Chapter Summaries

True Person Yunyan organized a search for the powerful True Demon near Black Wind Ridge Fortress, with Wan Jinrong and Ji An agreeing to face the danger. As Ji An and True Person Wuxuan prepared to work together, Ji An demonstrated that his defensive and soul-attacking Magic Treasures and Geng Metal Divine Thunder Talismans made him a formidable partner.

• True Person Yunyan decided to lead a search the next day, assigning True Person Moyun to guard the fortress and dividing the other cultivators into teams.
• Wan Jinrong and Ji An discussed the danger of the True Demon with Wan Jinru, while True Person Wuxuan proposed that he and Ji An share their abilities before the mission.
• True Person Wuxuan described his earth-element defensive tower and Astral-Breaking Awl, and Ji An revealed the defensive Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner and the soul-attacking Li Di Flame Light Banner.
• Ji An used the Li Di Flame Light Banner on True Person Wuxuan, who suffered a painful, blinding soul attack for about one breath.
• Ji An disclosed his Solidify Gold Art and high-grade Geng Metal Divine Thunder Talismans, leading True Person Wuxuan to regard him as an equal combatant.

Ji An prepared for a possible fortress emergency, strengthened his combat supplies and defenses, and searched the demonic mist with True Person Wuxuan. A True Demon appeared and killed Wuxuan in one strike, then charged at Ji An.

• Ji An arranged for Golden Fur and Big Yellow to alert him if the fortress formation came under attack, pairing them with the other spirit beasts for guard duty.
• Ji An prepared Geng Metal Divine Thunder Talismans and other combat supplies, then spent ten days practicing the Bing Fire Divine Thunder.
• Ji An and True Person Wuxuan continued searching the demonic mist while suffering its effects and finding no trace of the True Demon.
• Ji An sensed they were being watched, spotted a True Demon nearby, and entered Combat State.
• The True Demon hurled its bone blade through True Person Wuxuan's defenses, killed him, and absorbed his divine soul.
• The True Demon charged at Ji An, intent on killing and devouring him.

Ji An fought off a True Demon after it killed True Person Wuxuan, using Geng Metal Divine Thunder and other attacks to slow it and force its retreat. After gathering Wuxuan’s remains, Ji An directed True Person Yunyan toward the enemy while the others arrived to help recover the body.

• The True Demon killed True Person Wuxuan and charged at Ji An, who unleashed Geng Metal Divine Thunder, soul attacks, flames, and a talisman to halt its advance.
• Ji An activated a signal talisman and continued attacking, while the True Demon fled into the demonic fog after sunlight broke through it.
• Ji An searched for Wuxuan’s remains and the True Demon’s discarded bone blade, then told True Person Yunyan that the enemy had escaped and Wuxuan had fallen.
• True Person Yunyan questioned Ji An about the True Demon’s injuries and flew off in pursuit after he pointed out its direction.
• Wan Jinrong and his sister arrived, and they joined Ji An in gathering Wuxuan’s remains.

Ji An and the others returned to Black Wind Ridge Fortress after True Person Yunyan failed to kill the True Demon, and the group learned that True Person Wuxuan had died. As True Demon Abudu recovered from Ji An’s lightning attack, Ji An advised Wan Jinru and Wan Jinrong on surviving encounters in the demon mist.

• Ji An explained that the True Demon’s bone blade was a spiritual demon weapon that could fly back to its master, while the group waited for True Person Yunyan to return.
• Ji An and Wan Jinrong howled to guide True Person Yunyan back; she reported that the True Demon had escaped after a fierce battle and led everyone back to the fortress.
• True Demon Abudu healed its wounds with Blood Origin Pills and resolved to evade Ji An’s lightning arts in future battles.
• At the fortress, True Person Moyun grieved for True Person Wuxuan, and True Person Yunyan suspended patrols while she reported the situation to the True Lord.
• True Person Yunyan questioned Ji An about injuring the True Demon, and he credited his attack to an ultimate-grade Geng Metal Divine Thunder Talisman.
• Wan Jinru and Wan Jinrong visited Ji An for advice, and he stressed the importance of detecting an enemy early, revealing that he could see about ninety zhang through the demon mist.

Ji An tended his spirit beasts, refined pills, and cultivated the Gourd World while reflecting on his recent battle and the resources growing there. When the Earth Kirin roared and the world’s spiritual energy turned chaotic, he realized the Gourd World was on the verge of gaining a Third-Order high-grade Spirit Vein.

• Ji An gave Golden Fur and the Azure Water Turtle spirit fruits, then refined a furnace of top-quality Fire Origin Pills.
• Ji An reviewed his fight with the true demons and cast cultivation spells across the Gourd World’s spirit fields.
• Ji An admired the world’s spirit plants and considered how their fruits and materials could support his future cultivation.
• Ji An cultivated the azure and crimson lands with the Azure Dragon Water Moon Art and Azure Sky Yang Ming Art.
• The Earth Kirin roared as tremors and strange visions spread, and Ji An recognized the signs of a Spirit Vein breakthrough.

Ji An witnessed the Gourd World's Spirit Vein advance to third-tier High-Grade, expanded its spirit-plant cultivation, and improved his cultivation prospects. The next day, True Monarch Pingtian warned him and the other cultivators that True Demons were hunting Golden Core cultivators across the Mist Mountain region as part of their trials.

• The Gourd World's Spirit Vein advanced to third-tier High-Grade, increasing its area and spiritual energy density.
• Ji An planted more Vajra Bodhi Trees, Bodhi Trees, and other spirit plants, and planned to raise the Gathering Origin Tree's grade.
• Ji An cultivated with the improved spiritual energy and resolved to prepare for a dangerous visit to the Five Elements Sect Ruins.
• True Monarch Pingtian arrived at True Person Yunyan's pavilion after hearing of True Person Wuxuan's death and other Golden Core casualties.
• True Monarch Pingtian explained that a True Demon faction was hunting powerful cultivators in the Mist Mountain region as trials for its heirs.

True Lord Pingtian explained the True Demon hunt, revealed the strategic value of Yin Thunder Beads, and described how the cultivation world and True Demon Realm were linked. After failing to find the hunter, he left Black Wind Ridge with warnings and instructions for surviving until reinforcements arrived.

• True Person Yunyan asked True Lord Pingtian to kill the True Demon hunting near Black Wind Ridge, and he warned that demonic mist made it difficult to locate and fight.
• True Lord Pingtian revealed that Yin Beads could be refined into powerful Yin Thunder Beads, but the higher-ups planned to stockpile them until the True Demon Tribulation fully erupted.
• True Lord Pingtian explained to Ji An that the cultivation world and True Demon Realm were linked secret realms within one realm domain, then set out to search for the hunter.
• After searching for twenty-four hours, True Lord Pingtian found no trace of the True Demon but marked areas where high-level True Demons had lingered.
• True Person Yunyan reduced patrols to a thirty-li radius and joined them herself, while Wan Jinrong volunteered and Ji An declined.

Ji An finished refining Vajra Pills, reflected on the sect members who would soon arrive, and continued developing the Immovable Wisdom King Art on his own. He overcame the technique’s marrow pain by withdrawing his bodily perceptions and reached Golden Core-level physical strength, though he did not form a Body Sarira.

• Ji An completed ten batches of Vajra Pills and prepared pills and talismans for the fellow disciples who were coming to the fortress.
• Ji An considered Lin Jiuxiao a suitable future sect master and thought about his years away from the sect, his disciples, and his old home.
• Ji An applied medicinal paste and practiced the Immovable Wisdom King Art, but intense pain from his boiling marrow repeatedly disrupted his cultivation.
• Ji An realized he could direct his awareness into the golden blood qi and shut out the discomfort from his marrow.
• Ji An's bones turned faintly gold, the golden blood qi merged into his Golden Core, and his physical strength reached the Golden Core level without forming a Body Sarira.

Ji An discovered that his unconventional cultivation of the Immoveable Wisdom King Art had let him use his Golden Core to condense his own divine intent, bringing him an unexpected benefit. He then heard Wan Jinrong’s breakthrough in preparing Yin Bead materials, though Ji An questioned its cost and novelty.

• Ji An studied the Body Sarira realm method and successfully circulated qi and blood through his Five Elements Divine Mansions, confirming that he could cultivate it despite lacking a separate sarira.
• Ji An entered his Golden Core with his divine sense and found a network of five elemental passages converging on a golden orb, which he realized was his own divine intent rather than ordinary blood qi.
• Ji An concluded that he had become his own Dharma protector deity and continued cultivating the Immoveable Wisdom King Art, which left his Sea of Consciousness refreshed.
• Golden Fur alerted Ji An that someone was waiting outside, and Ji An opened the Dharma Restriction to meet Wan Jinrong.
• Wan Jinrong told Ji An that he had found a way to remove fiendish qi from Yin Beads using Spirit Cleansing Sand and Primal Spirit Mud, potentially enabling mass production of Yin Thunder Beads.
• Ji An questioned whether the costly materials and Wan Jinrong’s method could really offer an advantage over other Artifact Refiners.

Ji An learned about the Wan Clan’s improved Yin Thunder Bead purification method and shared wine with Wan Jinrong before reinforcements arrived at Black Wind Ridge Fortress. True Person Yunyan planned an ambush with the formidable True Person Zhenyue, while Ji An learned of Zhenyue’s reputation and unusual secret technique.

• Wan Jinrong told Ji An that the Wan Clan had discovered an efficient way to purify Yin Thunder Beads using Primal Spirit Mud and Third Order Spirit Cleansing Sand.
• Ji An prepared wine and snacks for Wan Jinrong, and they discussed their cultivation and the approaching True Demon Tribulation.
• True Lord Pingtian brought True Person Zhenyue and Taixu Sect disciples to Black Wind Ridge Fortress, then took the Foundation Establishment Stage disciples away.
• True Person Yunyan briefed Zhenyue on the demon mist and proposed an ambush; he agreed to serve as the concealed force while they discussed how to avoid detection.
• Wan Jinrong told Ji An that Zhenyue was a leading Taixu Sect Nascent Soul candidate who could transfer injuries to a shadow clone and had killed four late Golden Core demon beasts alone.

Ji An and the patrol were ambushed by a swarm of demonic creatures, and he used his magic treasures to protect the disciples while drawing Abudu away from them. As Abudu attacked him, Ji An stood his ground and unleashed the Yimu Wood Divine Thunder, with True Person Zhenyue racing toward the fight.

• Ji An used his spells to clear and cool a resting place during the patrol, while True Person Yunyan praised his skill and discussed how long the search should continue.
• A large swarm of demonic creatures attacked the group, and True Person Moyun rushed ahead while Ji An used the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner and Li Di Flame Light Banner to shield and rally the disciples.
• Abudu hid in the demonic mist and approached Ji An, intending to kill and devour him, but Ji An spotted it and moved the fight away from the gathered disciples.
• True Person Zhenyue heard Ji An's whistle and flew toward him with a detection treasure, while Abudu attacked Ji An with its bone blade.
• Ji An strengthened his defenses with his magic treasures and spells, then cast the Yimu Wood Divine Thunder at Abudu.

Ji An endured the late Golden Core true demon’s attacks while True Person Yunyan and True Person Zhenyue moved to support him. The true demon’s attempt to kill Ji An ended beneath the Sky-Overturning Seal, though the chapter left its fate unclear.

• Ji An layered his defensive methods to withstand the true demon’s bone blade and used Yimu Wood Divine Thunder to weaken its vitality.
• Ji An retreated while the true demon kept attacking from a distance, and True Person Yunyan asked True Person Moyun to hold off the fiends as she went to help.
• True Person Yunyan reached Ji An just as his defenses were nearly spent, and True Person Zhenyue arrived with the Sky-Overturning Seal.
• The true demon burned its Qi and blood, broke free of the seal’s restraints, and feinted toward True Person Yunyan before charging at Ji An.
• Ji An used Solidify Gold Art to survive the bone blade’s strike, and True Person Zhenyue brought the Sky-Overturning Seal down on the true demon.

Ji An and the other Golden Core cultivators defeated the True Demon, purified its demonic weapon, and divided the valuable materials they recovered. After months in the fortress, True Person Zhenyue visited Ji An with a pill formula and asked him to refine several batches every few years.

• Ji An, True Person Yunyan, and True Person Zhenyue finished off the True Demon and helped defeat the remaining fiends.
• True Person Yunyan suppressed the escaping bone blade while True Person Zhenyue and Ji An took turns refining it; Ji An revealed the Green Lotus Heart-Burning Fire and purified the weapon over half a month.
• Ji An, True Person Yunyan, and True Person Zhenyue drew lots for the remaining spoils, with Ji An and True Person Yunyan each receiving a bone horn.
• After half a year of routine cultivation, Ji An learned he could leave the fortress in two months and received a visit from True Person Zhenyue.
• True Person Zhenyue gave Ji An a pill formula and asked him to refine several batches every few years, and Ji An began examining the jade slip.

Ji An agreed to refine the Three Yang Meridian-Opening Pill for True Person Zhenyue’s ailing cousin, then returned to Black Stone Mountain and broke through to mid Golden Core. Lin Jiuxiao arrived just as the breakthrough ended and was astonished that Ji An had advanced two realms in Central Continent.

• Ji An identified the Three Yang Meridian-Opening Pill as a remedy for cold poison, and True Person Zhenyue explained his cousin’s illness and asked Ji An to refine it.
• Ji An agreed to refine the pill once True Person Zhenyue gathered the ingredients, and the two arranged to meet at Black Stone Mountain.
• Ji An advanced his Bing Fire Divine Thunder to mastery and practiced Gui Water Divine Thunder while awaiting his departure from Mist Mountain.
• Ji An left Mist Mountain with the returning cultivators, reached Cloud Sea Immortal City, and hurried back to Black Stone Mountain to cultivate.
• Ji An broke through to mid Golden Core, and Lin Jiuxiao arrived and was surprised by his rapid progress.

Ji An returned to the sect’s affairs after reaching mid Golden Core and learned how its disciples and resources had advanced. He supplied Golden Core Pills to ease an impending shortage, while the sect prepared to upgrade its Spirit Veins and strengthen its path toward Nascent Soul.

• Ji An reached mid Golden Core and asked Lin Jiuxiao about the sect’s cultivators and current state.
• Lin Jiuxiao reported that Han Yan and Qin Yan were tempering their Five Qi Chaoyuan, while several other disciples had emerged as Golden Core Seeds.
• Lin Jiuxiao explained that the sect faced a shortage of Golden Core Pills as the True Demon Tribulation threatened supplies, and Ji An gave him twelve pills.
• Lin Jiuxiao presented sect resources salvaged from a dried underground Spirit Vein and said the sect had begun upgrading major Spirit Vein nodes, including Crimson Flame Peak.
• Ji An asked whether Han Yan could refine his pill formulas, and Lin Jiuxiao said her success rate remained low but her Green Lotus Heart-Burning Fire gave her a promising future as an Alchemist.

Ji An celebrated his breakthrough and helped Lin Jiuxiao arrange a new cave residence and medicinal supplies. He then met True Person Lieyang, who offered him a trial contract to refine Bao Hua Pills for clearing demonic mist contamination.

• Ji An gave Lin Jiuxiao Fire Origin Pills, discussed conditions in Western Continent, and celebrated his mid Golden Core breakthrough with him.
• Ji An applied for reduced cave-rental fees and helped Lin Jiuxiao lease a third-tier cave residence near Black Stone Mountain.
• Ji An gave Lin Jiuxiao a list of materials for eighty batches of Fire Origin Pills and arranged for him to meet Zhang Jun in the Immortal City.
• Ji An received an invitation from True Person Qingfeng to meet True Person Lieyang at the Certification Association.
• True Person Lieyang asked Ji An to refine Bao Hua Pills and offered ten batches of materials for a trial requiring a twenty percent success rate.
• Ji An accepted the trial task and agreed to do his best.

Ji An completed his first Bao Hua Pill mission for the Certification Association, earning the right to buy Purple Cloud Jade Ganoderma Pills and purchasing several. He used one to accelerate his cultivation in his small world, then noticed a change in the Azure Flame Purple Spirit Gourd.

• Ji An agreed to refine Bao Hua Pills for True Person Lieyang in exchange for Contribution Points and access to Association pill purchases.
• After ten days, Ji An submitted thirteen Bao Hua Pills from ten batches, including six premium pills, and qualified to buy Purple Cloud Jade Ganoderma Pills.
• True Person Lieyang paid Ji An eight thousand two hundred Contribution Points and one thousand twenty High-grade Spirit Stones, then sold him four Purple Cloud Jade Ganoderma Pills for six hundred High-grade Spirit Stones.
• Ji An accepted another Bao Hua Pill mission with a thirty percent required success rate and returned to Black Stone Mountain.
• Ji An swallowed an ordinary Purple Cloud Jade Ganoderma Pill and cultivated in his small world, gaining several years' worth of progress before fatigue forced him to stop.
• While walking through the small world, Ji An noticed that the Azure Flame Purple Spirit Gourd's vines and leaves had become more radiant.

Ji An raised Vajra Bodhi Trees and commissioned the Golden Puppet Pavilion to refine late Golden Core Demon Subduing Puppets, while also asking about third-tier Puppet refinement methods. The pavilion agreed to the commission, and Ji An began negotiating to acquire obsolete refinement methods.

• Ji An raised one Vajra Bodhi Tree to third-tier Top-Grade, gaining two Top-Grade Geng Metal Divine Thunder Talismans, then raised two more trees and obtained four additional talismans.
• Ji An felled the Vajra Bodhi Trees, prepared the spirit wood, and traveled to Cloud Sea Immortal City to ask True Person Jinrong about gourd magic treasures, but learned he had returned to Wanshou Villa.
• Ji An visited the Golden Puppet Pavilion and commissioned True Lord Xuanji and True Lord Xuanmu to refine his third-tier High-Grade and low-grade Vajra Bodhi Trees into Puppets.
• Ji An and the pavilion agreed that the high-grade materials would be used for late Golden Core Puppets and the low-grade materials for third-tier mid-grade Puppets, with True Lord Xuanmu arranging the required Soul Stones.
• Ji An questioned the long refinement schedule, learned the mid-grade Puppets could be delivered in three years, and asked True Lord Xuanji about buying methods for refining third-tier Puppets.

Ji An negotiated with the Golden Puppet Sect to trade Azure Dragon Wood for six Third Order Puppet refining methods and arranged to buy Enlightenment Tea seeds. After True Lord Xuanmu left, Ji An entered the Gourd World and began refining Bao Hua Pills.

• Ji An tasted the Golden Puppet Sect’s Enlightenment Tea, discussed trading Puppet refining methods with True Lord Xuanji and True Lord Xuanmu, and paid a deposit for three Enlightenment Tea seeds.
• Ji An showed True Lord Xuanmu the Azure Dragon Woods at Black Stone Mountain, and the two agreed to exchange the two hundred trees for six Third Order Puppet refining methods.
• Ji An and True Lord Xuanmu signed an agreement for Golden Puppet Sect disciples to harvest the spirit wood the following day.
• Ji An entered the Gourd World, ordered a Puppet to grind his accumulated Third Order Jade Pupas into powder, and began refining Bao Hua Pills.

Ji An arranged trade and cultivation work with Lin Jiuxiao while expanding his Azure Dragon Wood fields and preparing to sell Spirit Cleansing Sand and Primal Spirit Mud. A month later, True Lord Xuanji delivered three Third Order Top-Grade Enlightenment Tree Seeds, leaving Ji An ready to try planting them despite their demanding requirements.

• True Lord Xuanmu finished harvesting the Azure Dragon Wood, gave Ji An Golden Puppet Sect Puppet-refinement methods, and departed with the spiritwood.
• Ji An arranged to plant Azure Dragon Wood in Lin Jiuxiao’s unused fields and urged him to tell the sect to establish regular contact with Central Continent.
• Ji An gave Lin Jiuxiao the Primal Spirit Mud formula and Spirit Cleansing Sand to sell later, then planted Azure Dragon Wood saplings in the abandoned fields.
• After a month, True Lord Xuanji delivered three Third Order Top-Grade Enlightenment Tree Seeds to Ji An in exchange for the remaining two hundred High-grade Spirit Stones.