Chapter Summaries

Chen Mu studied the Seven Kill Yin Soldier Secret Method, deciphered the Foundation Cultivation Pill, and learned about Prohibitions from Liu Hongyang while staying indoors through the winter. As he descended to his secret chamber, he became trapped in a shrinking, looping passage that threatened to bury him alive.

• Chen Mu learned that the Seven Kill Yin Soldier Secret Method could turn cultivators into long-lived Ghost Soldiers, though their advancement was severely limited.
• After two months of winter, Chen Mu deciphered the Foundation Cultivation Pill and ruined a furnace of ingredients when his first attempt at refining it failed.
• Liu Hongyang visited Chen Mu for a meal and explained the difficulty and expense of learning Prohibitions, including the Lesser Heavens Star Restriction.
• Chen Mu decided to exchange for the Lesser Heavens Star Restriction and went down the passage to his secret chamber to practice Condensing Orifice.
• The passage became an endless loop, healing the pit Chen Mu made as it shrank around him, and Chen Mu realized he was in danger of being buried alive.

Chen Mu escaped the illusion and captured the Yin Soul Monster, discovering it was Senior Brother Liu, who had been killing people and was driven by hatred and devotion to the Winter Moon Divine Lord. After Liu drank Chen Mu’s Return Vitality Soup and begged him to join the cult, Chen Mu feared the soup and the Divine Lord were connected to something sinister.

• Chen Mu saw through the looping passage, escaped, and pursued the Black Smoke with the Great Method of Evasion and Heart-Linking Rope.
• Chen Mu bound the Yin Soul Monster and discovered it was Senior Brother Liu Hongyang.
• Liu Hongyang admitted that he had caused the Witchcraft Curse Killing incidents and blamed the Sun Clan’s persecution for his revenge.
• Liu Hongyang revealed that he wanted Chen Mu’s Secret Medicine, drank the Return Vitality Soup, and begged for more.
• Liu Hongyang explained that he had become a ghost soldier after obtaining a tortoise shell and worshipping the Winter Moon Divine Lord, then urged Chen Mu to join him.

Chen Mu killed Liu Hongyang, destroyed the shrine of Winter Moon Divine Lord, and escaped after nearly being drawn into worshipping the statue. Half a month later, Liu Hongyang’s journal helped Chen Mu advance Finger Points to Steel to its second tier, while his death went unnoticed.

• Chen Mu used the Ghost Binding Rope and Heart-Linking Rope to intercept Liu Hongyang’s prayers, stop his escape, and destroy him.
• Chen Mu discovered Liu Hongyang’s underground shrine and was nearly compelled to worship Winter Moon Divine Lord’s Jade Statue before regaining his senses and burying the shrine.
• Chen Mu escaped through the secret passage and, half a month later, read Liu Hongyang’s cultivation journal at his Wooden Tower.
• Chen Mu mourned Liu Hongyang’s thwarted Dao Path and noted that no one had reacted to his death.
• Chen Mu found that studying Liu Hongyang’s journal had advanced Finger Points to Steel to the second tier.

Chen Mu cultivated the Giant Spirit Secret Technique while rising prices and unrest in Six Linked Mountains pushed him to plan more Foundation Cultivation Pill production. As the Patrol Institute recruited cultivators for the conflict, he chose to stay at Eagle Sorrow Cliff and continue cultivating and refining pills.

• Chen Mu inspected the armored phantom created by the Giant Spirit Secret Technique, drank Return Vitality Soup, and saw his cultivation progress reach 16/10000 at Tier 4.
• Butcher Zhang told Chen Mu that shortages caused by the East Ridge barbarians had driven up meat prices and that the Patrol Institute might recruit cultivators to support Six Linked Mountains.
• Chen Mu calculated the growing cost of Return Vitality Soup and decided to ask Hongcao Hall to buy Golden Pearls so he could refine more Foundation Cultivation Pills.
• Chen Mu failed again to refine Thunderclap in the Primordial Fusion Cauldron, then learned through the Heart-Linking Rope that Eagle Sorrow Cliff was sending people to support Six Linked Mountains.
• As the Patrol Institute recruited cultivators with generous rewards, Chen Mu declined to join and encouraged the applicants while deciding to stay behind and cultivate.

Chen Mu successfully refined his first Foundation Cultivation Pill, settled into a safe routine as Jade Spring Mountain Villa seized two more mountains, and advanced his cultivation. The chapter ended when a huge green fireball struck Eagle Sorrow Cliff and the mountaintop began to topple.

• Chen Mu refined a Foundation Cultivation Pill after 217 failed batches and celebrated his progress.
• Du Cheng of the Hundred Crafts Hall visited Chen Mu, gave him a Dust Repelling Talisman, and speculated that Senior Brother Liu had gone to Six Linked Mountains.
• Chen Mu learned that the Other Courtyard had secretly captured Bijiashan Mountain and Yawu Mountain, though returning fighters had suffered severe casualties.
• Chen Mu advanced the Yellow Springs General Outline and planned to grow stronger before confronting Old Ghost Sun.
• A massive green fireball struck the mountain, and Chen Mu watched Eagle Sorrow Cliff's peak begin to topple.

Chen Mu escaped the destruction of Eagle Sorrow Cliff, only to be trapped underground by two Barbarians using secret arts. He broke free and killed them, while the attack left Eagle Sorrow Cliff in ruins and the fate of the region uncertain.

• Chen Mu saw green flaming arrows devastate Eagle Sorrow Cliff and escaped underground instead of fleeing through the sky.
• Thirty li from the cliff, Chen Mu realized the Barbarians had launched a coordinated attack to destroy the Earth Vein Spirit Spring.
• The Tall Burly Man and Short Thin Man trapped Chen Mu beneath a mountain with the Coffin Mountain Secret Art and prepared to leave him buried.
• Chen Mu broke through the secret art, but the two men vanished using the Harmony Light Secret Art.
• Chen Mu searched for the hidden pair with Divine Listening and Three Yin Slaying Demon, then used Yin Fault to expose and kill them.

Chen Mu fled Eagle Sorrow Cliff after Elder Hu was defeated by a supernatural attack, then made his way underground toward Jade Spring Mountain. He learned that Golden Summit had crushed the Barbarian rebellion, while Jia Tian revealed that his main worry was the debts he had taken on speculating during the crisis.

• Elder Hu cleared the flaming arrows from Eagle Sorrow Cliff but was knocked away by a giant skeletal face, forcing Chen Mu to flee underground.
• Chen Mu examined the Short Man’s Beast Hide Scroll and learned that the Embroidery Method used Beast Essence to cultivate animal bloodline secret arts.
• After traveling for ten days, Chen Mu reached Jade Spring Mountain and heard that Eagle Sorrow Cliff had fallen, with fewer than one in a hundred survivors.
• Shang Huan told Chen Mu that Golden Summit’s elders had killed three Condensing Orifice Barbarians and that the remaining rebels had scattered or fled.
• Jia Tian explained that he had stockpiled goods and prepaid for merchant supplies, and Chen Mu scolded him for worrying about his debts rather than the displaced people.

Chen Mu opened his third Secret Aperture, strengthening his flight and Five Ghosts Possession, and decided to leave Jade Spring Mountain for a quieter place to cultivate. He bought Pig Rabbit meat from Jia Tian and tested talismans for preserving supplies, discovering they could freeze meat but could not preserve Return Vitality Soup.

• Chen Mu watched Upper Courtyard cultivators fly past and resolved to Condense an Orifice as soon as possible.
• Chen Mu opened his third Secret Aperture, gained greater control over Vertical Rainbow Light, and strengthened Five Ghosts Possession.
• Chen Mu worried that Old Ghost Sun’s mana was growing alongside his own and considered leaving Jade Spring Mountain for a more stable environment.
• Jia Tian sold Chen Mu Pig Rabbit meat and included two Minor Frostfall Talismans to preserve it.
• Chen Mu found that frozen Return Vitality Soup lost its ability to replenish vital energy, but decided to buy and freeze meat from Jia Tian at a reduced price.

Chen Mu searched Tianyi Pavilion for an earth-element Secret Art but found the Minor Frostfall Method, which let him freeze meat without buying Jia Tian’s talismans. As he cultivated and gathered news through Shang Huan, he learned that a powerful Upper Courtyard figure had replaced Zhu Yi as Pill Treasure Pavilion Master.

• Jia Tian explained that his Pig Rabbit discount depended on customers buying more Minor Frostfall Talismans, and Shang Huan warned that he was shortchanging Chen Mu.
• Chen Mu searched Tianyi Pavilion for an earth-element Secret Art, found no suitable options, and eventually discovered the Minor Frostfall Method in the Water Element Secret Arts Area.
• Five days later, Chen Mu bought thirty Pig Rabbits and demonstrated that he could use the Minor Frostfall Method to freeze them, leaving Jia Tian unable to profit from selling him talismans.
• Chen Mu cultivated with his food supplies and used True Hearing Technique on Shang Huan to gather news about the Other Courtyard from Yuquanfang.
• Chen Mu heard that Dao Master Dongli had recovered, development at Bijiashan and Yawu Mountains needed workers, and a powerful Upper Courtyard newcomer had forced Zhu Yi out as Pill Treasure Pavilion Master.

Chen Mu avoided being drawn into the dispute between Zhu Yi and the new Pill Treasure Pavilion Master, Zhao Yuzhang. After overhearing Zhu Yi and Qi Hui discuss sending him away, Chen Mu decided it was time to leave Jade Spring Mountain.

• Chen Mu turned down Zhu Yi's request to teach his nephews, claiming he had reached a critical point in studying the Tongxi Baizhang Pill.
• Chen Mu suspected Zhu Yi and Qi Hui were plotting against him because he had refused Zhu Yi and competed with Qi Hui for alchemy assignments.
• Chen Mu overheard Qi Hui propose assigning him every Fasting Pill task, then sending him to Bijiashan Mountain, while Zhu Yi hoped to punish him more harshly.
• Zhao Yuzhang appeared and officially took up the position of Pill Treasure Pavilion Master.
• Chen Mu decided to leave Jade Spring Mountain.

Chen Mu left Jade Spring Mountain for a relaxed Collator position at Mist Smoke Mountain Scripture Academy, hoping to study new pills while keeping clear of trouble. He discovered that Dean Qing’s silent appearances and strict standards might make the job far less peaceful than it seemed.

• Chen Mu told Elder Hu that he planned to leave for Mist Smoke Mountain, while Hu Kui urged him to stay and promised the Scripture Transmission Courtyard would protect him.
• Zhao Yuzhang discussed Chen Mu’s departure with Qi Hui and said Zhu Yi was too busy facing blame for the Heavenly Demon Rebirth Pill to trouble him.
• Chen Mu accepted a Collator position at Mist Smoke Mountain Scripture Academy, where a round-faced young man explained the light workload, low pay, and relaxed management.
• The round-faced young man arranged Chen Mu’s residence and warned him to learn the Dust Avoidance Technique because Dean Qing was a clean freak.
• Dean Qing repeatedly appeared silently behind Chen Mu to correct his shelving and book-handling, leaving Chen Mu alarmed by how easily he bypassed the True Hearing Technique.

Chen Mu struggled to work under Qing Lu’s unnerving supervision and focused on improving his True Hearing Technique while keeping a low profile. Jia Tian delivered meat and talismans, and Chen Mu learned that political turmoil was driving Jia Tian away from Jade Spring Mountain; at the Scripture Hall, Chen Mu discovered his colleague had endured Qing Lu’s surveillance for a long time.

• Chen Mu spent several days grinding his True Hearing Technique, surpassing nine thousand proficiency while avoiding active practice that might reveal him.
• Jia Tian brought Pig Rabbit meat and medicinal herbs, and Chen Mu collected the promised Minor Frostfall Talismans.
• Jia Tian explained that Pill Treasure Pavilion was drafting Dagan Warriors to test the Heavenly Demon Rebirth Pill, so he planned to travel among the other four mountains instead of returning to Jade Spring Mountain.
• At the Scripture Hall, Chen Mu’s middle-aged colleague warned him that Qing Lu frequently appeared and advised him to practice the Dust Avoidance Technique to keep the hall clean.
• Chen Mu realized his colleague hoped he would find another replacement worker to endure Qing Lu’s surveillance.

Chen Mu discovered that his Tier 7 True Hearing Technique could detect the Qi Mechanisms of living beings and tested it on Qing Lu, hoping to keep track of the elusive supervisor. When Qing Lu appeared behind him despite his technique, Chen Mu abandoned plans to cultivate the Yellow Springs General Outline and decided to learn another investigative Secret Art.

• Chen Mu realized his Tier 7 True Hearing Technique could hear the Qi Mechanisms of living beings.
• Chen Mu detected Qing Lu's Qi Mechanism in the Scripture Hall and cheerfully followed his order to organize and catalog the books.
• Chen Mu discovered that Qing Lu could appear behind him without being detected, despite the supervisor's Qi Mechanism remaining downstairs.
• Chen Mu considered cultivating the Yellow Springs General Outline but chose not to risk it while the Sun Clan still pursued him.
• Chen Mu examined his Giant Spirit God statue and decided to learn another investigative Secret Art.

Chen Mu discovered that Hundred Mile Qi Seal could detect Qing Lu’s otherwise undetectable secret art and used the discovery to startle a colleague. While exploring the technique’s limits, he found that it could now reach far beyond its usual range.

• Chen Mu tested Qing Lu’s secret art by tracking a dusty visitor and found that Qing Lu did not appear when the man left.
• Chen Mu pushed True Hearing Technique to its limit and detected Qing Lu’s sudden appearance through Hundred Mile Qi Seal, realizing the technique could sense Qing Lu’s clone.
• Chen Mu enthusiastically demonstrated his ability to move books to Qing Lu, who wondered whether the new Collator was all right.
• Chen Mu deliberately misplaced a book to startle a middle-aged colleague when Qing Lu appeared to correct it.
• Chen Mu expanded Hundred Mile Qi Seal while browsing the Mystic Arts Section and discovered that it could reach two or three hundred meters.

After three months of seclusion, Chen Mu condensed the fourth layer of Yellow Springs Talismans and expanded his Hundred Mile Qi Seal. At Eagle Sorrow Cliff, Yang Huan offered Sun Jian a chance to obtain the Yellow Springs Illustrated Record in exchange for helping destroy more spirit mountains, and Sun Jian chose the promise of a Foundation Establishment Secret Technique over Jilong Dao.

• Chen Mu condensed the fourth layer of Yellow Springs Talismans, grew stronger, and found that his Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique had advanced.
• Chen Mu expanded his Hundred Mile Qi Seal to cover more than four hundred meters so he could detect Qing Lu's duplicates.
• Chen Mu reviewed the Gray Wall and noted the progress of his skills, including several nearing advancement or their limits.
• Yang Huan confronted Sun Jian at ruined Eagle Sorrow Cliff and urged him to help bury Prohibitions and destroy more spirit mountains in return for the Yellow Springs Illustrated Record.
• Sun Jian suspected Yang Huan had caused the loss of his Gourd Sword Box, but accepted the prospect of a Foundation Establishment Secret Technique over loyalty to Jilong Dao.

Chen Mu studied the Tongxi Baizhang Pill and prepared to collect Poison Miasma essence, but Sun Jian’s renewed search for the Sun Clan’s missing treasure forced him to keep a low profile. After hearing that patrol officers were exploiting the investigation to extort people, Chen Mu felt safer keeping the hidden Gourd Sword Box buried.

• Chen Mu advanced his study of the Tongxi Baizhang Pill until only its Tongxi Talisman remained to be condensed before he could try refining pills.
• Sun Jian arrived at the Scripture Hall and demanded records of secret art sales, broadening the Sun Clan’s questioning to cultivators of Earth Element secret arts.
• Chen Mu decided to avoid attention rather than leave Mist Smoke Mountain while the investigation continued.
• At Yanxia Workshop, Chen Mu overheard a miner say the Patrol Institute had questioned him and taken ten White Jade Coins to release him.
• Chen Mu learned that the Sun Clan was searching for its missing inherited magical artifact, which he had hidden underground, and concluded that growing resentment would weaken the investigation.

Chen Mu bought Thunder Gathering Talismans and a Qi Storage Gourd before heading to gather Poison Miasma, while Sun Jian met with Yang Huan and Huiming, who offered him a portion of a Dao Foundation Chart to secure his cooperation. Sun Jian agreed to keep altering the Five Mountains’ Prohibitions, and Huiming revealed his plan to use the Gourd Sword Box as leverage against him.

• Chen Mu visited the Qiankun Merchant House and bought all thirty-six of its Thunder Gathering Talismans, along with a Qi Storage Gourd.
• Sun Jian appeared at a ruined pavilion on Eagle Sorrow Cliff, where Yang Huan taunted him about his missing Gourd Sword Box.
• Yang Huan introduced Sun Jian to Huiming of the Liyang Dao, who offered him an excerpt from the Cloud Mirage Dao Foundation Illustrated Record.
• Sun Jian said he had altered the Prohibitions of Six Peaks, Witch Cliff, and Brush Rack Mountain, but needed time to work on Jade Spring Mountain.
• Huiming explained to Yang Huan that he had offered Sun Jian only enough of the Dao Foundation Chart to keep him cooperating and planned to exploit the Gourd Sword Box as leverage.

Chen Mu gathered Poison Miasma in East Ridge to prepare for refining the Tongxi Baizhang Pill, then returned home and heard that rumors about the Sun Clan’s treasure were stirring up the Five Mountains of East Ridge. Jia Tian left to capitalize on the treasure hunt, while Chen Mu remained confident that his low profile would keep him safe.

• Chen Mu noticed that the fifth Secret Aperture from the Yellow Springs General Outline had opened deep in his abdomen and seemed connected to the earth, but he decided not to dwell on its possible connection to the Heavenly Demon Rebirth Method.
• Chen Mu used his Tier 4 Five Elements Qi Absorption Method to gather Poison Miasma into a Qi Storage Gourd and filled it after moving among locations in East Ridge for two days.
• Chen Mu returned to his bamboo building and shared Return Vitality Soup tea with Jia Tian, who praised its taste and imagined selling it for profit.
• Jia Tian told Chen Mu that rumors about the Sun Clan’s treasure had shifted from Wuya Mountain Peak to Bijiashan Mountain Base and then to the Six Linked Mountains, with Mist Smoke Mountain potentially next.
• Jia Tian said he was going to the Six Linked Mountains to target treasure hunters’ valuables, while Chen Mu dismissed the risk and trusted that his low profile would protect him.

Chen Mu confronted Sun Wujiu and Sun Chengzong after they trapped his residence with an isolation restriction, then learned Sun Wujiu had deduced his connection to the Gourd Sword Box. Sun Wujiu tried to bind Chen Mu and claim the treasure, but Chen Mu broke free and turned the tables on him.

• Sun Wujiu ordered Sun Chengzong and the black-robed men to set up a Two Realms Isolation Magic Restriction around Chen Mu’s Bamboo Building.
• Chen Mu ambushed the group, killed Sun Chengzong and the other black-robed men, and confronted Sun Wujiu, who had been watching from the shadows.
• Sun Wujiu deduced that Chen Mu had killed Sun Chengye and Sun Wuhuan over the Gourd Sword Box, then agreed to keep the gourd for himself and inform Chen Mu about Sun Clan affairs.
• Sun Wujiu secretly used the Seven Kill Binding Curse when he and Chen Mu sealed their agreement with a high-five.
• Chen Mu used Five Ghosts Possession to break the curse and seized Sun Wujiu’s hand, declaring that he had caught him.

Chen Mu killed Sun Wujiu during their fight, then hid the battle site by clearing and burning the damaged vegetation and commissioning a Wooden Tower for alchemy. As rumors spread that Sun Wujiu had vanished, Chen Mu worried that East Ridge was becoming too dangerous and considered leaving.

• Chen Mu crushed Sun Wujiu's Spiritual Light Protection, but Sun Wujiu severed his own arm and used the Yin Wind Curse to escape.
• Chen Mu tore free of the Yin Wind Curse, caught Sun Wujiu in midair, and killed him with Five Ghosts Moving Mountains.
• Five days later, Chen Mu hired Master Ma and his nephews to build a Wooden Tower on the cleared battlefield, claiming he needed a safe place to practice alchemy.
• Master Ma told Chen Mu that Sun Clan members had been questioned by the Patrol Institute and that Sun Wujiu had disappeared, prompting Sun Jian to search the mountains.
• Chen Mu inspected the completed tower and planned to spread Poison Miasma and post warnings to disguise the clearing as an alchemy site.
• As he worried that others might suspect him and East Ridge was becoming dangerous, Chen Mu considered leaving.