Chapter Summaries

Song Qingming struck Xiao Huang with a Lightning Talisman, killing his body and driving his Primordial Spirit into Wang Sihai, where Feng He destroyed it. Song Qingming left the ruined underground cave with the unconscious Wang Sihai and the body Feng He had chosen.

• Song Qingming used a Lightning Talisman to smash the stone platform and grievously wound Xiao Huang.
• Xiao Huang's Primordial Spirit escaped the dust and entered the unconscious Wang Sihai, but Feng He followed it into his body.
• Feng He tore apart Xiao Huang's Primordial Spirit and returned to the puppet.
• Song Qingming confirmed that Xiao Huang's body was dead, then tried and failed to burn it with a Fireball spell.
• Song Qingming put Wang Sihai in a sack and left the underground cave with him and the body Feng He had taken a liking to.

Bai Yunhua and the Carefree Sect cultivators returned to the underground cavern and found the Demon Suppressing Pagoda’s seal damaged and the area in ruins. Bai Yuxian ordered them to watch for signs that Xiao Huang’s Primordial Spirit had possessed someone, leaving the demon’s fate uncertain.

• Li Yungong returned to Black Stone Valley without catching the demonic cultivators who had fled.
• Bai Yunhua and the others found their Restriction at the cavern entrance broken and hurried inside to check the Demon Suppressing Pagoda.
• Bai Yunhua recognized Bai Yuxian at the pagoda and greeted her, while she questioned Li Yungong and urged him to prepare for Core Formation.
• Bai Yunhua discovered the ruined surroundings and a burned half-corpse emerging from the pagoda, then explained the earlier pursuit and offered his theory about what had happened.
• Bai Yuxian concluded that rival groups of demonic cultivators had fought there and warned that Xiao Huang’s Primordial Spirit might have escaped.
• Bai Yuxian ordered the Law Enforcement Hall to watch for nearby cultivators who might have suffered Body Seizure and report any cases to the sect.

After escaping Black Stone Valley, Song Qingming recovered in a hidden cave and agreed to take Feng He to Funiu Mountain. While examining Wang Sihai, he discovered a mysterious jade pendant that Feng He identified as a Spatial Magic Tool usable only by Golden Core cultivators.

• Song Qingming found a secluded cave, concealed its entrance, and meditated until he had recovered most of his mana.
• Song Qingming agreed to take Feng He to Funiu Mountain, where Feng He could hide while preparing to possess Wang Sihai's body.
• Song Qingming examined Wang Sihai and found Demonic Energy entangling his soul, but Feng He said he could remove it after obtaining the body.
• Song Qingming discovered an azure jade pendant on Wang Sihai and activated it with his mana, causing it to turn translucent white.
• Feng He identified the pendant as a Spatial Magic Tool and told Song Qingming that only Golden Core cultivators could use it.

Song Qingming returned to Funiu Mountain after failing to open a jade pendant sealed by a restriction, then spent a year overseeing family business in Qinghe Market. He entered Willow Wind Hall to have a damaged set of Array Flags examined, and the shopkeeper reacted strangely after he went to meet the owner.

• Song Qingming learned from Feng He that neither he nor Feng He could remove the restriction on the jade pendant, so he put it away and headed home.
• Song Qingming returned to Funiu Mountain in disguise and warned Song Qingyu not to tell anyone he had left the mountain.
• A year later, Song Qingming reviewed Immortal Phoenix Tower's accounts and praised Song Xin hu and Li Hongyu for increasing its profits.
• Song Qingming concealed his cultivation, entered Willow Wind Hall, and asked the shopkeeper to have the owner inspect his damaged Array Flags.
• After Song Qingming went into the rear hall, the shopkeeper put away his book and watched the shop entrance intently.

Song Qingming visited Feng He at Willow Wind Hall, where Feng He discussed his plans to refine a Wind Spirit Pill and revealed his expertise in alchemy. After Song Qingming returned to Funiu Mountain, Song Yuanli told him that the First Elder urgently wanted to speak with him.

• Song Qingming visited Feng He, who had seized Wang Sihai's body and was living in Qinghe Market as the owner of Willow Wind Hall.
• Song Qingming gave Feng He a Storage Bag of materials, and Feng He said he could use them to refine a Wind Spirit Pill that would help him establish his Foundation.
• Feng He explained that the pill's benefits depended on his cultivation technique and other pills, and revealed that he had once been an upper-grade third-tier Alchemist.
• Song Qingming left Qinghe Market and returned to Funiu Mountain.
• Song Yuanli told Song Qingming that the First Elder had an urgent matter to discuss with him.

Song Qingming learned that Gao Jinhe had died and traveled to Lotus Mountain to pay his respects, bringing Song Xinhe along to broaden his horizons. There, he reunited with Gao Yuyao and Huang Sibao and saw Song Xinhe meet a young cultivator from the Huang Family.

• Song Qingming received the Gao Family's letter announcing Gao Jinhe's death and decided to attend the funeral at Lotus Mountain.
• Song Qingshi arranged gifts for the visit, and Song Qingming set out for Lotus Mountain with Song Xinhe three days later.
• Gao Yuyao welcomed Song Qingming and Song Xinhe through the mountain's protective array.
• Song Qingming met Huang Sibao at the Gao Family hall and explained that he had come to bid farewell to his old friend.
• Song Qingming had Song Xinhe switch seats with the Huang Family junior so the two young cultivators could get acquainted.

Song Qingming attended Gao Jinhe’s funeral, where Huang Sibao questioned him about Song Qingyu’s travels. After the rites, Gao Yuyao privately asked Song Qingming for help, but had not yet explained what she needed.

• At Gao Jinhe’s funeral, Huang Sibao privately asked Song Qingming whether Song Qingyu had left to gain experience, and Song Qingming confirmed that she had.
• Song Qingming told Huang Sibao that Song Qingyu planned to travel around Wei State and return within three to five years, though he concealed that she had given no return date.
• Lu Xingde and Gao Yubai arrived, and the Gao Family held Gao Jinhe’s burial rites before the guests began leaving.
• Huang Sibao invited Song Qingming to visit Taiyuan Mountain when the family’s Yellow Mist Tea ripened, then departed with another Huang Family member.
• At the foot of Lotus Mountain, Gao Yuyao stopped Song Qingming and asked to speak privately; after casting a Sound Insulation Spell, she asked him to help her, and he asked what the favor involved.

Gao Yuyao asked Song Qingming to accompany her and a senior sister to a Golden Core Cultivator’s cave abode in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range. Song Qingming learned that the trip was planned for a month later, but he had not yet agreed to join them.

• Gao Yuyao explained that a hairpin she had bought contained God-Suppressing Sand and concealed a small storage space.
• Song Qingming examined the hairpin and confirmed that it held a modest storage space, not a true spatial Storage Artifact.
• Gao Yuyao said letters inside the hairpin revealed that its former owner had been the Dao companion of a Golden Core Cultivator and recorded the location of their cave abode.
• Gao Yuyao invited Song Qingming to join her and the senior sister on a search for the cave abode, offering to share any spiritual treasures they found.
• Gao Yuyao explained that the cave abode lay in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range, where the Carefree Sect had forbidden its disciples from venturing deep, and that her senior sister required a Foundation Establishment Late Stage companion.

Song Qingming weighed Gao Yuyao’s offer of five hundred sect Merit Points in exchange for joining an expedition to a Golden Core Cultivator’s Cave Mansion, recognizing that the points could bring the Song Family close to obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill. After three days of consideration, he sent a discreet letter to Gao Family’s Jinbao Hall, leaving his decision unresolved.

• Song Qingming initially refused Gao Yuyao’s invitation, but reconsidered after she offered him five hundred Merit Points regardless of the expedition’s outcome.
• Song Qingming recalled that the Song Family had gathered only a little over a thousand Merit Points in more than fifty years, and that five hundred more would bring them close to exchanging for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• Song Qingming tested his Swift Wind Beast puppet against the Skyfire Roc, summoned the Azure Water Bell to protect the puppet, and rewarded the Roc with pills.
• Song Qingming told Song Xintang to deliver a letter bearing only a name to the manager of Jinbao Hall in Qinghe Market and instructed him not to reveal his identity or discuss the matter.

Song Qingming joined Gao Yuyao, Duan Xueyi, and Fang Wuqian for a journey to search for a Golden Core Cultivator’s cave mansion in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range. After meeting the group near Guiyun Marketplace, they set off north aboard Duan Xueyi’s flying boat.

• Song Qingming accepted Gao Yuyao’s invitation, hoping to find resources for core formation and earn Merit Points toward a Foundation Establishment Pill for his family.
• Song Qingming met Gao Yuyao at an inn in Guiyun Marketplace, and they traveled west to meet Duan Xueyi and Fang Wuqian.
• Gao Yuyao introduced Song Qingming to Duan Xueyi, a Carefree Sect alchemist, and Fang Wuqian of Jade Sky Mountain.
• Duan Xueyi asked Song Qingming to help with any difficult formations they encountered in the cave mansion, and he agreed.
• Duan Xueyi brought out a flying boat, and the group set off north toward the cave mansion.

Song Qingming and his companions searched a marsh in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range for the cave abode recorded on Gao Yuyao’s hairpin. After fighting off a crocodile pack, Duan Xueyi discovered that the entrance lay beneath one of the marsh’s puddles.

• Gao Yuyao led the group to the marsh north of the Golden Water River, where they searched for the large pool described in the records but found only small puddles.
• Duan Xueyi asked Song Qingming whether a Concealment Array might be hiding the pool, and he suggested searching the area more carefully.
• That night, two Level 2 Demonic Crocodiles and a pack of smaller crocodiles attacked the group in the mist.
• Song Qingming and Fang Wuqian drove off and killed the two larger crocodiles, while Gao Yuyao and Duan Xueyi fended off the smaller ones.
• Duan Xueyi followed the fleeing crocodiles to a bottomless puddle and concluded that the cave abode entrance lay beneath it.

Song Qingming and Fang Wuqian found the hidden pool beneath the demonic beasts’ nest, defeated the crocodiles guarding it, and located a Formation concealing the cave abode’s entrance. Song Qingming prepared to break the Formation with Duan Xueyi’s help, while the group took positions for the attempt.

• Song Qingming and Fang Wuqian entered the underwater passages and confirmed the connected pools led to the place they sought.
• More than a dozen demonic crocodiles surrounded them, but Fang Wuqian and Song Qingming killed them.
• Song Qingming and Fang Wuqian reached the pool bottom and found human-arranged boulders concealing a Formation.
• Song Qingming recognized the Formation as the likely entrance and summoned Duan Xueyi and Gao Yuyao.
• Song Qingming studied the Formation and, with Duan Xueyi’s help, placed Array Flags around the boulders.
• Song Qingming assigned Fang Wuqian and Gao Yuyao to lock down parts of the Formation while he and Duan Xueyi moved the stones.

Song Qingming led Fang Wuqian, Gao Yuyao, and Duan Xueyi in breaking the formation protecting a Golden Core Cultivator’s cave abode. Inside, they found a Treasure Light Cauldron, which Gao Yuyao identified as a valuable alchemy furnace rather than a magic treasure.

• Song Qingming directed Fang Wuqian and Gao Yuyao to seal the formation’s Spiritual Energy while he and Duan Xueyi repositioned the boulders.
• Song Qingming had the others withdraw their Array Flags, and the formation’s Spiritual Energy scattered as the formation failed.
• Song Qingming shattered a boulder and revealed a stone gate leading into the cave abode, where Fang Wuqian, Gao Yuyao, Song Qingming, and Duan Xueyi entered cautiously.
• Fang Wuqian illuminated a large hall and found a small cauldron engraved with the words “Treasure Light.”
• Fang Wuqian examined the cauldron, and Gao Yuyao recognized it as a valuable alchemy furnace that she and Duan Xueyi could use.

Song Qingming and the others searched a suspected Golden Core Cultivator’s cave abode, finding a rare Treasure Light Cauldron and a neglected Spiritual Medicine Garden. They harvested its surviving herbs, including two damaged Level 3 Snow Dragon Flowers, and were left to explore the cave abode’s other sealed rooms.

• Gao Yuyao kept the Treasure Light Cauldron for the time being after Duan Xueyi proposed dividing it later, and Song Qingming and Fang Wuqian agreed.
• The group searched the hall but found no other valuable items, then turned to its three sealed stone doors.
• Fang Wuqian released his Green Ox demon beast, which smashed open the first stone door and revealed a large Spiritual Medicine Garden.
• Song Qingming and the others found eight surviving spiritual medicines, including two Level 3 Snow Dragon Flowers, though their spirituality had been damaged by neglect.
• Duan Xueyi and Gao Yuyao harvested the surviving herbs into jade boxes, satisfying the group with their discovery.

Song Qingming and the others searched an old alchemy chamber but found only useless pills. They opened the final stone door by breaking its Restriction, revealing the chamber beyond.

• Fang Wuqian used his green ox to smash open the second stone door, and the group found shelves of spoiled pills in an old alchemy chamber.
• Gao Yuyao and Duan Xueyi searched the chamber for an alchemy manual but found nothing.
• Fang Wuqian sent the green ox to charge the final stone door, but a Restriction repelled it.
• Song Qingming set up Array Flags and broke the door’s weakened Restriction with the group’s Mana.
• Fang Wuqian struck the final stone door with his silver greatsword, reducing it to rubble and exposing what lay beyond.

Song Qingming and the others found the final chamber empty until Duan Xueyi sensed unusual Spiritual Energy around its stone bed. Beneath the bed, they uncovered a bubbling spring eye, which Duan Xueyi identified as a Spirit Spring Eye.

• Fang Wuqian entered the final stone chamber and complained when he found it empty.
• Duan Xueyi stopped Fang Wuqian from striking the stone bed and sensed abnormal Spiritual Energy around it.
• Duan Xueyi asked Song Qingming and Fang Wuqian to move the heavy stone bed.
• Song Qingming and Fang Wuqian pushed the bed aside and revealed a sealed spring eye beneath it.
• Duan Xueyi identified the spring eye as a Spirit Spring Eye, and Fang Wuqian asked what it was.

The group discovered that the Spirit Spring Eye in the Golden Core Cave Mansion could not be moved or safely used, so they left it behind and divided the other gains from their Floating Cloud Mountain Range expedition. They concealed the cave entrance and prepared to return to Guiyun Marketplace.

• Duan Xueyi explained that the Spirit Spring Eye could aid cultivation and core formation but could not be relocated, and the group realized they could not safely use it in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range.
• Fang Wuqian searched the chamber while Duan Xueyi lingered by the spring, but the group found no other treasures and left the cave abode.
• The group concealed the cave entrance with a formation and returned to their resting place to tally their gains.
• Gao Yuyao led the group in valuing their loot at nearly ten thousand Spirit Stones and distributing it according to their agreement.
• Gao Yuyao took the Treasure Light Cauldron, Duan Xueyi took the spiritual medicines and paid compensation, Fang Wuqian took a Demonic Crocodile corpse, and Song Qingming chose fifteen hundred Spirit Stones.

Song Qingming returned to the Floating Cloud Mountain Range after parting from Fang Wuqian and was ambushed by three demonic cultivators led by the Man in Red. He escaped their initial attack, but the Man in Red and the others pursued him north into territory inhabited by powerful demonic beasts.

• Song Qingming parted from Duan Xueyi, Gao Yuyao, and Fang Wuqian, then secretly headed north instead of returning to Qinghe County.
• The Man in Red, the Old Man in Yellow, and Ye Shujie used a Spirit Communication Bead to search the mountain for Song Qingming.
• Song Qingming ambushed Ye Shujie, destroyed his Azure Jade Ruler, and drove him back with the Black Silver Blade and Azure Water Bell.
• Song Qingming fled on his flying sword as the Man in Red and the Old Man in Yellow arrived and pursued him.
• Song Qingming used his Wind Riding Boots to maintain speed while the Man in Red chased him toward the northern region where high-grade demonic beasts roamed.

Song Qingming escaped the Man in Red’s pursuit until Long Feng appeared and killed him, then helped Song Qingming deal with the other two demonic cultivators. After collecting their heads and giving Long Feng ores, Song Qingming learned that Fire Phoenix had returned from seclusion and wanted to see him.

• Song Qingming used Thousand Year Spirit Milk to keep fleeing until he could go no farther, and the Man in Red recognized him as an old enemy.
• Long Feng appeared as a Golden Core Demon King, stopped the Man in Red’s escape, and killed him after the cultivator tried to flee through the earth.
• Song Qingming asked Long Feng to spare the heads of the Old Man in Yellow and Ye Shujie, and Long Feng killed both as they attempted to escape.
• Song Qingming collected the two demonic cultivators’ heads to claim rewards from the Carefree Sect’s Law Enforcement Hall.
• Song Qingming offered Long Feng high-grade ores, and Long Feng said Fire Phoenix had returned and wanted to see him.

Song Qingming reunited with Fire Phoenix after Long Feng rescued him from three demonic cultivators, then asked her to open a sealed Spatial Magic Tool. Fire Phoenix kept the pendant and told him to return the next day, while an elder far away ordered an investigation into Qi Jun’s death and Martial Uncle Xiao’s whereabouts.

• Long Feng rescued Song Qingming from the Man in Red and his companions, then carried him to Fire Phoenix’s cave in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range.
• In a distant cave, a black-robed elder learned that Qi Jun and Liu Kui had died and ordered Fourth Elder to investigate in Wei State and search for Xiao Huang.
• Song Qingming greeted Fire Phoenix, offered her Spirit Wine, and showed her a blue jade pendant whose Restriction he could not open.
• Fire Phoenix recognized the pendant as a Spatial Magic Tool and questioned Song Qingming about how he had obtained it.
• Song Qingming offered half the contents in exchange for Fire Phoenix’s help, and she kept the pendant and told him to return the next day.