Chapter Summaries

Song Qingming endured the three trials of Foundation Establishment and successfully advanced after nearly a year of seclusion. He left the Carefree Sect to return to Qinghe County, eager to share the news with his family.

• Song Qingming used a Marrow Cleansing Pill and a Foundation Establishment Pill to endure the painful marrow-washing and sinew-reshaping trial.
• Song Qingming failed several times to condense his Mana, then used a second Foundation Establishment Pill to successfully liquefy it in his dantian.
• Song Qingming smoothly tempered his divine soul, which had been strengthened by his cultivation of the Soul Tempering Art, and completed Foundation Establishment.
• Song Qingming exchanged insights with Xu Ziyan, gave her two Face-Restoring Pills, and prepared to leave the Carefree Sect.
• Song Qingming learned Sword Flight, packed his belongings, and set off for Qinghe County to return to his family.

Song Qingming returned to the Song Family after reaching Foundation Establishment, only to learn that the Old Patriarch had died before he could see him again. After paying his respects, he reunited with Song Qingyu and Song Qingsi, who asked him to help hatch an expensive Spirit Beast Egg.

• Song Qingming flew to Funiu Mountain on a borrowed Level 1 flying sword and marveled at finally achieving Sword Flight.
• Song Xin hu announced Song Qingming’s return, and the Song Family elders went out to welcome him when he landed by the Council Hall.
• Song Changfeng told Song Qingming that the Old Patriarch had died three months earlier, and Song Qingming mourned him at his grave.
• Song Qingming reunited with Song Qingyu and Song Qingsi and praised their cultivation and formation studies.
• Song Qingyu explained that she and Song Qingsi could not hatch their Spirit Beast Egg, and Song Qingming agreed to examine it.

The Huang, Gao, and Qian Families reacted to Song Qingming’s Foundation Establishment in different ways, while Song Qingming struggled to hatch a mysterious Spirit Beast Egg. After his patriarch summoned him to the Council Hall, he left the egg problem unresolved.

• Huang Chenliang and Huang Shengyue investigated Song Qingming’s background and planned to question the Carefree Sect and visit the Song Family.
• Gao Jinhe proposed recruiting Song Qingming as an ally, and Lu Xingde agreed that the Lu Family would follow the Gao Family’s lead.
• Qian Guangyao decided to move the remaining Qian Family cultivators to the Carefree Sect and give up their spirit vein.
• Song Qingming searched for a way to hatch the Spirit Beast Egg but could not make it respond to his Mana.
• Song Qingming received his patriarch’s summons and left his cave abode for the Council Hall.

Song Qingming became the Song Family’s First Elder and agreed that the family should continue siding with the Huang Family. Huang Shengyue visited Funiu Mountain to congratulate him on establishing his foundation and began to deliver a warning.

• Song Changfeng and the elders offered Song Qingming the clan chief position, but he accepted the role of First Elder while Song Changfeng continued managing the family’s affairs.
• The Song Family discussed whether to side with the Huang Family or the Gao Family and decided to remain with the Huang Family.
• Song Qingming declined Gao Yuyao’s invitation to meet in Qinghe Market, saying he would enter seclusion soon.
• Huang Shengyue arrived at Funiu Mountain, and Song Changfeng and Song Qingming welcomed her into the Council Hall.
• Huang Shengyue congratulated Song Qingming on establishing his foundation and said she had come both to congratulate him and to remind him of something.

Huang Shengyue told Song Qingming and Song Changfeng that the Qian Family planned to leave Qinghe County, then asked whether the Song Family intended to take over Chifeng Ridge’s Second-grade Spirit Vein. Song Qingming denied having any such intention, and later resumed studying his cultivation technique, discovering that its Foundation Establishment portion contained powerful spells.

• Huang Shengyue revealed that the Qian Family was preparing to leave Qinghe County and asked whether the Song Family would seek the vacant spirit vein at Chifeng Ridge.
• Song Qingming considered the spirit vein’s value to his cultivation and realized the Huang Family was also interested in it.
• Song Qingming told Huang Shengyue that the Song Family had no intention of competing for Chifeng Ridge, and she invited him to seek cultivation guidance from her clan leader.
• Song Qingming examined his spirit beast egg but found no new clues about it.
• Song Qingming studied the Foundation Establishment portion of the Jade Profound Scripture and discovered it contained several powerful spells.

Song Qingming studied three Foundation Establishment spells in the Jade Profound Scripture, including the Conceal Origin Art, which could improve his chances of forming a Core. Unable to master the art and nearly out of Spirit Stones, he decided to focus on making talismans to earn money.

• Song Qingming cultivated Mystic Light Armor and Formless Jade Wind Needles, making early progress with both spells.
• Song Qingming discovered that the Conceal Origin Art could hide Mana in his organs and, once mastered, increase his chance of forming a Core by roughly twenty percent.
• Song Qingming wondered whether the cultivators who sold him the Void Sword could provide further cultivation techniques beyond the Golden Core Stage.
• After months of failing to get started with the Conceal Origin Art, Song Qingming set it aside to practice the other spells.
• With almost no Spirit Stones, no Second-grade Spirit Vein, and no Foundation Establishment pills, Song Qingming planned to spend more time making talismans to earn money.

Song Qingming returned to Mujiao Town to visit his family before traveling to Qinghe Market for the Carefree Sect’s deliberations. He met with Song Family members at their marketplace shop, where they welcomed him as their newly appointed Grand Elder.

• Song Qingming visited his family in Mujiao Town after more than three years away and promised his mother he would find her a daughter-in-law.
• Song Qingming flew to Qinghe Market and told the Carefree Sect disciples guarding the entrance that he had come at Lu Yuanfeng’s invitation.
• Song Qingming visited the Song Family shop and learned that Song Qingwan’s alchemy and influence in family affairs had grown considerably.
• Song Changqiu became emotional upon seeing Song Qingming, while Wang Changhua explained that the family had named him Grand Elder after he refused the clan leader position.

Song Qingming attended a Qinghe Council meeting where the Carefree Sect recognized the Song Family as a Foundation Establishment Family and transferred the Qian Family’s market shares to him. He agreed to take over the Huang Family’s turn guarding Qinghe Market, gaining access to its Second-grade Spirit Vein.

• Song Qingming arrived at the Council Hall and greeted Lu Yuanfeng, Gao Jinhe, and Lu Xingde before Huang Shengxin joined them.
• Lu Yuanfeng formally promoted the Song Family to a Foundation Establishment Family, assigned it jurisdiction around Funiu Mountain, and required it to fulfill sect duties and pay tribute.
• Lu Yuanfeng announced that the Qian Family would leave Qinghe County and transfer its Qinghe Market shares to Song Qingming, and the other families accepted the change.
• Huang Shengxin asked Song Qingming to cover the Huang Family’s turn as Qinghe Market’s resident cultivator while he entered seclusion, and Song Qingming agreed.
• Song Qingming kept his distance from the Qian Family after receiving its message, honoring his agreement not to interfere with the Huang Family’s acquisition of Chifeng Ridge’s Spirit Vein.

Song Qingming met the Huang Family at Huixian Tower, where he and its Foundation Establishment elders shared cultivation insights over a feast. Huang Shengyue then proposed a marriage alliance between the Huang and Song Families, offering his granddaughter as Song Qingming’s match.

• Huang Xianlong brought Song Qingming to Huixian Tower at Huang Shengxin’s request.
• Song Qingming found his Sixth Uncle, Song Changfeng, already meeting with Huang Shengxin and Huang Shengyue.
• Huang Shengyue served spirit food prepared by her granddaughter, and Song Qingming praised the dishes.
• Song Qingming and the Huang Family elders exchanged cultivation insights while Song Changfeng and the other Qi Refining cultivators listened.
• Huang Shengyue proposed a marriage alliance and asked Song Qingming what he thought of her granddaughter as his match.

Song Qingming learned that the Huang Family wanted him to marry Huang Siyuan as part of a Marriage Alliance, and he struggled with the idea of accepting the sacrifice for his clan. He agreed to the alliance but asked to delay the wedding for two years; Song Changfeng returned with Huang Siyuan before he expected.

• Huang Shengyue and Huang Shengxin proposed a Marriage Alliance between Song Qingming and Huang Siyuan, and Song Qingming initially objected.
• Huang Shengyue explained that the Huang Family had already discussed the match with Song Changfeng, who asked for two days to give them an answer.
• Song Changfeng told Song Qingming the family would otherwise have to send Song Qingwan, Song Qingyu, or Song Qingsi to marry into the Huang Family.
• Song Qingming accepted the match to spare his sisters but asked Song Changfeng to postpone the marriage for two years.
• Song Changfeng returned from Huixian Tower with Huang Siyuan.

Huang Siyuan visited Song Qingming and offered to reveal how to hatch his Spirit Beast Egg in exchange for two hundred Spirit Stones. After identifying it as a rare Skyfire Roc and explaining how to nurture it, she hinted that her family had used her as a bargaining chip, leaving Song Qingming asking whether she regretted it.

• Song Changfeng brought Huang Siyuan to meet Song Qingming, then left them alone.
• Huang Siyuan offered to tell Song Qingming how to hatch his Spirit Beast Egg for two hundred Spirit Stones.
• Huang Siyuan said the egg could become a Level 2 Spirit Beast, and Song Qingming agreed to pay her.
• Huang Siyuan identified the egg as a Skyfire Roc and gave Song Qingming instructions for hatching and raising it in a Jade Slip.
• Huang Siyuan told Song Qingming that her family had used her as a bargaining chip, and he asked whether she regretted it.

After the Song Family gained a share of Qinghe Market and rose to become a Foundation Establishment Family, Song Qingming helped establish its presence there while settling into a five-year guard rotation. The family’s businesses and income began to grow, though it remained far smaller than the established families of Qinghe County.

• Huang Siyuan told Song Qingming that marrying him was the best choice available to her and admitted she had come seeking Spirit Stones.
• Song Qingming asked Song Changfeng to return home after the other family members arrived and decided the Song Family should keep two of its newly acquired shops for its own use.
• Song Changxiong led Song Family cultivators to Qinghe Market, where they joined the force guarding the marketplace during Song Qingming’s five-year rotation.
• Song Qingming moved into Qinghe Market’s most spiritually rich cave abode and began cultivating there, while Huang Siyuan periodically sent him food.
• Song Qingwan took over two shops, and the Song Family’s market business and annual income grew as its cultivator population surpassed thirty.
• Song Qingming recognized that the Song Family still lagged far behind other Foundation Establishment Families but hoped it could grow stronger by raising new Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

After four years in Qinghe Market, Song Qingming had mastered two Jade Profound Scripture spells and improved his talisman-making and formation skills. When a complaint exposed the Gao Family’s shop cheating Rogue Cultivators, he went to the Law Enforcement Hall and prepared to confront the matter.

• Hongyu accused the Jinbao Hall shopkeeper of swapping her family’s Second-grade Magic Robe for a lesser Dharma Robe, then left to report the dispute to the Marketplace Law Enforcement Team.
• Song Qingming tested his newly mastered Mystic Light Armor and Jade Light Needle spells, then resumed his talisman-making work.
• Song Xin hu told Song Qingming that Song Changxiong needed him to review a complaint concerning the Gao Family’s Jinbao Hall.
• Song Qingming heard that Jinbao Hall had cheated Hongyu and her grandfather over a Level Two Spiritual Item and decided the Gao Family needed a warning.
• Song Qingming gave instructions at the Law Enforcement Hall and took his seat in the main hall.

Song Qingming exposed Gao Yufu’s theft of the Li family’s Spirit Concealing Shirt and punished him, then learned how Li Quan and his granddaughter had lost their family home in the Demonic Beast Turmoil. The shirt was returned to them, and the chapter ended with Song Qingming hearing their story.

• Song Qingming questioned Gao Yufu about Jinbao Hall switching out a customer’s Second-grade Magic Robe, but Gao Yufu denied wrongdoing.
• Song Changxiong detained Gao Yufu’s assistant, who confessed that Gao Yufu had arranged the theft.
• Song Qingming ordered Gao Yufu to receive fifty lashes and Jinbao Hall to close for half a year for rectification.
• Song Qingming returned the Spirit Concealing Shirt to Li Quan and his granddaughter, who confirmed it was their family heirloom.
• Li Quan explained that the Li Family of Cui Long Mountain had been ruined during the Demonic Beast Turmoil, leaving him and his granddaughter as Rogue Cultivators.

Song Qingming bought Li Quan and Li Hongyu’s damaged Spirit Concealing Shirt for a fair price and helped them find permanent work in Qinghe Market. After sharing a meal at Immortal Phoenix Tower, he returned to his cave abode and fed his hungry Crimson Bird.

• Song Qingming paid Li Quan and Li Hongyu four hundred Spirit Stones for their Spirit Concealing Shirt despite its small crack, and warned them to stay cautious outside Qinghe Market.
• Li Quan asked Song Qingming for help settling in the marketplace, and Song Qingming brought him and Li Hongyu to Immortal Phoenix Tower.
• Song Qingwan agreed to consider the pair for work, and Huang Siyuan questioned them before hiring them to help at her business.
• Song Qingming ate spirit food at Immortal Phoenix Tower and returned to his cave abode, where his Crimson Bird demanded food.
• Song Qingming fed several spirit-beast pills to the hungry Crimson Bird.

Song Qingming cared for the Skyfire Roc and tested a Dharma Robe while the Gao Family dealt with Gao Yufu’s misconduct in Qinghe Market. After Lu Yuanfeng emerged from seclusion and heard the Gao Family’s plea, he proposed a fine for Jinbao Hall so the Gao Family and Song Family could each take a step back.

• Song Qingming raised the Skyfire Roc after Song Qingyu returned it to him in exchange for the Lightning Tiger Puppet Beast, and he tested his newly obtained Dharma Robe.
• Gao Jinhe ordered Yu Long to deliver a letter to Lu Yuanfeng and bring Gao Yufu back to Lotus Mountain, then warned the Gao Family against breaking marketplace rules.
• Lu Yuanfeng summoned Song Qingming and reprimanded Hu Maocheng, but let Hu go after Song Qingming explained he was not involved in the earlier wrongdoing.
• Lu Yuanfeng told Song Qingming that the Gao Family had punished Gao Yufu and proposed fining Jinbao Hall to settle the dispute.

Song Qingming learned that demonic cultivators had infiltrated the Wu Family’s territory near Funiu Mountain and organized a force to respond. With Dragon Pool Mountain surrounded, the Song Family prepared to confront the hidden threat.

• Song Qingming agreed with Lu Yuanfeng to settle the dispute involving Jinbao Hall without pursuing the Gao Family further.
• Song Qingshi delivered Song Changfeng’s urgent letter, and Song Qingming returned to Funiu Mountain.
• Song Changfeng reported that the Wu Family had found mortals in its territory parasitized by demonic cultivators.
• Song Qingming warned the Song Family’s cultivators not to act rashly and resolved to join forces with the neighboring families.
• Song Qingming summoned subordinate families, gathered forty or fifty cultivators, and ordered them to seal off Dragon Pool Mountain under cover of night.

Second Senior Brother and his fellow demonic cultivators planned to use the Wu Family for a blood sacrifice, but Wu Xiyun and Song Changfeng launched a coordinated search and activated the town’s Mountain Protection Array. The demonic cultivators lost contact with Wu Zitong and prepared to withdraw, though their hidden base had not yet been found.

• Second Senior Brother gave the black-robed figures Blood Dragon Pills and privately planned to use the Wu Family cultivators’ blood sacrifice to reach Foundation Establishment.
• Wu Xiyun ordered the Wu Family cultivators to expose and execute anyone connected to demonic cultivators, then joined Song Changfeng and the other cultivators in the village below Dragon Pool Mountain.
• Fourth Elder lured Wu Zitong from his courtyard, where two cultivators subdued him, and then took Wu Zitong’s place to activate the Mountain Protection Array.
• The Mountain Protection Array enclosed the town, and Wu Family cultivators gathered its sleeping mortals in an open area while searching for the demonic cultivators.
• Second Senior Brother learned that the demonic cultivators could no longer contact Wu Zitong and ordered his group to withdraw from their underground chamber.

The Wu Family's Third Elder disabled the Mountain Protection Array, allowing demonic cultivators to escape into an ambush led by Song Changfeng and allied cultivators. As the battle turned against the demons, Gu Liangshan drew out a black jade tile and began preparing a hidden technique.

• The Wu Family's Third Elder killed one guard, knocked down another, and disabled the Mountain Protection Array before leaving.
• Demonic cultivators crossed the former boundary of the array and were ambushed by Song Changfeng and cultivators from several families.
• The tall elder Gu Liangshan used his Soul Gathering Banner to hold off the righteous cultivators until Song Changfeng joined the attack with two Late Qi Refining Stage Cultivators.
• After two demonic cultivators died, Gu Liangshan told his three fellow disciples to help him use a powerful treasure, and they forced their opponents back to gather around him.
• Gu Liangshan sat down and chanted over a small pitch-black Jade Tile, prompting Song Changfeng to order the cultivators to retreat.

Gu Liangshan escaped the siege with a flying jade pendant, but Song Qingming pursued and captured him after defeating his Soul Gathering Banner. The demonic cultivators were eliminated at Dragon Pool Mountain, though the Wu Family suffered heavy losses from members who had been controlled by the demons.

• Gu Liangshan used a jade pendant to fly away from the encircling cultivators, and Song Changfeng led a pursuit while the others continued the siege.
• Song Qingming caught up with Gu Liangshan in a swamp, took the jade pendant, and refused to let him leave.
• Gu Liangshan attacked Song Qingming with the Soul Gathering Banner, but Song Qingming defeated him and returned with him unconscious.
• The battle ended with five demonic cultivators dead and one captured, while Song Qingming ordered the captives watched until Lu Yuanfeng arrived.
• Several Wu Family cultivators, including the Third Elder, turned against their own side under the demons’ influence, leaving the family with seven cultivators dead and many mortals lost.