Recaps

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.

A night of intrusions and violence at Qian Manor brought Emperor Fengwu face-to-face with the Qian family’s hidden cultivation secret. As Eunuch Hua attacked Qian Wang, Qian Linghui revealed her strange powers, and a newcomer carrying the Green Rainbow Sword appeared and claimed to have forged it.

• The Divine Eagle Young Master infiltrated Qian Manor and fought Qian Yunwen while other martial artists watched from outside.
• Emperor Fengwu arrived in Guangyang City and told Eunuch Hua that he wanted the cultivation results Qian Hong had researched.
• As martial artists stormed Qian Manor, Qian Wang threw the Azure Rainbow Sword and the “Limitless Art” beyond the walls, drawing most of the intruders away.
• Emperor Fengwu confronted Qian Wang and ordered Eunuch Hua to kill him, planning to blame the Qian family’s deaths on the martial vagabonds.
• Qian Linghui appeared and stopped Eunuch Hua with earth spikes, revealing herself as an immortal cultivator.
• A newcomer carrying the Green Rainbow Sword appeared atop the manor wall, said he had returned to the mortal world, and claimed he had forged the sword for her.

Li Qing killed Emperor Fengwu after learning that a beast-hide-clad female immortal had inspired the emperor's futile pursuit of cultivation. He then learned that Qian Hong had lived out her life in the Qian estate and received her final message, leaving him overwhelmed with grief.

• Li Qing killed Eunuch Hua by destroying his soul, then made Emperor Fengwu kneel and explain that a female immortal had visited Sheng Tian and drained hundreds of residents.
• Emperor Fengwu asked why he could not cultivate, and Li Qing explained that he lacked a Spirit Root before beheading him.
• Li Qing learned from Qian Wang that Qian Hong had stayed in the estate until her death and discovered Qian Linghui's ability to cultivate.
• Qian Linghui led Li Qing to Qian Hong's former courtyard, where he learned that she had left no portrait but had sent him a message through her.
• Qian Linghui relayed Qian Hong's message that the Wuji Grandmaster should not feel guilty over their romantic attachments, and Li Qing held the fragrant veil as his emotions overwhelmed him.

After mourning his departed loved ones and settling his feelings about the Dao, Li Qing took Qian Linghui into the Cultivation World. He killed Mu Ya at the Prairie Sacred Hall, obtained the Dragon Transformation Pill formula, and headed back to Lingyun Sect to gather its ingredients.

• After the Feng Kingdom’s court fell under the Qian family’s control, Li Qing laid the Azure Rainbow Sword and spirit wine at Qian Hong’s grave and invited Qian Linghui to cultivate with him.
• Qian Linghui chose to follow Li Qing to honor her Great-Aunt’s wish, and she bid farewell to her relatives before setting out with him.
• Li Qing and Qian Linghui traveled across the Feng Kingdom, visiting the graves of Ning Yuan, Li Qing’s parents, and Master Gu; the journey steadied Li Qing’s state of mind and prepared him to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Li Qing flew with Qian Linghui to the Prairie Sacred Hall, where he killed Mu Ya and took the Dragon Transformation Pill formula from the stone hall.
• Li Qing confirmed the formula was genuine, planned to ask Senior Bai Ling to refine the pill once he found the remaining ingredients, and set off with Qian Linghui for Lingyun Sect.

Li Qing returned to the Lingyun Sect with Qian Linghui, arranged for her to become an inner disciple, and sought the rare herbs needed to refine a Dragon Transformation Pill. He struck a Spirit Contract deal with True Lord Tianbao for the missing herbs, leaving the pill’s refinement and Li Qing’s attempt at Nascent Soul formation ahead.

• Li Qing brought Qian Linghui to the Lingyun Sect, gave her sect instructions and Contribution Points, and sent her to register as an inner disciple.
• Li Qing asked the Pill Hall for Dragon Transformation Pill ingredients and obtained all the available herbs except Yin Yang Ganoderma and eight-hundred-year Xuan Yuan Grass.
• Li Qing contacted the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild for the missing herbs, and True Lord Tianbao visited with an offer to provide them.
• True Lord Tianbao revealed that the guild held the herbs and proposed receiving a Dragon Transformation Pill if Li Qing made more than three, unless Li Qing found another Yin Yang Ganoderma within ten years.
• Li Qing accepted the terms, agreed to pay spirit stones if the refinement failed or produced three pills or fewer, and agreed to bind the deal with a Spirit Contract.

Li Qing arranged a sect-wide alchemy gathering to test Cao Xiu’s talent and help him earn Hundred Spirits Dao Lord’s recognition. Cao Xiu placed second and received the Bone Tempering Pill formula, while Li Qing prepared a hidden cave trial for him at Rooster Comb Mountain.

• After signing a contract with True Lord Tianbao for spiritual herbs, Li Qing agreed to wait while the Myriad Treasures Merchant Guild arranged their transfer.
• Hundred Spirits Dao Lord offered to refine Li Qing’s Dragon Transformation Pill if Cao Xiu passed a series of tests and proved worthy of inheriting his legacy.
• Li Qing secretly organized the Lingyun Sect’s first alchemy grand gathering, setting rewards that included the ancient Bone Tempering Pill formula.
• Cao Xiu advanced through all three rounds and placed second in the Foundation Establishment Pill round, earning the formula and drawing attention from the sect.
• After Xu Xia proposed holding the gathering every six years, Li Qing approved the plan and prepared a hidden cave trial for Cao Xiu at Rooster Comb Mountain.

Li Qing trapped Cao Xiu in a formation to test his talent, then devised a concept for a formation diagram paired with killing swords. After Cao Xiu escaped and Li Qing returned to secluded cultivation, the Carefree Sect arrived in the Qingling Region seeking refuge from the demonic sects.

• Li Qing and Hundred Spirits Dao Lord trapped Cao Xiu in a cave estate containing their formation and talisman inheritances, where Cao Xiu studied the formation to escape.
• While waiting for Cao Xiu, Li Qing discussed the Golden Warship with Hundred Spirits Dao Lord and conceived a formation diagram paired with killing swords, which he called the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation Diagram.
• Cao Xiu broke the trapping formation in less than two months and obtained a map pointing toward Hundred Spirits Dao Lord's final inheritance.
• Li Qing returned to the sect, entered secluded cultivation, and deepened his command of Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire and its divine abilities.
• A year later, the Carefree Sect entered the Qingling Region, hoping to find a foothold after fleeing demonic rule in the Great Desolation Region.

Li Qing spent months cultivating his Fire Jade Bee Queen and nurturing a Blood Lotus while Lingyun Sect remained peaceful. That peace ended when Wu Chong’s Soul Lantern dimmed, and Li Qing rushed toward the Black Sand River, where Carefree Sect cultivators were besieging a formation and plotting against Lingyun Sect.

• Li Qing fed his Fire Jade Bee Queen Spirit Devouring Demonic Flame and observed its growing strength.
• Li Qing added the remains of Third-tier Demonic Beasts to the blood pool nourishing his Blood Lotus and noted that his Golden Silk Silkworms had reached late second-tier strength.
• Xu Xia told Li Qing that Cao Xiu had gone to the Black Sand River after feeling a calling, and that Wu Chong’s Soul Lantern had suddenly dimmed.
• Li Qing told Xu Xia to alert the other Supreme Elders and flew toward the Black Sand River at full speed.
• Several Carefree Sect Core Formation cultivators watched a formation at the river and planned to kill a Lingyun Sect Supreme Elder before their ancestor arrived.

Wu Chong and Cao Xiu struggled to hold off four Carefree Sect cultivators as their formation collapsed, until Li Qing arrived to confront them. Li Qing revealed his peak Core Formation strength and killed True Person Xifeng with a sudden, devastating attack, then turned toward the remaining enemies.

• Wu Chong and Cao Xiu defended the estate inside the Black Sand River while four Carefree Sect Core Formation cultivators battered their formation.
• The formation broke, and Wu Chong stood between the attackers and the exhausted Lingyun Sect elders.
• Li Qing arrived and challenged the Carefree Sect cultivators, recognizing them as fugitives from Great Desolation Region.
• True Person Xifeng attacked Li Qing, who killed him instantly with a linked black-flame and white-fire strike.
• Li Qing warned the remaining Carefree Sect cultivators that they would die next.

Li Qing defeated the Carefree Sect’s Core Formation True Persons, but one escaped with a Death Substitution Talisman and another detonated his golden core. Back at the Lingyun Sect, the elders weighed the threat of Old Lord Xiaoyao, and Li Qing proposed waiting for the Carefree Sect’s next move while hinting that he had his own plans.

• Li Qing used the Heavenly Fire Curse and his treasures to overwhelm the Carefree Sect’s Supreme Elders while Wu Chong held one of them back.
• Li Qing killed one opponent and struck Chang Jue, but Chang Jue escaped using a third-rank Death Substitution Talisman; Li Qing claimed the abandoned golden bell and profound crystal pagoda.
• The last Carefree Sect cultivator detonated his golden core, and True Person Fu Xuan arrived in time to calm the blast with a Spirit Stabilization talisman, saving Wu Chong.
• Li Qing, Wu Chong, Ancestor Ziqing, True Person Fu Xuan, and the Lingyun Sect elders returned to the sect and discussed the danger posed by Old Lord Xiaoyao.
• Li Qing rejected seeking help from the Great Desolation Region’s Devil Dao Sects, advised the Lingyun Sect to seal its gates, and suggested the crisis might change within a year or two.
• When Shen Ningbing and the others worried that Li Qing might risk breaking through to Nascent Soul, he said he had his own considerations and they should wait for the raging waves to arrive.

Rogue cultivators investigated the devastation at Black Water Marsh as the Carefree Sect arrived in the Qingling Region to confront Lingyun Sect over the deaths of its members. The Carefree Sect reached Lingyun Sect’s mountain gate, where Li Qing calmly awaited the confrontation.

• Rogue cultivators speculated about the battle that had destroyed Black Sand River and flocked to inspect the resulting Black Water Marsh.
• Old Lord Xiaoyao arrived with the Carefree Sect and learned from Chang Jue that True Person Wuji had killed Xifeng and the others.
• Old Lord Xiaoyao ordered the Carefree Sect to head for Lingyun Sect’s mountain gate and call the sect to account.
• Rogue cultivators saw the Carefree Sect’s fleet fly toward Lingyun Sect and spread news that an outside power had arrived.
• The Carefree Sect reached Lingyun Sect and Chang Jue demanded to know whether the sect understood its crime.
• Li Qing opened his eyes on Qingyun Peak and calmly remarked that the Carefree Sect had arrived quickly.

Carefree Sect attacked Lingyun Sect, but Li Qing and the sect’s Fourth-tier Great Formation repelled Old Lord Xiaoyao and his forces. Carefree Sect withdrew to settle in the Qingling Region, leaving Lingyun Sect protected for now but under threat if its members venture out.

• Lingyun Sect’s Supreme Elders activated the Heavenly Origin Spirit Extermination Formation as Carefree Sect’s fleet arrived, and Old Lord Xiaoyao attacked it with his Jade Pole Heavenly Eyes and Xiaoyao Peak.
• Li Qing and Wu Chong rejected Old Lord Xiaoyao’s demand to surrender Li Qing, and Lingyun Sect’s formation withstood attacks from Carefree Sect’s cultivators and Fourth-tier talismans.
• Li Qing used the Nine Lives Bow to wound True Person Zhao and threaten True Person Chang Jue, but Old Lord Xiaoyao intercepted his next arrow.
• Li Qing warned that he would alert the Devil Dao Sects in the Great Desolation Region if Carefree Sect breached the formation, and Old Lord Xiaoyao withdrew his forces southward after threatening Lingyun Sect.
• Lingyun Sect’s elders acknowledged that Carefree Sect had settled in the Qingling Region and that Li Qing might need to reach the Nascent Soul Realm to face future threats.

Carefree Sect took control of the Qingling Region under Old Lord Xiaoyao’s Nascent Soul Realm protection, forcing Lingyun Sect to remain behind its mountain-gate formation as the new rulers squeezed the region’s cultivators. After True Lord Tianbao delivered the Yin-Yang Ganoderma, Li Qing gathered the ingredients for the Dragon Transformation Pill and began its refinement with Hundred Spirits Dao Lord.

• Carefree Sect established its mountain gate at Lingyun Sect’s former site, and Old Lord Xiaoyao’s appearance confirmed that Lingyun Sect remained trapped inside its formation by a Nascent Soul Realm threat.
• Li Qing received reports of Carefree Sect’s expansion and considered contacting Zhang Da and the Devil Dao Sects only as a last resort while he waited for True Lord Tianbao and cultivated.
• Over the next half year, Carefree Sect increased its levies and seized most of the profits from the region’s Cultivation Families and workers.
• True Lord Tianbao entered Lingyun Sect and gave Li Qing the Yin-Yang Ganoderma, completing the set of ingredients needed for the Dragon Transformation Pill.
• Li Qing harvested the thousand-year Dragon Blood Vine, returned to his cave abode, and asked Hundred Spirits Dao Lord to refine the pill using the Life-Extinguishing Furnace.

Li Qing completed the Dragon Transformation Pills with Hundred Spirits Dao Lord’s help, then watched the senior’s lingering obsession disperse. After giving True Lord Tianbao one pill and recovering his strength, Li Qing swallowed another and began his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm.

• Hundred Spirits Dao Lord refined the herbs into seven intact Dragon Transformation Pills and passed Li Qing instructions for reforging the Life-Extinguishing Furnace and insights on formations.
• Hundred Spirits Dao Lord revealed that his wish had been fulfilled and bid farewell to Li Qing before dispersing completely.
• Li Qing honored his agreement by giving True Lord Tianbao a Dragon Transformation Pill, and Tianbao departed after confirming it was genuine.
• Li Qing meditated for three days to restore himself, reviewed his life, and swallowed a Dragon Transformation Pill to attempt the Nascent Soul Realm breakthrough.

Li Qing overcame a cracked golden core, the Nascent Soul breakthrough, and an Inner Demon Tribulation with the help of the stone fetus and its Exquisite Treasure Body origin. He emerged as a Nascent Soul cultivator and charged into the heavenly tribulation above Lingyun Sect.

• Li Qing began breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm as Lingyun Sect watched, but his golden core cracked and threatened his advancement.
• Li Qing drew the stone fetus into his dantian, and its power healed the crack as the Dragon Transformation Pill helped his golden core form a Nascent Soul.
• Li Qing fused his divine soul with the Nascent Soul and endured illusory inner demons, including visions of his life as Li Er Niu and past enemies.
• Li Qing passed the Inner Demon Tribulation and emerged from his cave as a Nascent Soul cultivator.
• Li Qing faced the heavenly tribulation over Qingyun Peak and struck at its thunderclouds with a flaming palm, revealing his new realm to Lingyun Sect.

After forming his Nascent Soul, Li Qing concealed his breakthrough and gave Dragon Transformation Pills to his fellow Supreme Elders, hoping they would advance alongside him. He recorded his breakthrough insights for the sect and turned to stabilizing his cultivation and strengthening his combat abilities.

• Li Qing survived the lightning tribulation, announced that the Lingyun Sect would wait for the right moment to fight the Carefree Sect, and ordered the sect to keep his breakthrough secret.
• Li Qing told the five Supreme Elders he would record his Nascent Soul breakthrough insights and distributed five Dragon Transformation Pills among them, though Ancestor Ziqing refused his pill.
• Li Qing reflected on his vastly extended lifespan and his fear of outliving his friends, then began recording guidance on overcoming inner demons and strengthening one's foundation before forming a Nascent Soul.
• Li Qing placed his insights in the sect's Hall of Inherited Skills, stabilized his cultivation, studied the Crimson Blazing Heavenly Monarch's inheritance, and nurtured the Primordial Peerless Hammer.