Chapter Summaries

Chen Sheng’s celebration drew influential cultivators and sect elders who sought to build ties with him after his cultivation breakthrough. Li Changyang arrived with a gift from the Alchemy Hall Master, appointing Chen Sheng as a direct disciple and inviting him to Pill Cauldron Peak.

• He Manlou introduced Chen Sheng to Foundation Establishment family heads and Artifact Alliance elders, who praised his alchemy and reputation.
• Zhao Jin Hu arrived with elders from Qinghua Sect’s Internal Affairs, Transmission, and Discipline Halls, who expressed their interest in Chen Sheng.
• Li Changyang presented Chen Sheng with the Ziying Gourd on the Alchemy Hall Master’s behalf and announced that Chen Sheng would become his master’s disciple.
• Li Changyang told Chen Sheng to visit Pill Cauldron Peak when he returned to the sect, where a True Disciple cultivation ground awaited him.
• News of the gourd and Chen Sheng’s new status spread through the banquet, drawing envy and congratulations from the guests.

Chen Sheng returned to Qinghua Sect, completed his report, and went to Pill Cauldron Peak to meet Daoist Longxu as a prospective Alchemy Hall True Disciple. White Crane Boy escorted him through the peak’s formations, and Red Crane Boy received him at Danxin Cave, where Daoist Longxu awaited.

• Wu Lingshuang and the concubines dressed Chen Sheng in formal robes and ornaments before his return to the sect.
• Chen Sheng reported his duties, received his Foundation Establishment Identity Gold Token and other provisions, and learned more about Daoist Longxu’s disciples from Zhao Jin Hu.
• Zhao Jin Hu escorted Chen Sheng to Pill Cauldron Peak, then stopped at the platform below the Hall Master’s secluded grounds.
• White Crane Boy greeted Chen Sheng as a True Disciple and escorted him upward on an auspicious cloud.
• Red Crane Boy welcomed Chen Sheng at Danxin Cave, and Chen Sheng entered to meet Daoist Longxu.

Chen Sheng became Daoist Longxu’s seventh disciple and received cultivation guidance, a body-tempering method, and valuable alchemy rewards. He left with instructions to focus on cultivation and pursue the Golden Core Mysterious Pass.

• Daoist Longxu accepted Chen Sheng as his seventh disciple and gave him the Sea Overturning Flood Dragon Art, suited to his Dragon Vein Special Physique.
• Chen Sheng pleaded for Sixth Senior Brother, but Daoist Longxu insisted that Sixth Senior Brother complete his punishment and apologize after leaving seclusion.
• Daoist Longxu asked Chen Sheng to demonstrate his alchemy, and Chen Sheng refined a Golden Origin Pill with eighty percent medicinal efficacy.
• Daoist Longxu awarded Chen Sheng one hundred thousand Contribution Points and the Second-grade High-rank Qingyuan Cauldron, praising his alchemy talent.
• Daoist Longxu told Chen Sheng to choose a cultivation ground on Pill Cauldron Peak, limit miscellaneous duties, and focus on cultivation and seeking the Golden Core Mysterious Pass.

Chen Sheng settled into Hibernating Dragon Cave and began cultivating the Sea Overturning Flood Dragon Art, discovering that his bloodline let him make a promising start. He then spent 57,000 Contribution Points on three cultivation methods at the Law Transmission Pavilion and wondered whether his sect had a divine sense cultivation method.

• White Crane Boy guided Chen Sheng to Hibernating Dragon Cave, where he found a third-grade Spiritual Vein and an Earth Fire stove suited to his body tempering.
• Chen Sheng studied the Sea Overturning Flood Dragon Art and learned that it required a Dragon bloodline and rare treasures to reach its seventh layer.
• After three days of cultivation, Chen Sheng developed faint Dragon Scale Patterns, struck a claw mark into the stove, and saw an Inverse Scale beginning to form.
• Chen Sheng concluded that his bloodline was suitable for the art and decided to seek Dragon Blood Fruit and Flood Dragon Saliva Juice to advance its first three layers.
• At the Law Transmission Pavilion, Chen Sheng bought the Spirit Locking Nine Arts, Three-Turn Pill Condensation Secret Manual, and Luotian Fire Technique for 57,000 Contribution Points.
• Chen Sheng found no divine sense cultivation method in the pavilion and considered asking his master whether the sect had one.

Chen Sheng acquired high-level inheritance and costly body-refining resources, then expanded his pill business through Wu Lingshuang to fund his cultivation. After completing the third layer of the Sea Overturning Flood Dragon Art, he reached Qi Condensation Perfection and prepared to attempt Foundation Establishment.

• Chen Sheng received three inheritances protected by the Ancestor’s Three Absolute Restrictions and considered learning the method to safeguard the Myriad Lives Tome.
• Chen Sheng exchanged 7,000 Contribution Points for ten Dragon Blood Fruits and Flood Dragon Saliva Juice, then decided to expand Fine-grade Pill Hall and establish a Merchant Association.
• Chen Sheng asked Wu Lingshuang to build a channel network and Merchant Association, then began refining his body with a Dragon Blood Fruit.
• Wu Lingshuang built the Chen Clan Merchant Association over half a year, gathering alchemists and establishing nearly a hundred distribution points to generate Spirit Stones for Chen Sheng.
• Chen Sheng completed the third layer of the Sea Overturning Flood Dragon Art, reached Qi Condensation Perfection, and prepared to attempt Foundation Establishment.

At Crouching Dragon Cave, Chen Sheng used a Spirit Gathering Formation and several spiritual treasures to break through the three Foundation Establishment barriers. He successfully reached Foundation Establishment at forty-five and tested the power of his new liquid mana.

• Chen Sheng activated a Second-grade Spirit Gathering Formation and prepared Spirit Rhinoceros Liquid, Ice Heart Marrow, a Mind Concentrating Flower, and four Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Chen Sheng began his breakthrough, using his Fourth Layer Body Refining to easily break the Blood-Qi Barrier.
• Chen Sheng cleansed his mana with the Spirit Rhinoceros Liquid and Ice Heart Marrow, then broke the Mana Barrier with pure mana.
• Chen Sheng used the Mind Concentrating Flower and a Foundation Establishment Pill to break the Spiritual Sense Barrier and form divine sense.
• Chen Sheng absorbed spiritual qi until it condensed into liquid mana, completing his Foundation Establishment breakthrough with twenty drops in his Dantian.
• Chen Sheng stored the three remaining Foundation Establishment Pills and demonstrated the force of his new mana with a small, powerful flame.

Chen Sheng explored his newly formed spiritual sense and discovered how greatly it improved his control over objects, fire, and pill refinement. After a dangerous experiment with sealing Earth Fire, he successfully refined six Ruyi Pills and left confident that he had reached the level of a Second-grade mid-tier alchemist.

• Chen Sheng tested his spiritual sense, confirming that it could reach a hundred zhang in open space and manipulate objects without using Mana.
• Chen Sheng used spiritual sense to prepare materials and control Azure Abyss and its Earth Fire with unprecedented precision.
• Chen Sheng formed a Fire Pearl by refining and sealing Earth Fire, but it became unstable, so he fled and used his spiritual sense to safely release its power.
• Chen Sheng recognized that stabilizing the Fire Pearl was difficult and wondered how Heavenly Thunder Seeds were made.
• Chen Sheng refined a batch of Ruyi Pills and produced six pills with eighty-five percent efficacy, confirming his skill as a Second-grade mid-tier alchemist.

After achieving Foundation Establishment, Chen Sheng visited Daoist Longxu for guidance on cultivation methods and learned which art best suited his goals. He chose the Pure Yang One Qi Art, received a high-rank pill formula to study, and left with advice on escape techniques and future training.

• Chen Sheng flew to Danxin Cave and saw Daoist Longxu practicing the Separation Fire Transformation Realm.
• Daoist Longxu gave Chen Sheng a jade slip documenting the cultivation paths of more than a hundred fire-attributed cultivators and explained the three types of cultivation methods.
• Chen Sheng chose the ordinary-mana path to support his body cultivation, and Daoist Longxu recommended the Pure Yang One Qi Art for its purity and help with bottlenecks.
• Daoist Longxu praised Chen Sheng's Ruyi Pills at eighty-five percent efficacy and gave him the Nine Yang Pill formula to study before practicing together the next day.
• Chen Sheng asked about Spiritual Sense cultivation, escape arts, and Sea of Consciousness Restrictions, and Daoist Longxu advised him on each before he left.

Chen Sheng selected the Pure Yang One Qi Art and began cultivating, only to discover how slowly his Low-grade Spiritual Root refined Mana. After studying cultivation records, he resolved to rely much more heavily on Pills and cleansing spiritual objects to advance before his lifespan ran out.

• Chen Sheng visited the Transmission Hall, obtained the Pure Yang One Qi Art, and persuaded Huang Qingxu to lend him introductory methods concerning Sea of Consciousness Restrictions.
• Chen Sheng invited Huang Qingxu and several other Sect members to a future banquet, and Huang Qingxu reflected on his hopes of building connections to support his clan.
• Chen Sheng practiced the Pure Yang One Qi Art at Crouching Dragon Cave and found that an Essence-Nourishing Pill increased his Mana-refining efficiency by thirty percent.
• Chen Sheng calculated that his poor aptitude would make Foundation Establishment progress take decades or centuries, even before accounting for bottlenecks.
• After reviewing Daoist Longxu's cultivation records, Chen Sheng resolved to use Mana-Increasing Pills heavily and supplement them with cleansing spiritual objects.

Chen Sheng failed to refine a Nine Yang Pill, so Daoist Longxu taught him to correct his fire control and gave him the Myriad Divine Transformation Formation to train his Spiritual Sense. Chen Sheng began cultivating the method at Hibernating Dragon Cave Dwelling, while he was also instructed to report to Pill Cloud Hall the next day.

• Chen Sheng's first attempt to refine a Nine Yang Pill failed when his Yin and Yang fires became unbalanced and burned the ingredients to ash.
• Daoist Longxu explained Chen Sheng's mistake, demonstrated precise fire control, and gave him a Jade slip containing the Myriad Divine Transformation Formation.
• With Daoist Longxu's Spiritual Sense assisting him, Chen Sheng completed a pill-refining process and learned from repeated corrections and failed attempts without assistance.
• Daoist Longxu gave Chen Sheng two Jade slips of his pill-refining insights and told him to report to Pill Cloud Hall for a new post the next day.
• Chen Sheng studied the Myriad Divine Transformation Formation at Hibernating Dragon Cave Dwelling and began practicing it with Formation Flags until his Spiritual Sense was depleted.

Chen Sheng became the Palace Master and instructor of Fire Spirit Palace, where he met its Elders and observed a lecture before demonstrating his own fire-control skill. His impressive lesson convinced the gathered disciples and Elders that he was a formidable alchemy talent.

• Li Yuan told Chen Sheng that he had been appointed Palace Master and instructor of Fire Spirit Palace for eight thousand Contribution Points a year, with the choice to keep his alchemy assignment.
• Li Feng guided Chen Sheng to Fire Spirit Palace and explained that previous Palace Masters had used the post to take outstanding disciples into their schools.
• Chen Sheng met the Foundation Establishment Elders stationed at the palace and watched Zhang Fan lecture on the Pill Condensation method.
• Chen Sheng taught a crowded lesson on fire control, demonstrating an enormous Yin Yang Formless Purgatory that astonished the disciples and Elders.
• After the lesson, the Elders praised Chen Sheng's fire technique and alchemy talent, while his Martial Nephews celebrated his performance.

Chen Sheng taught alchemy at the Fire Spirit Palace, cultivated his mana and formation skills, and received an invitation to a Qingmu Merchant Association auction that might feature Golden Core Spirit Materials. He learned that the Chen Clan’s dispute over an ore vein had been temporarily mediated, while the auction and the Clan’s future remained ahead.

• Chen Sheng answered the Foundation Establishment cultivators’ and Qi Refining disciples’ alchemy questions before returning to Hibernating Dragon Cave Dwelling.
• Chen Sheng refined a Cloud-Rising Pill with Marrow-Cleansing Liquid, then continued cultivating his Blood Qi.
• Wu Lingshuang gave Chen Sheng an invitation to the Qingmu Merchant Association auction in Fenghua Immortal City and told him the Chen Clan had clashed with forces seeking its ore vein.
• Chen Sheng predicted that the Chen Clan’s Ancestor had contingencies and that the rival families were underestimating him.
• Chen Sheng completed the first layer of the Myriad Divine Transformation Formation and improved his control of divine sense.
• Wu Lingshuang informed Chen Sheng that the Chen Clan dispute had been temporarily mediated by a trusted Disciple sent by the Ancestor.

Chen Sheng attended the Qingmu Merchant Association auction with Li Yuan and bought an ancient Body Refining pill formula while considering how to advance toward Golden Core Formation. The auction ended with Azure Profound Water selling for 1,150,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones, while Chen Sheng resolved that becoming a Third-grade Alchemist might help him compete for a Demon Core.

• Li Yuan brought Chen Sheng and several Alchemy Hall Elders to the Qingmu Merchant Association auction, where they watched from a private room.
• Chen Sheng bought the Golden Sun Qi and Blood Pill formula for 10,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones, and Li Yuan suggested he work with Sixth Junior Brother to revise it.
• Li Yuan offered to introduce Chen Sheng to a Tianyang Peak True Disciple so he could learn more about Puppets.
• Li Muzhou presented Azure Profound Water, and Chen Sheng reflected on the scarcity of Golden Core opportunities and his need to become a Third-grade Alchemist to contend for a Demon Core.
• A private-room bidder won the Azure Profound Water for 1,150,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Chen Sheng and Fang Lingxiao partnered to develop profitable pills and began work on breakthrough formulas. At the Wu Clan’s annual Spirit Testing Assembly, one of Chen Sheng’s six children revealed an Earth-grade Wood Spiritual Root.

• Chen Sheng studied the Ancient Formula for the Golden Sun Qi and Blood Pill and asked Fang Lingxiao to help deduce it.
• Fang Lingxiao reached Qi Refining Perfection in the Turbid Fire Forbidden Land and welcomed Chen Sheng’s request to collaborate.
• Over the next two years, Wu Lingshuang established herself as a Foundation Establishment merchant-house leader, and sales of the Golden Sun Blood-Qi Pill exceeded expectations.
• Fang Lingxiao joined Chen Sheng’s merchant house, and the two improved pill formulas and developed new pills for Foundation Establishment body cultivators and breaking the Blood-Qi Barrier.
• Chen Sheng and Fang Lingxiao began discussing formulas for a series of breakthrough pills and gathered the materials needed for their research.
• At the Wu Clan Spirit Testing Assembly, one of Chen Sheng’s six children triggered a jade-green pillar of light that Wu Qingguan identified as an Earth-grade Wood Spiritual Root.

Wu Guang tested as having an Earth-grade Spiritual Root, prompting the Wu Clan and Chen Sheng’s master to leverage the news to secure resources for Chen Sheng. The Lin Clan sent word seeking contact, and Chen Sheng prepared to negotiate for support with his Body Refining.

• Wu Qingguan celebrated Wu Guang’s Earth-grade Spiritual Root and decided to send him to the sect, while the Wu Clan prepared generous gifts for Chen Sheng and Wu Lingshuang.
• Chen Sheng received the Wu Clan’s gifts and learned from Wu Lingshuang that Wu Guang had an Earth-grade Spiritual Root.
• Li Yuan told Chen Sheng that the Lin Clan wanted to meet him and advised him to demand favorable terms, then delivered a jade slip of Body Refining resources from Daoist Longxu.
• Daoist Longxu praised Li Yuan for not pushing his own clan’s cooperation and sent messages inviting his influential friends to discuss supporting Chen Sheng.
• Daoist Longxu hoped to gather enough resources for Chen Sheng to reach Body Refining Sixth Layer Perfection and joked that a future Heaven-grade descendant might secure even more.

Chen Sheng negotiated resources from the Lin Clan, then completed the fourth layer of the Flood Dragon Subduing Sea Art and formed three Dragon Claws. Daoist Longxu gave him the Pearl Condensation Secret Art, which could improve his chances of forming a Golden Core, and promised to obtain the needed Third-rank Flood Dragon Essence Blood.

• Chen Sheng secured nearly all the resources from Daoist Longxu's Jade slip through negotiations with the Lin Clan, including three hundred thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones for rare items.
• Chen Sheng swallowed a Second-grade High-rank Flood Dragon Marrow Crystal and completed the fourth layer of the Flood Dragon Subduing Sea Art, forming three Dragon Claws.
• Daoist Longxu inspected Chen Sheng's new Dragon Claws and gave him the Pearl Condensation Secret Art, explaining that it could raise his chances of Golden Core Formation by twenty to thirty percent when used with Third-rank Flood Dragon Essence Blood.
• Daoist Longxu promised to secure the Sect's remaining portion of Flood Dragon Essence Blood for Chen Sheng and urged him to master the sixth layer of the Flood Dragon Subduing Sea Art.
• Chen Sheng thanked Daoist Longxu and returned to the Hibernating Dragon Cave Dwelling to study the secret art and continue cultivating.

At Qinghua Sect’s council meeting, Daoist Longxu secured unanimous approval for his disciple Chen Sheng to join the Golden Core Seed list and obtained a promise of Third-rank Flood Dragon Essence Blood for him. After the elders settled other sect matters, Chen Jiang proposed another western expedition, leaving Hua Taixuan undecided.

• Daoist Longxu recommended his seventh disciple, Chen Sheng, for Qinghua Sect’s Golden Core Seed list.
• Lin Xian described Chen Sheng’s Dragon Vein Constitution, talent for alchemy, and the events surrounding Wu Guang and the Lin Clan.
• Daoist Longxu explained that Chen Sheng had condensed three Dragon Claws and had a twenty to thirty percent chance of forming a Golden Core.
• Hua Taixuan and the other four elders voted unanimously to add Chen Sheng to the list, and Hua Taixuan promised him Third-rank Flood Dragon Essence Blood.
• The elders debated an ore vein and Southern Region Market Town expansion, then Hua Taixuan postponed deciding on Chen Jiang’s proposal to push farther west.

Chen Sheng perfected the swift Violet Lightning Rainbow and continued advancing his cultivation before Gu Caiju arrived with news that her mother and Uncle Wang were imprisoned by the Li Family of Thousand Mechanisms Workshop. Chen Sheng ordered the Li Family to free them within three days or face extermination, leaving Gu Caiju stunned by his power and influence.

• Chen Sheng refined the Violet Lightning Rainbow, tested its speed around Pill Cauldron Peak, and calculated that his cultivation progress put Foundation Establishment Perfection within reach.
• Chen Sheng went to Qinghua Courtyard and recognized Gu Caiju, who recounted the hardships she had endured since her mother vanished.
• Gu Caiju explained that her investigation traced a recently made Formation Disk to the Li Family and revealed that Li Rulong had imprisoned Gu Taohua and Uncle Wang.
• Chen Sheng recalled Li Rulong’s suspicious past and ordered Wu Lingshuang to demand their release within three days and bring Li Rulong to Pill Cauldron Peak for punishment.
• Chen Sheng told Gu Caiju to bring her mother and Uncle Wang to see him if they returned safely, and she bowed in gratitude.

Chen Sheng dealt with Li Rulong and helped Gu Taohua and Wang Juhui leave safely, then arranged for the Chongyun Lin Clan to be destroyed. After learning of the clan’s fall, he felt only calm, believing the grievances from his Previous Life had ended.

• Chen Sheng killed Li Rulong and ordered Li Hansong to pay ten thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones before leaving with the Li Clan.
• Chen Sheng refused the Peach Blossom Formation Manual and Spirit-Gathering Talisman Classic offered by Gu Taohua and Wang Juhui, and sent them home.
• Chen Sheng read reports on the Tang Clan and Chongyun Lin Clan, then decided to settle his old grievance against the Lin Clan without seeking personal vengeance.
• Robber Cultivators breached the Lin Clan’s formation and killed its sole Foundation Establishment cultivator before burning the grounds to ashes.
• Chen Sheng received word at Hibernating Dragon Cave Dwelling that the Chongyun Lin Clan had been destroyed and continued arranging his Formation Flags.

Chen Sheng took Li Min and Hu Bao as disciples before learning that the sect planned to reclaim the Western Border Miasma Forest. Daoist Longxu prepared Li Guishou and Li Yuan to pursue Golden Core resources there, while Chen Sheng returned to support the campaign through alchemy.

• Chen Sheng demonstrated his alchemy skills and named Li Min and Hu Bao as his second and third disciples.
• Hu Zexi and the Li and Hu families delivered gifts for their new disciples, and Chen Sheng was summoned to Danxin Cave.
• Daoist Longxu told Chen Sheng and the other senior disciples that the sect would reclaim the wilderness west of the Western Border Miasma Forest and ordered them to stockpile Detoxification Pills and Healing Pills.
• Chen Sheng, Li Changyang, and Fang Lingxiao concluded that they would support the campaign by producing Pills within the sect.
• Daoist Longxu told Li Guishou and Li Yuan that the campaign could provide Golden Core Spirit Materials and Demon Cores, and promised to seek command posts for them.
• After Li Guishou and Li Yuan left, Daoist Longxu spoke to his late master’s portrait about fulfilling his dying instructions and then living for himself.