Chapter Summaries

Song Qingming investigated the Wang Family’s Geng Gold ore vein and confirmed it was real, then hurried to Qinghe Market to discuss the matter with Lu Yuanfeng. The Wang Family feared punishment from the Carefree Sect, while Song Qingming remained suspicious that they might have mined or concealed ore deliberately.

• Song Qingming and Song Changfeng agreed to guard the Wang Family’s ore vein and seek Lu Yuanfeng’s advice about the Carefree Sect’s ban.
• Song Qingming inspected the mine at Phoenix Head Mountain and confirmed that its ore was Geng Gold.
• Wang Ziyuan said the Wang Family had mined for less than three months, had sold no ore, and had sealed all of it in a warehouse.
• The Wang Family members knelt and pleaded for Song Qingming’s help, but he left without promising to protect them.
• Song Qingming privately told Song Changfeng to investigate whether the Wang Family had mined deliberately or hidden ore.
• Song Qingming reached Qinghe Market and asked to speak with Lu Yuanfeng, who dismissed his disciples so they could talk privately.

The Carefree Sect surveyed the Geng Gold Ore Vein at Phoenix Head Mountain and negotiated a joint development arrangement with the Song and Wang Families. After production began, Song Qingming assigned Shi Chun to oversee the Song Family’s role at the mine.

• Song Qingming told Lu Yuanfeng about the Wang Family’s Geng Gold Ore Vein, and the Carefree Sect sent Spirit Seekers to assess it.
• The Spirit Seekers estimated that the mine could yield about thirty Spirit Stones’ worth of ore per day for two to three hundred years, prompting the Carefree Sect to send Chen Xuanxin.
• Chen Xuanxin inspected the mine and gave the Carefree Sect ninety percent of its shares, with the Song and Wang Families dividing the remaining ten percent and sharing some development duties.
• Song Qingming and Song Changfeng returned to Funiu Mountain after the agreement, and the Song Family prepared to send cultivators to guard the mine.
• Half a year later, the mine began stable production, and Song Qingming assigned Shi Chun to manage the Song Family’s affairs at Phoenix Head Mountain.

Song Qingming brought Song Xinli to Qinghe Market to learn Alchemy from Song Qingwan, then met Huang Siyuan at the Immortal Phoenix Tower. He invited her to watch the sunset, and they flew together to a nearby mountain.

• The Carefree Sect raised the Geng Metal Spirit Mine’s spirit vein to Rank 2 and established strong defenses there.
• Song Qingming brought Song Xinli to the Song Family shop, where Song Qingwan agreed to teach him Alchemy.
• Song Qingming went to the Immortal Phoenix Tower and enjoyed a meal before Huang Siyuan invited him to share Spirit Tea.
• Song Qingming suggested that he and Huang Siyuan watch the sunset, and they flew to a nearby mountain.

Song Qingming left Qinghe County for White Dragon Mountain, carrying valuable spiritual items to trade for a Foundation Establishment Pill for Song Qingyu. On the way, he spotted an old acquaintance among a group fighting below and descended to investigate.

• Huang Siyuan shared rare Dragon Rice Fragrance with Song Qingming as they watched the sunset, then guessed he was about to leave on a long journey.
• Song Qingming told Huang Siyuan he would be gone for at most a month, and she wished him a safe journey before leaving on her Immortal Wind Jade.
• Song Qingming set out for White Dragon Mountain after learning that Old Ancestor Chen was offering a Foundation Establishment Pill in exchange for a spiritual item of equivalent value.
• Song Qingming carried a High-grade Spirit Stone and Thousand Year Spirit Milk, hoping to obtain the pill for Song Qingyu, who had reached the Ninth Level of Qi Refining.
• After flying north for five or six days, Song Qingming saw five or six people fighting and recognized an old acquaintance among them, so he descended.

Song Qingming rescued Hu Daozhen and his companions from robbers, then escorted them toward White Dragon Mountain before continuing ahead alone. He arrived at the marketplace as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, seeking a Foundation Establishment Pill for the coming gathering.

• Song Qingming arrived during a fight, frightening the robbers into fleeing, and recognized Hu Daozhen as an old friend from Guiyun Marketplace.
• Hu Daozhen explained that he and his companions were headed to White Dragon Mountain and had been attacked by robbers, so Song Qingming offered to escort them.
• Song Qingming and Hu Daozhen recalled their years in Guiyun Marketplace, then parted ways near White Dragon Mountain; Hu Daozhen admitted his group hoped to trade a dangerous item for Spirit Stones.
• Song Qingming flew to White Dragon Mountain and recalled his earlier, unsuccessful visit when he had been too weak to attend the White Dragon Pavilion's Exchange Meeting.
• The marketplace cultivators welcomed Song Qingming as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and offered him free entry and a cave abode.

Song Qingming visited White Dragon Pavilion to exchange a Wood Attribute High-grade Spirit Stone for a Foundation Establishment Pill. Lin Yutang told him the pill could be his if no better offer appeared within half a month.

• Song Qingming entered White Dragon Pavilion and asked Wang Beilun about exchanging for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• Wang Beilun explained that Old Ancestor Chen was seeking valuable spiritual items and would personally decide on any exchange.
• Song Qingming offered a Wood Attribute High-grade Spirit Stone, and Wang Beilun went to consult Old Ancestor Chen.
• Wang Beilun returned with Lin Yutang, who said Song Qingming's offer qualified but would be held for half a month in case someone offered something better.

Song Qingming traded Thousand Year Spirit Milk and other spiritual treasures for a Foundation Establishment Pill, then bought supplies at White Dragon Pavilion and prepared to leave White Dragon Mountain. Before he could depart, Hu Daozhen and his companions asked him to assess a special spiritual treasure they hoped to sell.

• Song Qingming offered Lin Yutang a bottle of Thousand Year Spirit Milk to make up the value needed for the Foundation Establishment Pill, and Lin agreed to the deal.
• Song Qingming exchanged the spiritual treasures for the pill, bought a Grade 2 Mid-grade silver shield and medicinal pills at half price, and sold several Grade 2 Spirit Medicines.
• After Song Qingming left, Lin Yutang asked Wang Beilun whether the Spirit Milk story was true, and Wang said he believed Song had only obtained one bottle.
• Song Qingming ran into Hu Daozhen and his companions as he was about to leave White Dragon Mountain, and they asked him to estimate the value of a special spiritual treasure.

Song Qingming bought Hu Daozhen’s mysterious iron plaque and received a matching ring before returning safely to Funiu Mountain with a Foundation Establishment Pill and an Azure Jade Pill. After a year of helping Song Qingyu prepare, he gave her both pills and stood ready to guard her Foundation Establishment attempt.

• Song Qingming examined Hu Daozhen’s iron plaque, could not identify it, and bought it for two hundred Spirit Stones; Hu Daozhen also gave him a dragon-engraved ring found beside it.
• Song Qingming returned safely to Funiu Mountain, carrying a Foundation Establishment Pill and an Azure Jade Pill, but decided to wait until Song Qingyu was better prepared before giving them to her.
• Song Qingming continued helping Song Qingyu prepare by teaching her Foundation Establishment insights, strengthening her divine sense, and having her switch to the Wave Breaking Art.
• After Song Qingyu completed her cultivation-method transition a year later, Song Qingming gave her the Foundation Establishment Pill and Azure Jade Pill and offered to guard her attempt.
• Song Qingyu accepted the pills confidently, telling Song Qingming she was ready to attempt Foundation Establishment.

Song Qingyu emerged from seclusion after successfully achieving Foundation Establishment, easing Song Qingming’s fears and giving the Song Family a second Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Song Qingming and Song Changfeng decided to keep the news private until her cultivation stabilized.

• Song Qingming guarded Song Qingyu’s cave abode for months while she attempted Foundation Establishment in seclusion.
• Song Qingyu emerged after a little over four months, and Song Qingming recognized that she had become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
• Song Qingyu thanked Song Qingming for his guidance, and she recalled how she had endured the dangerous stages of Foundation Establishment with his help.
• Song Changfeng praised Song Qingming and Song Qingyu for strengthening the Song Family and reflected on his own emotions as clan chief.
• Song Qingming and Song Changfeng agreed to wait until Song Qingyu’s cultivation stabilized before announcing her success to the family.

Song Qingming joined the leaders of Qinghe County’s four great families after Lu Yuanfeng summoned them to discuss the killing of two marketplace guards. They agreed to confront Eagle Nest Ridge, and Lu Yuanfeng proposed using an elite force of late Qi Refining cultivators to overcome its defenses.

• Song Changfeng gave Song Qingming Lu Yuanfeng’s urgent invitation, and Song Qingming traveled to Qinghe Market.
• Song Qingming met Lu Xingde and Huang Shengyue, who told him that two rogue cultivators serving as marketplace guards had been killed.
• Gao Yubai arrived, and Lu Yuanfeng revealed that the Feng Brothers of Eagle Nest Ridge had killed the guards and disappeared.
• Song Qingming, Lu Xingde, Huang Shengyue, and Gao Yubai agreed to respond against Eagle Nest Ridge.
• Lu Yuanfeng explained that Eagle Nest Ridge had over a hundred bandits, two Foundation Establishment cultivators, and a Second-grade Mountain Protection Array, then proposed sending elite late Qi Refining cultivators with two Second-grade Array Formations.

Lu Yuanfeng led the Qinghe County families in a covert expedition to destroy Eagle Nest Ridge, but Cheng Yilong had already evacuated. After the families withdrew, a black-clad figure left Eagle Nest Ridge and met more than a hundred bandits nearby.

• Lu Yuanfeng organized the Qinghe County families to strike Eagle Nest Ridge before Cheng Yilong could prepare.
• Song Qingming gathered ten late-stage Qi Refining cultivators for the expedition, and the families set out under cover of night.
• After more than ten days of travel, Lu Xingde reported that Eagle Nest Ridge seemed deserted.
• Lu Yuanfeng led the group to the ridge and found that Cheng Yilong and his bandits had fled several days earlier.
• The families left after wreaking havoc on the abandoned Spirit Mountain, while the Foundation Establishment leaders suspected someone had leaked their plans.
• A black-clad figure emerged after the families departed and went to a nearby cave where over a hundred Eagle Nest Ridge bandits had gathered.

Song Qingming returned from a failed expedition against Eagle Nest Ridge and warned the Song Family to travel cautiously, while concealing Song Qingyu’s Foundation Establishment. Four years later, Song Qingming emerged from seclusion after breaking through to Foundation Establishment Layer 4.

• Cheng Yilong kept Eagle Nest Ridge in hiding after the Qinghe Market forces withdrew and blamed the Feng Brothers for provoking the attack, while concealing that someone had tipped him off.
• Song Qingming suspected the Gao and Lu Families might have leaked the expedition’s plans, then returned to Qinghe Market and warned the Song Family not to travel alone.
• Song Qingming gave the Skyfire Roc to Song Qingwan so she could travel between Qinghe Market and Funiu Mountain more easily.
• Song Qingyu emerged from seclusion after stabilizing her cultivation, declined a Foundation Establishment ceremony, and agreed to keep her breakthrough secret.
• Four years later, Song Qingming broke through to Foundation Establishment Layer 4 and emerged from his cave abode.

Song Qingming broke through to Foundation Establishment Layer 4 after using the Earth Spirit Dew to overcome a bottleneck, and he considered how to balance future cultivation with the need to protect himself. He also approved Song Qingyu’s proposal to build another mortal town beneath Funiu Mountain as the family prepared for the declining ore vein at Lingyuan Mountain.

• Song Qingming praised Song Qingyu’s cultivation and advised her to trust her Dao heart as she continued progressing toward Foundation Establishment Second Layer.
• Song Qingyu told Song Qingming that Lingyuan Mountain’s ore output had fallen and recommended building a new mortal town before relocating people from the mountain.
• Song Qingming agreed with Song Qingyu and asked her to choose a suitable site so Sixth Uncle and the others could begin construction.
• Song Qingming reflected that he had used Earth Spirit Dew to overcome the bottleneck that had blocked his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Layer 4.
• Song Qingming weighed saving the Earth Spirit Dew for a later breakthrough against gaining strength sooner, and he chose to use it immediately, leaving him close to Foundation Establishment Layer 5.

After breaking through to Foundation Establishment Layer 4, Song Qingming began cultivating the Conceal Origin Art and attended the Song Family’s annual council meeting. The family’s accounts revealed a modest surplus and growing financial pressure as its cultivator population increased.

• Song Qingming successfully entered the gate of the Conceal Origin Art after reaching the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.
• Song Changfeng summoned Song Qingming to the family’s annual council meeting, where Song Qingyu also attended as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
• Song Qingwan reported that the family’s four shops earned a surplus of 861 Spirit Stones, though the magical artifact and Spirit Talisman shop barely broke even.
• Song Changxin reported that the family’s mines earned 600 Spirit Stones and that the Mysterious Iron Mine at Lingyuan Mountain was nearly exhausted.
• Song Qinghe reported an 840-Spirit-Stone surplus from Spirit Fields and tributes, with increased spiritual herb cultivation expected to raise future income.
• Song Changfeng reported that the family earned 2,733 Spirit Stones, spent about 2,100, and retained only a little over 600 as its annual surplus.

Song Qingming recognized that the Song Family’s rapid growth had left financial and administrative weaknesses, so he proposed reforms at a family council. Later, Song Qingyu urged him to stop keeping Huang apart, leaving him silent as he considered her words.

• Song Qingming learned that the Song Family treasury held about 2,900 Spirit Stones and warned that the family’s foundations needed strengthening.
• Song Qingming proposed rewarding clansmen who advanced cultivation arts and raised further ideas about spirit veins, towns, formations, and Spirit Fields.
• After the council, Song Qingming returned to his cave abode and found Song Qingyu gazing at the night sky.
• Song Qingyu spoke about loneliness after Foundation Establishment and encouraged Song Qingming to find someone who could keep pace with him.
• Song Qingyu reminded Song Qingming of Huang’s loyalty and asked whether he should have saved the Foundation Establishment Pill for her; Song Qingming stared at the sky without replying.

Song Qingming reflected on his growing feelings for Huang Siyuan but remained uncertain about whether to act on them. Meanwhile, his reforms to promote cultivation arts gained momentum within the Song Family, though improving the family’s Artifact Refining remained a challenge.

• Song Qingyu left Song Qingming beneath the moonlight after he failed to answer her question about Huang Siyuan.
• Song Qingming considered how Huang Siyuan’s years of loyalty and companionship had changed his feelings toward her.
• The Song Family’s cultivators embraced Song Qingming’s reforms, and the family began using its own materials to produce goods for its shops.
• Song Qingming stocked the family shop with five Level 2 Talismans and dozens of Level 1 High-grade Talismans, revealing that the Song Family likely had a Level 2 talisman maker.
• Song Qingyu improved her Talisman Making to Level 1 High-grade, while Song Qingchen and Song Qingsi advanced in formations and Artifact Refining.
• Song Qingming rewarded Song Qingchen and Song Qingsi with a Mid-grade Spirit Stone each, helping them reach the Late Qi Refining Stage.

Two Xu Family cultivators arrived at Funiu Mountain with Xu Ziyan’s letter, seeking a place to settle under the Song Family’s protection. Song Qingming accepted them as vassals, and the Xu Family chose a Spirit Mountain as its new home.

• Xu Changfeng and his cousin visited the Song Family with a letter from Xu Ziyan asking Song Qingming to help them settle in Qinghe County.
• Xu Changrong offered the Xu Family’s allegiance as vassals, and Song Qingming agreed to help them find a suitable Spirit Mountain.
• Xu Changrong presented Song Qingming with a Grade 2 Low-grade Defensive Talisman as a gift of thanks.
• Song Qingshi accompanied the Xu cousins as they toured the area, and they chose a Spirit Mountain several hundred li from Funiu Mountain for their family.

Song Qingming helped the Xu Family clear and settle Wutong Mountain, making it the Song Family’s sixth vassal family, while the Song Family continued expanding its mortal settlements. At Mount Guyang, Song Qingze learned that Song Qingyu had achieved Foundation Establishment and reflected on how he had once taken the opportunity intended for her.

• Song Qingming sent Song Qingyu and the Song Family Law Enforcement Team to help Xu Changrong clear a high-grade Spirit Mountain of demonic beasts.
• Song Qingyu defeated the mountain’s demonic beasts, and Xu Changrong paid one hundred Spirit Stones to keep a high-grade Spirit Fruit Tree.
• Xu Changrong named the mountain Wutong Mountain, and the Xu Family settled there as the Song Family’s sixth vassal family.
• Months later, the Xu Family moved its cultivators and mortals to Qinghe County, while Song Qingming learned that Gushi Town had been completed and visited it with Song Qingyu.
• Song Xinyu told Song Qingze that Song Qingyu had achieved Foundation Establishment, and Song Qingze recalled that he had once taken the Carefree Sect opportunity originally meant for her.

Song Qingze met Du Yucheng at the Logistics Hall, where Du offered to tell him about a dangerous opportunity. Meanwhile, Song Qingming visited Immortal Phoenix Tower, encountered Song Xin hu working there, and told Huang Siyuan that Song Qingyu had achieved Foundation Establishment but had stayed on the mountain by choice.

• Song Qingze met Du Yucheng at the Logistics Hall and explained that he planned to take tasks to repay the Merit Points he owed his master.
• Du Yucheng told Song Qingze he had a dangerous opportunity to discuss and invited him to his cave dwelling.
• Song Qingming visited Immortal Phoenix Tower and found Song Xin hu serving dishes; Song Xin hu claimed he was helping the family business and then hurried away.
• Song Qingming shared tea with Huang Siyuan and told her that Song Qingyu had achieved Foundation Establishment.
• Huang Siyuan reasoned that other families had likely guessed Song Qingyu's advancement, and Song Qingming explained that Qingyu had become more restrained rather than simply obeying his orders to stay away.

Song Qingming received Huang Shengyue, who congratulated the Song Family on Song Qingyu’s Foundation Establishment with a rare spirit fruit and asked how he had obtained the Foundation Establishment Pill. After their discussion, Huang Shengyue urged Huang Siyuan to stay by Song Qingming’s side, and the chapter ended with Huang Siyuan preparing a gift for Qingyu.

• Li Quan informed Song Qingming and Huang Siyuan that Huang Shengyue had come to visit, and they went downstairs to greet her.
• Huang Shengyue gave Song Qingming a second-tier Pine Spirit Fruit as a congratulatory gift for Song Qingyu’s Foundation Establishment.
• Song Qingming explained that he had traded for the Foundation Establishment Pill at White Dragon Mountain, leaving Huang Shengyue disappointed and doubtful enough to plan to verify his account.
• Huang Shengyue discussed cultivation with Song Qingming, then told Huang Siyuan to stop managing the tavern and stay by Song Qingming’s side.
• After Huang Shengyue left, Huang Siyuan offered to find a suitable congratulatory gift for Qingyu, and Song Qingming agreed to go with her.