Chapter Summaries

Song Qingming returned to Funiu Mountain during Song Xuande’s Foundation Establishment attempt and dealt with rumors that threatened the Song Family’s standing with the Carefree Sect. After breaking through to the Golden Core Eighth Layer, he received an invitation to Bai Yuxian’s Nascent Soul celebration, while Huang Siyuan approached him with unexpected good news.

• Song Qingming and Huang Siyuan returned to Funiu Mountain, where Song Yuanfang explained that Song Xuande was attempting Foundation Establishment and the Mountain Protection Array had been activated to guard the mountain.
• Song Yuanfang reported that people in Chiyan Market were spreading rumors about Bai Yuxian’s breakthrough, so Song Qingming ordered the ringleaders sent to Yinfeng Ridge for ten years of mining and the others for two years.
• Song Qingming explained the danger of provoking the Carefree Sect, instructed Song Yuanfang to suppress further discussion, and warned him to protect the family from giving the sect grounds to punish them.
• Song Qingming entered seclusion and, after half a year, broke through from the Golden Core Seventh Layer to the Golden Core Eighth Layer; he and Huang Siyuan then watched the sunrise together.
• Two months later, Song Yuanfang brought Song Qingming an invitation to Bai Yuxian’s Nascent Soul celebration, and Song Qingming told him to summon Song Qingyu and prepare suitable gifts.
• Huang Siyuan approached Song Qingming looking delighted, but she said she did not yet know about the invitation, leaving him wondering what had made her happy.

Song Qingming attended Bai Yuxian’s Nascent Soul Celebration with Huang Siyuan and Song Qingyu, where cultivators from neighboring sects gathered to congratulate the Carefree Sect. The celebration took an unexpected turn when Chu Lingyun of the Myriad Spirits Sect arrived without an invitation, and Li Mufeng welcomed her as a guest.

• Huang Siyuan gave Song Qingming refined Myriad Spirit Dew, and they planned to test it on her Golden Core spirit beast Chiyan.
• Song Qingming persuaded Huang Siyuan and Song Qingyu to attend Bai Yuxian’s celebration, assuring them that White Lion Ridge was well defended.
• Song Qingming and the two women arrived at Mount Guyang, registered their family’s gifts, and presented Bai Yuxian with a Grade 3 Mid-grade spiritual herb.
• Song Qingming reunited with Wei Xuanping and other Golden Core cultivators as guests from major sects, including Yang Fengyu, Cheng Bufan, and Zheng Zitong, attended the celebration.
• Xu Ziyan reported that Chu Lingyun of the Myriad Spirits Sect had arrived without an invitation, and Li Mufeng ordered that she be received as a guest.

At Bai Yuxian’s Nascent Soul celebration, Li Mufeng rejected the Nine Yuan Sect’s attempt at reconciliation, while the Carefree Sect accepted the Myriad Spirits Sect’s proposal to join forces against the Demon Race. A year later, Bai Yunhua visited Song Qingming at Funiu Mountain to thank him and ask for a private conversation about an important matter.

• Chu Lingyun congratulated Bai Yuxian with a Gold Spirit Pill and brought representatives from several sects to the celebration.
• Zhang Zhiyang offered congratulations on behalf of the Nine Yuan Sect, but Li Mufeng denounced Wu Jiuyuan and had him expelled from Mount Guyang.
• Bai Yuxian revealed that the Nine Yuan Sect had exposed her attempted breakthrough to the Demon Race, and Chu Lingyun promised to report the matter to Zhao Wuling.
• The Carefree Sect and the Myriad Spirits Sect agreed to prepare a joint counterattack against the northern Demon Race, while the Nascent Soul celebration continued through the next day.
• A year later, Song Qingming discussed the Song Family’s prospects with Huang Siyuan before receiving Bai Yunhua and a white-clothed youth at Funiu Mountain.
• Bai Yunhua thanked Song Qingming for his help with the Bai Family and asked to speak with him alone about an important matter.

Bai Yunhua revealed that his array plate concealed the location of an ancient cultivator’s cave abode and asked Song Qingming to protect his grandson Bai Jingyun in exchange for the secret. Song Qingming accepted Bai Jingyun as his nominal disciple, and after the ceremony Bai Yunhua gave him a map to the cave abode.

• Bai Yunhua showed Song Qingming the ancient runes hidden in his array plate and explained that he had found a cave abode but could not break its remaining Restrictions.
• Bai Yunhua asked Song Qingming to support his Dual Spiritual Roots grandson Bai Jingyun, and Song Qingming agreed to protect him and help with his future Foundation Establishment attempt.
• Song Qingming accepted Bai Yunhua’s array plate and offered the family a choice between making Bai Jingyun his nominal disciple or having a Song Family elder teach him.
• After three days, Bai Yunhua brought Bai Jingyun back to Funiu Mountain and insisted that he become Song Qingming’s disciple.
• Song Qingming accepted Bai Jingyun in a simple ceremony and gave him a low-grade magical artifact, after which Bai Yunhua presented a map to the cave abode.

Song Qingming followed Bai Yunhua to a hidden ancient cave mansion beneath the Qinghe River and overcame its first powerful restriction. They opened a stone door to reveal a formidable Gale Wind Restriction, and Song Qingming advanced into it to see if he could break through.

• Bai Yunhua gave Song Qingming the cave mansion map, and Song Qingming took Bai Yunhua with him to find the entrance beneath the Qinghe River.
• Bai Yunhua guided Song Qingming through the water-separating restriction into the ancient cave mansion and led him to a raised platform guarded by a spiritual-light giant.
• Bai Yunhua sealed the restriction's spiritual source, and Song Qingming trapped and destroyed the weakened giant with the Five Elements Divine Light Mirror.
• Bai Yunhua activated a hidden passage in the mural and led Song Qingming through a teleportation array to an underground passage and a stone door.
• Song Qingming protected Bai Yunhua from the gale behind the opened door, then entered the increasingly powerful Gale Wind Restriction alone.

Song Qingming passed through the Gale Wind and overcame the defenses in an ancient hall, where he found a Low-grade Level Four Azure Jade Bottle and a third Incomplete Map hidden beneath the platform. A sudden teleportation sent him back to Bai Yunhua, and Song Qingming asked him to open another passage before Bai Yunhua noticed that its runes were abnormal.

• Song Qingming used the Five Elements Divine Light Mirror to pass through the Gale Wind and found an ancient hall with a guarded wooden box.
• After the surrounding statues attacked Golden Wind, Song Qingming set up the Heavenly Dipper Five Elements Array and sealed the control rune to disable the hall's defenses.
• Song Qingming opened the wooden box to find a Low-grade Level Four Azure Jade Bottle, then smashed the stone platform and uncovered a third Incomplete Map hidden inside.
• Song Qingming connected the three Incomplete Maps and reasoned that the cave's former owner might have known their significance, but realized more pieces were still missing.
• A white light teleported Song Qingming and Bai Yunhua out of the hall; Song Qingming showed Bai Yunhua the Azure Jade Bottle and asked him to open another passage.
• As Bai Yunhua went to open the passage, he noticed that its runes seemed wrong.

After taking an Incomplete Map from Qinghe Cave Mansion, Song Qingming found that the mural’s runes had changed and become too difficult for him to operate. He secured Bai Yunhua’s silence, rewarded him, and concealed the cave under a newly cultivated Spirit Vein, but months of research failed to reopen the passage before a letter from Mount Guyang called him back.

• Song Qingming tried every rune on the changed mural, but none could open the passage, so he left Qinghe Cave Mansion with Bai Yunhua.
• Song Qingming made Bai Yunhua swear to keep the cave secret, then gave him a Longevity Pill and Spirit Stones in return for his help and received his ancient-rune Manual.
• After Bai Yunhua and Bai Jingyun left, Song Qingming ordered Song Yuanfang to secretly monitor the Bai Family and establish a Spirit Vein near Qinghe Cave Mansion.
• Song Yuanfang’s people built a Grade 2 Low-grade Spirit Vein, moved nearby residents, and guarded the area, while the Song Family discouraged other families from asking questions.
• Song Qingming studied the mural’s runes for months but could not reopen the passage, then returned to Funiu Mountain after a letter arrived from Mount Guyang.

The Carefree Sect prepared a northern campaign after Bai Yuxian’s breakthrough and sent an army to seize Youyun Mountain. The chapter left Song Qingming and Zhou Ziyang fighting uphill while the Savage Ox Demon King disguised himself as a low-ranking beast and tried to escape in the chaos.

• Demon Emperor Molong learned that Huyang Mountain had seen fighting and sent the Golden Tiger Demon King to reinforce White Dragon Demon King at Baiyun Valley.
• Li Mufeng and Bai Yuxian announced a joint northern campaign, choosing to attack Youyun Mountain before attempting to take heavily defended Baiyun Valley.
• The Carefree Sect assembled more than seven thousand cultivators, including Song Qingming, Huang Siyuan, and other Golden Core Elders, and advanced toward the Floating Cloud Mountain Range.
• Bai Yuxian split the fleet near Baiyun Valley, sending Song Qingming, Huang Siyuan, Zhao Mengling, and Zhou Ziyang with three thousand cultivators to attack Youyun Mountain.
• The Savage Ox Demon King gathered the mountain’s beasts to resist the human army, but Song Qingming and Zhou Ziyang helped break through and drive them uphill.
• The Savage Ox Demon King disguised himself as an ordinary Demonic Ox and joined a beast charge toward Zhou Ziyang, who did not recognize him.

Song Qingming and the other cultivators killed the Savage Ox Demon King and cleared Youyun Mountain, while the Carefree Sect and the Demon Race became locked in a standoff at Baiyun Valley. After reinforcements arrived, Demon Emperor Molong and Demon Emperor Qinglu set a trap for a supply Flying Boat, and the chapter ended as Carefree Sect reinforcements appeared.

• Huang Siyuan and Chiyan joined Song Qingming, Zhao Mengling, and Zhou Ziyang to surround and kill the Savage Ox Demon King, while the cultivators won Youyun Mountain at heavy cost.
• The Demon Emperor Molong withdrew the Demon Race into Baiyun Valley, where the Carefree Sect's attempt to attack through the miasma failed and both sides remained in a standoff.
• The Ink Crow Demon King delivered word that Demon Emperor Qinglu's reinforcements were near, and Demon Emperor Molong told them to wait while he planned a counterattack.
• Demon Emperor Molong and Demon Emperor Qinglu lured a Carefree Sect supply Flying Boat into an ambush, where the Golden Tiger Demon King and other Demon Kings attacked it.
• Jin Ziyuan led Foundation Establishment Cultivators out to defend the Flying Boat as the Demonic Beasts tried to hold it in place, and a fast Flying Boat carrying reinforcements arrived.

Song Qingming, Bai Yuxian, and their allies were caught in a major battle with Demon Emperor Molong’s forces, and Carefree Sect began preparing to retreat after Bai Yuxian was injured. Just as Star Gate’s reinforcements arrived, Li Mufeng ordered the withdrawal to continue without alerting the Demon Race.

• Song Qingming and Zhao Mengling emerged from a supply Flying Boat to ambush the Golden Tiger Demon King’s forces, while Bai Yuxian’s approaching group was ambushed by Demon Emperor Molong and Demon Emperor Qinglu.
• Bai Yuxian used the Yin-Yang Harmony Jade to teleport Li Mufeng to her side, turning the fight against the two Demon Emperors into a more even battle.
• The two sides fought until dusk, and Molong withdrew when Carefree Sect reinforcements arrived; Bai Yuxian was wounded, and Carefree Sect suffered heavy losses.
• Molong and Qinglu learned that Carefree Sect might be retreating and decided to wait for a full withdrawal before pursuing them.
• Li Mufeng chose to withdraw Carefree Sect’s forces south, but Yun Nishang reported that Zheng Zitong and several thousand Star Gate reinforcements would arrive within two days.
• Despite the news of Star Gate’s reinforcements, Li Mufeng ordered the Flying Boats to continue moving supplies south without arousing the Demon Race’s suspicion.

Bai Yuxian devised a retreat that lured Demon Emperor Molong’s forces into an ambush by Carefree Sect and its Star Gate reinforcements. After the humans routed the demonic army, they seized Baiyun Valley, though the two Demon Emperors escaped to Golden Feather Mountain.

• Bai Yuxian persuaded the sect leaders to retreat south and draw the Demon Race away from Baiyun Valley, while disguising the supply convoy’s cargo to deceive scouts.
• Demon Emperor Molong and Demon Emperor Qinglu pursued the retreating cultivators, but Song Qingming led the human forces into a gorge where thousands of reinforcements ambushed the Demonic Beast Army.
• Zheng Zitong of Star Gate joined Li Mufeng against Demon Emperor Molong, while Star Gate elders helped the human Golden Core Cultivators overwhelm the Demon Kings.
• Ink Crow Demon King escaped with several Demon Kings, and Golden Tiger Demon King used a powerful magic treasure to break through the encirclement before White Dragon Demon King abandoned him; Chen Xuanxin killed Golden Tiger Demon King.
• The human forces routed the remaining demonic beasts and took Baiyun Valley after White Dragon Demon King and Ink Crow Demon King withdrew north; Li Mufeng and Bai Yuxian defeated the Demon Emperors but failed to capture them.

After the Human Race captured Baiyun Valley, the Carefree Sect secured its new frontier while Song Qingming returned to family life and continued cultivating the Tongtian Myriad Spirits Art. He welcomed Song Changze’s breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Layer 9 and passed a secret core-forming art to him and two other family members.

• Li Mufeng rewarded Chen Xuanxin, Song Qingming, Huang Siyuan, and other cultivators for their victories, while the Carefree Sect fortified Baiyun Valley and the defeated Demon Race withdrew north.
• Song Qingming returned to Qinghe County with Huang Siyuan and the surviving cultivators, arranged compensation and funerals for the fallen Song Family members, and rewarded those who had distinguished themselves.
• Song Qingyu visited Song Qingming while he cultivated the Tongtian Myriad Spirits Art and told him Song Changze had broken through to Foundation Establishment Layer 9.
• Song Qingming brought Song Qingyu into Qinghe Cave Mansion, showed her its ancient runes, and asked her to keep the cave abode secret.
• Song Qingming summoned Song Changze, Song Yuanhao, and Liu Yuxin to Immortal Gathering Pavilion and passed them the Returning Cloud Art, ordering them to guard its secrecy.

Song Qingming and the other ancestors gave Song Changze, Liu Yuxin, and Song Yuan Hao the Returning Origin Art and promised to support their future Golden Core attempts. Song Yuan Hao reunited with Xu Qingyin, who had come seeking a Grade 3 Recovery Pill for her injured Senior Sister, Li Xiuning, and brought her to meet the Song ancestors.

• Song Qingming passed the Returning Origin Art to Song Changze, Liu Yuxin, and Song Yuan Hao, who swore to keep the family secret.
• Song Yuan Hao visited his parents’ graves, then learned that a woman surnamed Xu was waiting for him at the foot of Funiu Mountain.
• Song Yuan Hao recognized Xu Qingyin, the rogue cultivator who had once saved him, and promised to seek a Grade 3 healing pill for her injured Senior Sister, Li Xiuning.
• Huang Siyuan agreed to provide a Grade 3 Recovery Pill after asking Xu Qingyin about her background and ties to the Hunyuan Sect.
• Xu Qingyin explained that Li Xiuning had suffered severe meridian damage after escaping a Golden Core Stage Demon King, and Song Yuan Hao vouched that Xu Qingyin had no connection to the Hunyuan Sect.

Xu Qingyin obtained a Grade 3 Recovery Pill from the Song Family for her injured senior sister, Li Xiuning, while Song Qingming considered supporting the injured Li Family to preserve balance in Qinghe Market. Meanwhile, the Song Family’s Golden Fruit Tree began advancing in grade but developed an unstable foundation, leaving Song Qingming seeking Zhao Mengling’s help.

• Song Qingming and Huang Siyuan exchanged Xu Qingyin’s Grade 3 Low-grade Talisman for a Recovery Pill, and Song Yuanhao accompanied her back to Qinghe Market.
• Song Qingming learned that Li Chengyue remained injured and ordered a Grade 3 Recovery Pill exchanged to the Li Family to help restore its influence in the marketplace.
• Li Xiuning received the pill from Xu Qingyin, and she teased her junior sister about her feelings for Song Yuanhao.
• Song Linqing discovered that the Golden Fruit Tree was advancing in grade, and the Song Family arranged for Spirit Planter Masters to guard and nourish it.
• The Golden Fruit Tree’s advance faltered, so Song Qingming visited Zhao Mengling, who suspected old transplant damage had weakened its foundation and asked whether he had a remedy in mind.

Song Qingming gathered the materials needed to help the Song Family’s Golden Fruit Tree recover and asked Xu Ziyan to reserve Cangyuan Mountain for the family. He then secured his old cave abode with a Rank 3 Concealment Array and left for Qinghe County.

• Song Qingming obtained Zhao Mengling’s remedy for the Golden Fruit Tree and persuaded her to help once he gathered the required materials.
• Song Qingming acquired Maple Leaf Dew from Xu Ziyan, paid her for it, and asked her to help the Song Family secure Cangyuan Mountain.
• Song Qingming gathered the remaining materials and delivered them to Zhao Mengling, who agreed to visit Funiu Mountain and remedy the tree.
• Song Qingming returned to his old Pool Bottom Cave Mansion, killed the demonic crocodiles inside, and confirmed that its Spirit Spring Eye remained intact.
• Song Qingming concealed the cave abode with a Rank 3 Concealment Array and surveyed nearby Cangyuan Mountain before departing for Qinghe County.

Song Qingming oversaw the Song Family’s growing fortunes as the Golden Fruit Tree advanced and the family acquired Cangyuan Mountain and installed a teleportation array between Chiyan Market and White Lion Ridge. After receiving an urgent letter from Song Yuanfang about Qinghe Market, he changed course and headed there.

• Zhao Mengling restored the Golden Fruit Tree’s damaged origin, and the tree advanced to Grade 3 Mid-grade and bore a mature spiritual fruit six months later.
• Song Qingming secured the sect’s approval for the Song Family to acquire Cangyuan Mountain, and Song Xuanting and Song Xuanyu led cultivators to take over and protect its Spirit Vein.
• Zhou Ziyang acquired Youyun Mountain and founded his own sect, while the Carefree Sect sold other Spirit Veins and drew cultivators and commerce into northern Wei State.
• Huang Siyuan brought back a long-range Small Teleportation Array, which Song Qingming and the family’s Formation Masters installed between Chiyan Market and White Lion Ridge.
• Song Qingming tested the array, inspected Chiyan Market, and received an urgent letter from Song Yuanfang about Qinghe Market.
• Song Qingming abandoned his planned visit to Shuangfeng Mountain and flew southeast toward Qinghe Market.

Xu Qingyin obtained more Healing Pills for Li Xiuning, but Li Xiuning’s injuries still showed no improvement, and Xu Qingyin planned to return to Song Country. Song Qingming offered to examine Li Xiuning, then met Feng He at Willow Wind Hall, where they went inside to share Spirit Tea.

• Xu Qingyin gave Li Xiuning medicinal tea and collected Healing Pills from Song Yuanhao, paying him Spirit Stones after insisting he accept them.
• Xu Qingyin told Song Yuanhao that Li Xiuning had not recovered and that they might return to Song Country, prompting Song Yuanhao to seek Song Qingming’s help.
• Song Qingming asked Song Yuanhao to arrange a meeting with Li Xiuning so he could examine her injuries and check whether the pills had caused a problem.
• Song Qingming explored Qinghe Market, concealed his face, and helped Feng He sell a Puppet Beast to a quarrelsome Xu Family cultivator.
• Song Qingming greeted Feng He, who invited him into Willow Wind Hall to drink Spirit Tea.

Feng He told Song Qingming that a Nascent Soul Thunder Fruit awaited in a Tianhai secret realm and recruited him to kill Feng He's enemy there. Back in Qinghe Market, Song Qingming examined Li Xiuning after she reported that her injuries had healed but her Spiritual Energy still caused severe pain.

• Feng He revealed that he had prepared a plan for Song Qingming to enter a hundred-year secret realm and obtain a Nascent Soul Thunder Fruit by killing a core disciple from a Nascent Soul Sect.
• Feng He gave Song Qingming a Manual designed to counter the target's cultivation technique and arranged to depart with him for the Tianhai Cultivation World in half a year.
• Song Qingming accepted Feng He's plan, studied the Manual, and left Willow Wind Hall; Feng He told his shopkeeper to sell the remaining Puppet Beasts before leaving the market.
• Song Qingming met Song Yuanhao, Xu Qingyin, and Li Xiuning at Immortal Phoenix Tower, where bystanders recognized him as Old Ancestor Song.
• Li Xiuning told Song Qingming that her meridians had mostly recovered but Spiritual Energy still caused stabbing pain in her dantian, and Song Qingming examined her before his expression turned grave.

Song Qingming diagnosed Li Xiuning’s lingering poison and offered to obtain the medicine and cure it in exchange for her and Xu Qingyin guarding Cangyuan Mountain for ten years. After Li Xiuning recovered and the two women accepted the pact, Song Qingming sent Song Yuanhao to manage the mountain, revealing that he hoped the assignment would give Yuanhao and Xu Qingyin a chance to grow closer.

• Song Qingming traced Li Xiuning’s lingering poison to a demon tree and explained that a Level 3 Silverleaf Flower was needed to draw the poison from her dantian.
• Xu Qingyin pleaded for Song Qingming’s help, and he offered to obtain the medicine and refine the external pill if the two women guarded Cangyuan Mountain for the Song Family for ten years.
• Li Xiuning and Xu Qingyin accepted the pact, and Song Qingming obtained a Silverleaf Flower from Mount Guyang and had Huang Siyuan refine the external pill.
• Li Xiuning used the pill to clear nearly all the poison in three months, then received the Azure Glass Sword from Song Qingming before she and Xu Qingyin set out to guard Cangyuan Mountain.
• Song Qingming assigned Song Yuanhao to manage Cangyuan Mountain and admitted that he had arranged the posting partly to keep Xu Qingyin near him, though he warned Yuanhao that their relationship could not be forced.

Song Qingming helped Song Yuanhao pursue Xu Qingyin and prepared to leave for the Tianhai Alliance to aid Feng He. Song Yuanli returned after more than twenty years away, having reached the Golden Core Realm with a mysterious Nascent Soul cultivator’s support, but planned to leave again soon to repay him.

• Song Qingming explained that he had helped Li Xiuning partly to keep Xu Qingyin near Song Yuanhao, and Song Yuanhao resolved to pursue her himself.
• Song Qingming told Huang Siyuan he would travel to the Tianhai Alliance to help a friend, and asked her to oversee the family while he was gone.
• Song Yuanli returned to Funiu Mountain, and Song Qingming discovered that he had secretly attained the Golden Core Realm.
• Song Yuanli recounted how a mysterious Green Robe Figure had twice saved him, healed him, and supported his cultivation until he formed his core.
• Song Yuanli told Song Qingming he would leave again in a month to repay the Green Robe Figure, and Song Qingming agreed to keep his core formation secret.