, and a rare supply of Flame Light Spirit Sand. He learned Blazing Sky of Rosy Clouds, reached Lesser Accomplishment after several days at the Liu Family, and returned to the Li Fire Sect.

• Xiao Chen opened Hundred Poisons Devil’s Storage Bag and found Spirit Stones, talismans, poisonous herbs, poison manuals, pills, Flame Light Spirit Sand, and the Blazing Sky of Rosy Clouds spell.
• Xiao Chen studied Blazing Sky of Rosy Clouds and swallowed Flame Light Spirit Sand to speed his cultivation.
• Xiao Chen condensed a Blazing Sunset and refined a Crimson Flame Rosy Cloud into it, reaching the Entry Realm and discovering the spell could conceal its contents from Spiritual Sense.
• Xiao Chen stayed at the Liu Family and continued cultivating, using more Flame Light Spirit Sand to advance the spell.
• Xiao Chen reached the Lesser Accomplishment Realm on the sixth day, bade farewell to the Liu Family, and returned to the Li Fire Sect.

Xiao Chen returned to Li Fire Sect after reaching Foundation Establishment and was ambushed by Blackwind Wanderer, who had waited for him for half a month. Xiao Chen trapped and defeated him with Blazing Sky of Rosy Clouds, then killed him.

• Blackwind Wanderer ambushed Xiao Chen on the road and sealed the area with a Water Curtain.
• Xiao Chen trapped them both beneath the Jade Bowl and unleashed nine Blazing Sunsets.
• Blackwind Wanderer realized Xiao Chen had reached Foundation Establishment after his fire dragon shattered against a Blazing Sunset.
• Xiao Chen’s Blazing Sunsets broke through Blackwind Wanderer’s defenses and blasted him into the Jade Bowl.
• Blackwind Wanderer guessed wrong with his Heart Piercing Nail, and Xiao Chen identified himself before killing him.

After Xiao Chen reached Foundation Establishment, he paid respects to Sect Master Mei Yong, who appointed him Caretaker of the newly established Demon Subduing Hall. Xiao Chen accepted the post’s rewards and chose a valley on Li Fire Peak for his Cultivation Cave Residence.

• Xiao Chen turned in his overdue mission at the Merit Hall and received one Contribution Point.
• Xiao Chen visited Li Fire Peak and met Mei Yong, who congratulated him on reaching Foundation Establishment and gave him Nourishing Spirit Pills, Spirit Stones, and the Sect Etiquette.
• Mei Yong appointed Xiao Chen Caretaker of the Demon Subduing Hall, offering double cultivation subsidies and a free High-Grade Magic Tool.
• Xiao Chen requested a Defensive Magic Tool, and Mei Yong led him to the map of available Cultivation Cave Residences.
• Xiao Chen chose a valley with dense spiritual energy and marked it as his own on the Jade Wall.

Xiao Chen returned to Azure Water Peak and learned that Su Wanqing had become a True Disciple, but revealed that he had already reached Foundation Establishment and was now her martial uncle. Elder Qi congratulated him and offered help with his new courtyard, leaving Xiao Chen to move there in three days after declining her offer to send one of her disciples to tend his plants.

• Su Wanqing proudly showed Xiao Chen her True Disciple token and demanded that he address her as his senior sister.
• Xiao Chen revealed his Demon Subduing Hall Caretaker token and told Su Wanqing he had reached Foundation Establishment, prompting her to greet him as martial uncle.
• Su Wanqing led Xiao Chen to Elder Qi, who was surprised that he had completed Foundation Establishment only five months after reaching the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.
• Shen Siyue congratulated Xiao Chen, while Su Wanqing felt dejected that he would soon move away and their Double Ninth Festival outing might no longer be appropriate.
• Elder Qi offered Xiao Chen several valuable spirit flowers and proposed sending one of her disciples to care for them, but Xiao Chen declined and said he would move to his new courtyard in three days.

Xiao Chen returned to Emerald Valley after achieving Foundation Establishment, and Chen Zhi'an brought him to tell Elder Chen the news. Elder Chen learned that Xiao Chen had achieved Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, making him the only person in Li Province to do so in more than a hundred years.

• Chen Zhi'an congratulated Xiao Chen on reaching Foundation Establishment before age twenty-five and brought him to Elder Chen's residence.
• Elder Chen revealed that he had bought a Five-Colored Golden Lotus, which could provide the main ingredient for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• Chen Zhi'an learned that Xiao Chen had broken through two days earlier and worried that he had risked Human Dao Foundation Establishment without a pill.
• Xiao Chen clarified that he had gathered Five Elements Spiritual Objects and used them for Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.
• Elder Chen explained how rare the required spiritual objects were in Li Province and declared Xiao Chen the only Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator there in more than a hundred years.

Xiao Chen asked Elder Chen and Chen Zhi'an how he could destroy the Jiang Family, learning that he would need to surpass its elder and replace its supply of Fuling Huiqing Pills. After examining Luo Yun Wanderer's Storage Bag, he found valuable items and an invitation to a cultivator gathering at Yellow Wind Valley, then received a visit from Mei Yong.

• Xiao Chen asked Elder Chen how to eliminate the Jiang Family, and Elder Chen explained that he could either become the sect's strongest cultivator or reach Late-stage Foundation Establishment and refine Third-Order Fuling Huiqing Pills.
• Xiao Chen returned to Azure Water Peak, refined Luo Yun Wanderer's Storage Bag, and found Spirit Stones, a Five-Colored Golden Lotus, a Foundation Establishment Pill, his Evergreen Sword, and a Heart Piercing Nail he could not activate.
• Xiao Chen discovered an invitation addressed to Blackwind Wanderer for a Spring Province Mutual Aid Society gathering at Yellow Wind Valley and considered attending.
• Xiao Chen found the Seven Stars Swordplay, which required a High-Grade Magical Artifact Flying Sword, and the Devouring Fire Divine Skill, which increased cultivation by consuming cultivators' Essence Blood but carried severe drawbacks.
• Mei Yong knocked on Xiao Chen's door and said he had picked out something good for him.

Mei Yong gave Xiao Chen a jade pendant that defended against Divine Sense Attacks and accompanied him to the Scripture Pavilion to resolve the withholding of his technique. With Mei Yong’s Sect Leader Token, Xiao Chen entered the Seventh Floor and chose the Spirit Nurturing Art.

• Mei Yong gave Xiao Chen the Peace of Mind Jade Pendant, a High-Grade Magic Tool for defending against Divine Sense Attacks.
• Mei Yong accompanied Xiao Chen to confront Jiang Ji Quan, who blamed an Outer Sect Disciple for secretly selling Xiao Chen’s technique.
• Mei Yong demoted the disciple to Chore Peak as a Spirit Slave and gave Xiao Chen his Sect Leader Token to choose a technique from the Seventh Floor.
• Xiao Chen read the available Yellow-grade Wood-type Techniques for three hours and compared the Azure Wood Longevity Art with the Spirit Nurturing Art.
• Xiao Chen chose the Spirit Nurturing Art because its fast Cultivation Speed suited his ability to use Hextech to compensate for its weaknesses.

Xiao Chen shut himself away in Emerald Valley, rebuffed the Jiang Family’s attempt at reconciliation, and cultivated the Spirit Nurturing Art until he broke through to Foundation Establishment Stage 2. After resuming his other cultivation arts, he reached the day of the Su Family Whole Fish Banquet.

• Xiao Chen asked Shen Siyue to turn away visitors, and Su Wanqing took over, earning his thanks and an invitation to her family’s Whole Fish Feast.
• The Jing Family patriarch brought Xiao Chen a High-Grade Magic Sword and a message from the Jiang Family, but Xiao Chen refused both and drove him away along with a sect Elder who later tried to mediate.
• Xiao Chen learned the Jiang Family sought reconciliation because rumors had spread that he killed Hundred Poisons Devil, while the sect continued arguing over the Demon Subduing Hall’s authority.
• Xiao Chen stayed in Emerald Valley and cultivated the Spirit Nurturing Art until his Spirit Seed sprouted, advancing him to Foundation Establishment Stage 2.
• Xiao Chen resumed cultivating the Illusion Breaking Spirit Eye and Blazing Sky of Rosy Clouds, and the tenth day of the tenth month arrived.