Chapter Summaries

Chen Sheng taught Hu Bao and Li Min how to improve their alchemy, correcting Hu Bao’s crude fire control and Li Min’s rigid technique. Later, Chen Sheng and Fang Lingxiao began developing an affordable Detoxification Pill for Qi Refinement cultivators in the Western Frontier reclamation effort.

• Hu Bao refined three Scarlet Blood Pills, but Chen Sheng criticized his stagnant progress and unstable foundation.
• Chen Sheng demonstrated different kinds of fire and guided Hu Bao toward finer control, while Li Min watched and learned.
• Li Min refined Purifying Spirit Pills, and Chen Sheng showed him how spiritual guidance could improve their quality beyond rigidly following a formula.
• Chen Sheng and Fang Lingxiao discussed the limits of their Miasma-Cleansing Pill and identified Qi Refinement cultivators as a major market for reclamation supplies.
• Chen Sheng tasked the trading firm with gathering low-grade Detoxification Pills for analysis, while Fang Lingxiao organized his materials to develop a cheaper formula.

Chen Sheng developed and tested a Detoxification Pill for the coming wilderness reclamation, while learning that four Foundation Establishment Families had been wiped out. The test showed the pill could help Qi Condensation cultivators withstand miasma, and Chen Sheng decided to name the fine-grade version the Soothing Miasma Jade Dew Pill and work on a cheaper basic version.

• Wu Lingshuang told Chen Sheng that four Foundation Establishment Families had been uprooted overnight, and Chen Sheng recognized the purge as a sacrifice made ahead of the wilderness reclamation.
• Wu Lingshuang reported that she had stockpiled Azure Sky Grass, White Dragon Fruit, and Ink Leaf for pill-making.
• Fang Lingxiao gave Chen Sheng a Jade slip containing the decoded formulas for most of seventy-six common Qi Condensation detoxification and healing pills.
• Chen Sheng refined twelve first-grade upper-quality Detoxification Pills and had Wu Lingshuang test one on a Spirit Mist Mouse exposed to miasma.
• After the mouse died from repeated miasma exposure, Chen Sheng judged the pill effective enough when paired with a Heart Protection Pill, but found its ingredients too costly.
• Wu Lingshuang suggested selling the effective pill to wealthier cultivators and making a cheaper basic version; Chen Sheng named the fine-grade pill the Soothing Miasma Jade Dew Pill.

Zhao Jin Hu and Huang Qingxu asked Chen Sheng to recommend them for the sect’s planned opening-up operation in the Western Border Miasma Forest, hoping to secure land and a future for their clans. Chen Sheng agreed to pass along their request, then returned to refining the basic Soothing Miasma Jade Dew Pill formula.

• Chen Sheng learned that Zhao Jin Hu and Huang Qingxu had arrived and invited them into his cave dwelling.
• Zhao Jin Hu deduced from the sect’s preparations that an opening-up operation in the Western Border Miasma Forest was imminent.
• Zhao Jin Hu and Huang Qingxu asked Chen Sheng to help them join the operation so they could establish a future for their families.
• Chen Sheng warned them of the dangers, but they explained that their clans had chosen to seek opportunities beyond the sect’s crowded lands.
• Chen Sheng agreed to convey their wishes and told them to prepare and await the sect’s orders.
• After the two left, Chen Sheng returned to deducing the basic Soothing Miasma Jade Dew Pill formula.

Chen Sheng and Fang Lingxiao secured support for their Soothing Miasma Jade Dew Pill as the Qinghua Sect prepared to reclaim the Western Frontier. Meanwhile, Chen Jiang and his allies killed Green Horn Great King, and Chen Jiang pressed on despite his dwindling lifespan and injuries.

• Li Guishou and Li Yuan praised the Soothing Miasma Jade Dew Pill and promised to recommend it to the External Affairs Hall for the war-preparedness list.
• Chen Sheng told Wu Lingshuang to recruit alchemists and establish workshops to mass-produce the pill, while he continued testing a cheaper Detoxification Pill formula.
• Chen Jiang and Daoist Longxu, Ancestor Lin, and Ancestor Li trapped Green Horn Great King inside the Dragon Locking Array.
• Chen Jiang used the Blood Burning Technique and his Heaven-Turning Seal to battle Green Horn Great King, then struck it with the concealed Third-grade Green Light Shuttle.
• Daoist Longxu and the others restrained Green Horn Great King, allowing Chen Jiang to crush its head and claim its Demon Core.
• Though injured and aware that his lifespan was nearly exhausted, Chen Jiang refused to rest and led the group toward another Demon King's lair.

Qinghua Sect celebrated the defeat of the Western Frontier’s three Demon Kings and sent its first army to expand the frontier. Afterward, Chen Sheng discussed the campaign’s rewards and their pill business, while He Manlou decided to lead Qingyang He Clan cultivators on the next expedition.

• Hua Taixuan announced that Chen Jiang had helped slay the three Demon Kings, mourned his death, and promised rewards for his service and for cultivators who earned military merit.
• Li Guishou, Li Yuan, and the assembled cultivators shouted their readiness to fight as the Qinghua Sect army departed for the Western Frontier.
• Chen Sheng, Fang Lingxiao, and Wu Lingshuang discussed Chen Jiang’s rewards and learned that the first batch of Soothing Miasma Jade Dew Pill orders had earned 970,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones in profit.
• He Manlou called the Qingyang He Clan elders together and declared that he would personally lead clansmen to the Western Frontier, leaving He Qiankun behind to protect the clan.

The Western Frontier reclamation campaign prospered, enriching Chen Sheng and strengthening Qinghua Sect’s forces as families and cultivators claimed territory. After completing the third layer of the Myriad Divine Transformation Formation, Chen Sheng gained precise control of his divine sense and fire arts, leaving him ready to refine Second-grade High-grade Pills.

• Zhao Jin Hu, Huang Qingxu, and He Manlou led their clans through years of fighting and secured Second-grade Spiritual Veins in the Western Frontier.
• Chen Sheng’s Soothing Miasma Jade Dew Pill business boomed, while his son Lin Yi’s Earth-grade Spiritual Root made Chen Sheng’s aptitude famous and his sons in the He Clan profited by selling offspring to rising families.
• Chen Sheng reviewed the battle merit rankings and saw that Li Guishou had led the True Disciples, while Li Yuan had ranked near the bottom because of his youth and focus on cultivation.
• Chen Sheng anticipated that Li Guishou might soon become a True Person of False Core and that the Alchemy Hall’s growing strength would expand his high-end market.
• Chen Sheng completed the third layer of the Myriad Divine Transformation Formation, improving his control of thirty-six Formation Flags and his divine sense.
• Chen Sheng used his improved control to stabilize Yin Fire and Yang Fire in a miniature yin-yang diagram, overcoming the bottleneck in his fire arts and making Second-grade High-grade Pills achievable.

Chen Sheng refined pills and guided his disciples before welcoming He Ping'an, who asked him to make a Foundation Establishment Pill for the He Clan. Chen Sheng successfully made two pills and sent He Ping'an home with one, urging him to establish his foundation soon.

• Chen Sheng refined six fine-grade Crimson Origin Pills and asked Li Min and Hu Bao to demonstrate their alchemy skills, then gave them advice and assigned practice.
• Three months later, He Ping'an visited Chen Sheng at Qinghua Courtyard and described the He Clan's success in the Western Frontier.
• He Ping'an asked Chen Sheng to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill using a formula and materials acquired by his grandfather.
• Chen Sheng used the Qingyuan Cauldron to refine the ancient formula, producing two Foundation Establishment Pills with reduced medicinal efficacy.
• Chen Sheng gave He Ping'an one pill and encouraged him to establish his foundation; He Ping'an thanked him and departed.

Several years later, Chen Sheng took office as the Pill Alliance’s new Alliance Master in Fenghua Immortal City, with Yu Linqing appointed as a Vice Alliance Master. After the cultivators welcomed them, Chen Sheng entered the Pill Alliance Main Hall to discuss its affairs.

• Alchemists and Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered at the Pill Alliance as they discussed Chen Sheng’s reputation and his appointment as Alliance Master.
• Liu Qiyan and Zuo Hanlin awaited Chen Sheng, while Zuo Hanlin considered how to use the appointment to benefit the Qianshan Zuo Clan.
• Chen Sheng and Yu Linqing arrived, and the assembled cultivators bowed to welcome them.
• Chen Sheng introduced Yu Linqing as a Vice Alliance Master who would help oversee the Pill Alliance.
• Zuo Hanlin and Liu Qiyan invited Chen Sheng and Yu Linqing to a welcoming banquet and to discuss Alliance matters, and Chen Sheng agreed to enter the Main Hall.

Chen Sheng and Yu Linqing managed corruption in the Fenghua Alchemy Alliance before reporting to Daoist Longxu, who warned them about Demonic Cultivators and explained how Chen Sheng should use authority and factional balance. Daoist Longxu urged Chen Sheng to learn to wield power despite his limited cultivation aptitude, and Chen Sheng left resolved to meet his master's expectations.

• Chen Sheng and Yu Linqing exposed Steward Wang's diversion of Spirit Grass, fined him, and let him avoid expulsion after he repaid its value.
• Chen Sheng and Yu Linqing reported the Alliance's accounts to Daoist Longxu, who ordered them to monitor materials that Demonic Cultivators could exploit.
• Daoist Longxu sent Yu Linqing away and explained to Chen Sheng that Yu Linqing's strictness could help deter factions while Chen Sheng acted as a mediator.
• Daoist Longxu told Chen Sheng to press Yu Linqing to investigate Demonic Cultivators and explained that his limited Spiritual Root made learning to manage power essential.
• Chen Sheng asked Daoist Longxu for advice on handling Pill Alliance factions, then bowed and left.

Chen Sheng ordered a crackdown after learning the Luo and Xu Clans had colluded with Demonic Cultivators to refine Blood Cores. As the sect investigated their strongholds, Old Mo slaughtered the Liu Clan and fled toward the Western Border Miasma Forest.

• Chen Sheng directed Wu Lingshuang to gather the trading company's resources in the Western Frontier and secure ten storefronts in the new Immortal City, then ordered Yu Linqing to mobilize the Guard Army against the Luo and Xu Clans.
• Zhao Wu captured Luo Lie with the Demon Suppression Cauldron, and the Guard Army subdued the Luo Clan while killing disciples who tried to escape.
• Xu Kun killed the two Demonic Cultivators with him, confessed his guilt to the Clan Elders, and took his own life so they could seek the Li Clan's help and preserve the Xu Clan's inheritance.
• Daoist Longxu approved the purge, ordered Luo Lie interrogated, and agreed to lessen the Xu Clan's punishment because it had begun cleansing itself.
• Old Mo learned that his strongholds had been exposed, drained Liu Shan's Essence Blood, and sent ghostly shadows to kill the rest of the Liu Clan.
• Old Mo left Green Willow Valley in a sedan chair carried by Ghost Child, heading for the Western Border Miasma Forest to join the Venerable One.

Chen Hanchi and Bai Yutang sought help from Chen Sheng after years of hardship in the Western Frontier. Chen Sheng promised them a Reclamation Order and a first-rank high-grade spiritual land where their clans could settle.

• Chen Hanchi’s son Chen Yu complained that their branch had been cast out and left without a proper Spirit Vein Training Ground.
• Bai Yutang revealed the jade token his father had given him, and Chen Hanchi realized it connected Bai Yutang to Chen Sheng.
• Chen Sheng received Chen Hanchi and Bai Yutang at the Pill Alliance after dismissing Liu Qiyan and Zuo Hanlin, who had come to deny ties to Demonic Cultivators.
• Chen Hanchi recounted how his branch had wandered and dwindled after the main line dismissed them, while Bai Yutang said he had lost contact with his family.
• Chen Sheng promised to arrange a Reclamation Order and secure a first-rank high-grade spiritual land for Chen Hanchi and Bai Yutang’s clans.

Fang Lingxiao married Lin Jiao, and Daoist Longxu assigned new responsibilities to his disciples as Pill Cauldron Peak strengthened its influence. A year later, Chen Sheng returned to Fenghua Immortal City and, after seeing Fang Lingxiao with his daughter, agreed to try for a child with Wu Lingshuang.

• Chen Sheng and Wu Lingshuang attended Fang Lingxiao and Lin Jiao's wedding, where Ancestor Lin Xian invited Chen Sheng to visit the Lin family.
• Daoist Longxu arranged for Li Guishou to pursue the False Core realm, Li Yuan to manage the Alchemy Hall, Li Changyang to become Vice Hall Master, and Fang Lingxiao to become Pill Alliance Vice Alliance Master alongside Chen Sheng.
• At Qinghua Sect's Merit Reward Ceremony, Li Guishou received a Third-grade Demon Core, while Chen Sheng received a Pill Cauldron Token for his contributions.
• Chen Sheng returned to Fenghua Immortal City with Wu Lingshuang and continued managing the Pill Alliance's affairs.
• Fang Lingxiao visited Chen Sheng with his newborn daughter, Mo Chou, and Wu Lingshuang expressed envy at seeing their reunited family.
• Chen Sheng understood Wu Lingshuang wanted a child and agreed to try for one with her.

Chen Sheng continued advancing his body-refining and Qi Refining cultivation while consolidating his influence in the Pill Alliance. Wu Lingshuang tested their son Chen Yuquan’s Spiritual Root, and Chen Sheng later comforted her after Fang Mochou rejected Yuquan as a future husband.

• Chen Sheng trained in the fire formation, nearing the Fifth Layer of Body Refining, and assessed his progress toward the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.
• Wu Lingshuang tested Chen Yuquan and found he had a High-grade Fire Spiritual Root.
• Lin Jiao visited with Fang Mochou, who rejected the idea of marrying Chen Yuquan because he looked like a little girl.
• Zhao Jin Hu and Huang Qingxu reported on their clans’ growth in the Western Frontier, and Chen Sheng approved the proposed name Xijiang Immortal City.
• Chen Sheng returned to Heart-Seeking Hall and comforted Wu Lingshuang over Fang Mochou’s rejection, then carried her toward the inner room.

Li Guishou attempted to form a False Core, but the formation failed and he died, devastating Daoist Longxu and the disciples who had gathered to witness his breakthrough. After grieving in Danxin Cave Mansion for two days, Daoist Longxu arranged Li Guishou’s funeral and left the sect.

• Li Yuan and the sect’s cultivators gathered at Pill Cauldron Peak as a Spiritual Energy Tide formed around Li Guishou’s attempt to form a Golden Core.
• Daoist Longxu noticed that the Spiritual Energy Tide had not spread into a Pill Domain, while the gathered cultivators grew increasingly uneasy.
• The Spiritual Energy Tide abruptly dispersed, and Daoist Longxu found Li Guishou mortally wounded at the summit.
• Li Guishou lamented the cruelty of the Immortal Path, then died in Daoist Longxu’s arms.
• Daoist Longxu grieved alone in Danxin Cave Mansion for two days, arranged Li Guishou’s funeral, and left the sect.

Daoist Longxu gave Li Yuan the Crimson Flame Demon King's Demon Core and urged him to form a Golden Core and uphold the Alchemy Hall. In Fenghua Immortal City, Chen Sheng studied a demonic pill-seizing method and began devising a safer way to secure his own path to Golden Core Formation.

• Daoist Longxu gave Li Yuan the Demon Core he had hunted and explained that his Martial Ancestor had sacrificed himself to leave a Demon Core for the Alchemy Hall’s future.
• Daoist Longxu asked whether Li Yuan still dared to form a Golden Core, and Li Yuan answered that he did before entering seclusion with the core.
• Chen Sheng considered his low odds of Golden Core Formation and examined the Profound Yin Pill Condensation Art.
• Chen Sheng decided he could use the method across two lives, serving as the Sha Cultivator first and seizing the pill in his next life.
• Chen Sheng began combining the Pearl Condensation Secret Art with the demonic method to improve his chances of condensing a Sha Pearl.

Chen Sheng and Fang Lingxiao returned to the Qinghua Sect to congratulate Li Yuan on forming a False Core. Daoist Longxu handed the Alchemy Hall to Li Yuan and prepared to roam the four seas in search of a way to transform his core, leaving his disciples to protect the Hall’s legacy.

• Chen Yuquan smeared charcoal on his face to persuade Fang Mochou to play his cultivation partner, prompting Chen Sheng and Wu Lingshuang to set him stricter lessons.
• Three years later, Chen Sheng and Fang Lingxiao learned that Li Yuan had formed a False Core and hurried to Pill Cauldron Peak to congratulate him.
• Li Yuan received congratulations from his fellow disciples and sect elders for advancing to the False Core Realm.
• Daoist Longxu told his disciples he would leave to seek a method of Core Transformation and appointed Li Yuan as the next Hall Master of the Alchemy Hall.
• Daoist Longxu gave Li Yuan the Alchemy Hall’s Hall-Suppressing Seal, while Chen Sheng, Fang Lingxiao, and Li Changyang pledged to support him.

Chen Sheng received Daoist Longxu’s third-rank alchemy inheritance and Flood Dragon Essence Blood, choosing to save the blood for a future Golden Core breakthrough rather than use it for body tempering. He continued developing a Barrier Breaking Pill with Fang Lingxiao and praised Chen Yuquan’s diligence, leaving Yuquan committed to cultivation while Fang Mochou went to the Market Town alone.

• Daoist Longxu entrusted Chen Sheng with his alchemy inheritance and Third-rank Flood Dragon Essence Blood before leaving for the Western Yue Cultivation World.
• Chen Sheng studied Daoist Longxu’s formulas and insights, judged that he was not yet ready to refine third-rank pills, and stored the inheritance and blood for later.
• Chen Sheng and Fang Lingxiao failed to refine their improved Barrier Breaking Pill, then proposed pairing Warm Jade Marrow with Fire Lotus Seed to harmonize its medicinal properties.
• Chen Sheng checked Chen Yuquan’s cultivation and found that the seven-year-old had reached the First Level of Qi Refining after a year of practice.
• Fang Mochou invited Chen Yuquan to the Market Town, but he chose to finish his cultivation and lessons, and Chen Sheng praised his resolve.

Chen Sheng and Fang Lingxiao completed their quasi-third-grade Breakthrough Pill formula, and Chen Sheng successfully refined three pills. After twenty-three Alchemy Hall Elders broke through using them, Chen Sheng’s reputation and influence across Qinghua Sect and the Chu Kingdom grew dramatically.

• Chen Sheng used the Spirit Gathering Formation Disk and his improved Spiritual Sense to condense a pseudo Pill Spirit and refine three Breakthrough Pills while Fang Lingxiao watched.
• Fang Lingxiao took a pill to the Alchemy Hall for testing, and twenty-three Elders broke through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage within a month.
• Cultivators and families crowded the Pill Alliance to order pills, so Chen Sheng and Fang Lingxiao imposed purchase limits and prioritized Qinghua Sect cultivators.
• Chen Sheng became renowned as a quasi-third-grade Alchemy Master, and the Sect Master praised him and promised a Third-grade Demon Core to aid his future breakthrough to the False Core realm.
• Chen Sheng reviewed the Pill Alliance’s order Jade slip and recognized that his success had made him an influential figure within the sect.

Chen Sheng broke through to the Fifth Layer of Body Refining and later accepted responsibility for managing Qinghua Sect’s Alchemy Hall while Li Yuan departed for Xijiang Immortal City. He formally became Vice Hall Master and took charge of Alchemy Hall affairs.

• Chen Sheng used a Dragon Bone Pill to break through to the Fifth Layer of Body Refining, then told Wu Lingshuang that he had succeeded.
• Li Yuan told Chen Sheng that he and twenty Alchemy Hall Elders would spend the next fifty years stationed in Xijiang Immortal City.
• Chen Sheng agreed to manage the Alchemy Hall and arranged with Fang Lingxiao to divide responsibilities between it and the Pill Alliance.
• Chen Sheng studied the Alchemy Hall’s records and organizational affairs for three days.
• At the Elders’ meeting, Chen Sheng formally became Vice Hall Master and assumed charge of Alchemy Hall affairs.

Chen Sheng organized Qinghua Sect’s Foundation Establishment Pill production and secured the cooperation of the Alchemy Hall’s Four Elders. Meanwhile, Chen Yuquan chose to study Artifact Refining, and Wu Qingshan agreed to train him at the Artifact Alliance.

• Wei Ming delivered the list of spiritual objects allocated for Foundation Establishment Pills, and Chen Sheng confirmed it and ordered the supplies moved to the western storeroom.
• Chen Sheng assigned the Four Elders fifty pills each, and they accepted the precise allocations after recognizing his superior alchemy skills.
• Chen Sheng promised to add bloodline inheritances to the Alchemy Hall’s redemption list, winning the Four Elders’ cooperation as they prepared to produce the first batch within three months.
• Chen Yuquan told Wu Lingshuang he wanted to learn Artifact Refining, explaining that his fire arts and Body Refining suited him better than alchemy.
• Chen Sheng approved Chen Yuquan’s choice and told Wu Lingshuang that he could return to studying alchemy if Artifact Refining did not suit him.
• Wu Qingshan offered to teach Chen Yuquan at the Artifact Alliance and arranged for someone to bring him there in three days.