Chapter Summaries

Li Qing confronted Old Lord Xiaoyao after revealing that he had also reached the Nascent Soul Realm, then overwhelmed him with powerful treasures, speed, and physical strength. When Old Lord Xiaoyao fled by sending out his Nascent Soul, Li Qing triggered a hidden fire formation to trap and refine it.

• Li Qing arrived at the Carefree Sect, where Old Lord Xiaoyao and the gathered cultivators recognized his Nascent Soul Realm cultivation.
• Old Lord Xiaoyao attacked with the Xiaoyao Mountain River Map, but Li Qing used his Fire Extreme Dharma Body, Shattering Yuan Great Fire Seal, and Crimson Blazing Palace to break the treasure and injure him.
• Old Lord Xiaoyao unleashed the Xiaoyao Heavenly Gang Break, but Li Qing escaped with Kunpeng Extreme Speed and struck him from behind with his tempered body.
• Li Qing repeatedly battered Old Lord Xiaoyao, rejected his offer to rule the Qingling Region together, and declared that one of them had to die.
• Old Lord Xiaoyao used One Thought of Xiaoyao to send his Nascent Soul fleeing, but Li Qing activated the Myriad Flames Burn Heaven Formation to trap it.

Li Qing killed Old Lord Xiaoyao and destroyed the Carefree Sect, restoring Lingyun Sect’s control over the Qingling Region. After studying the sect’s inheritances, he used Xiaoyao’s remains to nourish his blood lotus and replenish his depleted origin.

• Li Qing feigned interest in Old Lord Xiaoyao’s secrets, then refined his Nascent Soul before it could self-destruct.
• Li Qing stopped True Person Chang Jue from self-destructing his golden core and killed him, while Shen Ningbing and True Person Fu Xuan killed their opponents.
• Lingyun Sect reclaimed its former lands and industries, and the Cultivation Noble Families returned to offer tribute and seek forgiveness.
• Li Qing studied the Carefree Sect’s Xiaoyao Guiyuan Scripture and other inheritances, while wondering why Spirit Transformation cultivators had vanished from the present age.
• Li Qing fed Old Lord Xiaoyao’s remains to the blood lotus, replenished his depleted origin, and returned to his cave abode to plan his cultivation.

Li Qing planned his next steps as a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, concluding that the Eternal Night World could provide the beasts and materials he needed to advance. Before setting out, he asked True Lord Tianbao to help locate rare spirit materials, and Tianbao instructed the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild to seek them and befriend Li Qing.

• Li Qing decided that the Eternal Night World was his best source of exotic beasts for the blood lotus, time to study his Dao arts, and rare spirit materials for Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasures.
• Li Qing ordered the Lingyun Sect to monitor the Great Desolation Region and gather artifact-refining materials, then visited True Lord Tianbao at the Myriad Treasures Tower.
• Li Qing asked True Lord Tianbao about pills for Nascent Soul Realm cultivation, and Tianbao implied that the merchant guild possessed confidential formulas but could not disclose or trade them.
• Li Qing gave True Lord Tianbao a list of rare spirit materials, including demon avian wing bones, Void Moon Crystal Sand, and Thunder Sound Bamboo, and asked him to watch for them.
• True Lord Tianbao sent secret letters directing the merchant guild's branches to search for Li Qing's materials and to befriend him rather than make him an enemy.

Li Qing returned to the Eternal Night World but arrived in an unfamiliar region after the Spirit Devouring Realm collapsed. He discovered a vast city built on a giant mushroom, where powerful Exotic Beasts were kept as Blood Slaves to nourish it.

• Li Qing left the Fire Jade Bee Queen to advance in his cave abode, then saw Suxin break through to the Late Core Formation stage and took Rice Bucket with him into the Eternal Night World.
• Li Qing arrived in an unfamiliar river valley, where enormous clams used rotten roots to trap and devour a three-eyed night bat.
• Li Qing and Rice Bucket crossed a plain covered in mushrooms and found a huge mushroom city rising above the wilderness.
• Li Qing secretly followed a bat-winged human into the city and saw mushroom tree spirits open a path for him.
• Li Qing discovered an injured Iron-scaled Giant Sheep bound inside the city and watched it eat Flesh Spores as its blood nourished the giant mushroom.
• Li Qing realized the city had captured powerful Exotic Beasts as Blood Slaves to provide beast blood.

Li Qing confronted the Lord of the Ancient Castle after discovering that Flesh Spores made captive Exotic Beasts bleed and could serve his blood lotus. He overwhelmed the castle lord’s corpse army, but after Li Qing’s flame began consuming the giant mushroom, the lord begged him to stop.

• Li Qing decided to seize control of Giant Mushroom City and investigate the Flesh Spores after finding that they caused captive Third-order Exotic Beasts to bleed profusely.
• The Lord of the Ancient Castle revealed that the Mushroom Spirit had tracked Li Qing since he entered the city, then attacked when Li Qing asked to trade for Flesh Spores.
• The Lord of the Ancient Castle sent spore-controlled Exotic Beast corpses against Li Qing, who countered with his corpse puppets and released Rice Bucket.
• Rice Bucket crushed the beast corpses until the castle lord drew power from the giant mushroom and bound Rice Bucket with mycelium.
• Li Qing burned away the mycelium with Profound Yellow True Flame and struck the castle lord with the Primordial Peerless Hammer, setting the giant mushroom ablaze.
• The Lord of the Ancient Castle trembled and begged Li Qing to stop.

After defeating Yang Gong, Li Qing learned how the Mushroom Spirit used its spores and heard about the Blood Martial Dynasty. He resisted its attempt to enslave him and threatened to burn Mushroom City unless the spirit submitted, then heard it tell him to stop.

• Li Qing forced Yang Gong to explain that the Mushroom Spirit created spores to produce blood, control dead Exotic Beasts, and raise weaker beasts into Third-order ones.
• Yang Gong told Li Qing that the Blood Martial Dynasty had spread its martial path of qi and blood and had once sent people to Giant Mushroom City.
• Li Qing ordered Yang Gong to take him to the Mushroom Spirit, then sent a spirit-fire Dao Body into its chamber while concealing his true self.
• The Mushroom Spirit tried to enslave Li Qing, but his Dao Body vanished, and Li Qing revealed himself outside the ancient castle.
• Li Qing formed the Fire Extreme Dharma Body and threatened to destroy Mushroom City unless the Mushroom Spirit submitted.
• As Li Qing prepared to scatter spirit fire, the Mushroom Spirit spoke into his sea of consciousness and told him to stop.

Li Qing subdued the Mushroom Spirit after agreeing to control it for three thousand years, gaining authority over its mushroom city and its Exotic Beast resources. He learned that the spirit was part of a mysterious struggle among strange plants and ordered it to produce Fourth-order Red Moon Spores and continue producing Flesh Spores.

• Li Qing negotiated with the Mushroom Spirit, swore an oath to the red moon, and planted a Spiritual Sense Imprint after it agreed to serve him for three thousand years.
• Li Qing ordered Yang Gong to slap himself and questioned the now-submissive Mushroom Spirit about its origins and its wish to surpass similar existences.
• The Mushroom Spirit said it had emerged too early, suffered damage to its origin, and knew nothing about the force that might be behind the strange plants’ growth.
• The Mushroom Spirit explained that its city held sixteen Third-order Exotic Beasts and that it could produce five kinds of spores, including Red Moon Spores capable of helping beasts attempt a Fourth-order breakthrough.
• Li Qing ordered the Mushroom Spirit to produce Fourth-order Red Moon Spores, keep producing Flesh Spores, and give him the blood of six of the sixteen Exotic Beasts.

After refining the Dao Tribulation Wuji Scripture and creating an incomplete Qi Refining cultivation art, Li Qing traveled east toward the Blood Martial Dynasty. He met a caravan guarded by Martial Alliance martial artists and learned that Miao Xi was remembered as the dynasty’s founding Grand Emperor.

• Li Qing completed much of the Dao Tribulation Wuji Scripture and devised a Qi Refining scripture that could support cultivation through the fourth layer.
• Yang Gong brought Li Qing the Carefree Universe Pouch filled with exotic beast blood, and Li Qing told him to keep collecting more while he visited the Blood Martial Dynasty.
• Li Qing fed Rice Bucket a Red Moon Spore, strengthening him with fewer harmful effects than red crystals, and promised to provide fourth-tier spores later.
• Li Qing and Rice Bucket crossed the wilderness into the Blood Martial Dynasty, where he spotted a caravan guarded by Innate Realm martial artists and recognized their likely Martial Alliance origins.
• A Martial Alliance martial artist confirmed the group served the Blood Martial Dynasty, and the caravan members revealed that Miao Xi was remembered as the dynasty’s founding Grand Emperor.

Li Qing learned that Miao Xi had died after opening the way to the Martial Unity Realm, then reunited with Yan Xishan in the Blood Martial Dynasty’s royal capital. After learning that Lin Jing had been missing for more than twenty years in the Boundary River Domain, Li Qing prepared to search for her, but Crown Prince Miao Tuo arrived and challenged him to give instruction.

• Li Qing learned that Miao Xi had died while attempting to reach Qi and Blood Embracing Pill, and that Yan Xishan had later entered the Martial Unity Realm.
• The Martial Alliance recognized Li Qing as its Protector of the Dao, welcomed him into the royal capital, and reunited him with his aging disciple Yan Xishan.
• Yan Xishan told Li Qing that the Demonic Willow had destroyed the Black Wind Domain and that Lin Jing had been missing for more than twenty years after searching Immortal Dao ruins in the Boundary River Domain.
• Li Qing decided to travel to the Boundary River Domain to search for Lin Jing, whose disappearance he suspected was connected to its strange, perpetually flowing river.
• Crown Prince Miao Tuo arrived at the Martial Alliance and asked Li Qing to grant him instruction, revealing his battle intent and Martial Unity cultivation.

Li Qing traveled to the Boundary River Domain with Miao Tuo, seeking traces of his missing disciple, Lin Jing. At the river, he discovered that its waters carried the aura of Great Yin True Water and began considering whether they could temper his body.

• Li Qing defeated Miao Tuo’s challenge by stopping a single finger before his forehead, then left the Martial Alliance for the Boundary River Domain.
• Miao Tuo pursued Li Qing despite Yan Xishan’s protests, and Li Qing allowed him to accompany the journey on his tiger, Rice Bucket.
• Miao Tuo told Li Qing how the Blood Martial Dynasty’s thorned Ironwood Tree became its injured ritual spirit, and worried it could not protect the dynasty from the Demonic Willow.
• At the Boundary River, Li Qing suspected Lin Jing had entered the ruins of an Immortal Dao sect and unleashed two spirit flames into the water, but they failed to affect it.
• The Profound Yellow True Flame identified a trace of Great Yin True Water in the river, and Li Qing considered using its destructive force to temper his body.

Li Qing discovered the hidden ruins of the Yellow Springs Sacred Sect beneath the boundary river while searching for traces of Lin Jing. At the source of its strange rivers, he found Spirit Transformation remains and tested the water’s destructive power, but an ethereal voice calling him “Master” interrupted his investigation.

• Li Qing used the Profound Yellow True Flame to expose a hidden entrance beneath the boundary river and entered the abandoned sect’s ruins.
• Miao Tuo worried about Li Qing’s disappearance, then learned that Rice Bucket could speak and began massaging the tiger at its demand.
• Li Qing found the Yellow Springs Sacred Sect’s ruins and followed the concealed currents of its rivers to their source.
• Li Qing discovered jade-like human bones and black bird bones that appeared to belong to Spirit Transformation beings, including bones suitable for his Wind Thunder Silver Wings.
• Li Qing tested the Yellow Springs Water with an ordinary artifact and True Person Chang Jue’s magical treasure, which lost much of its spirituality.
• An ethereal voice faintly called Li Qing “Master.”

Li Qing discovered Lin Jing trapped inside the Yellow Springs Stone Tablet in an ice crystal formed from Great Yin True Water and Yellow Springs River water. After spending sixteen years strengthening his soul and mastering Void Transformation, he returned to the tablet’s inner space with the Fire Spirit Pearl to try to free her.

• Li Qing followed Lin Jing’s voice to the Yellow Springs Stone Tablet and learned that its inscription and Great Yin True Water aura concealed a strange inner space.
• Li Qing sent a corpse puppet toward the Yellow Springs River; it dissolved in the water, while his detached divine thought was drawn into the tablet.
• Li Qing found Lin Jing frozen inside a Great Yin Ice Crystal and learned she had arrived there after following a Yellow Springs token and map toward the Boundary River.
• Li Qing realized the Fire Spirit Pearl might help free Lin Jing, then left the inner space and began cultivating the Soul Refining Scripture beside the tablet.
• After sixteen years, Li Qing had strengthened his soul to roughly the Nascent Soul Middle Stage and brought Void Transformation to minor accomplishment.
• Li Qing used Void Transformation to enter the tablet’s inner space again, carrying the Fire Spirit Pearl and several Heaven and Earth Spirit Fires.

Li Qing used the Fire Spirit Pearl to melt Lin Jing free from the ice crystal inside the Yellow Springs Stone Tablet, then discovered the Yellow Springs Sacred Sect’s hidden inheritance. He learned the Yellow Springs Dao Scripture and gained a way to retrieve bones from the Yellow Springs River, leaving him eager to claim a fifth-tier avian True Bone.

• Li Qing combined the Fire Spirit Pearl and Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire to melt the ice crystal holding Lin Jing, collecting the resulting mysterious water in the Black Furnace.
• Lin Jing broke free and told Li Qing that a Yellow Springs token had protected her heart meridian and that the space held an inheritance.
• The Yellow Springs token opened a concealed barrier, and Li Qing entered an ancient pavilion filled with preserved books and jade slips.
• Li Qing read the Yellow Springs Dao Scripture, learned that its six levels reached the Void Refinement stage, and discovered its method for forging a Yellow Springs Nether Body.
• Li Qing realized the scripture explained how to retrieve bones from the Yellow Springs River and grew excited at the prospect of claiming a fifth-tier avian True Bone.

Li Qing explored the Yellow Springs Sacred Sect’s inheritance, learned how its members prepared to survive the Age of Dharma’s End, and returned to retrieve the Fifth-order Exotic Bird’s True Bone. He left the Yellow Springs River with the bone, despite the crushing pressure of the Spirit Transformation remains.

• Li Qing discovered that the pavilion’s scriptures could not be removed, memorized the Yellow Springs Treasure Pill formula, and read how the sect planned to freeze its members until spiritual energy returned.
• Li Qing left the inheritance space with Lin Jing and returned to his physical body beside the Yellow Springs Stone Tablet.
• Li Qing used his knowledge of the Yellow Springs Dao Scripture to separate the river water at its source and expose the two skeletons.
• Li Qing activated his Kunpeng Divine Power and grabbed the Fifth-order Exotic Bird’s True Bone before the river could close over it.
• Li Qing escaped with the True Bone, enduring the tremendous pressure it exerted on his body and mind.

After returning from the Yellow Springs Sacred Sect, Li Qing reunited with Lin Jing, Miao Tuo, and his aging disciple Yan Xishan, then spent eight years perfecting the Qi Refining chapter of his Dao Tribulation Wuji Scripture. Yan Xishan died after sharing a final vision of shackles on the qi-and-blood martial path and asking Li Qing to avenge their fallen fellow disciples.

• Li Qing left the Boundary River with Lin Jing, carrying the exotic bird bones and Mysterious Water he had obtained from the Yellow Springs Sacred Sect.
• Li Qing and Lin Jing returned to the royal city, where Miao Tuo had ruled the Blood Martial Dynasty for nine years and Rice Bucket had learned to speak.
• Li Qing reunited with Yan Xishan and healed his hidden injuries, but Yan Xishan refused Li Qing's offer to cleanse his body with essence blood.
• Li Qing perfected the Qi Refining chapter of his Dao Tribulation Wuji Scripture during eight years of secluded cultivation, while the world's suppression of his power deepened.
• Lin Jing told Li Qing that Yan Xishan was dying, and Li Qing hurried to the Martial Alliance to see him.
• Yan Xishan asked Li Qing to destroy the Demonic Willow and described seeing shackles on the qi-and-blood martial path before he died.

After Yan Xishan’s death, Li Qing completed the opening of his Foundation Establishment method and prepared to leave the Blood Martial Dynasty, strengthening Lin Jing and arranging affairs in Giant Mushroom City before returning to the Lingyun Sect. He recovered his mana, found his Fire Jade Bee Queen had advanced, and was interrupted by Xu Xia requesting an audience.

• Li Qing reached the martial Unity Realm, pondered Yan Xishan’s final words about shackles, and began developing the Foundation Establishment portion of the Dao Tribulation Wuji Scripture around strengthening Life Origin.
• After years of seclusion and severe Age of Dharma’s End suppression, Li Qing decided to return to his original world and used refined blood essence and Seven-Colored Vitality Essence to strengthen Lin Jing before leaving.
• Li Qing told Lin Jing that Giant Mushroom City had been subdued, then collected stored Exotic Beast blood and Red Moon Spores from the Mushroom Spirit and returned to the Lingyun Sect.
• Li Qing restored his mana amid the denser spiritual energy, discovered the Fire Jade Bee Queen had advanced to the third order, and fed her Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire.
• Xu Xia arrived to request an audience with Martial Uncle Limitless, suggesting something had happened during Li Qing’s eight-year absence.

Li Qing met with Xu Xia, learned of the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild’s upcoming auction, the Devil Dao Sects’ interest in Qingling Region, and a hidden realm containing Fiery Gold Marks. He replenished the Blood Lotus and cultivated for half a year, bringing his cultivation close to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage while choosing to stabilize his foundation before breaking through.

• Xu Xia told Li Qing that the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild had collected some requested spiritual materials and invited Lingyun Sect to its grand auction, while Devil Dao Sects had sent visiting cards but made no moves.
• Xu Xia gave Li Qing three Fiery Gold Marks found near a hidden realm that emerged after an Earth Dragon Overturn, and Li Qing suspected the realm might be the Life-Extinguishing Elder’s Tomb Mansion.
• Li Qing asked Xu Xia to arrange the purchase of the collected materials and confirmed he would attend the auction, then went to the secret chamber to restore the Blood Lotus with Third-order Exotic Beast blood.
• Li Qing sat on the Blood Lotus and spent nearly half a year absorbing its Life Origin, replenishing his Life Origin and deepening his spiritual power as his Qi and Blood Embracing Pill began to show signs of Blood Flame.
• After the beast blood ran out, Li Qing found himself close to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage but decided to further understand and stabilize his cultivation before advancing.

Li Qing traded the mysterious Dragon-head Stone for Void Moon Crystal Sand and learned that the remaining materials for his Wind Thunder Silver Wings might appear at the Myriad Treasures Grand Gathering. He then investigated a newly formed grotto-heaven, where returning Rogue Cultivators claimed they had found only a gold mine.

• Li Qing exchanged the Dragon-head Stone for Void Moon Crystal Sand, and True Lord Tianbao said high-year Thunder Sound Bamboo and Fourth-tier Demonic Bird Wing Bone might be auctioned in a year.
• Li Qing resolved to attend the Myriad Treasures Grand Gathering and obtain Thunder Sound Bamboo so he could refine the Wind Thunder Silver Wings.
• Li Qing traveled to the devastated central-southern Qingling Region to investigate the grotto-heaven created by an Earth Dragon Overturn and search for Fiery Gold Marks.
• Li Qing sensed a group of Rogue Cultivators climbing out after spending three hours below, while other cultivators questioned them about what they had found.
• The returning Rogue Cultivators said they had seen nothing but a gold mine, leaving the onlookers suspicious.

Li Qing explored the grotto-heaven and found a poisonous marsh guarded by a venomous python and a powerful restriction. After rescuing Zhang Mo, he learned that the cultivator had discovered the preserved remains of a Heavenly Poison Body, which he then showed Li Qing.

• Li Qing descended into the grotto-heaven and passed through toxic air and a poisonous marsh.
• Zhang Mo cried for help while a Late Third-tier venomous python attacked him and a restriction dragged him back into the marsh.
• Li Qing examined the restriction, then killed the python with a spirit-fire palm and rescued Zhang Mo.
• Zhang Mo introduced himself as a poison refiner from Reed State in the Cloud Marsh Region and explained that he had found a Heavenly Poison Body's remains.
• Zhang Mo took out the preserved remains of a young woman with white hair for Li Qing to inspect.

Li Qing investigated a white-haired Nascent Soul cultivator’s remains and found a living poisonous heart, along with two Fiery Gold Marks and a poison-refining secret art. After learning that the West Heaven Pavilion was also collecting Fiery Gold Marks, he returned to prepare for a distant auction in the Fengyuan Region.

• The white-haired corpse disintegrated as the swamp’s poisonous miasma gathered into a beating jade-green heart, and Zhang Mo explained that it belonged to a Heavenly Poison Body.
• Li Qing stored the poisonous heart, then took the Heavenly Poison Body’s storage bag from Zhang Mo in exchange for extracting some poison for him.
• Li Qing found two Fiery Gold Marks and the Calamity Crossing Poison Transformation Technique in the bag, then returned the bag to Zhang Mo.
• Zhang Mo told Li Qing that the West Heaven Pavilion was collecting Fiery Gold Marks and had three Nascent Soul ancestors; he also revealed that he had fled the region after offending one of its elders.
• Li Qing revealed his name as Wuji and returned to his cave abode, where he prepared to travel across the Boundless Sea to the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild’s auction in the Fengyuan Region.