Chapter Summaries

Li Qing strengthened the Lingyun Sect’s ties with the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild and prepared the sect for future growth while searching for a capable successor as sect master. He settled on four candidates, with the diligent inner disciple Xu Xia drawing his closest attention.

• Li Qing agreed to let the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild rebuild its towers in the Qingling Region, and True Lord Tianbao promised the guild would remain neutral in factional conflicts.
• Li Yuhuan tested the sect’s disciples and elders with the bronze fragment, but none awakened Hundred Spirits Dao Lord’s inheritance; Li Qing promised to search across the region for a suitable heir.
• The Merchant Guild selected five sites for new Myriad Treasures Towers, and three years later the Lingyun Sect held a second Ascension Ceremony as its membership and strength grew.
• Li Qing decided to choose a future sect master based chiefly on temperament and administrative ability, while the other Supreme Elders left the decision to him.
• Li Qing identified three Foundation Establishment Realm elders and the Qi Refining disciple Xu Xia as candidates, noting Xu Xia’s organizational talent, perseverance, and failed attempt to establish his foundation.

Xu Xia accepted two missions in West Ridge, unaware that Li Qing had arranged them as a test of his suitability to become sect master. After Xu Xia and his companion stopped in Dongwu Town, Li Qing watched them respond to a woman being beaten by her gambling husband, and Xu Xia and his companion were left furious.

• Xu Xia accepted a suppression mission against Shangqing Sect remnants and a mission to gather Ancient Pine Cones, while Li Qing secretly placed a spiritual glimmer in his identity token.
• Li Qing rewarded Lin Qi for arranging the missions and warned him to keep the matter secret.
• Xu Xia prepared for two days, brought a trusted fellow disciple, and traveled toward West Ridge, where Li Qing intended to test him.
• Xu Xia and his companion rested in Dongwu Town before continuing their journey the next day.
• Xu Xia gave money to a woman whose husband was gambling, but the husband beat her and took the silver back.
• Xu Xia and his companion watched the assault and clenched their fists in anger.

Xu Xia and Junior Brother Wang were captured by Shangqing Sect remnants after their mission to Western Ridge turned out to be a trap. As Elder Bai prepared to control them with a Withered Spirit Flower Seed, an unseen person sighed from the forest.

• Xu Xia stopped Junior Brother Wang from attacking a gambling den, then healed a sick child, gave the family money, and encouraged the boy to learn martial arts.
• Li Qing secretly rewarded the child with a seed of true essence and continued observing Xu Xia and Junior Brother Wang as they reached Western Ridge.
• Junior Brother Wang acted as bait among the ancient pines, where Shangqing Sect remnants ambushed him with a huge net and revealed themselves.
• Xu Xia struck the attackers with Talismans and his spear, but Elder Bai appeared and used the forest to capture both disciples.
• Xu Xia pretended to accept Elder Bai's offer to become a spy, then refused to betray Lingyun Sect when Elder Bai demanded they accept Withered Spirit Flower Seeds.
• Elder Bai ordered his men to take Xu Xia and Junior Brother Wang for interrogation, but an unidentified person sighed from throughout the forest.

Li Qing rescued Xu Xia and Wang Song from Shangqing Sect remnants, subdued Bai Qianfan, and searched his memories to uncover a plot involving the Lingyun Sect’s Dragon Blood Vine. After killing the remnants, Li Qing took the two disciples back to the sect to report the danger.

• Li Qing revealed himself as a Late Core Formation cultivator, stopped Bai Qianfan from escaping, and freed Xu Xia and Wang Song.
• Li Qing searched Bai Qianfan’s memories and learned that he had informed the grasslands’ Sacred Hall Tribe that the Lingyun Sect possessed a thousand-year Dragon Blood Vine.
• Li Qing killed Bai Qianfan with Nether Cold Fire and destroyed the remaining Shangqing Sect disciples with demonic flame.
• Li Qing praised Xu Xia and Wang Song, gave them Bai Qianfan’s Storage Bag, and carried them aboard his Serpent-headed Spirit Boat toward the Lingyun Sect.

Li Qing briefed Lingyun Sect's ancestors on the Prairie Sacred Hall Tribe's threat to their Dragon Blood Vine, appointed Xu Xia as the sect's first sect master, and tasked him with gathering intelligence on the prairie. Back in his cave, Li Qing considered how to strengthen himself and turned to the Spirit Nurturing Pill formula, but he still lacked a way to persuade Hundred Spirits Dao Lord to refine the pills.

• Li Qing returned to Lingyun Sect with Xu Xia and announced that he had chosen him as the sect's first sect master.
• Li Qing told the ancestors about the Shangqing Sect remnants, the Prairie Sacred Hall Tribe's interest in the Dragon Blood Vine, and the danger of future attacks.
• Xu Xia proposed sending Foundation Establishment elders to the prairie in disguise to investigate, and Li Qing assigned him to organize the mission.
• Li Qing returned to his cave residence and concluded that he needed to increase his strength quickly as the Qingling Region faced upheaval.
• Li Qing examined the Spirit Nurturing Pill formula and its gathered ingredients, then worried about what he could offer Hundred Spirits Dao Lord in exchange for refining the pills.

Li Qing asked Hundred Spirits Dao Lord to refine Spirit Nurturing Pills and agreed to help the Hua clan in Mingwang Valley if he ever reached the Spirit Transformation stage. With Hundred Spirits Dao Lord’s guidance, Li Qing successfully refined a batch of pills, leaving him with six usable pills and still dependent on his senior’s help to continue alchemy.

• Li Qing asked Hundred Spirits Dao Lord what he would accept in exchange for refining Spirit Nurturing Pills, and the senior requested that Li Qing look after the Hua clan in Mingwang Valley if he reached the Spirit Transformation stage.
• Li Qing presented the Spirit Nurturing Pill formula, and Hundred Spirits Dao Lord agreed to begin refining the pills immediately.
• Over half a month, Li Qing and Hundred Spirits Dao Lord attempted two batches, producing five usable pills in total, including two inferior-grade pills.
• Li Qing refined a third batch under Hundred Spirits Dao Lord’s guidance, dividing the pill liquid into seven portions and stabilizing one that nearly collapsed.
• Li Qing opened the Black Furnace and found that six pills had formed, with one inferior-grade pill and five finished spirit pills.

Li Qing refined forty-six Spirit Nurturing Pills and used thirty-two over seven months to reach the peak of the Core Formation Realm. As he began considering his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm, Hundred Spirits Dao Lord warned him about its tribulations, especially the dangers of the Inner Demon Tribulation, leaving Li Qing resolved to retrace his past and examine his state of mind.

• Li Qing completed nine batches of Spirit Nurturing Pills, producing forty-six pills from nine Demonic Beast Inner Cores.
• Li Qing consumed thirty-two Spirit Nurturing Pills over seven months and advanced to the peak of the Core Formation Realm, one step from the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Li Qing considered how the Dragon Transformation Pill and the Exquisite Immortal Sound might help him form a nascent soul.
• Hundred Spirits Dao Lord advised Li Qing to secure a secluded place for his breakthrough and explained the risks of lightning and Inner Demon Tribulations.
• Hundred Spirits Dao Lord urged Li Qing to retrace his past and examine his regrets, prompting Li Qing to reconsider how prepared he was for the Inner Demon Tribulation.

As Elder Jin Gu passed away, Zar Tie inherited most of his cultivation through the Spirit Crossing Sage Transformation Technique and became a Late Core Formation cultivator, leaving the Sacred Hall Tribe determined to obtain the thousand-year Dragon Blood Vine. Li Qing reached the pinnacle of Core Formation, entrusted the Lingyun Sect to Xu Xia and its elders, and left to retrace his past, beginning at the former site of the Lingyun Sect.

• Elder Jin Gu transferred most of his cultivation to Zar Tie, who advanced from Foundation Establishment Late Stage to Late Core Formation.
• A Sacred Hall woman urged Zar Tie to pursue the thousand-year Dragon Blood Vine so the tribe could refine a Dragon Transformation Pill and seek the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Li Qing placed the Spirit Nurturing Pill formula in the Hall of Inherited Skills and gave Spirit Nurturing Pills to the sect's Supreme Elders.
• Li Qing revealed that he had reached the pinnacle of Core Formation and said he would leave to seek a path to the Nascent Soul Realm, leaving Xu Xia in charge of the sect.
• Li Qing departed the Lingyun Sect and chose its former site as the first stop on his journey to retrace his past.

Li Qing revisited the ruins of Lingyun Sect and retraced parts of his early cultivation journey, reflecting on how far he had come. Near Tianhe Marketplace, he witnessed a Foundation Establishment cultivator named Cao Xiu fleeing a pursuer with Fire Jade Bees and wondered if the pursued man was someone he knew.

• Li Qing remembered Lingyun Sect's destruction, bowed at its ruins, and said he had rebuilt the sect and repaid its blood debt.
• Li Qing traveled through the Tang Family's lands and released a Core Formation aura to warn them about the dangers their growing spirit vein might bring; Tang Lushan resolved to report the incident to Lingyun Sect.
• Li Qing visited Lin Xiaonan's family, learned that Lin Xiuzhu had failed Foundation Establishment and that Lin Ya was still cultivating in Lingyun Sect, then continued toward Liang Kingdom.
• Li Qing revisited the fissure where Heavenly Desire Flowers had once grown and recalled that a second-order white ape had helped him achieve Foundation Establishment.
• Outside Tianhe Marketplace, Li Qing watched an injured Cao Xiu flee a Foundation Establishment bandit wielding Fire Jade Bees and suspected he recognized Cao Xiu.

Li Qing watched Cao Xiu fight off a bandit cultivator and intervened after their mutual-destruction attack left Cao Xiu near death. While treating him, Li Qing learned of Fire Cliff Cave and heard Hundred Spirits Dao Lord question the usual ranking of spiritual roots.

• Li Qing recognized Cao Xiu and secretly watched him endure repeated Fire Jade Bee stings while fleeing the bandit cultivator.
• The bandit cultivator sent most of his Fire Jade Bees after Cao Xiu, who turned and used Golden Annihilation Slash to destroy the swarm and fatally wound his pursuer.
• Li Qing searched the dying bandit's memories, learned that Fire Cliff Cave held a Fire Jade Bee hive, and found Cao Xiu barely alive.
• Li Qing used the Spirit Devouring Demonic Flame and Nether Cold Fire to remove Cao Xiu's fire poison, then brought him to a cave to recover.
• Hundred Spirits Dao Lord said he wanted to pass his mantle to Cao Xiu but worried about his spiritual roots, then claimed Li Qing's aptitude was somewhat better.

Li Qing learned about the promise and limits of complete Five Elements Spiritual Roots, then reunited with Cao Xiu and agreed to explore Fire Cliff Cave after hearing how its map had drawn a bandit cultivator’s attention. After recovering, they traveled toward the cave near Black Abyss, where a volcano erupted as they arrived.

• Hundred Spirits Dao Lord explained that complete Five Elements Spiritual Roots could help cultivators control heaven and earth’s power, especially in the upper realm, while Li Qing worried about the obstacles facing cultivators with many roots.
• Cao Xiu awoke and recognized Li Qing, who had saved him and removed the fire poison from his body.
• Cao Xiu told Li Qing that Daoist Qingyang had sent him to find a Fire Jade Bee hive in Fire Cliff Cave, and that a bandit cultivator attacked him after he acquired a map of the cave’s routes at a secret auction.
• Li Qing agreed to explore Fire Cliff Cave with Cao Xiu, revealed that he had formed his core, and gave Cao Xiu Mid-grade Spirit Stones to recover his mana.
• Li Qing and Cao Xiu traveled by Serpent-headed Spirit Boat to the volcanic mountains near Black Abyss, where a volcano erupted as they approached Fire Cliff Cave.

Li Qing and Cao Xiu entered Fire Cliff Cave to find the Fire Jade Bee nest, where Li Qing discovered ancient corpse puppets harvesting Fire Origin Paste. After Hundred Spirits Dao Lord sensed a familiar aura in the depths, Li Qing considered following the puppets to uncover the cave’s hidden secret.

• Li Qing and Cao Xiu entered Fire Cliff Cave and followed Cao Xiu’s map through its branching passages.
• Li Qing killed a swarm of Fire Jade Bees with Nether Cold Fire and left fire seeds to mark their route.
• Li Qing and Cao Xiu found the Red Jade Beehive, where Fire Jade Bees gathered around their nest.
• Five ancient corpse puppets emerged, resisted the bees’ attacks, collected Fire Origin Paste from the hive, and returned down a passage.
• Hundred Spirits Dao Lord sensed a familiar aura and urged Li Qing to follow the corpse puppets, leaving Li Qing to consider what to do.

Li Qing secretly followed the corpse puppets to a hidden teleportation restriction and used a modified spirit puppet to enter the space beyond the stone doors. There, he discovered a palace above a sea of magma whose name and aura connected it to his Crimson Blazing Heaven Art.

• Li Qing left Cao Xiu behind and followed the corpse puppets through Fire Cliff Cave, marking the passages with Nether Cold Fire.
• He watched the corpse puppets shut the stone doors and disappear through a teleportation restriction, while Hundred Spirits Dao Lord explained that a hidden killing restriction guarded the entrance.
• Li Qing asked Hundred Spirits Dao Lord to modify his spiritual gold puppet so it could imitate the corpse puppets, then planted his Spiritual Sense Imprint in it.
• After waiting for the corpse puppets to return with corpses, including one dressed in grassland clothing, Li Qing sent his puppet through the stone doors with them.
• The puppet arrived beside a sea of magma and saw stairs rise toward a floating palace bearing the name Crimson Blazing Palace.
• Li Qing recognized the palace’s connection to his Crimson Blazing Heaven Art and wondered whether it held the art’s complete inheritance.

Li Qing discovered that True Person Qingyang was working with an ancient Devil Race powerhouse imprisoned beneath the Crimson Blazing Palace, sacrificing cultivators to loosen its seals in exchange for the Heavenly Monarch’s inheritance. After Qingyang exposed and destroyed Li Qing’s puppet, two Prairie Sacred Hall cultivators attacked Fire Cliff Cave, and Li Qing watched the ensuing battle while planning to take advantage of the chaos.

• Li Qing watched corpse puppets approach the Crimson Blazing Palace and saw the hall expel purple smoke rising from the magma sea.
• Li Qing recognized Daoist Qingyang, learned that he had reached Core Formation and controlled the corpse puppets, and understood that an ancient Devil Race powerhouse was imprisoned below.
• The ancient demon urged True Person Qingyang to sacrifice stronger cultivators, and Qingyang agreed to pursue the two Core Formation cultivators attacking outside.
• True Person Qingyang detected Li Qing’s spirit-metal puppet and destroyed it, so Li Qing withdrew his spiritual sense, gathered Cao Xiu, and moved deeper into Fire Cliff Cave.
• Two Prairie Sacred Hall cultivators fought the corpse puppets at the cave entrance as True Person Qingyang emerged with more puppets and identified their reason for coming.
• Li Qing watched the battle and discussed the situation with Hundred Spirits Dao Lord, who recalled that Crimson Blazing Heavenly Monarch had suppressed a dangerous being.

Li Qing learned that the Formless Demonic Ancestor was sealed beneath the Crimson Blazing Palace and that True Person Qingyang was sacrificing cultivators to help it escape. He intervened to stop Qingyang, and the chapter ended as the two prepared to fight.

• Hundred Spirits Dao Lord told Li Qing about the Formless Demonic Ancestor and urged him to stop True Person Qingyang and reinforce the seal in the Crimson Blazing Palace.
• True Person Qingyang overwhelmed Fan Erkong and Elder Mu with his corpse puppets and fire-path techniques, poisoning Fan Erkong and forcing Elder Mu to flee.
• Elder Mu used the Light Splitting Mirror to survive Qingyang's Crimson Blazing Sky-Covering Palm and escape, but Qingyang prepared to pursue her.
• Li Qing arrived and suppressed True Person Qingyang with his Nine-story Iron Pagoda, then urged him to abandon his alliance with the Formless Demonic Ancestor.
• True Person Qingyang attacked Li Qing with his bronze cauldron and five corpse puppets, and Li Qing revealed his Core Formation perfection cultivation and two spirit fires before the battle began.

Li Qing killed True Person Qingyang and entered the Crimson Blazing Palace beneath Fire Cliff Cave to reinforce the seal on the Formless Demonic Ancestor’s Dao Body. He found that the hall repelled his Crimson Blazing Heaven Art, while the trapped demon tried to tempt him with a deal and promised information about sacred relics.

• Li Qing’s Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire wheel broke True Person Qingyang’s attack, but Qingyang absorbed its flames with a prepared technique.
• Li Qing appeared behind True Person Qingyang with his Wind Thunder Silver Wings and killed him with the Primordial Peerless Hammer before he could self-detonate his golden core.
• Li Qing collected True Person Qingyang’s belongings and five corpse puppets, then returned to Fire Cliff Cave and entered the sealed realm beneath the magma sea.
• Li Qing reached the Crimson Blazing Palace, intending to reinforce the seal on the Formless Demonic Ancestor’s Dao Body and seek the Crimson Blazing Heaven Art inheritance.
• The palace repelled Li Qing’s true essence, and the Formless Demonic Ancestor offered to help him enter in exchange for corpses, then tried to entice him with information about two sacred relics.

Li Qing and Hundred Spirits Dao Lord discovered that demonic qi had blocked access to Crimson Blazing Palace, where the Profound Yellow True Flame was hidden. After resisting the Formless Demonic Ancestor’s mind attacks and destroying its formation with the Moon Disc, Li Qing entered the palace and found the powerful, still-unclaimed flame.

• The Formless Demonic Ancestor tempted Li Qing with the Profound Yellow True Flame and a complete Fire Spirit Pearl, but Hundred Spirits Dao Lord warned him not to cooperate.
• Hundred Spirits Dao Lord discovered that demonic qi had corrupted Crimson Blazing Palace and advised Li Qing to use his two Heaven and Earth Spirit Fires to purge it.
• The Formless Demonic Ancestor unleashed a formation that filled Li Qing with suicidal thoughts, and Li Qing pierced it with the Moon Disc bestowed by True Lord Yue Xuan.
• Li Qing used the Spirit Devouring Demonic Flame and Nether Cold Fire to burn away the demonic qi, restoring his connection to Crimson Blazing Palace.
• Crimson Blazing Palace opened for Li Qing, revealing the Profound Yellow True Flame, whose immense heat made it clear that claiming it would be difficult.

Li Qing entered the Crimson Blazing Palace and helped the Profound Yellow True Flame reinforce the seal suppressing the Formless Demonic Ancestor, leaving the Fire Spirit Pearl and flame in place for now. The palace then bestowed Crimson Blazing Heavenly Monarch’s extensive inheritance on Li Qing, who planned to claim the weakened Fire Jade Bees as well.

• Li Qing entered the Crimson Blazing Palace, where the Profound Yellow True Flame absorbed his protective true essence without attacking him.
• Hundred Spirits Dao Lord explained that the Profound Yellow True Flame and Fire Spirit Pearl together suppressed and wore away the Formless Demonic Ancestor’s Dao Body.
• Li Qing supplied the Profound Yellow True Flame with true essence and nearly three thousand spirit stones, strengthening the seal despite the Formless Demonic Ancestor’s attempts to tempt him with the Fire Spirit Pearl.
• The Crimson Blazing Palace bestowed jade slips on Li Qing, including the complete Crimson Blazing Heaven Art and inheritances in divine abilities, pill refinement, artifact refinement, and other methods.
• Li Qing discovered a method for breeding and evolving Fire Jade Bees, resolved to bring the swarm under his control, and concealed the valuable inheritance in his memory.

After subduing the Fire Jade Bee Queen, Li Qing gave Cao Xiu an Ascension Token and Fire Origin Paste before continuing his journey of tempering his state of mind. He remembered an old promise to Meng Qi, fulfilled it with an Ascension Token for the Meng Family, and left the family with a reduced tribute to Lingyun Sect.

• Li Qing subdued the Fire Jade Bee Queen and gained control of the Fire Jade Bee swarm.
• Li Qing gave Cao Xiu an Ascension Token to join Lingyun Sect and some Fire Origin Paste, then left him to continue tempering himself.
• Li Qing visited the former Tianhe Sect mountain gate and buried a stone memorial to Zhou Tong near the Spirit Stone Mine.
• Li Qing remembered his old promise to repair a Top-grade Magic Tool and met Meng Qi, only to learn the tool had already been repaired.
• Li Qing gave Meng Qi an Ascension Token for his family and reduced the Meng Family's spirit-stone tribute to Lingyun Sect by ten percent.

Li Qing returned to the Feng Kingdom to revisit his mortal past and learned that the Qian Family had fallen from power after Emperor Fengwu accused them of hiding a cultivation method. He recognized the Earth Origin Art as the incomplete copy he had once given Qian Hong and ended the chapter thinking of Commander Qian.

• Li Qing entered the Feng Kingdom disguised as a mortal and wandered through its cities, eventually reaching Sheng Tian.
• Li Qing revisited the places he remembered in Sheng Tian, then heard drinkers discuss the famous blade Jingji he had forged and the Qian Family's troubles.
• Li Qing learned that the Qian Family had lost court influence and faced pressure from martial artists seeking the Azure Rainbow Sword and the Limitless Art.
• Qian Yunwen proposed rallying old Wu Li Army comrades, but the Qian Family head warned that their military ties could bring the family's destruction.
• The Qian Family head argued that the family should surrender the Limitless Art and Azure Rainbow Sword if necessary to survive, while lamenting the emperor's rejection of their inheritance.
• Li Qing overheard the Qian Family meeting and realized Emperor Fengwu had stripped them of power after mistaking the Earth Origin Art he gave Qian Hong for a withheld cultivation secret.