Chapter Summaries

Li Qingyuan perfected his Second-tier body cultivation and demonstrated the power of his Nine Fiend Demonic Cauldron Technique while sparring with Ji Kun, then entered seclusion to pursue Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Perfection. Li Yunmei later returned with major inside news after attending a gathering of True Person Miao Le’s disciples.

• Li Qingyuan reached Peak Second-tier Perfection in body cultivation and used nine demonic cauldrons to suppress Ji Kun during their sparring match.
• Li Qingyuan gave Ji Kun masterwork pills and told it to cultivate toward Second-Tier Late Stage Perfection and a future Demonic Core.
• Li Yunmei told Li Qingyuan that True Person Miao Le had accepted four more True Disciples and that Senior Sister Shang Xiuxin had summoned the five nominal disciples to receive a wondrous method.
• Li Qingyuan advised Li Yunmei to be careful, then entered seclusion to pursue Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Perfection.
• More than three months later, Li Yunmei returned to Li Qingyuan with major inside news.

Li Yunmei told Li Qingyuan about the Foundation Establishment Trial, a once-in-fifty-years opportunity to explore an Ancient Secret Realm rich in powerful inheritances. Though Li Qingyuan coveted its rewards, fear that True Person Chi Yun and Three Joys Immortal City's leaders would expose his disguise left him unsure whether to participate.

• Li Yunmei explained that the Seven Kingdoms of Arid Province held trials to nurture Core Formation prodigies, and described the sword formation True Person Miao Le had taught her and four other registered disciples.
• Li Qingyuan concluded that Li Yunmei and the other disciples had been chosen to protect and accompany Shang Xiuxin, Miao Le's talented direct disciple.
• Li Yunmei told Li Qingyuan that Three Joys Immortal City had thirty trial spots, including ten for Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivators, and encouraged him to compete for one.
• Li Qingyuan worried that participating would expose his disguise to True Person Chi Yun or Three Joys Immortal City's Core Formation leaders, so he considered refusing the opportunity.
• Li Yunmei revealed that the Ancient Secret Realm contained rare inheritances, including accounts of Soul Transformation Magic Treasures and Spirit Transformation inheritances, but Li Qingyuan remained conflicted as she departed.

Li Qingyuan bought rare materials, refined Masterwork Quality pills, and used a Mystic Law Pill to strengthen his cultivation. He resolved to claim True Person Chi Yun’s Alchemy Path Inheritance as their feud remained unsettled.

• Li Qingyuan planned to cultivate in seclusion for twenty years before seeking a Core Formation Opportunity, but Yun Lang’s message about newly stocked materials interrupted him.
• Disguised as Chen Yuanjie, Li Qingyuan paid Yun Lang sixteen thousand Spirit Stones for Jade Crystal Spirit Transforming Bamboo and five drops of Thousand-Year Spirit Milk, then returned as Peng Changsheng to buy the final materials for Dragon Tiger Auspicious Elixir.
• Li Qingyuan refined Dragon Tiger Auspicious Elixirs and upgraded his Mystic Law Pills and Dragon Bone Marrow-Clearing Pills into Masterwork Quality pills.
• Li Qingyuan gave five Masterwork Quality Dragon Tiger and Dragon Bone Marrow-Clearing pills to Ji Kun, keeping two Masterwork Quality Mystic Law Pills for himself.
• After a month of cultivation with one Mystic Law Pill, Li Qingyuan felt his magic power increase and vowed to take True Person Chi Yun’s Alchemy Path Inheritance.

Li Qingyuan emerged from seclusion after Ji Kun advanced to Peak Second-tier, then considered their next steps and received an invitation from Yun Lang to explore an Ancient Cultivator's Cave Mansion. He decided to learn more before choosing whether to go.

• Li Qingyuan continued secluded cultivation, using Mystic Law Pills to accelerate his progress toward Core Formation.
• After half a year, Ji Kun broke through from Second-tier Late Stage to Peak Second-tier by refining pills and absorbing spiritual energy.
• Li Qingyuan urged Ji Kun to consume Purple Flame Core Condensing Fruits and attempt to become a Tier 3 Great Demon, but Ji Kun refused because its chances of success were too low.
• Li Qingyuan considered improving his body-refining cultivation and talisman skills, but lacked the Third-grade Elixirs and Wood Attribute Talisman Script he needed.
• Yun Lang invited Li Qingyuan to explore a Core Formation Cultivator's cave mansion, suspected to belong to a Third-grade Talisman Master and Insect Cultivator.
• Li Qingyuan decided to hear more about the cave mansion before deciding whether to join the exploration.

Li Qingyuan, disguised as Chen Yuanjie, met with Yun Lang and several Foundation Establishment cultivators to discuss exploring a Core Formation cultivator’s cave mansion. He agreed to join the expedition and provide pills and supplies, though he claimed he was inexperienced in combat.

• Li Qingyuan arrived at Yun Lang’s residence in his Chen Yuanjie guise and met Hua Mei'er, Fang Tian, Nangong Jin, and Chunyu Xing.
• Yun Lang introduced Chen Yuanjie as a skilled alchemist whose pills had impressed the gathered cultivators.
• Chunyu Xing explained that he had discovered the cave mansion after surviving an attack by Blood-Winged Poison Bees, and Yun Lang linked the site to a vanished Core Formation cultivator who practiced talisman arts and insect cultivation.
• Li Qingyuan suspected Chunyu Xing’s motives but judged that he and Ji Kun could handle the danger.
• Li Qingyuan agreed to join the expedition, offering to provide pills and logistical supplies while claiming he was not skilled at fighting.

Li Qingyuan joined Yun Lang’s group for an expedition to a Core Formation Cultivator’s cave residence, while secretly preparing powerful talisman arrays and pills. As he set out to meet the others, True Person Miao Le learned that a long-hidden target had finally acted and decided to deal with it herself.

• Yun Lang recruited Li Qingyuan to provide pills for the expedition, while Fang Tian, Nangong Jin, and Yun Lang agreed to lead the fighting; Chunyu Xing and Hua Mei’er also prepared to support the group.
• Li Qingyuan arranged through Li Yunmei to obtain Second-grade High-rank talismans drawn by Shang Xiuxin, then gave Li Yunmei a bottle of masterwork Beauty-Enhancing Pills in return.
• Li Qingyuan prepared ten sets of Five Elements Talisman Arrays and refined several batches of pills before sharing some with Ji Kun.
• Li Qingyuan flew out to meet Yun Lang’s group and explore the cave residence ruins.
• A man told True Person Miao Le that a mouse who had lurked for over thirty years had made a move, and she went to deal with it herself.

True Person Yun Le lamented the obstacles facing Three Joys Immortal City’s rise to Nascent Soul power and placed his hopes on Tongxuan. Disguised as Chen Yuanjie, Li Qingyuan joined five cultivators on an expedition to an ancient cave mansion, where he questioned Chunyu Xing about how he had entered it alone before.

• True Person Yun Le condemned the Corpse Puppet Sect and Myriad Phenomena Sect for undermining Three Joys Immortal City, then said its future depended on Tongxuan.
• Li Qingyuan disguised himself as Chen Yuanjie, met Yun Lang, Nangong Jin, Fang Tian, Chunyu Xing, and Hua Mei'er, and traded pills for Chunyu Xing's talismans.
• Hua Mei'er flirted with Chen Yuanjie during the group's journey, but he acted shy and rejected her advances.
• After traveling for a day and a night, the six cultivators reached Chunyu Xing's hidden valley and discovered a Third-grade Remnant Formation concealing the cave mansion.
• Fang Tian proposed that the group attack one point together to break the formation, but Li Qingyuan asked Chunyu Xing how he had entered the cave alone before.

Li Qingyuan and the others broke the formation guarding the Ancient Cultivator's Cave Mansion and entered a gorge swarming with Blood-Winged Poison Bees. When the group’s defensive formation collapsed, each companion escaped using a hidden trick, while Li Qingyuan was left surrounded by the bees.

• Chunyu Xing revealed a Second-grade High-rank Restriction Breaking Talisman, and the six cultivators attacked until the formation barrier shattered.
• Chunyu Xing led the group into the valley and warned them that Blood-Winged Poison Bees infested the barren gorge.
• Fang Tian raised an Eight Desolations Spirit Gathering Shield, but two Peak Second-tier Blood-Winged Poison Bee Kings broke through it and the swarm overwhelmed the group.
• Yun Lang escaped under a cloak, Nangong Jin and Fang Tian fled aboard a flying shuttle, and Chunyu Xing used a talisman to pass through the bees unharmed.
• Hua Mei'er used a Jade Flute to imitate the bees' calls and leave the swarm, while Li Qingyuan remained surrounded by thousands of Blood-Winged Poison Bees.

After the others fled the poison bee swarm, Li Qingyuan released Ji Kun, which devoured the bees and left him with the two bee kings’ venom stingers and cores. The group later discovered that the mirror lake concealed the cave-dwelling ruins and entered it.

• Li Qingyuan waited until the other cultivators were gone, then released Ji Kun to counter the Blood-Winged Poison Bees.
• Ji Kun’s crow weakened the poison bee kings and scattered the swarm, then it devoured the bees while Li Qingyuan crushed the two kings and collected their stingers and cores.
• Li Qingyuan rode Ji Kun through the gorge toward the ruins, intending to let Yun Lang and the others scout ahead.
• Yun Lang, Chunyu Xing, Hua Mei'er, Fang Tian, and Nangong Jin regrouped at a mirror-like lake and searched the surrounding mountains for the hidden cave dwelling.
• After Chunyu Xing struck the lake in frustration, its illusion formation rippled, revealing that the cave dwelling lay beneath it.
• The five cultivators leaped into the illusionary lake and disappeared.

Li Qingyuan entered a hidden valley and discovered the Early-Stage Core Formation Four-Eyed Crimson Infant fighting Yun Lang and the others. Chunyu Xing betrayed Yun Lang and revealed his alliance with the insect, but Li Qingyuan was detected while retreating, leaving him pursued through the cave as the others fled too.

• Li Qingyuan entered the Mirror Lake Illusion Formation, found the cave entrance, and reached a secluded valley where he saw the Four-Eyed Crimson Infant battling Yun Lang and four others.
• Yun Lang urged the group to use their trump cards, but Chunyu Xing stabbed him, took the Heavenly One Heavy Water Bead, and fed Yun Lang to the Crimson Infant.
• Chunyu Xing revealed his Peak Foundation Establishment cultivation and his alliance with the Crimson Infant, then faced attacks from Fang Tian, Nangong Jin, and Hua Mei'er.
• Li Qingyuan tried to retreat unseen, but the Crimson Infant sensed him and attacked, forcing him to flee into the cave with the insect in pursuit.
• Fang Tian, Nangong Jin, and Hua Mei'er escaped through the cave while Chunyu Xing pursued them, beginning two separate chases.

Li Qingyuan and Ji Kun severely wounded the Four-Eyed Crimson Infant, but True Person Wan Luo arrived and turned the fight against them. As Wan Luo attacked Li Qingyuan, True Person Miao Le watched from above the clouds and hinted that she might intervene.

• Li Qingyuan escaped the Four-Eyed Crimson Infant through the Mirror Lake Illusion Formation and used the Thousand Feather Sky Covering Formation to set up a counterattack.
• Li Qingyuan struck the Red Infant with the Nine Fiend Demonic Cauldron Technique, then Ji Kun wounded it with the Primordial Cone, severing one of its arms.
• True Person Wan Luo arrived, protected the Red Infant, and confronted Li Qingyuan and Ji Kun as Hua Mei'er, Fang Tian, Nangong Jin, and Chunyu Xing emerged from the illusion formation.
• Wan Luo ordered the Red Infant and Chunyu Xing to kill the others; the Red Infant ate Hua Mei'er, Fang Tian, and Nangong Jin, then regenerated its severed arm.
• Wan Luo attacked Li Qingyuan with a gigantic golden finger, while True Person Miao Le observed from above the clouds and remarked that his death would be a pity.

Li Qingyuan fought off True Person Wan Luo until True Person Miao Le arrived and defeated the Myriad Phenomena Sect elder, exposing the sect’s scheme against Three Joys Immortal City. After Wan Luo escaped and Miao Le captured the Four-Eyed Crimson Infant, she turned her attention to Li Qingyuan and said he smelled good.

• Li Qingyuan combined his Nine Fiend Demon Cauldron and wielded the Thunder Python Sword to withstand True Person Wan Luo’s attacks, though he was injured.
• True Person Wan Luo summoned the Wan Luo Mountain Crushing Seal, but True Person Miao Le arrived and shattered it with peach blossoms.
• True Person Miao Le exposed Chunyu Xing as a Myriad Phenomena Sect agent and killed him with a finger strike.
• True Person Miao Le struck True Person Wan Luo down, but a Nascent Soul True Lord’s jade plaque rescued him and carried him away.
• Ji Kun wounded the Four-Eyed Crimson Infant before True Person Miao Le restrained it and took it and the Storage Bags it carried.
• Li Qingyuan gave his name as Chen Yuanjie and tried to leave, but True Person Miao Le stopped him and said he smelled good.

True Person Miao Le discovered that Li Qingyuan had a Wood Spirit Body, an innate physique that gave him cultivation aptitude comparable to a Heavenly Spirit Root. She marked him as hers, urged him to enter the Foundation Establishment Trial, and gave him a premium Spirit Nurturing Pill to strengthen his divine sense.

• True Person Miao Le subdued Li Qingyuan, tasted his blood, and used a spirit-root pearl to identify his Wood Spirit Body.
• True Person Miao Le explained that the Wood Spirit Body made Li Qingyuan's aptitude for wood cultivation comparable to a single-attribute Heavenly Spirit Root, then planted a protective Peach Blossom Brand on him.
• True Person Miao Le removed Li Qingyuan's disguise and told him to form a Core before entering the Foundation Establishment Trial selection tournament in three months.
• True Person Miao Le explained that the trial took place in an Ancient Shattered Continent, where cultivators sought ancient inheritances, and warned Li Qingyuan that the Nine Provinces Continent was the God-Forsaken Domain, where Soul Transformation was impossible.
• After Li Qingyuan worried that True Person Chi Yun would recognize him, True Person Miao Le gave him Chi Yun's premium Third-grade Low-rank Spirit Nurturing Pill to help advance his divine sense.

True Person Miao Le gave Li Qingyuan a Spirit Nurturing Pill, uncovered his real name, and ordered an investigation into him. After returning to Three Joys Immortal City, Li Qingyuan doubled his spoils and began using the pill to strengthen his divine sense.

• True Person Miao Le gave Li Qingyuan a premium Spirit Nurturing Pill, exposed his false name with Nascent Soul Divine Sense, and let him keep Chunyu Xing's Storage Bag.
• Li Qingyuan realized the cave abode ruins had been a trap to feed Foundation Establishment Cultivators to the Four-Eyed Crimson Infant and weaken Three Joys Immortal City.
• Li Qingyuan examined Chunyu Xing's Storage Bag, found valuable treasures and a complete Second-grade High-rank Talisman Path Inheritance, then burned Chunyu Xing's corpse and returned to the city with Ji Kun.
• True Person Miao Le ordered a black-clad Early-Stage Core Formation Cultivator to gather all information on Li Qingyuan within three days.
• Li Qingyuan copied and doubled the resources in Chunyu Xing's Storage Bag, duplicated the Spirit Nurturing Pill, and swallowed one to advance his divine sense toward Core Formation.

Li Qingyuan advanced his Divine Sense to Early-Stage Core Formation, forged the Second-grade High-rank Cloud Mist Sword, and prepared for the Three Joys Immortal City Foundation Establishment Trial. After learning that True Person Chi Yun had forged a natal magic treasure and acquired powerful talismans, Li Qingyuan abandoned plans to attack him as the trial selection began.

• Li Qingyuan broke through to Early-Stage Core Formation Divine Sense, then gave Ji Kun a Masterwork Spirit Nurturing Pill that sent it into a deep sleep as it strengthened its Divine Sense.
• Li Qingyuan concealed his cultivation at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage perfection and tested the Primordial Cone, finding that he could wield thirty percent of its power with his new Divine Sense.
• Li Qingyuan spent nearly two months refining artifacts and forged the Second-grade High-rank Cloud Mist Sword.
• Li Qingyuan and Ji Kun considered attacking True Person Chi Yun, but True Person Miao Le revealed that Chi Yun had forged a natal magic treasure and obtained ten sheets of Third-grade Mid-tier Talisman Paper.
• Li Qingyuan warned Ji Kun against letting greed and hatred cloud its judgment, and the Yellow Brocade Great Bell announced the start of the Foundation Establishment Trial selection.

Li Qingyuan attended Three Joys Immortal City’s selection for the Foundation Establishment Trial and watched the city lords impose strict eligibility checks. After fewer than a thousand cultivators qualified, True Person Yun Le announced a brutal arena contest to choose the ten candidates, leaving the competition about to begin.

• Li Qingyuan arrived at Three Joys Immortal Palace and saw the three city lords, including the celebrated True Person Miao Le, take their places before the gathered cultivators.
• The nine Core Formation True Persons and the crowd paid respects as the three city lords appeared, and True Person Miao Le spotted Li Qingyuan hiding from her gaze.
• True Person Yun Le screened applicants by cultivation, length of residence, local contributions, and bone age, while True Person Miao Le punished and expelled cultivators who tried to deceive the city lords.
• Fewer than a thousand Foundation Establishment Cultivators qualified for the selection, most of them at Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
• True Person Yun Le brought out ten arenas and announced that the last cultivator standing on each arena would win a place in the Foundation Establishment Trial.

The king-of-the-hill tournament for entry to the Ancient Secret Realm began, and Li Qingyuan spent nine days studying the strongest contestants before taking the stage as Liu Chuan. His appearance drew Li Yunmei’s attention and the hostility of Mo Hong, who coveted her and resented her friend.

• True Person Yun Le announced that ten cultivators who remained on the arenas after ten days would qualify for the Ancient Secret Realm, and the tournament began.
• Li Qingyuan watched the battles for nine days, assessing the contestants’ strengths and deciding that none posed much of a threat.
• True Person Miao Le prompted cultivators who had not challenged to act before their qualifications were revoked, so Li Qingyuan took Arena Number Nine under the name Liu Chuan.
• Li Yunmei recognized Liu Chuan as her friend, while Shang Xiuxin recalled his reputation as an alchemist and possible talisman master.
• Mo Hong disparaged Liu Chuan, then concealed his hostility after Li Yunmei defended him; he resolved to eliminate the rogue cultivator for attracting her attention.

Li Qingyuan, posing as the rogue cultivator Liu Chuan, defended Arena Nine by outlasting challengers with his deep reserves of magic power and seemingly endless talismans. He secured a place among the ten victors, who were ordered to gather in half a month and enter the secret realm with True Person Yun Le.

• Li Qingyuan defeated Wang Ming after more than a hundred exchanges, forcing him to concede and making Liu Chuan the defender of Arena Nine.
• Li Qingyuan defeated a second Foundation Establishment Late Stage challenger, then continued winning against more than twenty opponents until the selection ended.
• True Person Yun Le announced the ten victors and ordered them to gather at Cloud Top Heavenly Palace in half a month before heading to the Secret Realm Entrance.
• Zhao Tongxuan recognized Liu Chuan as a hidden expert, while Lu Huan considered cooperating with him against foreign enemies.
• True Person Yun Le called the thirty Foundation Establishment participants to gather in half a month and follow him into battle.

After the selection, Li Qingyuan secluded himself to master high-rank talismans, then was summoned by True Person Miao Le on the eve of the Trial Secret Realm. He leaves their meeting having asked her for a vast supply of third-grade talisman paper.

• Li Qingyuan studied the Wood-Bearing-Heaven Talisman and quickly drew two hundred of them, building up his stock of Five Elements talisman papers.
• True Person Miao Le summoned Li Qingyuan to Miao Le Palace, where he found her bathing behind a screen.
• Li Qingyuan praised Miao Le's beauty with a poem, which impressed her more than his apparent infatuation.
• Li Qingyuan explained that he had grown up in a scholarly family before beginning his cultivation and asked why Miao Le had summoned him.
• Miao Le asked whether Li Qingyuan was prepared for the Trial Secret Realm, and he claimed a Rogue Cultivator could not compete with the powerful entrants.
• Li Qingyuan asked Miao Le for several hundred sheets of third-grade low-rank talisman paper and around a hundred sheets of third-grade mid-tier paper, making her spray out her tea.

True Person Miao Le warned Li Qingyuan about the deadly Foundation Establishment Trial and gave him a map and a chance to obtain the Wood Ascending Heaven Art. As Three Joys Immortal City’s warship departed for the trial, Li Qingyuan kept his own plans to escape in mind.

• True Person Miao Le explained that the trial would exclude combat resources above the third grade, but that prodigies could still kill one another and fewer than one in ten participants survived.
• True Person Miao Le warned Li Qingyuan that disciples from the Myriad Phenomena Sect and Corpse Puppet Sect would target Three Joys Immortal City’s disciples, and asked him to help Shang Xiuxin if she was in danger.
• True Person Miao Le gave Li Qingyuan a secret-realm map and a jade slip guiding him to the Wood Ascending Heaven Art, which could enhance his Wood Spirit Body.
• Li Qingyuan agreed to help Shang Xiuxin and investigate the hidden heaven, while privately considering how to erase Miao Le’s Nascent Soul Divine Sense imprint and escape.
• True Person Miao Le sent Li Qingyuan out of her palace, and he realized its formation might be fourth-grade.
• True Person Yun Le ordered Three Joys Immortal City’s warship to depart, and a woman approached Li Qingyuan on deck.