Chapter Summaries

After avenging Zhou Qingyu, Jiang Ping'an and his companions crossed the Shattered Star Ocean and reached the Tianmu Continent. They learned that the continent’s cultivation world was far stronger than the Western Mirror Continent’s and arrived at Five Hopes Mountain Marketplace to settle in and learn more.

• Jiang Ping'an and his companions avenged Zhou Qingyu when Xuan Shuang killed the Refining True Demonic Sect's Seventh Elder, then set out east for the Tianmu Continent.
• Jiang Ping'an and the others spent two years and nine months crossing the Shattered Star Ocean aboard their treasure ship, cultivating along the way, until Su Wanying spotted the Tianmu Continent.
• Jiang Ping'an brought the group inland, had Su Wanying return to the Soul Jade Bottle, and led them to Huazhou City to find out where they had arrived.
• Su Wanying explained that the Tianmu Continent had more than ten thousand Golden Core True Lords, and Jiang Ping'an decided the group should head to Five Hopes Mountain Marketplace.
• Jiang Ping'an and his companions traveled to Five Hopes Mountain Marketplace, a formation-protected rogue cultivator settlement backed by a Golden Core True Lord.

Jiang Ping'an and his companions entered Five Hopes Mountain Marketplace, bought treasures and ingredients, and began preparing for Xuan Shuang’s Foundation Establishment. After Jiang Ping'an refined excellent Ice Soul Cold Origin Pills for Dongfang Jintang, the marketplace’s leaders visited and told the group that unknown Foundation Establishment cultivators could stay only three days unless they joined the market; Jiang Ping'an declined, and the group planned to leave soon.

• Jiang Ping'an and his companions entered Five Hopes Mountain Marketplace and found its spiritual energy rich but its goods several times more expensive than those at Azure Origin Sect's market.
• Jiang Ping'an bought the complete set of Foundation Establishment treasures for Xuan Shuang’s Tidal Flood Dragon Dao Foundation, while arranging to buy pills and ingredients for his companions.
• Jiang Ping'an purchased Fire Origin Pills for Xiu Yun, an advanced alchemy furnace, and ingredients for Ice Soul Cold Origin Pills and Mystic Yin Returning True Pills.
• Jiang Ping'an refined ten Ice Soul Cold Origin Pills for Dongfang Jintang, six of perfect quality, and told her to take as many as she could to improve her cultivation.
• Chen Wanshan, Wu Qingfeng, and Zhang Deng visited Jiang Ping'an and explained that unknown Foundation Establishment cultivators could remain in the marketplace for only three days unless they joined its faction.
• Jiang Ping'an refused to join and said the group would leave soon; Chen Wanshan gave him and Dongfang Jintang guest tokens offering a five-percent discount at marketplace shops.

Jiang Ping'an and his companions searched for a spirit peak where they could settle and cultivate, weighing the safety of renting from the Mystic Weight Sect against seeking a better peak elsewhere. After inspecting five options, they favored Phoenix Cry Mountain and left their choice ready for the next step.

• Jiang Ping'an rescued three Jiang Clan cultivators from masked attackers, then learned that the Mystic Weight Sect rented spirit peaks to cultivators seeking a place to settle.
• In Wangshan City, Jiang Ping'an and his companions agreed to first seek a spirit peak from the Mystic Weight Sect, prioritizing stability over a potentially better peak from a Nascent Soul sect.
• Jiang Ping'an traveled to the Mystic Weight Sect, where deacon Wang Pingzhi showed him available peaks and explained their high rents and lease requirements.
• Jiang Ping'an and his companions inspected five spirit peaks, rejecting Mao'er Mountain because it was too close to the sect.
• Jiang Ping'an and Dongfang Jintang chose Phoenix Cry Mountain, which had abundant spiritual energy, a cold spring waterfall, and colorful Red-bellied Spirit Chickens.

Jiang Ping'an went to Mystic Weight Sect to rent Phoenix Cry Mountain, but Wang Pingzhi and a bearded cultivator ambushed him for his spirit stones. After killing Wang Pingzhi, Jiang Ping'an fought off the sect’s Foundation Establishment cultivators with his array and spirit generals, leaving the bearded cultivator cut in two.

• Jiang Ping'an chose to rent Phoenix Cry Mountain, and Wang Pingzhi and the bearded cultivator tried to kill him and seize his wealth.
• Jiang Ping'an used Black Stone Mountain to crush Wang Pingzhi, while the bearded cultivator sounded an alarm that drew Mystic Weight Sect cultivators to Crow Perch Department.
• Jiang Ping'an explained the ambush, but the sect cultivators attacked him, so he escaped their first assault with Thousand Shadow Illusion Body and trapped them in the Nine Nether Ghost King Soul Devouring Array.
• Jiang Ping'an summoned Xiao Duanyu, Zhuo Bufan, and Hu Yijian to attack the trapped cultivators, and Xiao Duanyu broke through the bearded cultivator’s shield and cut him in two.

Jiang Ping'an fought off Mystic Weight Sect Sect Master Li Xuanxiao after the sect tried to kill him, then accepted the sect’s apology and agreed to join as Vice Sect Master. Li Xuanxiao planned to hold a grand ceremony and offered Jiang a choice of any spirit peak except Qingjian Peak as his dojo.

• Jiang Ping'an used his sword techniques and Spiritual Sense to fend off Li Xuanxiao’s Mystic Weight Sword and force him to retreat.
• Jiang Ping'an stopped the slaughter after Li Xuanxiao begged for peace, and Li offered three spirit peaks to compensate for the sect’s attempt to kill him.
• Jiang Ping'an released the surviving Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators and prepared to choose three spirit peaks, but Li invited him to become Vice Sect Master instead.
• Li Xuanxiao explained that he needed another Golden Core True Lord to help guard the sect and ease the burden of its encroaching neighbors and internal disputes.
• Jiang Ping'an accepted Li Xuanxiao’s invitation, and Li promised to hold a grand installation ceremony and grant him a dojo and sect offerings.

After becoming Vice Sect Master of the Mystic Weight Sect, Jiang Ping'an settled on Daheng Peak and began using the sect’s resources. He agreed with Li Xuanxiao to attack Five Hopes Mountain in five years, then sought treasures for his spirit banner and learned Elder Ma knew where Ghost Kings could be found.

• Jiang Ping'an brought Dongfang Jintang, Xiu Yun, and Xuan Shuang into the Mystic Weight Sect, where he was formally installed as Vice Sect Master and chose Daheng Peak as his dojo.
• Jiang Ping'an moved into Hengxin Cave Mansion with Dongfang Jintang, while Xiu Yun and Xuan Shuang took nearby cave abodes; he later spent several days with Xuan Shuang before she entered seclusion to attempt Foundation Establishment.
• At a banquet, Li Xuanxiao introduced Jiang Ping'an to eight sect elders and explained the resources and privileges available to him as Vice Sect Master.
• Li Xuanxiao told Jiang Ping'an that Five Hopes Mountain Marketplace was defying the Mystic Weight Sect with backing from Xie Hanshui of the Crimson Cloud Sect, and Jiang Ping'an agreed to join an attack in five years.
• Jiang Ping'an visited the treasure vault, reserved its Mysterious Yin Bone Jades and other materials for his cultivation plans, and heard Elder Ma offer to lead him to a place where Ghost Kings appeared.

Jiang Ping'an prepared to strengthen his spirit forces, promoted Zhang Kaifeng into a Ghost King, and traveled to Black Yin Mountain to capture and refine yin spirits. After filling his Mystic Nether Spirit Controlling Banner and restoring his forces, he quietly headed toward the mountain’s deepest region.

• Jiang Ping'an learned that Black Yin Mountain in Yinluo Sect territory contained numerous powerful ghosts and decided to seek Ghost King promotion treasures there.
• Jiang Ping'an promoted Zhang Kaifeng into a Ghost King without giving it Profound Firmament Sword Qi, then refined it into a formation flag for the Nine Nether Ghost King Soul Devouring Array.
• Jiang Ping'an later attempted to promote Wang Shengnan, but Wang Shengnan died under the Heavenly Tribulation, prompting Jiang Ping'an to set out for Black Yin Mountain.
• Jiang Ping'an arrived at Black Yin Mountain and used the Mystic Nether Spirit Controlling Banner to defeat, capture, and refine thousands of yin spirits and several Fierce Spirits.
• Jiang Ping'an filled the banner, restored his forces in a Mystic Nether Returning Array, and then quietly flew toward the deepest part of Black Yin Mountain.

Jiang Ping'an fought through Black Yin Mountain, capturing many Fierce Spirits and Ghost Generals but failing to seize the Ghost Kings, who retreated after their forces could not break his defenses. He arranged for a Yin-gathering array to be built at Bùyáng Valley, where his spirits could recover, then left Xiao Duanyu and Zhuo Bufan to guard the valley.

• Jiang Ping'an led his Sword Wraiths and spirit allies through a battle in Black Yin Mountain, capturing seven Ghost Generals and over a thousand Fierce Spirits before tens of thousands of enemies attacked.
• Jiang Ping'an held off the assault and located three Ghost Kings, but they withdrew with their forces after failing to break through his defenses; he left the mountain with twenty-six captured Ghost Generals and over three thousand Fierce Spirits.
• Jiang Ping'an returned to the Mystic Weight Sect and spent seven or eight days refining his captured spirits, then asked Jiang Haitian to find a nearby place where Yin gathered.
• Jiang Haitian guided Jiang Ping'an to Bùyáng Valley, where Jiang Ping'an chose to build a Yin-gathering array and supplied its design; Jiang Haitian arranged for the array to be completed within a month.
• Jiang Ping'an activated the completed array, released his spirit bodies to recover in Bùyáng Valley, and ordered Xiao Duanyu and Zhuo Bufan to guard the valley while he flew away.

Jiang Ping'an returned to Black Yin Mountain and defeated its ghost forces, but a Yin God named Mo Ruyan captured him and declared she would make him her Cultivation Partner. He escaped and erased her tracking mark, yet Mo Ruyan remained determined to find him.

• Jiang Ping'an led his strengthened spirit army into Black Yin Mountain, routed its forces, and pursued one of the three Ghost Kings.
• Jiang Ping'an encountered Mo Ruyan, who overpowered him, brought him to her palace, and announced that she wanted him as her Cultivation Partner.
• Jiang Ping'an persuaded Mo Ruyan to leave and arrange a wedding, then escaped using Nether Shadow Crossing and a prepared shadow spiritual-sense marker.
• Jiang Ping'an discovered and erased Mo Ruyan's hidden mark with the Divine Soul within him.
• Mo Ruyan sensed the mark's disappearance but resolved to search southwest for Jiang Ping'an.

Jiang Ping'an was found by Mo Ruyan, who demanded that he return with her to marry, and he left the Mystic Weight Sect to speak with her privately. After agreeing to become her Cultivation Partner, he negotiated for mutual intimacy and the freedom to return to the sect.

• Jiang Ping'an reflected that he had recklessly gone to Black Yin Mountain and worried about the True Sword Spirits and Ghost King he had left behind.
• Mo Ruyan found Jiang Ping'an at the Mystic Weight Sect and announced that their wedding celebration was ready.
• Jiang Ping'an tried to redirect Mo Ruyan toward Li Xuanxiao, but Li could not persuade her to take him instead.
• Jiang Ping'an left the sect with Mo Ruyan and asked how she had found him, but neither revealed their methods.
• Mo Ruyan explained that she liked Jiang Ping'an's appearance, Nether True Qi, and powerful Divine Soul, which could benefit her through Spiritual Union.
• Jiang Ping'an agreed to become Mo Ruyan's Cultivation Partner after she accepted his requests for intimacy and freedom to return to the Mystic Weight Sect.

Jiang Ping'an married Mo Ruyan at Black Yin Mountain, and their Spiritual Union strengthened his Divine Soul and advanced his cultivation to the late Foundation Establishment Realm. He reclaimed his Ghost King subordinates and learned that the Nascent Soul Realm was the highest realm before ascension, giving him hope of eventually contending for the Mirage Cloud Marrow and Hundred-Life Yellow Millet.

• Jiang Ping'an learned from Mo Ruyan that the Ghost Kings were imprisoned, then traveled with her to Black Yin Mountain and asked for some of them as dowry, but she refused.
• Mo Ruyan held a grand wedding, and she and Jiang Ping'an underwent Spiritual Union before sleeping together as newlyweds.
• Jiang Ping'an refined the benefits of their union, broke through to the late Foundation Establishment Realm, and found that the Dreamland Heavenly Dao's suppression of his Divine Soul had weakened by more than twofold.
• Jiang Ping'an went fishing while Mo Ruyan was away, and she noticed his Divine Soul had grown more than twice as powerful as before.
• Mo Ruyan released Xiao Duanyu, Zhuo Bufan, and the other Ghost Kings from the underground prison, and Jiang Ping'an told them to recover at Black Yin Mountain.
• Jiang Ping'an and Mo Ruyan underwent Spiritual Union again, and Mo Ruyan explained that the Nascent Soul Realm preceded ascension and was the highest realm in the Dream Realm.

Jiang Ping'an returned to the Mystic Weight Sect, arranged for Xiao Duanyu, Zhuo Bufan, and Hu Yijian to become Sword Souls, and began planning for Core Formation. After Mo Ruyan offered to obtain Yellow Springs Water within three years, he returned to the sect months later and found that Xuan Shuang had achieved Foundation Establishment.

• Jiang Ping'an told Li Xuanxiao he would remain connected to the Mystic Weight Sect and asked about the treasures needed to form a Reincarnation Golden Core.
• Jiang Ping'an transformed Xiao Duanyu, Zhuo Bufan, and Hu Yijian into Sword Souls and ordered them to obey and protect Xiu Yun while she sought suitable Sword Servants.
• Jiang Ping'an returned to Black Yin Mountain, joined yin and yang with Mo Ruyan, and asked her for help obtaining Yellow Springs Water; she promised to retrieve it within three years.
• More than half a year later, Jiang Ping'an returned to the Mystic Weight Sect and congratulated Xuan Shuang on achieving Foundation Establishment.
• Jiang Ping'an spent the night with Xuan Shuang and, the next morning, found her cultivating in the Cultivation Chamber.

Jiang Ping'an traveled to Great Luo Holy City to find Core Formation Treasures, taking precautions because his bond with Mo Ruyan left him carrying a ghostly aura. After entering the city, he learned about its trading houses and intelligence organizations and planned where to search for a Mirage Beast Crystal and Merit List.

• Jiang Ping'an told Mo Ruyan he planned to visit Great Luo Holy City, and she warned him to avoid Nascent Soul Dao Lords and return within a month.
• Jiang Ping'an left Black Yin Mountain, detoured to Mystic Weight Sect to bring Xiao Duanyu and the other two Sword Souls, and reached Great Luo Holy City twelve days later.
• Jiang Ping'an paid the city-entry fee, kept his flight low to avoid drawing attention, and checked into an inn.
• Jiang Ping'an paid the waiter for information about the city's high-end trading houses and intelligence organizations.
• Jiang Ping'an decided to sell some of True Lord Xuan Luo's treasures on Sea of Treasures Street before searching for the Mirage Beast Crystal and Merit List.

Jiang Ping'an visited Sea of Treasures Street to learn its prices, bought high-grade sword qi for his sword spirits, and sold Spirit Pills, materials, and arrays at a stall. By the end of the day, he had cashed out more than two hundred fifty thousand spirit stones.

• Jiang Ping'an bought all the Myriad Sword Sect's sealed sword qi for sixty-eight thousand spirit stones and gave three high-grade strands to Xiao Duanyu, Zhuo Bufan, and Hu Yijian.
• Jiang Ping'an rented a stall on Sea of Treasures Street and displayed arrays, Spirit Pills, and heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
• Jiang Ping'an sold his Spirit Pills to an elderly cultivator for one hundred twenty-five thousand seven hundred spirit stones and sold his displayed materials for over thirty thousand.
• Jiang Ping'an sold three high-grade arrays for eighty-six thousand spirit stones, including the Inverted Five Elements Dragon Trapping Array to a young Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator rather than Xue Ningyu.
• Jiang Ping'an left the street at midnight with more than two hundred fifty thousand spirit stones cashed out.

Jiang Ping'an sold his formations, gathered information and supplies in Great Luo Holy City, and returned to Black Yin Mountain with several Ghost King Promotion Treasures and a Ten Thousand Year Ironwood Heart for Li Xuanxiao. After strengthening his ghost array and catching up with Li Xuanxiao, he prepared to hunt Mirage Beast Crystals with Mo Ruyan.

• Jiang Ping'an sold his two top-grade formations to Thousand Mechanisms Merchant Building for 260,000 spirit stones, then bought a Merit List and learned about the kinds of merit.
• After finding no Mirage Beast Crystals for sale, Jiang Ping'an paid Tide Listening Pavilion for three locations where fourth-rank or fifth-rank Mirage Beasts appeared.
• Jiang Ping'an bought Ghost King Promotion Treasures and a Ten Thousand Year Ironwood Heart in Great Luo Holy City, then returned to Black Yin Mountain before the deadline.
• Jiang Ping'an used the promotion treasures to advance three Sword Envoy Spirits into True Sword Spirits, while two were destroyed by heavenly lightning.
• Jiang Ping'an gave Li Xuanxiao the Ten Thousand Year Ironwood Heart and told him where to find Water of Forgetfulness.
• More than a month later, Mo Ruyan agreed to accompany Jiang Ping'an to hunt Mirage Beast Crystals, while warning that she could not act rashly.

Jiang Ping'an traveled with Mo Ruyan to Azure Mirror Lake to hunt a fourth-order Mirage Beast, using his powerful Divine Soul to pierce its illusions. After he revealed the beast and summoned the three Sword Souls, they drove it into battle and began attacking its vital points.

• Jiang Ping'an visited the Mystic Weight Sect and recruited Xiao Duanyu, Zhuo Bufan, and Hu Yijian to help him hunt a fourth-order demon beast.
• Jiang Ping'an and Mo Ruyan reached Azure Mirror Lake and entered the swamp concealed by the Mirage Beast's illusion.
• Jiang Ping'an resisted the beast's illusions, found its hiding place, and used his Divine Soul to reveal the true swamp and the beast to the Sword Souls.
• Xiao Duanyu, Zhuo Bufan, and Hu Yijian attacked the Mirage Beast, intercepted its tentacles, and wounded it.
• The three Sword Souls shifted from defense to offense and struck at the Mirage Beast's vital points.

Jiang Ping'an and his companions hunted two fourth-order Mirage Beasts, but neither yielded the Mirage Beast Crystal he wanted. He then visited the Myriad Sword Sect to buy high-grade sword qi before entering the territory of a Mirage Beast that might be fifth-order, with Mo Ruyan following close behind.

• Xiao Duanyu, Zhuo Bufan, and Hu Yijian killed a fourth-order Mirage Beast in the swamp, and Jiang Ping'an recovered a Mirage Pearl from its corpse.
• Jiang Ping'an and Mo Ruyan traveled to a second site, where the Sword Souls killed another fourth-order Mirage Beast that also held only a Mirage Pearl.
• Jiang Ping'an visited the Myriad Sword Sect and bought one hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones' worth of high-grade sword qi from Miao Yukun and two other cultivators.
• Jiang Ping'an gave Xiao Duanyu, Zhuo Bufan, and Hu Yijian jade swords containing high-grade sword qi so they could cultivate.
• Jiang Ping'an and Mo Ruyan entered the third Mirage Beast's hunting grounds, where the illusion disrupted Mo Ruyan's sense of direction, but Jiang Ping'an said his remained clear.

Jiang Ping'an killed a fifth-stage Mirage Beast with the Nine Nether Ghost King Soul Devouring Array and obtained its crystal, then reached Foundation Establishment perfection. Seeking merit by restoring dead lands, he asked Li Xuanxiao about nearby places and learned of Ten Mile Gobi Beach and other sites.

• Jiang Ping'an shattered the fifth-stage Mirage Beast's illusion realm and trapped it in the Nine Nether Ghost King Soul Devouring Array while Mo Ruyan watched.
• Xiao Duanyu, Zhuo Bufan, Hu Yijian, and the other spirit bodies killed the Mirage Beast, and Jiang Ping'an took its crystal before letting the spirit bodies devour its flesh.
• Jiang Ping'an returned the three Sword Souls to Xiu Yun at the Mystic Weight Sect, then went back to Black Yin Mountain with Mo Ruyan.
• Jiang Ping'an reached Foundation Establishment perfection and learned from Mo Ruyan that obtaining the Yellow Springs Water would take about half a year.
• Jiang Ping'an visited Li Xuanxiao and asked about lands of deathly silence so he could restore them for merit; Li Xuanxiao identified Ten Mile Gobi Beach and described other sites.

Jiang Ping'an devised a formation to extract the deadly Killing Intent from Ten Mile Gobi Beach and turn it into Sha Thunder Orbs, which he tested and found powerful enough to kill a top-tier Second-Rank Spirit Beast. He recruited Dongfang Jintang, Xuan Shuang, and seven Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators to produce the orbs, then prepared to lead them to Hezhou Changle County.

• Jiang Ping'an examined Ten Mile Gobi Beach and concluded that its shattered earth veins and lingering Killing Intent had to be addressed before the dead land could be restored.
• Jiang Ping'an refined and tested the Sha-Drawing Thunder-Refining Array, which converted the ravine's Killing Intent into six Sha Thunder Orbs.
• Jiang Ping'an detonated a Sha Thunder Orb against an Earth Exploding Bear and killed it, then decided to price the orbs at three hundred spirit stones each.
• Jiang Ping'an offered Dongfang Jintang and Xuan Shuang work refining Sha Thunder Orbs and gave them formation flags and jade slips to study.
• Jiang Ping'an recruited seven Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, supplied them with formation equipment, and told them to meet him the next morning before traveling to Hezhou Changle County.

Jiang Ping'an cleared the Killing Intent from Ten Mile Gobi Beach, restored the dead land, and sold the resulting Sha Thunder Orbs. He then restored a second dead land, completing the Merit List, with Yellow Springs Water remaining as the only Core Formation Treasure he still needed.

• Jiang Ping'an led Dongfang Jintang, Xuan Shuang, and seven Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators to Ten Mile Gobi Beach, where they refined residual Killing Intent into seven hundred and twenty Sha Thunder Orbs.
• Jiang Ping'an refused to sell the Sha-Drawing Thunder-Refining Array, gave the orbs to Dongfang Jintang and Xuan Shuang to sell, and began restoring the area's earth veins.
• Jiang Ping'an connected with the faint earth-vein spirituality, revived Ten Mile Gobi Beach, and received enough merit to fill most of the Merit List.
• Dongfang Jintang, Xuan Shuang, and Xiu Yun reported that the Sha Thunder Orbs were selling for five hundred spirit stones each, and Jiang Ping'an agreed to sell two hundred to the sect at a lower price.
• Jiang Ping'an led the group to another dead land and restored it, completing the Merit List; Yellow Springs Water remained the only Core Formation Treasure he needed.