Chapter Summaries

Qin Fengming tried to assess and attack a gigantic white beetle, but its body shrugged off his strongest strike and it awakened. After narrowly escaping its counterattack with the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Formation, he trapped the beetle inside and resolved to kill it.

• Qin Fengming set up the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Formation near the cave and returned to the beetle with the black spider.
• Qin Fengming struck the beetle with a top-grade spiritual artifact, but the blow failed to harm it and the beetle began to awaken.
• Qin Fengming fled when the beetle stood, and the beetle sent a streak of silver light after him.
• Qin Fengming activated the formation just in time to teleport himself and the black spider out of danger while trapping the beetle inside.
• Qin Fengming resolved to kill the beetle, which lay motionless inside the formation.

Qin Fengming discovered that the enormous beetle was absorbing lightning from the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Formation, so he shut down its killing array and wore the creature down with talismans, his black spider, and six Puppets. After a day and night of attacks, the beetle died, though its armor remained unharmed.

• Qin Fengming noticed that the beetle’s aura weakened between attacks and suspected it was nearly exhausted, so he bombarded it with hundreds of talismans inside the formation.
• Qin Fengming realized that the beetle was absorbing the formation’s lightning and closed the killing array before it could regain enough strength to escape.
• Qin Fengming summoned six Puppets and the newly advanced Grade 4 Soul Devouring Beast, but the Soul Devouring Beast refused to enter the formation.
• Qin Fengming sent his black spider, the Puppets, and a hook-shaped magic treasure to attack the beetle while keeping watch for another charge.
• The beetle made one last attack after half an hour, then lost its aura, but its armor resisted the magic treasure.
• Qin Fengming continued the assault for a day and night, then used a Puppet beast to flip the beetle over and confirmed that it was dead.

Qin Fengming collected the giant beetle’s corpse and discovered its vast nest of living eggs. He used a formation from the Spirit Control Technique to make all the eggs acknowledge him as their master, leaving with the prospect of raising powerful beetles.

• Qin Fengming stored the giant beetle’s unbreakable corpse in a Spirit Beast Pouch and cautiously entered the cave after confirming it was empty.
• Qin Fengming discovered more than ten thousand eggs in the beetle’s nest and confirmed that the eggs were alive using the blood-drop method.
• Qin Fengming recalled a formation in the Spirit Control Technique that could make many larvae acknowledge a master at once.
• Qin Fengming crafted formation talismans and used them in three rounds to make all the eggs acknowledge him as their master.

Qin Fengming found dozens of Smoke Crystals and deduced that the enormous beetle had drained the yin mist from them. The chapter revealed that the beetle was a wounded Silver Sheath Worm from the Primordial Wilderness, whose long search for crystals and final defense of its eggs ended in its death.

• Qin Fengming searched the cavern and found dozens of fist-sized Smoke Crystals among black rocks.
• Qin Fengming reasoned that the enormous beetle had gathered the crystals and consumed their yin mist, leaving the rocks ordinary.
• Qin Fengming wondered why a beetle with silver lightning and a yang nature absorbed yin mist.
• The chapter identified the beetle as a mature Silver Sheath Worm, an ancient creature whose true strength reached the Spirit Severing realm.
• The Silver Sheath Worm had been wounded in an ancient three-realm war, become stranded in the Black Stone Mountain Range, and sought crystals to restrain its injuries.
• After laying its eggs and defending them with a final strike against Qin Fengming, the Silver Sheath Worm died.

Qin Fengming escaped the underground caves and made his way through the Black Stone Mountain Range, where he found a Hundred Skills Gate cultivator struggling against a Grade 4 flying centipede. He agreed to help her and sent a mass of pitch-black material toward the beast.

• Qin Fengming collected the Smoke Crystal Stones, left the beetle’s lair, and searched with his black spider until they found a passage out of the caves.
• Qin Fengming emerged from the cave entrance, then flew through the Black Stone Mountain Range while avoiding demon beasts and ancient Restrictive Spells.
• Qin Fengming sensed a battle between a cultivator and a demon beast and discovered that the cultivator was a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage woman from the Hundred Skills Gate.
• The woman asked Qin Fengming to help her defeat the Grade 4 flying centipede, and he agreed before sending a mass of pitch-black material at it.

Qin Fengming rescued Situ Nian from a powerful centipede demon beast by having his Grade 4 black spider bind and capture it. Afterward, Situ Nian recognized him from a portrait at the Gongsun sisters’ home and introduced herself.

• Situ Nian warned Qin Fengming that the centipede demon beast was formidable, but his black spider fought it in midair.
• The black spider used webs infused with black-green liquid to overcome the centipede’s defenses and bind it.
• Qin Fengming sealed the centipede’s magical power, attached talismans, and stored it in a Spirit Beast Pouch.
• Situ Nian thanked Qin Fengming for saving her, and he explained that he had helped because their two nations were friendly.
• Situ Nian recognized Qin Fengming from a portrait she had seen at Gongsun Jingyao and Gongsun Jiayan’s home, then told him the sisters had entered the Foundation Establishment Realm.
• Qin Fengming asked Situ Nian’s name, and she introduced herself.

Qin Fengming gave Situ Nian powerful talismans and left her to continue searching for Immortal Mallow Grass. After six days, he reached the White Jade Mountain Range, where an ancient restriction suppressed his cultivation to the Qi Gathering peak.

• Situ Nian told Qin Fengming she had entered the Black Stone Mountain Range to search for Immortal Mallow Grass, which she needed to break through her bottleneck.
• Qin Fengming gave Situ Nian fifty Fire Python Talismans and asked her to pass word of him to the Gongsun sisters.
• Qin Fengming left Situ Nian and flew eastward through the Black Stone Mountain Range.
• Six days later, Qin Fengming reached the White Jade Mountain Range and had his cultivation suppressed to the Qi Gathering peak.
• Qin Fengming resolved to find a secluded place to test his secret arts and continued onward using the Sky Soaring Art.

Qin Fengming established a secluded Cave Abode in the mountain valley, arranged his spirit beasts and medicinal herbs, and began cultivating selected secret techniques. After months of training, he confirmed that he could practice the Body Protection Sword Shield despite his suppressed cultivation.

• Qin Fengming found a remote, spiritually rich valley, set up the Four Symbols Pure Spirit Formation, and had Puppet Beasts excavate a Cave Abode.
• Qin Fengming placed his beast eggs, beetle eggs, little red beast, and medicinal herbs in separate caves, then bound the purple-black centipede as a spirit beast and assigned it and the black spider to guard the entrance.
• Qin Fengming studied three cultivation arts and chose the Melting Flame Art, Body Protection Sword Shield, and Profound Sky Evasive Steps to cultivate.
• Qin Fengming successfully began practicing the Body Protection Sword Shield despite his cultivation being suppressed, then devoted the following months to cultivating secret techniques.

Qin Fengming mastered the Body Protection Sword Shield and the Profound Sky Evasive Steps while cultivating in seclusion, and discovered that the little red beast had advanced to the second level. He began testing whether mysterious liquid could speed the growth of eggs and beasts, then prepared to practice the dangerous Melting Flame Art.

• Qin Fengming successfully cultivated the Body Protection Sword Shield, though activating it briefly drained much of his spiritual power.
• Qin Fengming entered seclusion to practice the Profound Sky Evasive Steps, while the little red beast advanced to the second level amid a surge of red light.
• Qin Fengming mastered the Profound Sky Evasive Steps and noticed that the little red beast had grown larger and changed to pink.
• Qin Fengming suspected that diluted mysterious liquid had accelerated the little red beast's growth, so he tested it on insect eggs and gave some treated water to the enormous spider.
• Qin Fengming returned to cultivation to practice the Melting Flame Art, a dangerous technique for fusing flames and storing them inside his body.

Qin Fengming completed the preliminary stage of the Melting Flame Art, studied the Spirit Medicine Hall’s records, and learned to refine Xinwu Pills. He left his two-year cave abode and headed northwest to seek a place to advance his cultivation before entering the Blackwater Cold Pond.

• Qin Fengming mastered the ability to control his innate true flame, but he still needed another natural flame to advance the Melting Flame Art.
• Qin Fengming spent six months studying the scrolls and Jade Slips from the Spirit Medicine Hall, including a scroll about breaking through the bottleneck before the Aggregation Realm.
• Qin Fengming chose the Xinwu Pill formula and, after wasting twenty-three portions of herbs, improved his alchemy and refined six batches of pills.
• Qin Fengming packed his spirit herbs and belongings, put away the Four Symbols Pure Spirit Formation and two demon beasts, and left his temporary cave abode.
• Qin Fengming headed northwest to find a cave abode where he could advance to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage before seeking an object of extreme yin and extreme cold in the Blackwater Cold Pond.

Qin Fengming witnessed the Zhong brothers threaten the Lan twins after the sisters rejected their marriage demands, and he prepared to intervene if the women were defeated. The brothers summoned a black python from their Black Dragon Banners, leaving the sisters facing a dire disadvantage.

• Qin Fengming traveled toward Green Bamboo Valley, hoping to advance his cultivation and eventually seek the materials needed to master the Melting Flame Art.
• Qin Fengming came upon Lan Caifeng and Lan Caiyi confronting the Zhong brothers, who had followed the sisters into the Ancient Battlefield after their marriage proposal was rejected.
• The Zhong brothers threatened to capture the sisters and use them as cauldrons, then attacked with four top-grade magical blades.
• Lan Caifeng and Lan Caiyi fought back with phoenix-tail hooks, but the two sides initially fought evenly.
• The Zhong brothers summoned black pythons from their Black Dragon Banners, and the weaponless sisters exchanged despairing looks as Qin Fengming watched, ready to intervene.

Qin Fengming rescued the Lan sisters from the Zhong brothers, then revealed his formidable defenses and poisonous spirit beasts. After the Zhong brothers fled and were killed by the beasts, Qin Fengming asked the sisters about something he wanted to understand.

• Lan Caiyi and her sister refused the Zhong brothers’ demands, and the brothers prepared to attack them with their black serpent.
• Qin Fengming appeared and dismissed the Zhong brothers’ threats, then let their four magical weapons strike his Five Elements barrier without harm.
• The Zhong brothers sent their black serpent at Qin Fengming, but the barrier withstood its attack, so they fled in terror.
• Qin Fengming reassured the Lan sisters, while his centipede and spider spirit beasts caught and killed the fleeing Zhong brothers.
• Lan Caiyi thanked Qin Fengming and agreed to answer his questions.

Qin Fengming learned why the Lan sisters had been teleported to the same place and left them to deal with the Zhong brothers. He traveled to Green Bamboo Valley, built a temporary Cave Abode, and settled in to cultivate.

• Lan Caiyi explained that people with the same constitution, cultivation method, and aura had a high chance of reaching the same destination through the Teleportation Array, and Lan Caifeng said the Zhong brothers had driven the sisters into the Ancient Battlefield.
• Qin Fengming told the Lan sisters that the Zhong brothers were powerless but alive, then flew northwest and continued his journey through the White Jade Forest.
• Qin Fengming reached Green Bamboo Valley and reviewed the dangers posed by its Ghost Bat Beasts, Raccoon Ape Beasts, and Blood Red Spiders.
• Qin Fengming flew deep into the valley, found a secluded bamboo-covered peak with dense spiritual energy, and built a temporary Cave Abode.
• Qin Fengming established the Four Symbols Pure Spirit Formation, moved his spirit beasts, eggs, and herbs into the Cave Abode, and began meditating.

Qin Fengming completed a seven-year seclusion, refining a Xinwu Pill, entering the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, and mastering the second layer of the Azure Frost Sword Art. He then tested concentrated mysterious liquid on an insect egg, which briefly showed signs of hatching before going still, though he sensed it had changed.

• Qin Fengming swallowed a Xinwu Pill and cultivated for five years while refining its potent medicinal power.
• Qin Fengming advanced to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, spent a year and a half stabilizing his realm, and mastered the second layer of the Azure Frost Sword Art.
• Qin Fengming inspected his spiritual medicine garden, the sleeping red little beast, and the cavern filled with insect eggs.
• Qin Fengming dripped concentrated mysterious liquid from the emerald-green gourd onto one insect egg, which glowed and rocked before becoming still.
• Qin Fengming examined the egg and sensed its shell had thinned and the larva inside had become more active.

Qin Fengming discovered that drops of mysterious liquid could hatch the insect eggs, but raising thousands of beetles consumed more Spirit Stones than he could afford. After spending a year making talismans and hatching beetles, he left Green Bamboo Valley to trade with Qi Gathering cultivators and seek an object of extreme yin and cold at Blackwater Cold Pond.

• Qin Fengming added a second drop of mysterious liquid to an insect egg, and it hatched into a white beetle that bonded with his divine sense.
• Qin Fengming devised a plan to exchange intermediate talismans for Spirit Stones and began producing talismans while hatching beetles.
• Over the following year, Qin Fengming spent more than fifteen thousand Spirit Stones to hatch over three thousand beetles, whose defenses withstood a powerful strike from an ordinary spirit artifact.
• Qin Fengming stored the beetles and remaining eggs in his Spirit Beast Bracelet, then left Green Bamboo Valley with plans to sell talismans and search Blackwater Cold Pond for an object of extreme yin and cold.

Qin Fengming entered Ghost Mist Hills and was surrounded by thousands of Phantom Rats despite his precautions. After the rats overwhelmed his halberd and threatened his defenses, he tried to escape underground, only to discover they could pursue him through the earth.

• Qin Fengming prepared his red little beast, shield, and Qi Concealing Talisman before entering Ghost Mist Hills.
• Qin Fengming crossed deep into the hills, avoiding two groups of demon beasts with the red little beast's warnings.
• Thousands of Phantom Rats surrounded Qin Fengming and quickly damaged his Huntian Halberd while attacking his defenses.
• Qin Fengming used an Earth Evasion Talisman to flee underground, but the Phantom Rats followed him into the ground.

Qin Fengming used his newly hatched white beetles to devour the Phantom Rats that had trapped him, then escaped the misty region and reached the mountain ranges at the edge of the Blackwater Cold Pond. After confirming his route, he flew deeper into the area, where Luoxia Sect records promised abundant spiritual energy, medicinal herbs, and relatively weak demon beasts.

• Qin Fengming realized the Phantom Rats could burrow underground and prepared his Five Elements barriers, but hesitated to waste his talismans escaping.
• Qin Fengming released several hundred white beetles, which devoured the Phantom Rats around him and drove the rest of the swarm away.
• Qin Fengming recalled the beetles, concealed them in his Spirit Beast Bracelet, and flew east with the red little beast guiding him around nearby demon beasts.
• Qin Fengming emerged from the mist several days later and found endless mountain peaks instead of the Blackwater Cold Pond he had expected.
• Qin Fengming checked his jade slips, confirmed he had reached the Blackwater Cold Pond's edge, and flew toward its depths.

Qin Fengming encountered Jiang Feng in the Blackwater Cold Pond region and quickly killed the demon beast Jiang Feng was fighting. Jiang Feng explained that cultivators from several allied sects had gathered for an exchange meet, and the two headed there together after trading talismans.

• Qin Fengming found Jiang Feng fighting a Black Crow Snake and killed it with ten Fire Snake Talismans.
• Jiang Feng told Qin Fengming that cultivators from several sects had gathered in the region and would hold an exchange meet the day after tomorrow.
• Qin Fengming learned that the Blackwater Cold Pond was a vast, bitterly cold lake surrounded by mountains.
• Jiang Feng bought fifty Fire Snake Talismans from Qin Fengming for five hundred spirit stones.
• Qin Fengming and Jiang Feng traveled together toward the exchange venue.

Qin Fengming arrived at the annual exchange meet with Jiang Feng and, with Hong Songtao's help, exchanged one hundred talismans for fifteen hundred spirit stones. After noticing Hong Songtao had an unusually large reserve of spirit stones, Qin Fengming asked how he had obtained them.

• Jiang Feng and Qin Fengming reached the mountaintop exchange meet, where cultivators from several sects and rogue cultivators traded goods.
• Hong Songtao greeted Jiang Feng and learned that Qin Fengming was the renowned artifact-refining disciple who had helped Luoxia Sect win the Mineral Deposit Competition.
• Jiang Feng left to handle his own business, and Hong Songtao guided Qin Fengming around the meet and asked what he wanted to exchange.
• Qin Fengming offered talismans for spirit stones, and Hong Songtao bought eighty Fire Snake Talismans and twenty Diamond Talismans for fifteen hundred spirit stones.
• Qin Fengming asked Hong Songtao how he had accumulated so many spirit stones after more than a decade in the battlefield.

Qin Fengming sold his mid-grade talismans at the Small Exchange Meet to gather Spirit Stones for hatching eggs. After the exchange, he learned that several Luoxia Sect disciples had reportedly established their Foundations.

• Senior Brother Hong told Qin Fengming about the scattered Spirit Stones in Spirit Stone Valley and agreed to help him sell talismans.
• Qin Fengming set the price at twenty-five Spirit Stones per talisman, and cultivators crowded around to buy them.
• Qin Fengming limited each person to twenty talismans, then offered the remaining seven hundred at thirty Spirit Stones each.
• Qin Fengming exchanged away all his talismans and accumulated more than a hundred thousand Spirit Stones.
• A Luoxia Sect disciple told Qin Fengming that Senior Brother Feng Kai had established his Foundation and that Senior Brother Wei, Senior Disciple Brother Wang, and Senior Brother Li might have done so as well.