Chapter Summaries

Li Shiming broke through the Northern Shu cultivators’ spell formation, seized a Talisman Treasure, and then defeated and killed its owner in battle. His use of a trace of Sword Intent astonished the Golden Core cultivators, while the Northern Shu elders marked him as a threat to deal with later.

• Li Shiming charged through flames and frost, stole a Talisman Treasure from a Northern Shu cultivator, and returned safely to the formation.
• Li Shiming led the Seven Sects cultivators out to attack, then pursued the injured Northern Shu cultivator who had lost his Talisman Treasure.
• Li Shiming evaded the cultivator’s Jade Seal, used repeated sword strikes to erase the Spirit Marks on his shield and seal, and chased him down.
• Li Shiming used Devil Sound Enters the Ear to halt the fleeing cultivator and killed him with the Jade Breaking Sword before taking his belongings.
• Master Du Hai recognized a trace of Sword Intent in Li Shiming’s sword strikes, and Elder Yin confirmed it to the astonished Golden Core cultivators.
• The Northern Shu Golden Core elders mourned the dead cultivator and resolved to target Li Shiming in later operations.

Li Shiming helped the Seven Sects defeat the Northern Shu cultivators and received rewards for his performance. As he and his companions left Seven Stars Island, he examined his spoils and discovered a valuable collection of tools and a merchant guild token holding a vast Spirit Stone balance.

• Li Shiming used “Buddha's Light First Appears” to distract the Northern Shu cultivators while his Copper Corpse and the Seven Sects fighters killed them.
• The Seven Sects cultivators gave Li Shiming two Storage Bags, and Master Du Hai awarded him two spiritual artifacts for his exceptional battle record.
• Li Shiming left Seven Stars Island with He Chuan and Shang Haoquan under a Foundation Establishment Martial Uncle's escort.
• Li Shiming examined the Storage Bracelet and found a Flying Sword Talisman Treasure, the Shu Mountain Seal, and another Foundation Establishment Pill.
• Li Shiming discovered a Northern Shu Merchant Guild Jade Token recording deposits of 1.21 million Low-Grade Spirit Stones and 60,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Li Shiming found several powerful tools in the bracelet, including a complete set of nine Flying Sword Spirit Artifacts bearing formation markings.

Li Shiming inventoried his spoils, learned two cultivation techniques, and began practicing one while strengthening his island defenses and preparing for a possible Northern Shu invasion. Four months later, Elder Yin arrived unexpectedly at Eagle Beak Island.

• Li Shiming found 'Purple Qi Comes From The East' and 'Hundred Thoughts Thousand Returns Art' in the Northern Shu Qi Refining Cultivator's Storage Bracelet and recognized the latter's potential for controlling his Nine Flying Sword Spirit Artifacts.
• Li Shiming practiced 'Purple Qi Comes From The East' at sunrise, gaining slight improvements to his physique, Spiritual Power, and spirit, then continued training with the Jade Breaking Sword.
• Li Shiming worried about the Northern Shu invasion, while his cultivation speed rose to nearly 200 after Yun Xingyi's transformation of his body.
• Four months later, Li Shiming strengthened Eagle Beak Island's Mountain Protection Formation and welcomed Elder Yin after sensing his voice transmission.

Elder Yin told Li Shiming that the Sky Ocean Sect might have to abandon its grounds if the Bright Heart Sect’s Pseudo-Nascent Soul Ancestor arrived, and offered him a chance to join the Thousand Illusions Sect with Yin Shilan. Master Luo granted Li Shiming an entrance token after recognizing his Advanced Formation Master skill, but left him to find his own way to Northern Shu.

• Elder Yin explained the danger posed by the Bright Heart Sect’s Pseudo-Nascent Soul Ancestor and offered Li Shiming a choice between the sect’s advance transfer plan and joining the Thousand Illusions Sect with Yin Shilan.
• Li Shiming accepted the chance to join the Thousand Illusions Sect after Elder Yin described its standing and the limited scope of the fighting in Northern Shu.
• Elder Yin brought Li Shiming to meet Master Luo, who examined his Array Starlight Sea and identified him as an Advanced Formation Master.
• Master Luo gave Li Shiming a Thousand Illusions Sect Entrance Token, qualifying him to become an Official Disciple.
• Master Luo refused to take Li Shiming to Northern Shu with her, leaving him to arrange his own journey there.

Elder Yin arranged for Li Shiming to travel to Northern Shu aboard the Northern Shu Merchant Guild’s Flying Boat, while Yin Shilan left the Sky Ocean Sect with Master Luo. After learning that Ren Fei'er liked Li Shiming, Elder Ren confronted him and left after he firmly refused to marry her daughter.

• Elder Yin told Li Shiming that he could reach the Thousand Illusions Sect by traveling with the Northern Shu Merchant Guild.
• Li Shiming and Yin Shilan exchanged paintings before parting, and two days later Master Luo took Yin Shilan away from the Sky Ocean Sect.
• Elder Ren learned that Ren Fei'er liked Li Shiming and planned to visit him after realizing that Yin Shilan had already left.
• Elder Ren asked Li Shiming when he would marry Ren Fei'er, but he said he already had a lover and refused.
• Elder Ren pressured Li Shiming with her aura, then left after he stood firm.

After Old Ancestor Cang forced the Seven Sects to abandon their headquarters, Li Shiming discovered that he had been excluded from Sky Ocean Sect’s evacuation and prepared to escape on his own. As Bright Heart Sect advanced toward the deserted Nine Peaks, Li Shiming gathered his equipment and supplies on Eagle Beak Island and began putting his backup plan into motion.

• Li Shiming reached Qi Refining Stage 9 while the Seven Sects learned that Northern Shu cultivators were preparing to invade.
• Old Ancestor Cang used a Nascent Soul Avatar to break Seven Stars Island’s formation and ordered its cultivators to leave within six hours.
• Li Shiming discovered that his Identity Jade Disc could not connect to the Sect Grand Formation and suspected Martial Aunt Song had disabled it, preventing him from receiving the evacuation notice.
• Elder Yin led more than five thousand Sky Ocean Sect cultivators away, unaware that Li Shiming had been left behind.
• Li Shiming avoided joining the departing sect, returned to Eagle Beak Island, and packed his equipment and Spirit Fish for his escape.
• Old Ancestor Cang led Bright Heart Sect toward Sky Ocean Sect’s Nine Peaks, while Eagle Beak Island was overlooked as a minor island.

Song Yingwan sacrificed herself to activate the Sky Ocean Sect’s grand formation, killing dozens of Bright Heart Sect cultivators before the formation collapsed. As Bright Heart Sect began occupying the Nine Peaks, Li Shiming launched a rocket from Eagle Beak Island to escape.

• Old Ancestor Zang ordered Bright Heart Sect cultivators to occupy the Nine Peaks and warned them that the sect still needed to return to Northern Shu.
• Song Yingwan revealed herself in mourning clothes and activated the grand formation, merging her soul with it to avenge Zhuge Xuan.
• Song Yingwan’s formation slaughtered fifty-six Foundation Establishment cultivators and twenty-eight formation masters before she and the formation vanished.
• Old Ancestor Zang learned Song Yingwan had avenged Zhuge Xuan and ordered a search for the missing Yun Xingyi.
• Li Shiming launched his rocket from Eagle Beak Island, and the island’s mountain, cave dwelling, and protection formation collapsed beneath the sea.

Li Shiming escaped a Golden Core pursuer in his Rocket, survived an attack by a Nascent Soul-level Sea Beast, and crossed the North Sea in a Jade Flying Boat. He reached the Northern Shu Continent and disguised himself as a poor Rogue Cultivator.

• Li Shiming flew away from the Northern Shu Golden Core Middle Stage cultivator at Mach 10, while Old Ancestor Cang watched the Rocket disappear.
• A Nascent Soul-level Sea Beast struck at Li Shiming's Rocket, but he activated the Flying Boat's Weightlessness Formation and escaped the attack.
• After the Rocket ran out of fuel over the sea, Li Shiming stored it, transferred to a Jade Flying Boat, and continued toward land despite repeated Sea Beast attacks.
• Seven days later, Li Shiming sighted the Northern Shu Continent and reached its shore without encountering trouble from powerful Sea Beasts.
• Li Shiming put away the Jade Flying Boat, changed into a Low-Grade Magic Robe, and stored his Storage Bracelet in the Server Room Space to pass as a poor Rogue Cultivator.

Li Shiming entered Northern Shu, assumed a mortal identity in Shimen City, and traveled with a caravan toward Guanquan City to learn about the local cultivation world. When four cultivators attacked the Guan Family Three Brothers over a Vast Array Token, Li Shiming revealed his Qi Refining Stage 9 strength and stepped in to protect them.

• Li Shiming reached Shimen City, obtained false identity documents as a student, and arranged to travel with a caravan to Guanquan City.
• On the journey, Li Shiming sensed three Qi Refining cultivators hiding among the caravan and observed their tense exchanges.
• Four Mid-Stage Qi Refining cultivators blocked the caravan and demanded that the Guan Family Three Brothers surrender the Vast Array Token.
• Li Shiming moved escort chief Zhao and the caravan out of danger while the cultivators began fighting.
• When Guan Family Head asked Li Shiming for help, Li Shiming revealed his Qi Refining Stage 9 presence and ordered the four attackers to leave.

Li Shiming uncovered the real Vast Array Token and learned how chaotic the Northern Shu Cultivation World had become. When a Foundation Establishment cultivator pursued him and the four survivors, Li Shiming and his Clone faced them together, leaving the battle underway.

• Li Shiming killed Guan Laoda and Guan Family Second after recognizing their Vast Array Token as a fake, then interrogated Guan Laosan and recovered the genuine token.
• Guan Laosan revealed how the Vast Array Sect used the tokens to stir conflict among the Ten Thousand Mountains’ factions, and Li Shiming learned about local markets and the disorder in Northern Shu.
• After Li Shiming sensed a Foundation Establishment cultivator approaching with the four cultivators he had spared, he summoned his Clone and prepared to fight.
• The Foundation Establishment cultivator demanded the Vast Array Token and their Storage Bags, but Li Shiming and his Clone resisted; Li Shiming used the Shu Mountain Seal to kill the four Mid-Stage Qi Refining cultivators.
• The Clone closed in on the Foundation Establishment cultivator and attacked with the Golden Strike Sword, keeping him occupied as the battle continued.

Li Shiming and his Clone killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator, then discovered the man had been tracking Vast Array Tokens. Li Shiming headed for a market controlled by the Wei Cultivation Family to buy a map and assess the local cultivation resources.

• Li Shiming joined the Clone's fight and used Sword Intent to weaken the Foundation Establishment cultivator's defensive artifact.
• When the cultivator activated a powerful defensive Talisman, the Clone drew the Third Grade Sword Foundation and pierced through it, while Li Shiming's Sword Light struck the man's head and killed him.
• Li Shiming collected the cultivators' Storage Bags and found a compass that tracked Vast Array Tokens; he hid his token in the Server Room Space to block its signal.
• Li Shiming recalled the Clone and used Sword Escape toward a market near Guanquan City, stopping at the Wei Cultivation Family's valley market to buy a map.
• Li Shiming entered the market in disguise and examined its stalls, noting that it offered more Late-Stage Qi Refining resources than markets on Sky Ocean Island.

Li Shiming explored the market, bought a detailed map, and hid when the Tie Clan attacked and seized control of it. He infiltrated the Wei Clan Residence through its formation and reached the cave dwelling at its spiritual meridian, where he confronted an elderly Foundation Establishment cultivator.

• Li Shiming compared Northern Shu’s shops and prices, then bought a map covering the surrounding region for seventy spirit stones.
• When the market’s formation came under attack, Li Shiming hid inside the valley wall while three Foundation Establishment cultivators and their Tie Clan forces captured the market and looted its visitors.
• The Tie Clan cultivators attacked the Wei Clan Residence, while Wei Lin defended it with a powerful formation fueled by a Superior Spiritual Meridian.
• Li Shiming used IBMz15 to analyze the formation and slipped into the Wei Clan Residence while its defenders focused on the attackers.
• Li Shiming seized control of the formation near the rear mountain with seventy-two Formation Flags and entered the hidden cave dwelling.
• Li Shiming encountered an early Foundation Establishment cultivator guarding the spiritual meridian and recognized that the elderly man’s life force was nearly spent.

Li Shiming seized control of the Wei Clan Residence’s formation and turned the battle against the Tie Clan, while Wei Lin and Tie Lao San killed each other with desperate attacks. Li Shiming’s Clone finished off both wounded Foundation Establishment cultivators and strengthened the residence’s defenses, leaving him in control unless a Golden Core cultivator arrived.

• Li Shiming attacked and killed the aged Foundation Establishment cultivator guarding the formation core, then took control of the Wei Clan Residence’s formation.
• Li Shiming opened a passage that lured Tie Lao San inside and sealed him in with Wei Lin and the Wei Qi Refining Cultivators.
• Tie Lao San slaughtered the trapped Wei cultivators, and Wei Lin retaliated with three Foundation Establishment talismans as Tie Lao San destroyed his sword, leaving both men seriously injured.
• Li Shiming’s Clone arrived and killed Tie Lao San and Wei Lin with the Golden Strike Sword.
• Li Shiming’s Clone collected the Storage Bags and placed thirty-six Formation Flags, strengthening the formation and securing the Wei Clan Residence for Li Shiming.

Li Shiming explored the Wei Clan Residence, collected its treasures, and discovered a secret escape passage while the Tie Clan failed to break the formation. He attacked the Tie Clan’s resting cultivators from within the formation, killing twelve, just as another group of cultivators arrived.

• Li Shiming monitored the area with Split Souls and searched the Cave Dwelling, collecting Spiritual Herbs, cultivation books, Spirit Stones, Spiritual Artifacts, and a Talisman Inheritance.
• Li Shiming searched the Wei Clan Residence and found Tie Lao San’s artifact-detonation Secret Art and a large alchemy furnace among the remaining valuables.
• Li Shiming discovered a hidden passage that led from the residence to the bottom of a river outside the valley, giving him an escape route if the formation fell.
• Tie Lao Da ordered a cultivator to contact the Hu Clan and invite them to help break the formation in exchange for half the spoils.
• Li Shiming used the Shu Mountain Seal from inside the formation to crush twelve resting Tie Clan Qi Refining Cultivators, prompting Tie Lao Da to order the others to retreat farther.
• A Split Soul spotted another group of cultivators approaching, and Li Shiming saw that none was stronger than Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage.

Li Shiming used the Five Elements Qi Absorption Array to purify and balance his spiritual power as he prepared to break through to Foundation Establishment. The array continued operating after its external spiritual objects were drained, and he unexpectedly became a Foundation Establishment cultivator without using a Foundation Establishment Pill.

• Li Shiming reached the peak of Qi Refining Stage 9 and had IBMz15 design a Five Elements Qi Absorption Array for his breakthrough.
• Li Shiming activated the array in the Wei Clan Residence and used it to convert his spiritual power into five purified attributes.
• Over the next three months, Li Shiming condensed his spiritual power to its limit while the array continued drawing power from the residence's formation.
• Li Shiming discovered that the external array's spiritual objects had been drained, but the array inside his body kept absorbing and converting spiritual power.
• Li Shiming's Spiritual Qi Vortex exploded and became a Spiritual Power Lake, completing his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment without a pill.

Li Shiming tested how the Five Elements Qi Absorption Array affected his new Foundation Establishment cultivation and discovered it enhanced his Five Elements Thunder Spiritual Power while requiring higher-grade formation materials for future breakthroughs. He refined the Nine Palaces Sword Formation, shared his Sword Intent with his clone, and watched the clone reach Foundation Establishment in seconds using a normal breakthrough.

• Li Shiming cultivated the Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Art and found that the Five Elements Qi Absorption Array transformed his Thunder Spiritual Power into pure Five Elements Thunder Spiritual Power.
• The IBMz15 analyzed the array and concluded that Li Shiming would need Third Grade Five Elements Formation Material to advance to Golden Core.
• Li Shiming refined the Central Palace Sword and established a connection with all nine swords in the Nine Palaces Sword Formation.
• Li Shiming tested his Sword Intent through the clone, then gave the clone seven Foundation Establishment Pills for its breakthrough.
• The clone transformed its Spiritual Qi Vortex into a Spirit Lake and reached Foundation Establishment in thirty-one seconds without using a pill.

After his Clone’s Foundation Establishment breakthrough made its consciousness permanent, Li Shiming strengthened it into an Iron Corpse and named it Li Yuanba, while the Three-Headed Six-Armed Iron Corpse became Nezha. Li Yuanba began cultivating the Ten Directions Sword Cultivation Art, leaving Li Shiming with a new path to improve his sword techniques and a busy schedule of Foundation Establishment training.

• Li Shiming discovered that Foundation Establishment had made the Clone’s separated consciousness impossible to withdraw, and the Clone agreed that they had become two distinct people who remained connected.
• The Clone advanced into the Iron Corpse State in the Netherworld Ghost Realm Formation, and Li Shiming also sent the Three Heads Six Arms Copper Corpse into the formation to strengthen it.
• Li Shiming gathered Purple Qi at sunrise, tested a specially made concave mirror to collect more, and spent the following days studying and practicing Foundation Establishment methods.
• The Clone and the Three-Headed Six-Armed Corpse Refinement completed their advancement to early Iron Corpse, and Li Shiming named them Li Yuanba and Nezha.
• Li Shiming gave Li Yuanba the Gale Golden Light Sword and defensive equipment, while Nezha received the Radiant Dazzling Armor.
• Li Yuanba began cultivating the Ten Directions Sword Cultivation Art, and Li Shiming recorded its Foundation Establishment techniques for his own use.

After leaving the Wei Clan Residence, Li Shiming and Li Yuanba encountered a fleeing female cultivator who dragged them into a fight with five Foundation Establishment cultivators from Baoze Mountain. Li Shiming trapped the group in his Thunder Shock Formation as Li Yuanba attacked the woman, and the battle began.

• Li Shiming gave Li Yuanba a share of their resources and sent him to join the Vast Array Sect, then sealed the Wei Clan Residence's Superior Spiritual Meridian as a refuge.
• Li Shiming and Li Yuanba traveled through Northern Shu and saw battles among cultivators before a pursued female cultivator approached their flying boat.
• The female cultivator threw a box toward Li Shiming and claimed she was giving him a treasure, but he knocked it back and refused to help her.
• The five pursuers caught up, and their leader's hostility convinced Li Shiming that he and Li Yuanba could not safely withdraw.
• Li Yuanba struck the female cultivator with his Gale Golden Light Sword while Li Shiming deployed the Nine Palaces Sword Formation's Thunder Shock Formation around all seven cultivators.
• The Baoze Mountain elder ordered his companions to protect their young master and kill Li Shiming as lightning filled the formation.

Li Shiming and Li Yuanba defeated the female cultivator and the five Foundation Establishment cultivators by combining the Nine Palaces Sword Formation, Thunder Strike Technique, Nezha, and a railgun shot. After the battle, Li Shiming realized the dead young cultivator’s master Yi Zhen was likely a Golden Core cultivator, leaving him with a powerful enemy.

• Li Yuanba defeated the female cultivator, and Li Shiming bound her with the Binding Spirit Rope while trapping the other five cultivators in the Nine Palaces Sword Formation.
• Li Shiming killed one Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator with golden lightning, then fired the railgun’s Third Grade Sword Foundation Projectile through the Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage cultivator and the young cultivator as the young man prepared to activate a Talisman Treasure.
• Nezha suppressed the two remaining Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators, while Li Yuanba fought the wounded Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage cultivator.
• Li Shiming’s flying swords weakened the survivors’ defenses, Nezha killed one cultivator, and Li Yuanba killed the Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage cultivator.
• Li Shiming gathered the corpses and their belongings, then suspected that Yi Zhen, the young cultivator’s master, was a Golden Core cultivator.

Li Shiming captured Yi Lingling after killing Yi Yichen and the other Baoze Mountain cultivators, then questioned her about their pursuit and the Six-Fingered Sound Demon's legacy. He discovered that the Earth Sound Extinguishing Dao Zither revealed a map and formation incantation, and the chapter left him studying the route to the marked site in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

• Li Shiming collected the corpses and spoils, took Yi Lingling to a hidden cave, and questioned her about Baoze Mountain and Yi Zhen.
• Yi Lingling revealed that Yi Yifa was Yi Zhen's only son and explained that Yi Yichen had pursued her over a spiritual qin rumored to lead to the Six-Fingered Sound Demon's Legacy Mansion.
• Li Shiming refined the genuine ancient qin, the Earth Sound Extinguishing Dao Zither, and learned its Extinguishing Dao Melody.
• The melody drew Li Shiming into a destructive state of mind, but the IBMz15 warning awakened him as a map and formation-entry incantation appeared above the zither.
• Yi Lingling died after the melody overwhelmed her, and Li Shiming burned her corpse and used the IBMz15 to locate the map's marked site in the Ten Thousand Mountains.