Chapter Summaries

Li Shiming told Elder Su about his cultivation methods, and Elder Su accepted him as a true disciple with the chance to compete for a True Inheritor position. As Li Shiming weighed whether to keep the Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Art, Xu Chuan arrived and thanked him for risking his life to obtain the Moyang Three-Leaf Clover.

• Li Shiming explained that he cultivated the Vajra Body Protection Divine Art, the Sword Body Secret Scripture, and the Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Art, and Elder Su assessed their strengths and limitations.
• Elder Su accepted Li Shiming as his disciple and said he would hold a Master Acknowledgment Ceremony, while Shu Mountain Sect purged cultivators tied to Elder Ji's Faction.
• Elder Su advised Li Shiming that he could exchange for a sect inheritance cultivation method, but Li Shiming remained uncertain because he felt compatible with the Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Art.
• Xu Chuan visited Li Shiming after recovering from his injuries, thanked him for obtaining the Moyang Three-Leaf Clover, and learned that Li Shiming had fought a Half-Step Red Sun Bear Great Demon.

Elder Su formally accepted Li Shiming as his fifth disciple before a gathering of Golden Core friends and disciples. After Li Shiming demonstrated his sword intent, lightning technique, and formation mastery, the elders praised his talent, while Elder Zhao regretted that he would not become a Sword Cultivator.

• Li Shiming and Xu Chuan welcomed the guests arriving for Elder Su’s disciple-acceptance ceremony, and Martial Uncle Ma invited Li Shiming to visit him to learn alchemy.
• Ye Jingxian, Wan Zheng, and Lu Shi arrived, and Ye Jingxian warmly thanked Li Shiming for obtaining the Moyang Three-Leaf Clover that had helped Elder Su recover.
• Elder Su announced that he would formally accept Li Shiming as his disciple, while Elder Wang questioned why Li Shiming deserved the position.
• At Elder Su’s request, Li Shiming displayed nine flying swords imbued with sword intent, formed them into a lightning-filled formation, and demonstrated his rapid Thunder Strike Technique.
• Li Shiming revealed that he was an Advanced Formation Master, prompting Elder Zhao to invite him to learn sword cultivation, though Elder Su explained that Li Shiming intended to cultivate spells.
• The Golden Core Elders praised Li Shiming’s abilities and congratulated Elder Su on gaining an exceptional disciple.

After Li Shiming’s Master Acknowledgment Ceremony, Elder Su gave him Sword Holding Peak as his cave mansion and entrusted him with its property and management. His senior siblings welcomed him with gifts, identified his lotus as a precious Second Grade Golden Lotus, and offered to provide attendants to help run the peak.

• Li Shiming completed the ceremony, watched the Golden Core Disciples display their cultivation, and received his Identity Jade Disc and Cave Mansion Control Token from Elder Su.
• Elder Su showed Li Shiming Sword Holding Peak, describing its Spiritual Fields, Spirit Fruit Trees, expanded cave mansion, and his new responsibility to manage the peak.
• Ye Jingxian, Wan Zheng, Lu Shi, and Xu Chuan gave Li Shiming gifts, including a Spirit Tea Tree, Spirit Flowers, and a large Jade Basin.
• Li Shiming planted his lotus in the Jade Basin, and Ye Jingxian recognized it as a Second Grade Golden Lotus that could purify Spiritual Qi.
• Xu Chuan explained that Li Shiming could have three attendants, and Ye Jingxian offered to arrange one from each of their families under contracts of loyalty.

Li Shiming settled into Sword Holding Peak, arranged its caretakers and supplies, and rebuilt its formations around a hidden research factory. On the thirty-fifth day, he prepared to test an automated array of Fresnel Reflectors to capture the sun’s first light for cultivating Purple Qi Comes From The East.

• Li Shiming furnished his Cave Dwelling, inspected the gifts from six Golden Core Elders, and studied the alchemy method Martial Uncle Ma had given him.
• Li Shiming messaged Yin Shilan, then used the Spring Breeze Nourishing Things Art to nourish Sword Holding Peak’s Spirit Plants with rain.
• Ye Jingxian brought three female Spirit Planters to serve Li Shiming, and he asked Ye Lingyun to arrange a meeting with the Sky Eye Merchant Guild.
• Li Shiming ordered materials from Zhuo Rui, then spent a month reinforcing Sword Holding Peak’s formations and building a hidden factory in a spatially expanded chamber.
• Li Shiming installed fifteen hundred Fresnel Reflectors on the sealed mountaintop and prepared to test their sun-tracking program for gathering the first sunlight of the day.

Li Shiming used concealed Fresnel Reflectors to absorb a hundredfold amount of rising-sun Purple Qi, advancing his body tempering and cultivation talent. After Elder Su summoned him to Sky Eye Peak, Li Shiming chose the Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Art as his Main Cultivation Method and revealed that his Body Tempering had reached Great Accomplishment.

• Li Shiming absorbed Purple Qi reflected by fifteen hundred Fresnel Reflectors, then used the resulting strengthening energy to reach Great Accomplishment in the Foundation Establishment chapter of the Vajra Body Protection Divine Art.
• Li Shiming continued cultivating the Sword Body Secret Scripture and Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Art, finding that his cultivation speed had increased by about one percent.
• Li Shiming absorbed Purple Qi each morning for more than two months before Elder Su summoned him to Sky Eye Peak.
• Ye Jingxian, Xu Chuan, and Wan Zheng told Li Shiming to visit Elder Su monthly and advised him to seek guidance and make connections with other disciples.
• Li Shiming told Elder Su that he would take the Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Art as his Main Cultivation Method, and Elder Su accepted that the technique suited his Dao Body.
• Li Shiming revealed that his Body Tempering had reached Great Accomplishment and gave Elder Su the Monkey Wine he had left.

Li Shiming learned about the Dao from Elder Su, then devoted himself to alchemy and advanced from failed Bigu Pill attempts to reliably refining high-grade pills. After Li Shiming and Li Yuanba improved their respective cultivation plans, Li Shiming went to visit Martial Uncle Ma for guidance, where Ma made him wait outside Pill Cauldron Peak.

• Ye Jingxian accepted Li Shiming’s Monkey Wine because it could help her strengthen her Dao Body, and Elder Su taught his disciples about his Dao.
• Li Shiming reflected on his cultivation, set up a pill room, and used IBMz15’s records to learn how to refine Bigu Pills, eventually producing high-grade pills.
• Li Shiming spent a month studying alchemy and learned to refine high-grade Bright Heart Nine Palaces Pills, but could not progress without higher-level formulas and ingredients.
• Li Shiming arranged for Li Yuanba to take weekly combat missions, and Li Yuanba killed four Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators over the month.
• Li Shiming prepared roasted Spirit Tea for Martial Uncle Ma and visited Pill Cauldron Peak to seek alchemy guidance, but Ma told him to wait while he read.

Li Shiming visited Martial Uncle Ma and impressed him with his expertly prepared spirit tea and high-grade Bright Heart Nine Palaces Pill. Martial Uncle Ma identified Li Shiming’s flame as a rare, growth-type Crimson Sun Spiritual Fire, warned him to conceal it, and began assessing his alchemy firsthand.

• Martial Uncle Ma inspected Li Shiming’s spirit tea and pill, recognized the tea’s exceptional quality, and questioned how Li Shiming had made a high-grade Bright Heart Nine Palaces Pill.
• Martial Uncle Ma explained that spiritual fire distinguished alchemists and asked Li Shiming to show his own flame.
• Li Shiming revealed his spiritual fire, and Martial Uncle Ma identified it as the growth-type Crimson Sun Spiritual Fire he had obtained from the Crimson Sun Bear’s lair.
• Martial Uncle Ma warned Li Shiming to hide the fire’s aura, gave him a concealment method, and explained that spiritual fire enabled Grandmaster Alchemists to refine higher-grade pills.
• Martial Uncle Ma asked Li Shiming to refine a cauldron of Bright Heart Nine Palaces Pills as an assessment, and Li Shiming began demonstrating his precise technique before him.

Li Shiming impressed Martial Uncle Ma with his alchemy, became his Nominal Disciple, and received instruction on refining Foundation Establishment pills. After rewarding his attendants, Li Shiming strengthened the Crimson Sun Spiritual Fire and concealed its aura.

• Li Shiming refined ten High-Grade Bright Heart Nine Palaces Pills, and Martial Uncle Ma gave him a Spiritual Artifact cauldron.
• Martial Uncle Ma asked Elder Su for permission to take Li Shiming as his Nominal Disciple, and Li Shiming completed a simple tea ceremony.
• Martial Uncle Ma explained sect and private alchemy missions, then arranged for Li Shiming to practice refining Second Grade Spiritual Pills with his medicines.
• Li Shiming gave Ye Lingyun, Wan Qian, and Lu Yingtong a bottle of pills each as rewards for their work on Sword Holding Peak.
• Li Shiming fed Fire Thunder Spiritual Power to the Crimson Sun Spiritual Fire until it grew, then used Martial Uncle Ma's Secret Art to conceal its aura.

Li Yuanba accepted a high-reward mission to kill Ren Pengxiao, a surviving HouTu Sect True Inheritor Disciple, and tracked him to a Rogue Cultivator family. Their battle escalated when Ren Pengxiao used powerful defensive treasures, but Li Yuanba pierced his defense and severed the arm holding his Talisman Treasure.

• Li Yuanba turned in another Foundation Establishment corpse, bringing his total kills to ten and his Contribution Points to 2,050.
• At an elder’s direction, the deacon offered Li Yuanba a 2,000-point mission to kill Ren Pengxiao, and Li Yuanba accepted.
• Li Yuanba traveled to a Rogue Cultivator family where Ren Pengxiao was hiding and broke into the courtyard protected by a superior formation.
• Li Yuanba revealed his identity and attacked Ren Pengxiao, who defended himself with a HouTu Shield Pearl and prepared a Talisman Treasure.
• Li Yuanba drove his Third Grade Sword Foundation into Ren Pengxiao’s shield and used Sword Intent Transformation Silk to sever the arm holding the Talisman Treasure.

Li Yuanba completed another mission and was summoned by Sword Elder, who accepted him as an entry disciple after recognizing his Sword Intent. Sword Elder took him to Ten Thousand Swords Peak, explained its history, and learned why Li Yuanba wore a mask.

• Li Yuanba turned in a corpse, raised his Contribution Points to 4,050, and was summoned to the second floor to meet Sword Elder.
• Sword Elder revealed that Li Yuanba had passed his disciple assessment and accepted him as a disciple.
• Li Yuanba told Sword Elder that he practiced the Sword Body Secret Scripture and the Ten Directions Sword Cultivation Art, and Sword Elder praised the former while questioning its aura of death.
• Sword Elder brought Li Yuanba to Ten Thousand Swords Peak, explained its origins and the swords fused into it, and said he wanted a pure Sword Cultivator as his successor.
• Sword Elder explained that he admired Li Yuanba's apparent principles, but Li Yuanba removed his mask and revealed that he wore it because of his striking face.
• Sword Elder laughed, told Li Yuanba to put his mask back on, and warned him to beware of dual-cultivation Demonic Cultivators.

Sword Elder accepted Li Yuanba as a disciple of the Sword Intent Soaring Pavilion and named him a True Inheritor Disciple of the Vast Array Sect. After settling into a Golden Core Level cave dwelling and discovering valuable spoils, Li Yuanba learned that Ten Thousand Swords Peak’s sword intent could consume his own, while Sword Elder prepared to teach him the Sword Intent Soaring Art.

• Sword Elder explained his origins in the Sword Intent Soaring Pavilion and accepted Li Yuanba into its lineage through a formal initiation rite.
• Sword Elder told Li Yuanba to make the Sword Intent Soaring Art his Main Cultivation Method, assigned him a Golden Core Level cave dwelling, and changed his status to True Inheritor Disciple.
• Li Yuanba inspected Ren Pengxiao’s storage bracelet and found a HouTu Shield Pearl, a Giant Mountain Talisman Treasure, and a third grade earth attribute spiritual object for Main Body Li Shiming.
• Li Yuanba released his sword intent at Ten Thousand Swords Peak, where the mountain’s accumulated sword intent began devouring it before he managed to pull it back.
• Sword Elder explained Ten Thousand Swords Peak’s protective sword intent, spoke of the Sword Intent Soaring Pavilion’s immortal ancestor and ascension, and required Li Yuanba to swear not to pass on the art improperly before teaching him.

Li Shiming mastered refining the Shu Mountain Mixed Yuan Pill and began producing high-grade pills for the sect. After studying a Top Grade pill’s formation with IBMz15 inside the Server Room Space, he discovered he could collect the substance that produced it and set out to make Top Grade pills reliably.

• Li Shiming rapidly improved his Shu Mountain Mixed Yuan Pill refining under Master Ma’s guidance, producing a full batch of high-grade pills by his fifth attempt.
• Master Ma gave Li Shiming one hundred sets of pill ingredients to refine in his cave dwelling, and Li Shiming sensed Li Yuanba’s breakthrough in Sword Intent on his way home.
• Li Shiming used the Server Room Space to refine pills with micron-level control, but went several days without producing another Top Grade pill.
• On the sixth day, Li Shiming refined a Top Grade Shu Mountain Mixed Yuan Pill and used IBMz15’s records to identify the special substance that formed it.
• Li Shiming realized he could collect that substance in the Server Room Space and began preparing to make Top Grade pill production consistent.

Li Shiming refined a Top Grade 'Shu Mountain Mixed Yuan Pill' and confirmed that it accelerated his cultivation twentyfold. As conflict with the Demonic Cultivators loomed, Master Ma gave him a Nourishing Spirit Jade and promised to teach him a pill-refining secret art once his Spiritual Sense grew strong enough; Li Shiming then learned that his unusually effective pills had become highly sought after.

• Li Shiming used Essence of Medicine to refine a Top Grade 'Shu Mountain Mixed Yuan Pill' and cultivated with it, achieving the equivalent of twenty days of cultivation in one session.
• At Pill Cauldron Peak, Li Shiming watched Master Ma refine ten batches of emergency healing pills and learned that the sect was preparing for a possible conflict with the Demonic Cultivators.
• Master Ma gave Li Shiming a Nourishing Spirit Jade and promised to teach him the 'Dividing Spirit Transforming Thought Art' after Li Shiming could cultivate Divine Sense; he also approved Li Shiming taking more 'Shu Mountain Mixed Yuan Pill' assignments.
• Li Shiming wore the Nourishing Spirit Jade as his Spiritual Sense strengthened, then told Ye Jingxian and Xu Chuan that he had become an Intermediate Alchemist.
• Li Shiming gave Xu Chuan a bottle of pills, and Xu Chuan recognized them as the exceptionally effective high-grade 'Shu Mountain Mixed Yuan Pills' he had been seeking.

Li Shiming learned that war between the righteous and demonic sects might be approaching, while Elder Su urged Ye Jingxian to prepare for danger. A year later, Li Shiming’s relentless cultivation of Purple Qi Comes From The East had transformed his Dao Body and spirit, and he prepared to begin cultivating the Thousand Hammer Spirit Forging Art while concealing his changes.

• Elder Su warned that the sects were preparing for war and gave his disciples One Escape Ten Thousand Miles Talismans, then ordered Ye Jingxian to enter seclusion because she might face a Golden Core opponent.
• Li Shiming returned to Sword Holding Peak and continued refining pills and cultivating as the sect’s pill exchanges increased and Ye Jingxian entered seclusion.
• Over the next year, Li Shiming’s cultivation neared the peak of Foundation Establishment Early Stage, while Purple Qi Comes From The East greatly enhanced his Dao Body and spirit.
• Li Shiming’s body became extraordinarily durable and strong, with jade-colored bones and a lightning-strike effect in the Sword Intent of his right-thumb Sword Bone.
• After obtaining the Demon Shadow Buddha Image Art through Li Yuanba to conceal his transformation, Li Shiming decided to begin cultivating the Thousand Hammer Spirit Forging Art.

Li Shiming transformed his Spiritual Sense into Divine Sense and learned the Dividing Spirit Transforming Thought Art from Master Ma. Master Ma then passed on the Shu Mountain Pill Classic, leaving Li Shiming with the sect’s Grandmaster Alchemist inheritance and the task of advancing to Advanced Alchemist.

• Li Shiming endured one thousand Spirit Iron Hammer blows with the Thousand Hammer Spirit Forging Art and awakened Divine Sense, greatly increasing his speed of thought.
• He discovered that Divine Sense gave him a wider, sharper perception and improved his control of the Central Palace Sword, then visited Master Ma at Pill Cauldron Hall.
• Master Ma gave Li Shiming the Dividing Spirit Transforming Thought Art, alchemy insights, and nine Spiritual Artifact Cauldrons, and Li Shiming quickly learned to divide his Divine Sense into ten independent strands.
• Li Shiming told Master Ma that his Crimson Sun Spiritual Fire had reached the second grade middle stage, and Master Ma decided he was ready to receive the Shu Mountain Pill Classic.
• Li Shiming swore an oath before the Spirit Tablets of past Grandmaster Alchemists and received the Shu Mountain Pill Classic in a Golden Jade Slip.

Li Yuanba completed a year of cultivating the Sword Intent Soaring Art on Ten Thousand Swords Peak, greatly strengthening his sword intent, and Sword Elder ordered him to join the sect cultivators at Boundary Mountain Pass. As conflict threatened to erupt, Sword Elder gave him an Arhat’s body and a Buddhist bead containing a strand of Sword Intent, and Li Yuanba joined the departing group.

• Li Yuanba learned that Ten Thousand Swords Peak was an enormous inheritance treasure made from a magnetic mountain and thousands of sword-intent-infused Flying Swords.
• Sword Elder told Li Yuanba that three Arhats had ambushed Elder Ye, destroying his Silver Corpse and severely wounding him, and that the clash could ignite wider conflict.
• Sword Elder gave Li Yuanba the dead Arhat’s body for its Relic and a Buddhist bead containing a strand of Sword Elder’s Sword Intent as a safeguard.
• Sword Elder warned Li Yuanba to flee if a fight turned against him and to strike decisively when an enemy could be killed.
• Li Yuanba traveled with sect cultivators to the gathering place at Boundary Mountain Pass, where more than two hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators awaited their deployment.

Li Yuanba arrived at Boundary Mountain Pass to join the Vast Array Sect’s war against Thousand Leaves Temple, but his first battle began when Wang Chengjun and three other Demonic Cultivators ambushed him. He broke their array and wounded Wang Chengjun, then faced the four attackers as they launched a combined assault.

• Elder Lu briefed the Foundation Establishment cultivators on the threat from Thousand Leaves Temple and doubled the mission rewards before leading them to Boundary Mountain Pass.
• Wang Chengjun asked to join Li Yuanba’s team, but Li Yuanba refused and sensed malice behind Wang Chengjun’s respectful manner.
• At the pass, Li Yuanba reviewed the mission facilities and later traveled into the Border Zone, hoping to meet Main Body Li Shiming away from sect surveillance.
• Wang Chengjun trapped Li Yuanba in an array of Ghost Shadows and Black Mist, revealing that he and three other Demonic Cultivators had set an ambush.
• Li Yuanba’s Sword Intent shattered the array and severed one of Wang Chengjun’s arms, after which Wang Chengjun urged his companions to kill Li Yuanba before he could escape.
• Wang Chengjun and the three Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage Demonic Cultivators summoned their Iron Corpse, Spirit Insects, giant beast, and other powers to attack Li Yuanba.

Li Yuanba defeated and killed four Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage Demonic Cultivators despite their varied attacks and higher cultivation realms. After escaping the battlefield, he found a valuable Golden Jade Slip containing the Soul Enchanting Stealth Technique among his spoils.

• Li Yuanba wounded a Foundation Establishment Early Stage ghost with his Sword Light, and the Demonic Cultivators realized he was Sword Elder's disciple.
• Li Yuanba killed the giant beast Demonic Cultivator with his Third Grade Sword Foundation, breaking his Yin Soul Fusion Method.
• The Iron Corpse and invisible Demonic Cultivator briefly trapped Li Yuanba, but his Sword Body resisted the dagger, and he beheaded the attacker.
• Li Yuanba destroyed Wang Chengjun's Flying Sword and Spirit Insects, then pursued and killed the two remaining Demonic Cultivators.
• Li Yuanba collected the four Demonic Cultivators' belongings and discovered a Golden Jade Slip containing the Soul Enchanting Stealth Technique.

Li Yuanba traveled to the battlefield between the Vast Array Sect and Thousand Leaves Temple and encountered True Inheritor Jue Yuan after the monk killed a fleeing Demonic Cultivator. Jue Yuan recognized Li Yuanba as Sword Elder’s disciple and unleashed his full strength, leaving Li Yuanba retreating from an expanding field of white lotuses.

• Main Body Li Shiming recorded the Soul Enchanting Stealth Technique while Li Yuanba examined it, and Li Shiming flew toward the battlefield to study the technique.
• Li Yuanba hid in a formation and watched Jue Yuan pursue and kill a Vast Array Sect Demonic Cultivator with Buddha Sound and a golden palm.
• Li Yuanba attacked Jue Yuan with the Gale Golden Light Sword, then used Sword Escape and sound waves to evade and counter the monk’s movements and Bronze Bell.
• Jue Yuan introduced himself and learned that Li Yuanba was Sword Elder’s disciple, then declared his intent to kill him before he could grow stronger.
• Jue Yuan spread Earth Surging White Lotuses around Li Yuanba and challenged him to stop retreating and fight.

Li Yuanba used a Bewitching Array and a calculated close-combat ambush to overcome Buddha Jue Yuan’s speed and defenses. He killed Buddha Jue Yuan with his Third Grade Sword Foundation, ending the battle while reflecting on how dangerous his opponent had been.

• Li Yuanba split his Sword Light into nine attacking lights and used IBMz15’s calculations to form a Bewitching Array that disrupted Buddha Jue Yuan’s movements.
• Li Yuanba predicted Buddha Jue Yuan’s path through the array and wounded him with a Sword Light strike, but Buddha Jue Yuan’s Body Tempering kept the injury from being fatal.
• Buddha Jue Yuan hid inside the Bronze Bell while Li Yuanba’s sword intent weakened its Spirit Mark, then prepared a Secret Art to appear behind Li Yuanba.
• Buddha Jue Yuan teleported behind Li Yuanba and attacked with a golden handprint, but Li Yuanba dodged and revealed his close-combat skill.
• Li Yuanba formed the Third Grade Sword Foundation and pierced Buddha Jue Yuan’s brow, killing him.