Chapter Summaries

After obtaining an inheritance key, Zhao Jue led the Desolate Province prodigies to a grotto-heaven containing rare treasures and a Quasi-Fourth-Tier Skywing Demonic Hound. Li Qingyuan set his sights on the Sun Moon Soul Nurturing Lotus, and the group arrived at the inheritance site to find nearly a thousand prodigies already gathered.

• Zhao Jue reorganized the eighty-two remaining Desolate Province prodigies and proposed they contend for the inheritance together.
• Zhao Chong activated the Pill Key, revealing the grotto-heaven, its Third-tier treasures, the Sun Moon Soul Nurturing Lotus, and the Skywing Demonic Hound guarding the area.
• Li Qingyuan recognized the lotus's value for cultivating Nascent Soul Divine Sense and resolved to prepare more Third-grade talismans before setting out.
• Zhao Jue led the team northwest for over eighteen thousand li to the inheritance site, where nearly a thousand prodigies from five factions had gathered.
• Zhao Jue introduced the Desolate Province team and its inheritance key to Guan Yang of the True Yang Sect, while Li Qingyuan planned to seize the lotus.

Li Qingyuan prepared for the inheritance grotto-heaven by crafting high-rank talismans, but the arrival of Young King Yuan’s faction brought his old enemy Huo Lingzi and a new threat. As the factions prepared to open the secret realm, Young King Yuan ordered Huo Lingzi and Shui Lingzi to kill Li Qingyuan.

• Zhao Jue reported that eight Pill Keys were needed to open the inheritance grotto-heaven and that six had surfaced.
• Li Qingyuan used Miao Le’s materials and Peach Blossom Brush to craft about eighty third-grade high-rank talismans, doubling his total to around one hundred and sixty.
• Several hundred Core Formation cultivators arrived, including Wang Fugui riding a golden pig and Young King Yuan accompanied by Huo Lingzi and Shui Lingzi.
• Zhao Guangzheng and Zhenxing discussed taking over the body of a Late-Stage Core Formation cultivator, and Li Qingyuan reluctantly agreed to consider helping if an opportunity arose.
• Wang Fugui proposed opening the secret realm after all the keys had been gathered, while Huo Lingzi identified Li Qingyuan to Young King Yuan.
• Young King Yuan accused Li Qingyuan of showing him contempt and ordered Huo Lingzi and Shui Lingzi to kill him.

Li Qingyuan fled Young King Yuan’s group, then secretly entered the land of inheritance disguised as the rogue cultivator Bloody Hand Butcher Zhou Gang. The factions discovered a hidden world containing a Pill Dao inheritance estimated to be at least Tier 4, while the Sun Moon Soul Nurturing Lotus became the focus of their competition.

• Li Qingyuan escaped Huo Lingzi and Shui Lingzi, and Young King Yuan called off the pursuit before warning the factions that outsiders would be killed if they fought for the inheritance.
• The eight factions used their Pill Keys to open the Eight Trigrams gateway and entered the land of inheritance.
• Li Qingyuan entered after the factions in his Bloody Hand Butcher Zhou Gang disguise and blended in with the rogue cultivators.
• The factions reached an eighteen-mountain range where they spotted the Sun Moon Soul Nurturing Lotus, but an invisible barrier teleported the first group into a hidden space.
• A scout reported that the mountain range held a Self-Contained World and a Pill Dao Inheritance estimated to be at least Tier 4, exciting the gathered factions.

Young King Yuan and the other factions raced to claim Tianmu Zi’s Alchemy Path Inheritance, where entrants had to prove their alchemy skills. Li Qingyuan passed the first trial and began the harder test to refine True Man Pills, confident he could claim the inheritance.

• Young King Yuan led his forces into the mountain, while the other alliance camps charged after the Treasure Pill Inheritance.
• Li Qingyuan entered the mountain-belly world and learned from Zhao Guangzheng that its seemingly miraculous pill-making setup was an illusion formation.
• Tianmu Zi’s trial required entrants to refine Foundation Establishment Pills, and Young King Yuan promised rewards to alchemists who secured the inheritance.
• Yu Xiao'er, Wang Fugui, Huo Lingzi, and other cultivators passed the first trial by producing the required pills.
• Li Qingyuan passed with two standard-grade Foundation Establishment Pills and one masterwork-grade pill, then entered the next trial space.
• After the first trial ended, Tianmu Zi set a one-day test to refine True Man Pills, and Li Qingyuan prepared to claim the Sun Moon Soul Nurturing Lotus.

Li Qingyuan passed the Myriad True Pill and Spirit Condensing Pill assessments, collecting rare ingredients while making his alchemy seem only barely adequate. Five cultivators advanced to the final high-rank elixir test, where both Yu Xiao'er and Li Qingyuan privately expected to succeed.

• Yu Xiao'er led the True Man Pill assessment with three masterwork pills, while Li Qingyuan qualified with one masterwork and two standard-grade pills.
• Eleven cultivators passed the Myriad True Pill assessment, and Li Qingyuan stored his share of the ingredients and Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Milk.
• Observers praised Yu Xiao'er and considered recruiting him before the cultivators began the Spirit Condensing Pill assessment.
• Wang Fugui failed all three Spirit Condensing Pill attempts, while Li Qingyuan barely qualified and joined Yu Xiao'er, Huo Lingzi, the Late-Stage Core Formation female cultivator, and Zhang Tianyu among the five who advanced.
• The five received materials for the final test: refining a Third-grade High-rank elixir within ten days, with three attempts to produce at least one standard-grade pill.

Yu Xiao'er, Zhang Tianyu, and Li Qingyuan passed the Third-grade alchemy trial, while Young King Yuan secretly ordered his followers to seize or kill the inheritors depending on who claimed the inheritance. The three were transported to separate spaces to face a Fourth-grade elixir challenge, and Li Qingyuan learned the formula was the Spirit-Cleansing Illusionary Elixir.

• Yu Xiao'er and Zhang Tianyu each refined qualifying Third-grade High-rank elixirs, while Huo Lingzi and Young King Yuan's maid failed.
• Li Qingyuan first caused a furnace explosion, then refined one standard-grade and two low-grade pills and celebrated his success despite appearing to have lost his reason.
• Young King Yuan ordered his followers to seize Zhang Tianyu's inheritance or recruit Yu Xiao'er and kill him if he refused.
• Yu Xiao'er, Zhang Tianyu, and Li Qingyuan disappeared from the spectators' view, and Young King Yuan failed to locate them with his divine sense.
• Li Qingyuan, Yu Xiao'er, and Zhang Tianyu appeared in separate spaces before Fourth-grade furnaces and materials, where Li Qingyuan received the Spirit-Cleansing Illusionary Elixir formula.

Li Qingyuan used the Longevity Seed and help from Zhao Guangzheng, Zhenxing, and Blood Shadow to attempt the Fourth-grade Spirit-Cleansing Illusionary Elixir assessment. After nearly exhausting himself during pill fusion, he successfully refined two Spirit-Cleansing Illusionary Elixirs, leaving the assessment’s outcome unresolved.

• Li Qingyuan learned that the assessment required refining a Spirit-Cleansing Illusionary Elixir within a year, and Zhao Guangzheng explained how the Longevity Seed could raise his chances of success.
• Yu Xiao'er and Zhang Tianyu began memorizing the ancient elixir formula while Li Qingyuan studied it for more than two months.
• Li Qingyuan began refining the elixir with Blood Shadow controlling the earth fire, while Zhao Guangzheng and Zhenxing assisted with their Nascent Soul abilities.
• Li Qingyuan used the Longevity Seed and Jia Wood Magic Power to fuse the thirteen medicinal liquids, but one pill embryo exploded during the difficult pill-fusion stage.
• Li Qingyuan endured the strain and continued refining until the furnace shone with spiritual light, producing two Spirit-Cleansing Illusionary Elixirs.

Li Qingyuan passed Tianmu Zi’s trial by refining the Spirit-Cleansing Illusionary Elixir and obtained the Tianmu Pill Art, a vast Pill Dao inheritance that included seven treasure-elixir formulas. He left the inheritance space disguised as Zhou Gang, feigning madness and claiming success while the crowd remained unaware of what he had truly gained.

• Li Qingyuan refined two low-grade Spirit-Cleansing Illusionary Elixirs, became a Fourth-grade alchemist, and received Tianmu Zi’s ingredients and the Tianmu Pill Art.
• Li Qingyuan discovered the inheritance contained numerous elixir formulas and seven treasure-elixir formulas, but his divine sense was too weak to comprehend the latter.
• Yu Xiao'er and Zhang Tianyu both failed to refine the Fourth-grade elixir, left their trials, and told Young King Yuan that the inheritance trial was impossible.
• Young King Yuan demanded to search Yu Xiao'er and Zhang Tianyu’s souls, but Li Qingyuan emerged disguised as Zhou Gang and acted as though the trial had driven him mad.
• Li Qingyuan fled while shouting that he had refined a Fourth-grade elixir and claimed the treasure-elixir inheritance, leaving the crowd dumbfounded.

After the spatial formation collapsed, the factions battled the demonic beasts and searched the mountain ranges, unaware that Li Qingyuan had secretly taken the Sun Moon Soul Nurturing Lotus and an inheritance. He disguised himself as Luo Zhengyi and followed the others toward a newly discovered Sword Dao inheritance, while the Human King noticed that Li Qingyuan had already earned over a hundred points.

• Young King Yuan defeated and killed the Quasi-Fourth Tier Skywing Demonic Hound, while the other factions and rogue cultivators hunted beasts and gathered spirit plants.
• The factions finished clearing the mountain ranges but found that the Sun Moon Soul Nurturing Lotus had vanished, and they received reports of a Sword Dao inheritance and hurried away.
• Li Qingyuan emerged from hiding, claimed the Sun Moon Soul Nurturing Lotus and other spirit plants, and raised his score above one hundred and sixty points.
• Li Qingyuan changed his appearance and aura to become Luo Zhengyi, then followed the factions toward the Sword Dao inheritance.
• The Human King sensed that someone had earned over a hundred points and discovered the name Li Qingyuan on his jade slip.

Dugu Lei discovered that Li Qingyuan was among the Desolate Province prodigies and judged her worthy of support, while the Five Yuan King continued to seek a chance to surpass him. At the Sword Dao Inheritance, Li Qingyuan entered under his Luo Zhengyi disguise and chose to study the valley’s low-tier sword arts, drawing Huo Lingzi’s ridicule.

• Dugu Lei found Li Qingyuan on Zhao Liuyun’s roster and considered supporting her and True Monarch Miao Le in strengthening the Seven Kingdoms of Arid Province.
• The Human King and the Five Yuan King exchanged a charged gaze as their powers stirred strange phenomena above the Void Refinement Grotto-heaven.
• Li Qingyuan entered the Sword Dao valley disguised as Luo Zhengyi and identified the barrier as a profound sword array, sharing its view with Zhenxing and Zhao Guangzheng.
• Li Qingyuan comprehended the first earthen sword and obtained the Tier 1 Cloud Sword Technique, then questioned why a Void Refinement inheritance contained such low-tier spells.
• Li Qingyuan began studying the one-zhang earthen swords one by one, while Huo Lingzi mocked him for wasting time on Tier 1 spells.

Li Qingyuan continued studying Sword Mountain’s basic sword techniques and discovered that its Third-tier sword arts formed a Twenty-Four Solar Terms sword formation. After Young King Yuan comprehended the southern giant sword’s Sword of Summer Glory, he realized Li Qingyuan, Zhang Tianyu, and Qi Yuanxiao had surpassed him in sword comprehension and decided they must die.

• As Core Formation prodigies gathered beneath Sword Mountain’s four giant swords, Jiang Xuanxu defended Zhang Tianyu and Qi Yuanxiao from Huo Lingzi’s insults, and the group began comprehending the four Sword Intents.
• Li Qingyuan completed the three hundred and sixty-five basic sword techniques, then climbed higher to study the twenty-four Third-tier sword techniques based on the Solar Terms.
• Li Qingyuan realized the twenty-four Solar Terms sword arts formed a unified sword formation that resonated with Sword Mountain’s four giant swords.
• Young King Yuan comprehended the southern giant sword’s Sword of Summer Glory and sensed how it governed the six summer Solar Terms sword arts.
• Young King Yuan recognized that Li Qingyuan, Zhang Tianyu, and Qi Yuanxiao had superior sword comprehension and resolved to kill them.

After the four great sword intents were unlocked, Li Qingyuan, disguised as Luo Zhengyi, and Zhang Tianyu comprehended the remaining sword intents, causing Sword Mountain to collapse and reveal Di Kunzi’s Earth Marsh Sword Array inheritance. Young King Yuan’s killing intent toward Li Qingyuan intensified, and the inheritance mark appeared before Young King Yuan as he reached for it.

• Young King Yuan watched Wang Fugui withstand the Winter Destruction Sword Intent and successfully comprehend it, unlocking half of the four great sword intents.
• Young King Yuan offered a Nascent Soul Pill to anyone who comprehended a sword intent, but cultivators below Late-Stage Core Formation were injured by the backlash.
• Li Qingyuan, disguised as Luo Zhengyi, and Zhang Tianyu and Qi Yuanxiao began comprehending the Spring Growth and Autumn Wither Sword Intents, while Young King Yuan regarded Li Qingyuan as a threat.
• More than a month later, Qi Yuanxiao failed to comprehend the Spring Growth Sword Intent, while Zhang Tianyu comprehended the Autumn Wither Sword Intent and Li Qingyuan mastered the Spring Growth Sword Intent.
• Li Qingyuan’s success broke the Hundred-foot Giant Sword free, collapsed Sword Mountain, and revealed the inheritance of the Earth Marsh Sword Array, which Di Kunzi had left behind.
• The inheritance mark tested Young King Yuan’s sword intent, and he reached out to seize it.

The sword intent imprint rejected the contenders and chose Li Qingyuan, passing on the Earth Marsh Sword Array inheritance. Young King Yuan and his allies attacked, but Li Qingyuan escaped and Young King Yuan pursued him.

• Young King Yuan and Wang Fugui clashed over the sword intent imprint before agreeing to let it choose its own master.
• The imprint rejected the contenders, struck Zhang Tianyu, and entered Li Qingyuan's brow, granting him the Earth Marsh Sword Array inheritance.
• Young King Yuan, Huo Lingzi, Shui Lingzi, Cao Yifei, Tie Wuya, and others attacked Li Qingyuan to seize the inheritance.
• Li Qingyuan used Ji Kun's divine-sense attack, talismans, and repeated teleports to break away from the assault.
• Huo Lingzi recognized Li Qingyuan from a previous fight, and Young King Yuan ordered his forces to pursue and kill him.

Li Qingyuan fought Young King Yuan in the sky, escaped during a clash of Heavenly Sun Pearls, and fled underground as Young King Yuan sent his followers after him. He left the pursuers behind with a talisman trap and escaped into the earth-core lava inside the Flame Dragon Lizard.

• Young King Yuan used the Five Elements Escape Heaven Technique to catch up with Li Qingyuan, who failed to stop him with arrows and the Four Symbols Talisman Array.
• Li Qingyuan detonated two Heavenly Sun Pearls, injuring Young King Yuan and using the explosions to conceal his escape into a deep cave.
• Young King Yuan ordered his Late-Stage Core Formation followers to pursue Li Qingyuan, but a cave-in and hundreds of talismans wounded them as they entered the tunnel.
• Li Qingyuan swallowed a Myriad True Pill and had the Flame Dragon Lizard carry him deeper underground while they fled the pursuing cultivators.
• The Flame Dragon Lizard broke through into magma, swallowed Li Qingyuan, and swam toward the earth's core.

Young King Yuan searched the earthcore magma for the thief but failed to find him, then spent two months sealing the area and sending cultivators to investigate. As the Five Great Inheritances emerged and rivals sought the competition’s rewards, he turned his attention toward the Seven Kingdoms of Arid Province.

• Young King Yuan and his followers descended into the earthcore magma, but the heat forced everyone except him to stop at three thousand zhang, and he found no trace of the thief.
• Young King Yuan ordered his forces to seal the surface exits and search the magma for two months, but the effort yielded nothing.
• Jin Lingzi presented Young King Yuan with an artifact-refining inheritance after advancing to Peak Core Formation.
• Young King Yuan learned that the Talisman Path Inheritance had opened and that Ye Xuan had obtained a puppet inheritance and planned to compete for the championship.
• Young King Yuan sent Shui Lingzi to pursue the Talisman Path Inheritance and ordered his forces to withdraw as the Five Great Inheritances neared their conclusion.
• Young King Yuan declared that the hunt would begin with the Seven Kingdoms of Arid Province, and Tie Wuya, Wan Luo, and other followers volunteered to lead the way.

Li Qingyuan escaped the blockade around the underground magma lake, changed his appearance and cultivation aura, and gathered intelligence by joining forces with the Azure Cloud Sect. After helping the Yu Clan Twin Sisters hunt demonic beasts, he traveled with them to explore the Talisman Path Inheritance.

• Li Qingyuan and Zhao Guangzheng escaped the Five Yuan Sect's blockade with the Flame Dragon Lizard, and Li Qingyuan vowed to settle his grudge with Young King Yuan and the Five Yuan Sect.
• Li Qingyuan adopted a new identity as a handsome Late-Stage Core Formation cultivator and left to investigate what had happened at the Void Refinement Grotto-heaven.
• Li Qingyuan teamed up with Fairy Yu Jiao, Fairy Yu Xiao, and the Azure Cloud Sect women to trap and slay fifteen Third-Tier Demonic Beasts using a grand formation and his puppets.
• Fairy Yu Jiao gave Li Qingyuan his share of the demon cores and materials, and he learned that Yu Xiao was a Third-grade High-rank Talisman Master.
• Li Qingyuan agreed to accompany the Yu Clan Twin Sisters to the Talisman Path Inheritance, hoping to obtain powerful talismans and a Five Elements Talisman Array.

At Talisman Path Cliff, Huo Lingzi’s group searched the gathered cultivators for a suspected disguised demonic cultivator, then left Azure Cloud Sect alone. Li Qingyuan and Yu Xiao climbed the talisman-script stairs together until Li Qingyuan passed her and reached the third-grade steps.

• Huo Lingzi ordered his two hundred Core Formation Prodigies to seize ordinary-looking cultivators, forcing many to burn their identity jade tokens and leave.
• Huo Lingzi chose not to confront Azure Cloud Sect, whose Yu sisters and allies were prepared to resist, and led his team to support Shui Lingzi.
• Yu Xiao entered Talisman Path Cliff to comprehend its scripts, while Li Qingyuan secretly examined the pagoda-shaped cliff with Heart Demon Pupil.
• Li Qingyuan revealed that he was a Third-grade Talisman Master and began climbing the script stairs behind Yu Xiao.
• After a month, Li Qingyuan caught up to Yu Xiao, passed her, and stepped onto the third-grade low-rank talisman script step.

Li Qingyuan rapidly comprehended the Third-grade Talisman Scripts and reached the final stair, where he discovered he had to create a Third-grade Mid-rank Talisman Script or higher to reach the summit. He recognized the challenge as one suited to his exceptional skill and prepared to claim the Talisman Path Inheritance.

• Li Qingyuan comprehended the Phantom Spirit Talisman and sent Yu Xiao guidance on how to study it.
• Over the following months, Li Qingyuan mastered the Third-grade low-rank and Mid-rank Talisman Scripts while Yu Xiao followed behind with his advice.
• Li Qingyuan reached the Third-grade High-rank steps, where Shui Lingzi remained stalled just short of the summit.
• Li Qingyuan mastered the Thousand Leaf Soaring Dragon Talisman and then surpassed the other talisman masters to reach the final stair.
• Li Qingyuan learned that the final stair required him to create a Third-grade Mid-rank Talisman Script or higher and realized he could meet the challenge.

Li Qingyuan completed a Third-grade Low-rank Thunderwood Spirit Talisman after half a month of refining his technique, then began transforming it into a Third-grade Mid-rank talisman. Shui Lingzi grew jealous of his progress and attacked him before he could succeed.

• Shui Lingzi failed repeatedly to create a Third-grade Mid-rank talisman and dismissed Li Qingyuan as an inferior cultivator.
• Li Qingyuan spent more than half a month refining the Thunderwood Spirit Talisman, learning from repeated failures and using the resources Miao Le had given him.
• Fairy Yu Jiao and Huo Lingzi discussed Shui Lingzi's prospects, while Huo Lingzi boasted that his junior would become the foremost Talisman Master.
• Li Qingyuan successfully created a Third-grade Low-rank Thunderwood Spirit Talisman, surprising Shui Lingzi and the other talisman prodigies.
• After the talisman transformed in the Mysterious Feminine Space, Li Qingyuan realized how lightning and fire interacted and began drawing a Third-grade Mid-rank version.
• Shui Lingzi erupted with Late-Stage Core Formation power and launched a Third-tier Spell at Li Qingyuan, prompting Yu Xiao to warn him.

Li Qingyuan completed the Thunder Fire Spirit Talisman, seized the fourth-grade lightning talisman, and used its power to defeat Shui Lingzi’s talisman array. After Shui Lingzi and Huo Lingzi recognized him and joined forces against him, Li Qingyuan fled as the lightning talisman weakened and pursuers closed in.

• The Flame Dragon Lizard and Blood Shadow appeared to protect Li Qingyuan and fought Shui Lingzi while Li Qingyuan finished drawing the Thunder Fire Spirit Talisman.
• Li Qingyuan sent the new talisman at Shui Lingzi, who countered with a five-talisman Water Origin Talisman Array.
• Li Qingyuan stepped onto the final stair, seized the fourth-grade lightning talisman, and endured its power by activating the Wind Thunder Hegemonic Body and the Longevity Seed.
• Li Qingyuan used the lightning talisman to erase Shui Lingzi’s array, revealing his identity to Shui Lingzi and Huo Lingzi as he pursued Shui Lingzi from the Tower Mountain.
• Huo Lingzi joined Shui Lingzi, and Li Qingyuan fled after forcing them back, while Shui Lingzi rallied Late-Stage Core Formation cultivators to pursue him.