Chapter Summaries

Song Qingming and the Carefree Sect elders arrived at Seven Stars Market for Star Gate’s assembly, where Yao Ganshu learned that a Misty Snow Ice Lotus needed to treat his injuries would be auctioned. Song Qingming set out to explore the market and was joined by Bai Yuxian.

• Yao Ganshu presented the Carefree Sect’s invitation, and a Star Gate elder escorted the group into Seven Stars Market.
• The group stayed at Gu Yang Pavilion, where Wang Mengxiao reported that cultivators from more than a dozen sects had arrived and that Star Gate planned to auction a mid-grade third-tier Misty Snow Ice Lotus.
• Yao Ganshu told Wang Mengxiao to keep watch over news of the herb, which could shorten his recovery from injuries that had nearly ended his hopes of reaching Nascent Soul.
• Yao Ganshu advised the sect members to remain in Seven Stars Market and avoid causing trouble while they waited for the assembly.
• Song Qingming left Gu Yang Pavilion to explore the market, and Bai Yuxian invited him to accompany her to several shops.

Song Qingming accompanied Bai Yuxian around Seven Stars Market, then joined his fellow Carefree Sect elders at a Golden Core exchange meeting in Dengyun Tower. There, they were welcomed by Cheng Bufan of the Lingyin Sect as nearly thirty Golden Core Cultivators gathered.

• Song Qingming followed Bai Yuxian through the marketplace, where she browsed low-level trinkets and bought silver hairpins.
• Bai Yuxian asked Song Qingming whether she or the hairpins looked good, and he praised how well they suited her before they returned to Gu Yang Pavilion.
• Chu Fengping told Song Qingming that Li Wutong had invited them to a Golden Core exchange meeting at Dengyun Tower.
• Song Qingming, Chu Fengping, Li Wutong, and Chen Xuanxin left Gu Yang Pavilion that night and went to the meeting without Yao Ganshu or Bai Yuxian.
• Cheng Bufan greeted the Carefree Sect elders, welcomed Song Qingming and Chu Fengping, and led them into a hall where nearly thirty Golden Core Cultivators had gathered.

At a Golden Core Dao discussion Exchange Meeting, Song Qingming learned that the returning Old Monster Mo was seeking a powerful pill. The chapter ended with Mo offering any two of several valuable spiritual items to anyone who could provide one, and Song Qingming realized he had the White Dew Pill Mo wanted.

• Li Wutong recognized the meditating Old Man in Yellow as Old Monster Mo, a famous Golden Core Cultivator who had left Wu State two hundred years earlier.
• Cheng Bufan offered a Grade 3 High-grade Purple Green Vine in exchange for a Grade 3 Mid-grade or higher Fire Attribute Spiritual Fruit, but no one made a satisfactory trade.
• An old man in black exchanged Gilded Water for a Defensive Magic Treasure after Chu Fengping failed to secure it with a pill offer.
• Song Qingming observed that most cultivators offered unfinished spiritual items, and the Carefree Sect members made few worthwhile exchanges.
• Old Monster Mo displayed several Grade 3 or higher spiritual items and offered any two for a Grade 3 Mid-grade or higher mana-advancement pill; Song Qingming recognized that he had a White Dew Pill that fit the request.

Song Qingming traded his White Dew Pill for a powerful flying sword and defensive talisman, then reflected on his growing ambition to seek the Great Path of Longevity. As the Star Assembly began in Seven Stars Market, Bai Yuxian found a damaged Grade 3 Array Disc at a small stall.

• Song Qingming traded his White Dew Pill to Old Monster Mo for the Mo Bai flying sword and a Grade 3 Mid-grade Defensive Talisman.
• Song Qingming asked Old Monster Mo about Jade Profound Mountain and Void Palace, and Mo Xuan gave him a note that might help him seek information in the Eastern Phoenix Kingdom Cultivation World.
• Song Qingming considered how his goals had shifted from protecting himself and his family toward exploring the wider Cultivation World and pursuing longevity.
• The Star Assembly began in Seven Stars Market, drawing thousands of cultivators to ten days of trading and events hosted by Star Gate.
• Bai Yuxian took Song Qingming around the marketplace and found a damaged Grade 3 Array Disc that its Qi Refining seller had mistaken for an ordinary worn item.

Song Qingming and Bai Yuxian acquired a damaged Level 3 Array Disc, which Bai Yuxian promised to repair and give him. At the Star Assembly Auction, Song Qingming bought a Jade Dust Pill for Song Qingyu, and the second day's finale was a rare Phantom Boat that Yao Ganshu urged him and Chen Xuanxin to bid on.

• Song Qingming and Bai Yuxian bought a damaged Level 3 Array Disc from a stall, and Bai Yuxian offered to repair it and give it to Song Qingming.
• Song Qingming attended the Star Assembly Auction, where Chu Fengping bought a Red Flame Thunderfire Talisman and Song Qingming and Li Wutong each secured a Jade Dust Pill.
• Song Qingming bought his pill to prepare for Song Qingyu's future attempt at Core Formation.
• On the first auction day, Golden Wood Rogue Cultivator won a flying sword Magic Treasure, while a Lingyin Sect elder acquired the finale Dharma Robe.
• At the second day's auction, Chen Xuanxin bought a Level 3 Defensive Magic Treasure before Star Gate presented the Phantom Boat.
• Yao Ganshu offered to lend Song Qingming and Chen Xuanxin ten thousand Spirit Stones each so they could bid for the Phantom Boat.

Song Qingming won the Phantom Boat at the Star Assembly and returned to Funiu Mountain, where he learned that Song Changze had gone missing in Yunwu Mountain. The chapter ended with Song Qingming facing the news of his kinsman’s disappearance.

• Song Qingming outbid the other cultivators for the Phantom Boat after Yao Ganshu supported him and Star Gate’s Nascent Soul Old Ancestor stopped Old Ghost Linghu from using threats.
• At the final auction, Yao Ganshu won the Misty Snow Ice Lotus, and the Carefree Sect group later returned to Wei State with the sect’s purchases.
• Song Changze led a Song Family hunting team against two Demonic Beasts, but a wolf-shaped demon escaped into a deep ravine and Song Changze followed it down.
• Song Yuantong led a search for Song Changze after the hunting team failed to find him or receive a reply to its messages.
• Song Qingming returned to Funiu Mountain in the Phantom Boat and learned that Song Changze had been missing for more than half a month.

Song Qingming led Song Qingyu and other Foundation Establishment cultivators to confront the Golden Core Ghost King threatening the Song Family and Song Changze, who remained trapped in its cave. After driving the Ghost King out of the cave, Song Qingming caught up with it outside and suppressed it, while Song Changze’s fate remained unknown.

• Song Qingyu and the Song Family searched Yunwu Mountain for Song Changze and discovered a cave inhabited by Ghost Cultivators.
• Song Xinyu brought a formation to counter Ghost Cultivators, but the family’s second expedition uncovered a Golden Core Ghost King and ended with Song Qingyu and Song Xinyu injured.
• Song Qingming returned to Funiu Mountain, heard what had happened, and led Song Qingyu, Huang Siyuan, and other Foundation Establishment cultivators back to the cave.
• Song Qingming fought the Golden Core Ghost King with his Five Elements Divine Light Mirror while Huang Siyuan and two others held back the remaining Ghost Cultivators.
• The Ghost King fled from the cave and knocked Song Qingyu and Song Xinyu aside, but Song Qingming pursued it on the Phantom Boat and intercepted it outside.
• Song Qingming overwhelmed the Ghost King under the daytime Yang Energy, leaving it unable to fight back.

Song Qingming defeated the Golden Core Ghost King, found a trove of Yin Fire Stones, and used a bloodline-seeking art to locate Song Changze behind an ancient formation. After rescuing Changze, Song Qingming exposed a hidden Ghost Cultivator named Wen Tianyang, who claimed he had been trapped in the cave for years.

• Song Qingming trapped and slew the Golden Core Ghost King, then collected its Ghost Core.
• Song Qingming rejoined Song Qingyu and the others, helped defeat the remaining Ghost Cultivators, and found many Yin Fire Stones in the cave.
• Song Qingming used the Bloodline Spirit-Seeking Art to locate Song Changze behind an ancient formation and broke the formation with help from the Song Family members.
• Song Qingming found Changze unconscious but alive, and Song Qingyu began removing the Restriction on him.
• Song Qingming lured a hidden Ghost Cultivator out of a skeleton, trapped it, and heard it identify itself as Wen Tianyang, a former Golden Core Cultivator.

Song Qingming rescued Song Changze from the Ghost Cultivators’ cavern and discovered a valuable Yin Fire Stone Vein. He arranged to mine it with the Carefree Sect, then showed Chen Xuanxin the Black Orb taken from the slain Ghost King, which Chen identified as a Ghost Core.

• Song Qingming captured the intelligent Ghost Cultivator in a Soul Gathering Bowl, and Song Qingyu removed the Restriction that had kept Song Changze unconscious.
• Song Qingming reassured Song Changze, and the family returned to Funiu Mountain with him after collecting Yin Fire Stone and sealing the cavern entrance.
• Song Qingming sent Song Xinyu back to the Carefree Sect with Yin Fire Stone and a request for an ore survey, then explained to Song Qingyu why the family should cooperate with the sect.
• Two Carefree Sect Spirit Seekers and Song Yuan Xi confirmed that the Yin Fire Stone Vein held large reserves and could yield ore worth about four thousand Spirit Stones annually.
• Song Qingming and Chen Xuanxin agreed that the Song Family and Carefree Sect would jointly mine the vein, with the sect covering the family’s thirty-thousand-Spirit-Stone initial investment.
• Chen Xuanxin asked about the Ghost King’s inner core, and Song Qingming showed him the Black Orb, which Chen identified as a Ghost Core.

Song Qingming traded Thousand Year Spirit Milk to Chen Xuanxin for a Corpse Puppet Refinement Secret Art, then searched Wen Tianyang’s soul and discovered a possible link between Wen Tianyang and Song Qingming’s Incomplete Map. After receiving a surprising message from Song Yuanfang, Song Qingming left his cave, while Feng Yangde learned that Ma Hongshan had invited him to discuss Cloudfall Mountain.

• Chen Xuanxin exchanged the Corpse Puppet Refinement Secret Art for several drops of Song Qingming’s Thousand Year Spirit Milk and promised to keep Song Qingming’s remaining supply secret.
• The Carefree Sect and the Song Family established Yinfeng Ridge, cleared its Demonic Beasts, stabilized the Spirit Vein, and began mining the Yin Fire Stone Vein.
• Song Qingming searched Wen Tianyang’s weakened Primordial Spirit and learned that Wen Tianyang had caused Song Changze’s ordeal and had once been a Golden Core Cultivator.
• Song Qingming saw a jade box in Wen Tianyang’s memories that resembled the one containing his Incomplete Map, then ended Wen Tianyang’s suffering and found a Black Jade Token in his Storage Bag.
• Song Qingming received a Sound Transmission Talisman from Song Yuanfang and hurried out of his cave after reading its unexpected message.
• Liang Wenxu delivered Ma Hongshan’s letter to Feng Yangde, inviting him to discuss Cloudfall Mountain.

Song Qingming welcomed Song Yuanhao, the son of the long-lost Song Xinhe, back into the Song Family and promised support for his cultivation and injured mother. A Spirit Root test then revealed that Song Yuanhao possessed an Unusual Spirit Root.

• Feng Yangde sent Liang Wenxu and Yu Xia to Cloudfall Mountain in his place, wary of Ma Hongshan and the Ma Family.
• Fire Phoenix told the Golden Feather Demon Emperor she intended to enter the Tongtian Tower despite the dangers.
• Song Qingming recognized the Spirit Talismans brought by Song Yuanhao and confirmed the youth’s bloodline as Song Xinhe’s descendant.
• Song Yuanhao explained that his father had died after failing a Foundation Establishment attempt and that his injured mother had sent him to seek help from the Song Family.
• Song Qingming welcomed Song Yuanhao into the family, offered him cultivation resources, and agreed that he could bring his mother back to Funiu Mountain.
• Song Yuanfang tested Song Yuanhao’s Spirit Roots, and the Spirit Root Testing Plate revealed an Unusual Spirit Root.

Song Qingming discovered that Song Yuanhao had a rare Lightning Spiritual Root, arranged for his mother to return to Funiu Mountain, and assigned Song Xintang to guide him. After helping Xu Ziyan obtain the Heavenly Fire Black Pearl and securing a suitable cultivation art and materials, Song Qingming began refining a Corpse Puppet.

• Song Qingming identified Song Yuanhao as a Lightning Spiritual Root Cultivator and ordered him to remain at Funiu Mountain until Foundation Establishment.
• Song Yuanfang escorted Chen Yanyun and Song Xinhe’s remains back to Funiu Mountain, where the Song Family held a funeral and reburied Song Xinhe.
• Song Qingming assigned Song Xintang to return to the family and personally guide Song Yuanhao.
• Song Qingming obtained a repaired Level 3 Array Disc, formation guidance, materials for refining a Corpse Puppet, and the Heavenly Fire Thunderclap Art for Song Yuanhao from the Carefree Sect.
• Song Qingming gave Xu Ziyan two thousand Merit Points, allowing her to exchange for the Heavenly Fire Black Pearl.
• Song Qingming began refining a Corpse Puppet and activated the formation around a young cultivator’s corpse.

Song Qingming refined and nurtured a Corpse Puppet until it reached the Golden Core Realm, then named it Golden Wind and gave it the Green Willow Sword. Over the same three years, Song Qingyu recovered and Huang Siyuan became a Grade 2 Low-grade Alchemist; Song Qingming ended the chapter by visiting Huang Siyuan and returning her pills.

• Song Qingming refined a freshly deceased Rogue Cultivator into a Corpse Puppet, planted a fragment of his soul in it, and carefully refined a Grade 3 Ghost King's Ghost Core into its body.
• Song Qingming used a Spirit Gathering Array and more than a thousand Spirit Stones to support the Corpse Puppet's cultivation as it advanced from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment.
• After more than two years of nurturing, the Corpse Puppet reached the Golden Core Realm, and Song Qingming named it Golden Wind and gave it the Green Willow Sword.
• Song Qingyu recovered from her injuries, reached Foundation Establishment Layer 9, and received the Jade Dust Pill from Song Qingming.
• Huang Siyuan advanced to Grade 2 Low-grade Alchemist, allowing the Song Family to produce its own cultivation pills.
• Song Qingming visited Huang Siyuan and returned the pills Golden Wind had brought him, saying he no longer needed them.

Song Qingming and Huang Siyuan spent a rare leisurely day visiting Mujiao Town and paying respects to his deceased family. Three years later, Golden Wind mastered the Green Willow Sword and demonstrated its strength, just as a Golden Talisman arrived at Funiu Mountain.

• Huang Siyuan explained that she was focusing on reaching Foundation Establishment Layer 9, and Song Qingming invited her to stroll around Funiu Mountain.
• Song Qingming and Huang Siyuan disguised themselves as mortals and explored bustling Mujiao Town, where Song Qingming arranged for them to receive gold and silver.
• Song Qingming visited his childhood home but chose not to enter, then went with Huang Siyuan to offer incense at his mother's grave among the family burial mounds.
• Three years later, Golden Wind used the Green Willow Sword to split a boulder and withstood Song Qingming's Five-Colored Divine Light, demonstrating its improved strength.
• As Song Qingming prepared to take Golden Wind back to his cave abode, a Golden Talisman flew toward Funiu Mountain.

The Ma Family of Iron Immortal Fortress rebelled against the Carefree Sect after attacking Tuoyun Mountain and killing Feng Yangde and Chen Jinliang’s disciples. Song Qingming’s group reclaimed Tuoyun Mountain Market, while Li Mufeng faced the Nine Yuan Sect’s Wu Jiuyuan at Iron Immortal Fortress.

• Song Qingming received an urgent summons and learned that the Ma Family had destroyed Tuoyun Mountain, killing Feng Yangde and most of Chen Jinliang’s disciples.
• The Ma Family formally broke away from the Carefree Sect, and Yao Ganshu divided the sect’s Golden Core cultivators between Tuoyun Mountain and Iron Immortal Fortress.
• Li Mufeng confronted Wu Jiuyuan outside Iron Immortal Fortress after the Nine Yuan Sect backed the Ma Family’s claim to have joined Yue State.
• Song Qingming, Bai, Chu Fengping, and Jin Ziyuan arrived at Tuoyun Mountain Market and found it in ruins, but the Ma Family had already withdrawn.
• Song Qingming’s group left Foundation Establishment disciples to repair the market’s array and hurried toward Iron Immortal Fortress.

Song Qingming and the Carefree Sect arrived at Iron Immortal Fortress and discovered that Ma Hongshan had joined the Nine Yuan Sect. A battle broke out between the rival forces, and Song Qingming drove Ma Qiudie into a desperate retreat.

• Song Qingming and the Carefree Sect found Yao Ganshu confronting Nine Yuan Sect cultivators outside Iron Immortal Fortress, where Ma Hongshan and Fairy Qiudie stood among them.
• Chu Fengping recognized the Nine Yuan Sect, and Jin Ziyuan attacked Ma Hongshan over his betrayal and the spiritual items he had taken from the sect.
• Yao Ganshu ordered the Carefree Sect cultivators to attack, and the two sides began a fierce battle outside the fortress.
• Song Qingming fought Ma Qiudie and summoned Golden Wind, forcing her to use her talismans and retreat toward the Mountain Protection Array.

Song Qingming pursued Ma Qiudie and nearly stopped her from returning to Iron Immortal Fortress, but Ma Hongshan’s blood-fueled attack and a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s ambush let her escape into the Mountain Protection Array. Song Qingming killed the ambusher, took his spoils, and returned to the battle in the sky.

• Song Qingming broke Ma Qiudie’s illusion and pursued her with Golden Wind, while Jin Ziyuan prevented Ma Hongshan from coming to her aid.
• Golden Wind wounded Ma Qiudie, prompting Ma Hongshan to sacrifice his essence blood to empower his red palace lantern and drive Song Qingming back with a crimson Fire Bird.
• Ma Hongshan rescued Ma Qiudie, but Jin Ziyuan intercepted them; Ma Hongshan stayed to fight while Ma Qiudie fled toward the Mountain Protection Array and Song Qingming chased her.
• A Ma Family Foundation Establishment cultivator attacked Song Qingming with the Green Leaf Three-Star Ruler, forcing him to evade and allowing Ma Qiudie to reach the array.
• Song Qingming killed the Ma Family cultivator with the Mo Bai Sword, collected his Storage Bag and Talisman Treasure, and flew back to the battle in the sky.

The Carefree Sect and Nine Yuan Sect clashed at Iron Immortal Fortress, where both sides suffered injuries before Wu Jiuyuan and Li Mufeng arrived and forced the battle to end. After retreating to Guiyun Marketplace, Li Mufeng prepared to bring in reinforcements and wage a full-scale war against the Nine Yuan Sect and the Ma Family.

• Song Qingming returned to Jin Ziyuan and helped him fight Ma Hongshan, while Ma Qiudie escaped into Iron Immortal Fortress and a Nine Yuan Sect elder retreated after Chen Xuanxin severed his arm.
• Yue Wuji ordered the Nine Yuan Sect Golden Core cultivators to withdraw behind the fortress array as the battle reached a deadlock.
• Wu Jiuyuan and Li Mufeng arrived, and Li Mufeng led the Carefree Sect cultivators away from Iron Immortal Fortress.
• Wu Jiuyuan examined Ma Qiudie and Wang Ziheng, then ordered Yue Wuji to discuss an early withdrawal with Ma Hongshan.
• At Guiyun Marketplace, Li Mufeng prepared to continue the assault, and an elder reported that the sect would send five Flying Boats within about ten days.

The Carefree Sect prepared to storm Iron Immortal Fortress while the Ma Family struggled to arrange its retreat to Yue State after betraying the sect. When the Carefree Sect discovered the Ma Family fleeing by Flying Boat, Li Mufeng led its Golden Core Cultivators in pursuit.

• Li Mufeng ordered Chu Fengping to request two Level 3 Formation Breaking Beads, insisting that the Carefree Sect must crush the Ma Family’s rebellion.
• Ma Hongshan explained that the Ma Family had committed to the Nine Yuan Sect and could not return to the Carefree Sect, despite regretting the decision after the Wei State front turned around.
• Ma Hongshan rejected elders’ objections and ordered the family to load essential supplies onto the two Flying Boats, while hiding the planned withdrawal from the Li Family and Chen Family.
• Five days later, the Carefree Sect learned that two Flying Boats had departed Iron Immortal Fortress and Li Mufeng rushed there with nine Golden Core Cultivators.
• The abandoned cultivators opened the Mountain Protection Array to the Carefree Sect, and Li Mufeng led the group westward to pursue the Ma Family.

The Carefree Sect pursued the Nine Yuan Sect’s retreating Flying Boats through the Sparrow Mountain Range while its cultivators fought Wu Jiuyuan’s forces. Song Qingming refused Ma Hongshan’s plea to let the Ma Family escape and faced a sudden talisman attack.

• Wu Jiuyuan confronted Li Mufeng and led the Nine Yuan Sect’s Golden Core Cultivators into battle to buy time for the Flying Boats to flee.
• The Carefree Sect and Nine Yuan Sect fought for half a day, with neither side breaking through the other’s formation.
• Zhao Menglian arrived, and Yao Ganshu ordered her and Chen Xuanxin to pursue the Flying Boats.
• Ma Hongshan and Ma Qiudie tried to stop the pursuit, but Song Qingming and Jin Ziyuan blocked them.
• Ma Hongshan urged Song Qingming to let the Ma Family pass, but Song Qingming refused and Ma Hongshan attacked him with a Yellow Talisman.