Chapter Summaries

Li Qing refined and tested Lightning Fire Cores, then placed them in Lingyun Sect’s treasury. Three years later, Daoist Jinbao’s Core Formation failed, leaving him crippled, and the sect offered him a position guarding the Hall of Inherited Skills.

• Li Qing saw Rice Bucket’s handsome human form, gave him healing medicines, and returned with him to Lingyun Sect.
• Li Qing spent several months refining Lightning Fire Cores from heavenly lightning and Profound Yellow True Flame, then tested one and found it could threaten Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivators.
• Li Qing placed the remaining Lightning Fire Cores in the sect treasury and hoped to collect stronger heavenly lightning from Old Man Chenyuan’s future breakthrough.
• Three years later, Daoist Jinbao attempted Core Formation, but his golden core collapsed despite his preparations.
• Li Qing saved Daoist Jinbao’s life, but his cultivation was lost; Li Qing offered him an elder’s stipend and the role of guardian of the Hall of Inherited Skills.
• Sect Master Xu Xia ordered the sect to protect Daoist Jinbao from mistreatment, while True Person Fu Xuan and Chu Lingyi warned elders against coveting his Golden Light Dart.

Daoist Jinbao left the Lingyun Sect after his cultivation was crippled, while Li Qing learned that a mysterious killer had slain the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Northern Ice Region and suspected the Formless Sage Ancestor was hunting him. True Lord Chen Yuan then summoned Li Qing to guard him as he prepared to undergo tribulation and break through to Spirit Transformation.

• Daoist Jinbao surrendered his Storage Bag, had his memories of Lingyun Sect inheritances erased, and left with an Ascension Token for his descendants.
• Li Qing instructed Xu Xia to watch over Daoist Jinbao and welcome any descendants with Spirit Roots into the Lingyun Sect.
• News spread that all the Northern Ice Region's Nascent Soul True Lords had been killed and left as faceless corpses with their Nascent Souls removed.
• The Formless Sage Ancestor devoured the victims' Nascent Souls, realized his target was not in the Northern Ice Region, and vanished while searching for someone with an empty, unfathomable fate.
• Li Qing learned that the Formless Sage Ancestor might be targeting him because he had destroyed one of the Sage Ancestor's Dao Bodies, and considered hiding in the Eternal Night World as a last resort.
• True Lord Chen Yuan summoned Li Qing to guard his Spirit Transformation tribulation, and Li Qing hurried toward the hidden realm where Gan Gu had once emerged.

Li Qing entered the hidden grotto-heaven and reunited with Qiu Zhen and his master, True Lord Chen Yuan, who began risking his life to break through to Spirit Transformation. After seven days of drawing on vast stores of spirit stones, Chen Yuan turned to colliding Yin and Yang energies, and a faint cracking sound suggested his attempt had reached a new stage.

• Li Qing descended through the vanished poisonous swamp and found the concealed stone door to a hidden small world.
• Qiu Zhen welcomed Li Qing, and Chen Yuan revealed that he planned to attempt a Spirit Transformation breakthrough immediately.
• Chen Yuan asked Li Qing to guard him, handed him the Lightning-Repelling Robe, and began taking pills to strengthen his aura.
• Hundreds of thousands of spirit stones and three Wood Attribute Top-grade Spirit Stones poured spiritual energy into Chen Yuan for seven days, but the Spirit Transformation barrier remained unbroken.
• Chen Yuan summoned Profound Yin and Pure Yang energies and made them collide within his body, producing a faint cracking sound.

True Lord Chen Yuan began his Spirit Transformation tribulation, while Li Qing used the Lightning-Repelling Robe and Wind Thunder Silver Wings to protect himself and collect the heavenly lightning. As Chen Yuan faced the rare Violet Void Divine Lightning, Wan Shengtian confronted the Formless Sage Ancestor’s Dao Body at sea.

• True Lord Chen Yuan left the grotto-heaven to face his Spirit Transformation tribulation, and Li Qing followed to protect him.
• The gathered tribulation drew the attention of powerful beings across the Human Realm, while mysterious voices in Moonlit Ridge discussed the Ancestral Emperor Sword.
• True Lord Chen Yuan used his treasures to withstand the Golden Night True Thunder, and Li Qing collected lightning without being detected by the tribulation.
• Violet Void Divine Lightning damaged and tempered Li Qing’s Wind Thunder Silver Wings, while Chen Yuan used his Heaven-Opening Axe to fend off several bolts.
• Wan Shengtian confronted the Formless Sage Ancestor’s Dao Body at sea and challenged him to a fight.

True Lord Chen Yuan survived his Spirit Transformation tribulation and learned that Wan Shengtian and the Azure Flood Dragon King had fought the Demon Realm Saint Ancestor’s Dao Body in the Eastern Sea. After discussing the danger and the mysterious Saint Ancestor’s possible target, Chen Yuan joined them in deciding to visit Fellow Daoist Wuji for help forging spirit treasures.

• True Lord Chen Yuan survived the Violet Void Divine Lightning tribulation, reached the Spirit Transformation stage, and congratulated Li Qing for witnessing his breakthrough.
• Chen Yuan sensed a disturbance in the Eastern Sea and flew off after hearing the Azure Flood Dragon King’s roar, while Li Qing returned to the sect.
• The Azure Flood Dragon King and Wan Shengtian discussed their battle with the Demon Realm Saint Ancestor’s Dao Body and warned that it could become more dangerous if it reached Spirit Transformation.
• Chen Yuan arrived and learned that Wan Shengtian had nearly died fighting the Dao Body, which had likely come for Chen Yuan during his tribulation.
• Chen Yuan described the Dao Body’s shifting faces and methods, and the three considered who the Formless Sage Ancestor might be seeking.
• Wan Shengtian and the Azure Flood Dragon King agreed to visit Fellow Daoist Wuji with Chen Yuan and ask him to forge a spirit treasure.

After an attempt to refine Lightning Fire Cores with Violet Void Divine Lightning exploded, Li Qing welcomed three Spirit Transformation cultivators to Lingyun Sect and learned about their realm and the threat of the Demon Realm Saint Ancestor’s Dao Body. He agreed to refine a spirit treasure for Wan Shengtian in exchange for Top-grade Spirit Stones and to make an artifact for True Lord Chen Yuan for the Profound Calamity Dual Polarity Method.

• Li Qing tried combining Violet Void Divine Lightning with Profound Yellow True Flame to refine a Lightning Fire Core, but the unstable mixture exploded above Lingyun Sect.
• Li Qing welcomed the Azure Flood Dragon King, Wan Shengtian, and True Lord Chen Yuan into the sect, and True Lord Chen Yuan let him keep the Lightning-Repelling Robe.
• Li Qing entertained the visitors with Drunken Moon Brew and learned that Spirit Transformation cultivators could extend their lives by sealing themselves in places with ancient Great Dao environments.
• Wan Shengtian explained that the Demon Realm Saint Ancestor’s Dao Body threatened both the cultivators’ chance to ascend and the Human Realm, then asked Li Qing to refine a spirit treasure.
• Wan Shengtian offered Li Qing two fire-attribute Top-grade Spirit Stones for a successful refinement or one if it failed, and Li Qing accepted the commission.
• True Lord Chen Yuan offered Li Qing the Profound Calamity Dual Polarity Method as compensation for refining an artifact, and Li Qing agreed to that commission as well.

Li Qing prepared for the Formless Sage Ancestor by refining Lightning Fire Cores and restoring the Wind Thunder Silver Wings, then traveled to meet True Lord Chen Yuan and refine a defensive Spirit Treasure. Chen Yuan gave him the Profound Calamity Dual Polarity Method and a massive piece of Innate Gang Iron, and Li Qing began forging it into a shield.

• Li Qing spent months refining Lightning Fire Cores, producing twenty-six and exhausting the Violet Void Divine Lightning stored in the Wind Thunder Silver Wings.
• Li Qing restored the Wind Thunder Silver Wings, improving their quality and strengthening the killing power of their wingtips.
• Li Qing entered the hidden heaven and met True Lord Chen Yuan, who gave him the Profound Calamity Dual Polarity Method.
• True Lord Chen Yuan showed Li Qing a large piece of Innate Gang Iron, and Li Qing identified it and proposed refining it into a shield.
• True Lord Chen Yuan agreed to the Innate Gang Iron Shield and promised to suppress its tribulation fluctuations as Li Qing began the refinement.

Li Qing completed the Innate Gang Iron Shield for True Lord Chen Yuan, gained 1,600 years of lifespan, and set out for Fengyuan Region to meet Wan Shengtian. Meanwhile, the Formless Sage Ancestor searched the Great Desolation Region for his target, confronted the Lord of Ice Extreme Palace, and arrived at Moonlit Ridge, where a powerful presence began to stir.

• Li Qing forged the Yellow-grade Innate Gang Iron Shield, which survived its Spirit Treasure Tribulation, and gained 1,600 years of lifespan.
• True Lord Chen Yuan praised Li Qing’s artifact-refining skill, and Li Qing departed to fulfill his agreement with Wan Shengtian in Fengyuan Region.
• Li Qing flew openly across the sea, reasoning that the Formless Sage Ancestor was likely focused on Spirit Transformation cultivators and the weakened Spatial Node.
• The Formless Sage Ancestor searched the Extreme North Ice Plains, fought the Lord of Ice Extreme Palace, and left after declaring that she was not the person he sought.
• The Formless Sage Ancestor reached Moonlit Ridge and dismissed its inhabitants as weak, prompting a powerful aura to rise from within the forbidden zone.

While flying over the sea, Li Qing discovered the Spirit Pearl Divine Cult trying to control Jiuxiao as a vessel for the Golden Spirit Pearl. He rescued his old friend and killed the cultists who resisted, leaving the Spirit Pearl Divine Cult’s promised revenge unresolved.

• News spread across the Great Desolation Region that the Formless Sage Ancestor’s Dao Body had stormed through two forbidden zones, while Li Qing continued across the sea unaware.
• Li Qing detected pure gold-attribute spiritual power and found four Spirit Pearl Divine Cult cultivators restraining a Gold Slave with Spirit Gold Chains.
• Li Qing recognized the Gold Slave as Jiuxiao, an old friend from Tianhe Marketplace, and demanded that the cultivators release him.
• When the cultists made Jiuxiao attack, Li Qing subdued him with Nether Cold Fire and learned that the golden bell had controlled his mind.
• After the Spirit Pearl Divine Cult refused to surrender the Golden Spirit Pearl, Li Qing killed its four cultivators, including a deputy envoy who warned that the Lord Sacred Envoy would seek revenge.

Li Qing killed the Spirit Pearl Divine Cult cultivators, subdued Jiuxiao in his Gold Slave state, and learned that the cult sought the Five Elements Spirit Pearls. He reached the Spirit Treasure Realm to meet Wan Shengtian, who gave him a fire-attribute Top-grade Spirit Stone and warned him about the cult’s leader and its ability to track Spirit Pearls.

• Li Qing killed the middle-aged Daoist nun and extracted memories revealing the Spirit Pearl Divine Cult’s schemes and its efforts to restore the Golden Spirit Pearl.
• Li Qing used the Mind-Control Bell to pacify Jiuxiao, concealed him beneath a black robe, and left with him and the damaged Golden Spirit Pearl.
• Cult members at a branch altar discovered that four of their people had died and reported that the Golden Spirit Pearl might be lost.
• Li Qing traveled to the Fengyuan Region, used golden incense to enter the hidden Spirit Treasure Realm, and met Wan Shengtian.
• Wan Shengtian gave Li Qing a fire-attribute Top-grade Spirit Stone and warned him that the Five Elements Spirit Saint’s cult could track Spirit Pearls.
• Wan Shengtian assured Li Qing that the Spirit Treasure Realm could conceal him from the Five Elements Spirit Saint.

Li Qing declined Wan Shengtian’s offer to become a Guest Elder but stayed in the Spirit Treasure Realm while awaiting materials for a Spirit Treasure. After learning about Wan Shengtian’s Ascension Platform project and receiving Primordial Mother Red Marrow to forge a Blood Spirit Ruler, Li Qing looked forward to studying the guild’s ancient Dao patterns before beginning refinement.

• Li Qing politely declined Wan Shengtian’s recruitment offer and settled in the Spirit Treasure Realm while the guild retrieved the main refining material.
• Li Qing met Old Man Tianxing and True Lord Jialuo, then learned that Wan Shengtian was developing an Ascension Platform to help cultivators cross the dangerous void to the Spirit Realm.
• Li Qing exchanged ideas with Old Man Tianxing about combining formations and artifact refinement, and both gained new insights from their discussions.
• Wan Shengtian presented Li Qing with Primordial Mother Red Marrow and asked him to forge a ruler-type Spirit Treasure called the Blood Spirit Ruler.
• Li Qing agreed to consider the ruler’s design and asked to study the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild’s ancient Dao patterns before choosing supplementary materials.

Li Qing refined the Blood Spirit Ruler for Wan Shengtian using the rare Primordial Mother Red Marrow and ancient Dao patterns. The treasure survived its tribulation and became a Yellow-grade Spirit Treasure, earning Li Qing a great lifespan reward and another Top-grade Spirit Stone.

• Li Qing studied ancient artifact-refining Dao patterns, settled on a design for the Blood Spirit Ruler, and obtained the final materials from the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild.
• Li Qing refined and shaped the Blood Spirit Ruler in the Black Furnace, inscribing Dao patterns as he worked over several weeks.
• The completed Blood Spirit Ruler emerged from Li Qing's pavilion, and Wan Shengtian opened a rift so it could undergo its tribulation outside the Spirit Treasure Realm.
• The Blood Spirit Ruler endured several days of heavenly lightning and became a Yellow-grade Spirit Treasure, granting Li Qing 2,300 years of lifespan.
• Wan Shengtian tested the ruler's power, thanked Li Qing, promised the agreed payment and a favor, and gave him a second Top-grade Spirit Stone.

Li Qing left the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild and returned to the Demon Domain to search for Devil Race corpses to refine into blood essence. After meeting the Earth Nether Python King Leng You, he learned that Bai Xing had become the White King, and prepared to ask about his other old acquaintances and the Demon Domain’s disposal of the corpses.

• Li Qing decided not to ask Wan Shengtian for cultivation pills, then bid farewell to him and left the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild with Gold Slave.
• Li Qing traveled in concealment to the Demon Domain, hoping to find Devil Race corpses and check on the Mountain Ridge Giant Elephant.
• Li Qing spotted a group of human cultivators seeking a peculiar spirit pool, but continued deeper into the Demon Domain without approaching them.
• Li Qing encountered the fourth-tier Earth Nether Python King, introduced himself as Wuji, and asked about the Demon Domain’s Demon Kings.
• Leng You recognized Li Qing as the human who had entered the Myriad Beast Secret Realm and told him that Bai Xing had become the White King, though he had been injured during the Demonic Calamity.

Li Qing visited the Night Wolf King in the Starfall Mountain Range and discovered that a hidden restriction beneath the mountains repelled his Spiritual Sense. After he and the Night Wolf King failed to find it by digging, they decided to wait until nightfall, when the strange mist appeared.

• Li Qing learned that the Demon Domain gathered devil corpses and bones in Beast Flame Valley, then left Leng You’s marsh.
• A group of human cultivators hunted lesser demons and headed toward the mountain range containing the Spirit Nurturing Pool, hoping to strengthen their chances of joining the Spirit Pearl Divine Cult.
• Li Qing traveled to the Starfall Mountain Range and reunited with the Bone Demon Giant Wolf, now known as the Night Wolf King.
• Li Qing sensed a restriction beneath the mountain range and invited the Night Wolf King to investigate it with him.
• After digging beneath the mountains until sunrise without finding the restriction, Li Qing and the Night Wolf King decided to wait for the late-night mist.

Li Qing and the Night Wolf King broke through an ancient restriction beneath the Starfall Mountain Range and discovered a Heavenly Wolf Sacred Altar. The Night Wolf King gained a blood-refining inheritance, while Li Qing claimed Sun Moon Essence useful for his Spirit Transformation breakthrough; after the mountain’s black mist vanished, they left facing questions from the demon clans and a powerful Spirit Transformation Yellow Weasel.

• Li Qing and the Night Wolf King attacked the ancient underground restriction until it shattered, collapsing part of the Starfall Mountain Range and revealing a vast underground river and altar.
• The Night Wolf King awakened the Heavenly Wolf statue and received part of the Heavenly Wolf Blood Refining Technique, then passed the inheritance to Li Qing.
• The Night Wolf King broke the statue and released golden Sun Radiance and silver moonlight, which Li Qing collected for his cultivation.
• Li Qing and the Night Wolf King escaped as nearby demon beasts investigated, and the Night Wolf King worried that the vanished black mist would draw the Demon Kings’ attention.
• Li Qing promised to handle any threat short of the demon domain’s Spirit Transformation ruler, and the Night Wolf King revealed that the ruler was a Yellow Weasel.

Li Qing arrived at Starfall Mountain Range and defended his friend, the Night Wolf King, when four Demon Kings demanded access to the wolf inheritance. He fought them alone, overwhelmed their attacks, and left the surviving kings terrified after killing the Wind Ape King.

• The Wind Ape King, Illusionary Cloud King, Azure Winged Rat King, and Bai Xing descended on Starfall Mountain Range and demanded that the Night Wolf King reveal its hidden treasure.
• The Night Wolf King refused, and the Wind Ape King attacked him before Li Qing emerged and burned the ape king's arm.
• Li Qing declared the Night Wolf King his friend and explained that the treasure was a wolf-race inheritance, but the Demon Kings still demanded to inspect the Night Wolf King's sea of consciousness.
• Li Qing revealed his Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivation and fought all four Demon Kings, using his spirit fires, Primordial Peerless Hammer, and Shattering Yuan Great Fire Seal.
• Illusionary Cloud King's illusion failed against Li Qing's Exquisite Immortal Sound, and Li Qing struck him with Soul Condensing Slash.
• Li Qing used Kunpeng Extreme Speed and Kunpeng Sky-Tearing Hand to kill the Wind Ape King, leaving the other Demon Kings shocked and afraid.

Li Qing left the demon domain after the Yellow Weasel stopped the fighting and traveled to Beast Flame Valley to collect Devil Race corpses. There he discovered traces of Life and Death Void Fire, and the Profound Yellow True Flame offered to reveal three places where Spirit Fires might form if Li Qing accepted a condition.

• The Yellow Weasel halted Li Qing from killing the remaining Demon Kings and warned them to abandon their interest in the wolf clan inheritance beneath the Starfall Mountain Range.
• Li Qing thanked the Yellow Weasel, asked the Night Wolf King to protect his friends, and departed as news of his victory spread through the demon domain.
• After more than ten days of searching, Li Qing reached Beast Flame Valley and collected Devil Race corpses that still contained blood essence.
• At the valley’s deepest point, Li Qing found an intact Spirit Transformation devil corpse surrounded by invisible flames that the Profound Yellow True Flame identified as lingering Life and Death Void Fire.
• The Profound Yellow True Flame said the Crimson Blazing Heavenly Monarch had taken the Origin Fire Seeds he found to the upper realm, but revealed that three places in the lower realm might eventually produce Spirit Fires.
• Li Qing asked the Profound Yellow True Flame to name the three places, and it agreed on the condition that he first accept a request.

Li Qing struck a bargain with the Profound Yellow True Flame and left Beast Flame Valley, while a group of cultivators discovered the Spirit Nurturing Pool and began using it. As the Terror Claw Lizard fought to stop them, a great tremor and an elephant cry came from the mountain.

• Li Qing agreed to return the Profound Yellow True Flame to the Crimson Blazing Heavenly Monarch if he met him in the upper realm, and learned of three locations that might nurture spirit fire.
• Li Qing left Beast Flame Valley and headed back toward Qingling Region.
• Three Core Formation cultivators brought four juniors to the Spirit Nurturing Pool, where the juniors began absorbing its energy.
• The Terror Claw Lizard arrived and attacked the Core Formation cultivators, but their combined force suppressed it while the juniors advanced in the pool.
• The four juniors broke through their cultivation stages as the Terror Claw Lizard repeatedly called for Brother Elephant to wake up.
• The mountain range shook, and a mournful elephant cry rang out.

Li Qing arrived just as Southern Sky Islands cultivators attacked the Terror Claw Lizard and exploited the Mountain Ridge Giant Elephant’s cultivation backlash. After revealing his Nascent Soul Late Stage power, he spared the cultivators’ lives but ordered them to cripple their cultivation, then reacted with dangerous delight when they invoked their ties to the Spirit Pearl Divine Cult.

• The Mountain Ridge Giant Elephant emerged from its mountain disguise after the Southern Sky Islands cultivators disrupted its Mountain Elephant Spirit Nurturing Art, and the backlash left it collapsed and helpless.
• The Southern Sky Islands cultivators resumed attacking the Terror Claw Lizard while telling their four juniors to keep absorbing the Spirit Nurturing Pool’s essence.
• Li Qing appeared, melted a Core Formation cultivator’s Natal Flying Sword, and revealed his Nascent Soul Late Stage aura.
• Li Qing pulled the four Foundation Establishment juniors from the pool and ordered the cultivators to cripple their own cultivation as punishment.
• The elder pleaded for mercy by revealing that the group belonged to a branch altar of the Spirit Pearl Divine Cult, and Li Qing promised to deal with them properly.

Li Qing killed the Southern Sky Islands cultivators after learning they were connected to the Spirit Pearl Divine Cult, then helped his injured demon friends recover and urged them to seek the Night Wolf King’s protection. He left the demon domain for the Lingyun Sect, while powerful cult members pursued him to reclaim the Golden Spirit Pearl.

• Li Qing searched the Core Formation cultivators’ memories, learned the Spirit Pearl Divine Cult had infiltrated the Southern Sky Islands, and killed the entire group.
• Li Qing fed the Terror Claw Lizard a golden core and helped the unconscious Mountain Ridge Giant Elephant recover with another.
• Li Qing advised the Terror Claw Lizard and Mountain Ridge Giant Elephant to seek refuge with the Night Wolf King, then departed the demon domain.
• The Profound Yellow True Flame urged Li Qing to postpone seeking a Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire until he reached the Spirit Transformation stage, and Li Qing headed toward the Lingyun Sect.
• Several powerful cultivators arrived after Li Qing had left and pursued him, determined to recover the Golden Spirit Pearl.