Chapter Summaries

Li Qing auctioned a Scarlet Crystal that he claimed could mutate a demonic beast’s bloodline, and a White Feather Snake swallowed the first one. The snake molted, grew red feathers, and advanced to the Late First-tier, leaving the crowd stunned by the crystal’s effects.

• Li Qing explained the Scarlet Crystal’s alleged powers and offered the first one for three hundred Spirit Stones if its buyer fed it to a demonic beast on the spot.
• A young man in a bamboo hat contributed a Mid-grade Spirit Stone so the owner of a White Feather Snake could afford the crystal.
• The snake’s owner fed it the Scarlet Crystal, and the White Feather Snake stiffened before beginning to tremble and molt.
• The White Feather Snake shed its old skin, developed scarlet markings and dark-red feathers, and transformed into a Red Feather Snake.
• The transformed snake absorbed spiritual qi and reached the Late First-tier, nearing the Second-tier.

Li Qing auctioned the red crystals after one transformed a White Feather Snake into a Red Feather Snake, drawing intense interest from the Black Market’s customers. The three remaining crystals sold for Spirit Stones and rare treasures, while two mysterious buyers in bamboo hats acquired the final two and left Li Qing with a jade box whose contents excited him.

• A red crystal transformed the White Feather Snake into a Red Feather Snake, and Li Qing realized the demonstration had helped establish the Black Market’s business.
• Li Qing warned that red crystals were less effective on demonic beasts above the Second-tier, then put the last three up for auction at a starting bid of one thousand Spirit Stones each.
• Uncle Fu outbid a Thousand-year Spirit Milk offer with ten drops of Purple Mansion Spirit Liquid, securing the first crystal for the two people in bamboo hats.
• The remaining crystals sold, earning Li Qing Spirit Stones, Thousand-year Spirit Milk, and Purple Mansion Spirit Liquid.
• Li Qing completed the trades with the bamboo-hatted buyers, who had also won magical artifacts, and accepted a heavy bag of Mid-grade Spirit Stones and a precious jade box.

Li Qing secured ten drops of Purple Mansion Spirit Liquid from the Black Market’s first gathering, then defeated a Second-tier Puppet sent to ambush him and escaped with Shen Ningbing. The Puppet Master survived but lost his puppet and decided not to act recklessly in the Black Market again.

• Li Qing inspected the ten drops of Purple Mansion Spirit Liquid and gave the sellers black iron tokens as the Black Market gathering ended.
• Uncle Fu revealed his Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation as he escorted the noble-looking young man away from the gathering.
• A Second-tier Puppet ambushed Li Qing in an alley, but Li Qing recognized it and smashed it with his strength and Nether Cold Fire.
• Li Qing took the ownerless puppet and left the city with Shen Ningbing, explaining why they should not return to the Black Market to hunt its master.
• The Puppet Master suffered soul damage, lamented losing his puppet and the Purple Mansion Spirit Liquid, and resolved to avoid further reckless action in the Black Market.

Li Qing failed to control a Second-tier Puppet, then remembered an old puppet-refining secret art that proved unrelated to it. Seeking to staff the Black Market through selected orphans, he began teaching them a new martial path and introduced Nine Revolutions of Qi and Blood as a way to challenge Qi Refining cultivators.

• Li Qing tried to control the Second-tier Puppet but could only make it move stiffly, and he recalled the Wood Spirit Puppet secret art he had obtained from the Shi Family remnants.
• Li Qing found that the secret art required sacrificing a living spirit tree and contained no instructions for controlling his metal puppet, so he put both items away.
• Li Qing decided that orphans from Xiangyang City should help operate the Black Market and planned to pass down Eternal Night World's new martial path to them.
• Li Qing and Shen Ningbing selected orphans with strong willpower and martial aptitude, and Li Qing gathered them in a northern-district alley.
• Li Qing told the orphans that lacking Spirit Roots did not prevent them from gaining power through martial arts, and he introduced Nine Revolutions of Qi and Blood as a path beyond the Grandmaster realm.

Li Qing and Shen Ningbing built up their strength and established a foothold in the Great Desolation Region, while Shen Ningbing advanced to Foundation Establishment Late Stage. Elsewhere, Qiu Zhen uncovered King Jing’s tomb, and a figure in a King’s Robe emerged from its coffin.

• Li Qing passed martial arts teachings and medicinal wine recipes to the orphans but kept the Nine Revolutions of Qi and Blood method secret.
• The Black Market Li Qing and Shen Ningbing established began operating steadily, and Shen Ningbing broke through to Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
• Qiu Zhen uncovered King Jing’s tomb in Juluzhou and argued with a goat-bearded old Daoist who tried to claim a share.
• Qiu Zhen chased the old Daoist, who shouted to nearby cultivators that a Marquis’s Tomb had appeared.
• After the earth energy subsided, the coffin inside King Jing’s tomb trembled, burst open, and released a body clad in a King’s Robe.

The discovery of King Jing's Tomb drew cultivators across Juluzhou, bringing a rush of customers to Li Qing's Hundred Refinements Tower while he chose to avoid entering the tomb himself. As the Ghost Sword Sect moved to control the site, the tomb's expanding fissure unleashed yin energy and hurled away their formation flags.

• Li Qing learned that King Jing's Tomb had been discovered and earned more than eight hundred spiritual stones selling Magic Tools to cultivators preparing to explore it.
• Li Qing declined an invitation to join a tomb expedition, deciding that its risks were not worth interrupting his cultivation.
• Several Shangqing Sect elders arrived in Juluzhou and set out to investigate the tomb before completing their mission to contact local sects and search for Lingyun Sect remnants.
• Qiu Zhen regretted that the news of the tomb had spread and waited outside as cultivators began arriving from across the region.
• The Ghost Sword Sect claimed control of the tomb site, but Rogue Cultivators rushed into the fissure before the sect could seal it.
• The fissure widened, released waves of yin energy, and flung away the Ghost Sword Sect's formation flags.

A Thousand-Year Yin Corpse emerged from King Jing’s tomb and slaughtered the cultivators who had entered, while the Old Daoist with Goat Beard explained the ominous celestial signs to Qiu Zhen. Hearing of the disaster, Li Qing decided to use the Ghost Sword Sect’s distraction to advance his Black Market plans and prepare for another trip to the Eternal Night World.

• The earth collapsed around the tomb, and a figure in a King's Robe emerged as the Thousand-Year Yin Corpse, shocking the surviving cultivators.
• The Old Daoist with Goat Beard told Qiu Zhen that the Falling Star Momentum and missing Demon Star meant the terrain would raise an Extremely Sinister Entity.
• The Thousand-Year Yin Corpse drained the blood and vital essence of nearby cultivators as the Ghost Sword Sect fled.
• The Old Daoist with Goat Beard left Qiu Zhen behind and warned him that the Yin corpse could not travel far from its terrain.
• News of the tomb disaster reached Juluzhou, and Li Qing reasoned that the Ghost Sword Sect would be distracted from the Black Market.
• Li Qing decided to begin a second trade fair, gather goods in the Eternal Night World, and seek an opportunity for Rice Bucket to advance.

Li Qing and Rice Bucket traveled through the Eternal Night World, where they discovered a gigantic Demonic Willow that used Red Crystals to lure and drain exotic beasts. After reaching the Autumn Mountain Domain, Rice Bucket hit its limit from consuming Red Crystals, and several Batmen approached Li Qing, mistaking Rice Bucket for a captured beast.

• Rice Bucket advanced to the mid second tier after consuming three Second-tier Red Crystals, while Li Qing worried about the crystals' effects.
• Li Qing and Rice Bucket discovered a towering crimson Demonic Willow that drained a Hairy Giant Elephant and had collected hundreds of Red Crystals.
• Li Qing led Rice Bucket away from the willow and continued into the Autumn Mountain Domain, territory of the Blood Lotus Sect.
• Rice Bucket consumed two more Red Crystals but failed to advance to the late second tier, so Li Qing stopped it from consuming any more.
• Several Batmen arrived and offered to buy Rice Bucket, and Li Qing asked which city they came from.

Li Qing traveled to North Mang City to investigate the Blood Lotus Sect, but its citizens mistook him for one of its lords. When his divine sense revealed that the bustling city was actually desolate and filled only with skeletons, even as he could physically touch its inhabitants, he decided to escape the Eerie City.

• Li Qing learned from four hunters that the Autumn Mountain Domain and Black Wind Domain had ended their past conflicts and that North Mang City lay half a day to the south.
• Li Qing traveled to North Mang City, left Rice Bucket in the Beast Taming Pouch, and found a city where everyone he saw bore mutations.
• An old woman mistook Li Qing for a Blood Lotus Sect lord and begged him to find her missing grandson, but he denied belonging to the sect and walked away.
• Li Qing searched North Mang City for information about the Blood Lotus Sect but found none and grew suspicious of the city's strange atmosphere.
• Li Qing used his divine sense and saw a deserted city with skeletons instead of the people visible to his eyes.
• Li Qing grabbed a fish-scaled old man and felt his shoulder beneath his hand, though his divine sense showed empty air, so he resolved to leave the city.

Li Qing escaped North Mang City’s illusion toxin by relying on his Spiritual Sense, then defeated the four batmen who had tried to kill him for Rice Bucket. After questioning them about the mushrooms and the Blood Lotus Sect, he considered collecting the Illusion Toxin Mushrooms.

• Four batmen watched North Mang City and planned to kill Li Qing and seize the Second-order Exotic Beast they believed he had captured.
• Li Qing flew out of the city on a leaf-shaped magical artifact, realized his senses were trapped in an illusion, and used his Spiritual Sense to perceive the real surroundings.
• One batman attacked Li Qing, but Li Qing struck him down and used Spirit Spears to pin the other three to the ground.
• Li Qing questioned the batmen about the Illusion Toxin Mushrooms and learned about their effects, their origin in Desert City, and the Blood Lotus Sect’s agreement with the Martial Alliance.
• Li Qing released Rice Bucket to deal with the batmen, then examined the mushrooms and decided to gather some despite being poisoned.

After escaping the Eternal Night World, Li Qing assessed his gains and decided that Ghost Sword Sect’s distraction by the Ancient Hua Immortal Dynasty made it a good time to hold the Black Market’s second auction. As the auction drew interest from across Juluzhou, Ghost Sword Sect’s Supreme Elder arrived at the Marquis’s Tomb and ordered captured Feng Shui Masters to inspect the terrain.

• Li Qing returned to Hundred Refinements Tower with Red Crystals and Illusion Toxin Mushrooms, then decided to develop the mushrooms’ uses later.
• After gathering news about the Ancient Hua Immortal Dynasty, the demonic sects, and the Thousand-Year Yin Corpse, Li Qing arranged the Black Market’s second auction with Shen Ningbing.
• Rogue Cultivators, Manager Fan of the Qingfeng Merchant Guild, a Juluzhou family patriarch, and a young man with Uncle Fu learned of the auction and considered attending.
• The young man and Uncle Fu discussed the Purple Scale Beast, their dwindling resources, and the young man’s uncertain future after the Yan King's Estate was lost.
• Ghost Sword Sect’s Supreme Elder reached the Marquis’s Tomb and ordered the captured Feng Shui Masters to examine the terrain before the sect approached the Dragon Womb Land.

The Ghost Sword Sect’s Supreme Elder prepared to enter King Jing’s tomb after the Feng Shui Masters could not explain its Dragon Womb Land terrain, but the Thousand-Year Yin Corpse defeated the Five Ghosts Mountain Settling Formation’s ghosts. As Mu Maocai waited for the treasure his Treasure Seeking Rat sensed, an explosion breached the tomb and the Supreme Elder accused the Yin Puppet Sect of attacking.

• The Ghost Sword Sect’s Supreme Elder questioned the captured Feng Shui Masters, who confirmed the site was a Dragon Womb Land but could not explain why it had nurtured a Thousand-Year Yin Corpse.
• The Supreme Elder ordered the Ghost Sword Sect elders to establish the Five Ghosts Mountain Settling Formation and use it to attack the Tomb Mansion.
• The Thousand-Year Yin Corpse emerged from the tomb, destroyed the formation’s five Fierce Ghosts, and drew the Supreme Elder into battle.
• Shangqing Sect elders debated retreating, but Mu Maocai insisted on waiting because his Treasure Seeking Rat sensed a great treasure inside the tomb.
• Mu Maocai revealed that Ancestor Linglong had given him a Heavenly Thunder Seed, just as an explosion blasted open the tomb and the Supreme Elder accused the Yin Puppet Sect of attacking.

Li Qing attended the Black Market’s second trade fair in disguise while rumors spread about the theft of treasures from the Marquis’s Tomb. He recognized the Shangqing Sect elders who had secretly raided the tomb just as the auction began.

• Li Qing heard that Ghost Sword Sect and Yin Puppet Sect had clashed over the Marquis’s Tomb and hoped the disorder would benefit him.
• Li Qing trained for seven days, then traveled to the Black Market’s trade fair disguised as a guest while Shen Ningbing hosted it.
• Cultivators at the Black Market discussed the theft of Primordial Stone and other treasures from the tomb.
• Two days earlier, Mu Maocai and other Shangqing Sect elders fled the tomb after a Thousand-Year Yin Corpse wounded him, and they sought a Pure Yang Item to heal his injuries.
• Shen Ningbing announced the start of the trade fair, and Li Qing recognized the arriving Shangqing Sect elders by their robes.

At the Black Market auction, Li Qing watched Shangqing Sect elders arrive and focused on bidding for second-tier Red Crystals. As the first crystal drew offers of rare treasures, he told Shen Ningbing that he would bid Golden Wind Jade Dew.

• A first-tier formation inheritance sold for barely over three hundred spirit stones before Shen Ningbing announced the auction of first- and second-tier Red Crystals.
• Li Qing recognized several Shangqing Sect elders, concealed his reaction, and resolved to collect part of his sect’s blood debt from them.
• The first-tier Red Crystals sold at high prices, and Shen Ningbing began the first second-tier Red Crystal auction, which accepted barter rather than spirit stones.
• The He Family head offered ten drops of Golden Wind Jade Dew, while Wang Chan and Uncle Fu planned to pursue a Red Crystal for the Purple Scale Beast.
• Li Qing transmitted to Shen Ningbing that he would offer Golden Wind Jade Dew.

Li Qing awarded the final Second-tier Red Crystal to Alchemist Yan, then offered Mu Maocai a false lead about a Golden Fire Crow tail feather in exchange for spiritual herbs. As the trading fair ended, the two bamboo-hatted cultivators stopped Shen Ningbing to ask about extra Second-tier Red Crystals.

• A black-robed bidder offered several kinds of pills, and Li Qing recognized him as the wanted Alchemist Yan before Shen Ningbing announced him as the winner of the final Second-tier Red Crystal.
• Mu Maocai sought a Pure Yang Item to cleanse his wounds, but rejected Manager Fan's offer to obtain blood from a cultivator with a Pure Yang Physique after two months was deemed too long.
• Li Qing privately told Mu Maocai to meet him west of the city that night with spiritual herbs, claiming he had a Golden Fire Crow tail feather.
• As the trading fair ended and the crowd departed, the two bamboo-hatted cultivators blocked Shen Ningbing and asked whether any extra Second-tier Red Crystals remained.

Li Qing traded his last Second-tier Red Crystal to Uncle Fu for Purple Mansion Spirit Liquid, while learning that Uncle Fu and Wang Chan wanted Third-tier Red Crystals within ten years. After the pair left, Li Qing invited Shen Ningbing to join him in a major operation outside the city that night.

• Uncle Fu offered Purple Mansion Spirit Liquid for Red Crystals, and Li Qing stepped in to negotiate.
• Uncle Fu offered half a small bottle of Purple Mansion Spirit Liquid for a Second-tier Red Crystal and asked to meet Li Qing's backing; Li Qing refused.
• Uncle Fu asked about Third-tier Red Crystals, and Wang Chan said the trade could work if they obtained one within ten years.
• Li Qing traded his final Second-tier Red Crystal to Uncle Fu for Purple Mansion Spirit Liquid.
• Uncle Fu and Wang Chan left the Black Market, and Li Qing told Shen Ningbing to join him in doing something big outside the city that night.

Li Qing lured Mu Maocai and three Shangqing Sect elders to a secluded hill, then trapped them in an illusion and attacked them with spiritual techniques and a Thunderclap Talisman. Shen Ningbing joined the ambush and severed the elders’ limbs, while Li Qing ordered her to leave two alive for questioning.

• Li Qing hung an emptied Golden Fire Crow tail feather from a tree and waited for Mu Maocai and the Shangqing Sect elders to arrive with a Soul Returning Grass.
• Mu Maocai tossed the Soul Returning Grass to Li Qing and tried to retrieve the feather, which lacked its Pure Yang Energy.
• Strange mushrooms released multicolored spores as Li Qing activated his Gilded Battle Armor, and the Shangqing Sect elders found themselves separated in an illusion of the Boundless Sea.
• Li Qing struck Mu Maocai with Soul Condensing Slash, burned away the group’s extended spiritual sense, and blasted Mu Maocai with a second-tier Thunderclap Talisman.
• Shen Ningbing emerged from concealment and severed the Shangqing Sect elders’ arms and legs with her Mystic Ice Sword.
• Li Qing told Shen Ningbing to spare two elders so he could question them about their arrival in the Great Desolation Region.

Li Qing and Shen Ningbing captured four Shangqing Sect elders, and Li Qing interrogated one of them in a remote valley. He learned the sect was seeking alliances and Lingyun Sect remnants, discovered the elders had obtained a Primordial Stone, and heard that Ancestors Ziqing and Bingyun might still be alive.

• Shen Ningbing handed the captured Shangqing Sect elders to Li Qing after disabling them, and Li Qing explained how the illusion toxin stripped away their senses.
• Li Qing gathered the exhausted Illusion Toxin Mushrooms, dispersed the lingering spores, and carried the four elders into the Great Desolation.
• Several days later, Li Qing killed two unyielding elders and forced Zhang Da to answer his questions.
• Zhang Da revealed that the Shangqing Sect sought alliances with Great Desolation sects, investigated Lingyun Sect remnants, and had contacted only the Taiyi Sect so far.
• Zhang Da disclosed that the elders possessed a Primordial Stone, exciting Li Qing, who then questioned him about Lingyun Sect and its ancestors.
• Zhang Da said he knew of no confirmed deaths for True Person Ziqing and True Person Bingyun, giving Li Qing hope they had survived.

Li Qing spared Zhang Da on the condition that he work as the Black Market agent in Xiangyang City, surrender some memories, and take a poison pill. He and Shen Ningbing divided their spoils, discovering a Heavenly Thunder Seed and the complete Crimson Blazing Heaven Art, leaving Li Qing with a major boost to his future cultivation and combat prospects.

• Li Qing offered Zhang Da survival in exchange for managing the Black Market, losing memories connected to the Shangqing Sect, and taking a Bone-Eroding Pill; Zhang Da accepted.
• Li Qing returned to the cave with Zhang Da, and Shen Ningbing agreed that Zhang Da would manage the Black Market for them.
• Li Qing and Shen Ningbing inspected the four Storage Bags, and Li Qing kept the enormous Primordial Stone while Shen Ningbing chose other materials.
• Li Qing found a Heavenly Thunder Seed in Mu Maocai's Storage Bag and realized how dangerous the ambush could have been.
• Shen Ningbing found three crimson iron pages containing the complete Crimson Blazing Heaven Art, which Li Qing confirmed matched the section he already knew.

After three Shangqing Sect elders died during their mission to the Great Desolation Region, the sect master recognized that the region was more dangerous than expected. Li Qing returned to secluded cultivation and, two years later, broke through to Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

• Three Shangqing Sect elders’ soul lanterns shattered, and the sect master decided to consult the ancestors about the dangers in the Great Desolation Region.
• News spread that a Rogue Cultivator had taken the Primordial Stone and that the Ghost Sword Sect was sealing off Juluzhou while seeking the Thousand-Year Yin Corpse.
• Li Qing returned with Shen Ningbing to Nanyang Spirit Peak, left Zhang Da in charge of the Black Market, and promised him a share of its profits and help replacing his limbs.
• Li Qing used Purple Sun Pills, his cultivation art, and the Nether Cold Fire during two years of secluded cultivation.
• Li Qing broke through to Foundation Establishment Late Stage without encountering a bottleneck.