Chapter Summaries

After completing two of his planned tasks on Black Mist Island, Qin Fengming headed toward a region rich in materials for soul treasures. He encountered a massive defensive formation, found its core, and forced his way inside to investigate what it protected.

• Qin Fengming chose to seek Black Scale Stone and Soul Mist Crystal to help advance his Treasure Refining Ghost Art.
• Qin Fengming escaped a natural illusion formation after seeing a late Integration stage cultivator lost within it.
• Qin Fengming discovered a vast defensive formation several thousand li from his destination and identified it as a simplified sect-protecting restriction formation.
• Qin Fengming located a formation core with his Pure Spirit Divine Eye and used the Phantom Body Secret Art to tear open a breach.
• Qin Fengming entered the formation, and the breach sealed itself behind him as he began searching the area with his divine sense.

Qin Fengming discovered that the formation on Black Mist Island concealed a mining operation where cultivators were forced to gather precious materials. When Madam Yan and five other Integration stage cultivators tried to capture him, he struck first and subdued all six.

• Qin Fengming broke through the formation and learned from Madam Yan that intruders were forced to mine for two years or be enslaved.
• Madam Yan offered Qin Fengming a contract, but he examined it and refused to agree to its terms.
• Three sea-clan cultivators arrived, and Madam Yan told Young Master Qing to capture Qin Fengming alive because he was a Formation Grandmaster.
• Qin Fengming questioned what valuable deposits the mining operation concealed, then declared that he would capture all six cultivators.
• Qin Fengming unleashed Qinglin Sword Light and sonic energy, incapacitating the six cultivators before restraining them and taking several storage bracelets.

Qin Fengming subdued six Integration stage cultivators with his puppets and killed the Young Master of the Brown Fish Clan when the captives refused to answer his questions. After the remaining five agreed to talk, he asked what the place was and what treasures it contained, and his expression turned solemn as he heard their explanation.

• Qin Fengming injured and subdued six Integration stage cultivators with his sword light and six peak Integration puppets, then demanded to know what the place was and what treasures it held.
• The Burly Man from the sea clan threatened Qin Fengming with the Brown Fish Clan's retaliation, so Qin ordered a puppet to kill him and seize his demon infant.
• The old woman revealed that the Burly Man was Young Master Qing and warned Qin Fengming about the Brown Fish Clan's peak Spirit Severing Old Ancestor.
• Qin Fengming dismissed the threat and demanded answers from the remaining five cultivators, who agreed to tell him what he wanted to know.
• Two tea-brewing periods later, Qin Fengming's expression grew solemn.

Qin Fengming learned that the Brown Fish Clan and allied factions were forcing cultivators to mine Black Mist Island’s mineral deposits, then bound five captives to his service. While searching Young Master Qing’s soul, he discovered and slew a hidden peak Spirit Severing stage separated soul, narrowly avoiding disaster.

• The five cultivators told Qin Fengming that the Brown Fish Clan had joined forces with other factions to search Black Mist Island’s mineral deposits and had forced cultivators into their formation.
• Qin Fengming demanded that the five hand over wisps of their souls, and they agreed; he returned most of their belongings and asked them to guard him.
• Qin Fengming entered the Divine Machine Mansion and brought out the Burly Man’s essence soul to investigate why no protective attack had appeared when he killed him.
• Qin Fengming summoned Soul Devouring Beast and began searching the Burly Man’s soul, prepared for the possibility of a hidden attack.
• A peak Spirit Severing stage separated soul invaded Qin Fengming’s sea of consciousness, but Qin Fengming and Soul Devouring Beast killed it.
• After finishing the soul search, Qin Fengming’s complexion turned extremely ugly.

Qin Fengming survived the Brown Fish Clan Old Ancestor’s split-soul attack and confronted the five Integration cultivators who had concealed the presence of an Earthly Ranking expert. He spared them for now after they offered to guide him into the underground ore deposit and help him capture the expert.

• Qin Fengming realized the five Brown Fish Clan cultivators had deliberately sent him toward danger by concealing the Earthly Ranking cultivator’s presence.
• Qin Fengming offered Hexuan the late Spirit Severing stage Baleful Intent corpse’s sturdy skeleton, but Hexuan declined and said he could regrow his body using the Yin Sheng Leaf.
• Qin Fengming confronted the five cultivators and threatened to kill them after seeing their disappointment that he had returned unharmed.
• The old woman admitted their deception and offered to lead Qin Fengming close to the Earthly Ranking cultivator, whom the Brown Fish Clan Old Ancestor had raised and trained.
• Qin Fengming agreed to trust the five once more and warned them against plotting against him again.

Qin Fengming infiltrated the heavily guarded mine with help from Madam Yan and Fellow Daoist Li, hoping to reach Lin Yu and exploit his knowledge of formations. At the entrance, Fellow Daoist Wu demanded that Qin Fengming take a Spirit Suppressing Pill, and Qin Fengming agreed, leaving the others tense about what he would do next.

• Qin Fengming agreed to Madam Yan and the other cultivators' plan to enter the mine with an insider's help.
• Madam Yan and Fellow Daoist Li brought Qin Fengming to the mine entrance and told Fellow Daoist Wu that Young Master Qing wanted him to meet Lin Yu and oversee a formation core.
• Fellow Daoist Wu demanded that Qin Fengming take a Spirit Suppressing Pill before entering the mine.
• Madam Yan argued that the pill would undermine Qin Fengming's ability to guard the formation, while Qin Fengming protested that the contract had never required it.
• Fellow Daoist Wu threatened that Qin Fengming's cultivation would never advance if he refused, and Qin Fengming agreed to take the pill.

Qin Fengming took a Spirit Suppressing Pill to enter the Brown Fish Clan’s underground passages with Madam Yan, concealing his true strength. They sought Lin Yu, who was dealing with a dangerous exotic beast, and entered the tunnel where he was last seen.

• Qin Fengming swallowed the Spirit Suppressing Pill, weakening his displayed cultivation to the late Nascent Soul stage, and the middle-aged man surnamed Wu allowed him and Madam Yan into the formation.
• Qin Fengming recognized the Myriad Illusions Reversal Formation before following Madam Yan through the guarded underground passages.
• Qin Fengming learned that Madam Yan was the Brown Fish Clan’s formation grandmaster as they passed several guarded areas and reached a large cavern.
• Madam Yan asked two cultivators where Lin Yu was and explained that Qin Fengming was a formation grandmaster meant to guard a formation node.
• The two cultivators warned that Lin Yu’s tunnel held a dangerous exotic beast and trapped miners, but Madam Yan insisted and led Qin Fengming toward it.

Qin Fengming resisted the Spirit Suppressing Pill and guided Madam Yan through the underground passages toward a strange beast. He reached a cavern and discovered Lin Yu and three other cultivators struggling to capture an early Spirit Severing stage Luoluo Beast.

• Qin Fengming explained that his Spirit Devouring Netherflame, Green Soul Silk, and Spirit Concealment Art had let him resist the pill and conceal his cultivation.
• Qin Fengming reassured Madam Yan that he could protect her, then chose a path at each fork by sensing unusual auras.
• Qin Fengming heard a beast's roar, told Madam Yan to hide, and hurried ahead under a Wind Concealment Talisman.
• Qin Fengming found a vast cavern where Lin Yu and three cultivators were fighting a savage Luoluo Beast.
• Qin Fengming recognized the Luoluo Beast as a primordial strange beast whose cultivation had reached the early Spirit Severing stage.

Qin Fengming watched Lin Yu and three peak Integration stage cultivators battle a Luoluo Beast in a mountain cave, deciding to guard the only exit and ambush whoever emerged. Lin Yu sent for reinforcements, but his attempt to seal the beast's shadow ended in an explosion that engulfed him.

• Qin Fengming observed the battle from the cave entrance and decided to wait there to intercept the cultivators or the beast.
• The three peak Integration stage cultivators struggled to hold back the Luoluo Beast, whose scales resisted their attacks.
• The three urged Lin Yu to summon reinforcements, and Lin Yu agreed to send a Voice Transmission Talisman.
• Lin Yu unleashed a water dragon, but the Luoluo Beast's blue beast shadow devoured it and lunged at him.
• Lin Yu trapped the beast shadow in a jade-blue ball, but the compressed shadow exploded and engulfed him.

Qin Fengming watched Lin Yu battle the Luoluo Beast, then concealed himself in the passage to capture cultivators summoned as reinforcements. He took six cultivators into the Xumi Cave Dwelling, but wondered why two nearby cultivators had not arrived.

• Qin Fengming saw the Luoluo Beast shatter Lin Yu's secret techniques, but Lin Yu survived the blast behind a powerful defensive barrier.
• Qin Fengming warned Madam Yan that cultivators were coming, then hid in a recess with the Wind Concealment Talisman.
• Qin Fengming used the Startled Soul Whisper and soul-sealing techniques to capture three peak late-Integration-stage cultivators and take them into the Xumi Cave Dwelling.
• Qin Fengming captured two of three approaching female cultivators with his soul attack, then struck down the old woman when she resisted.
• Qin Fengming recognized the old woman as a sea-dwelling Illusory Fish Beast and sealed her soul before taking all three women into the Sumeru Space.
• Qin Fengming wondered why two cultivators who had been closest to the passage had not appeared.

Qin Fengming arrived at the cavern and saw Lin Yu fighting the Luoluo Beast with an identical-looking avatar. As Lin Yu’s allies tried to retreat, the beast escaped their magic treasures’ explosions and killed one cultivator, while Lin Yu began unleashing a forbidden secret art.

• Qin Fengming found no other reinforcements and went to the cave, where he saw two identical Lin Yus fighting the Luoluo Beast.
• Lin Yu, unable to defeat the beast, ordered the three other cultivators to retreat while he prepared a secret art.
• The three cultivators detonated their magic treasures and fled, but the Luoluo Beast escaped the blast and swallowed one of them.
• Lin Yu furiously gathered Heaven and Earth Origin Energy and summoned a huge blue-black blade that filled much of the cavern with blade phantoms.

Lin Yu and the Luoluo Beast unleashed their powerful secret arts in a cavernous clash that devastated the surrounding rock. The explosions and gale filled the cavern with ash and destructive energy, leaving the outcome of their battle unclear.

• Lin Yu sent his enormous blue-black blade toward the Luoluo Beast after both fighters committed to completing their secret arts.
• Two cultivators fled into Qin Fengming’s passage, collapsed unconscious, and were sealed and taken into his Sumeru Space.
• The Luoluo Beast enlarged its body and released five increasingly solid beast shadows to meet Lin Yu’s descending blade.
• The blade collided with the beast shadows in five tremendous blasts, tearing apart rocks and filling the cavern with violent gales and ash.

Qin Fengming waited out the devastating clash between Lin Yu and the Luoluo Beast, then emerged to confront the badly injured cultivator. He easily stopped Lin Yu’s water-dragon attack but allowed a massive heavy-water droplet to engulf him, leaving the outcome uncertain.

• Qin Fengming used the dragon bone to withstand the lingering astral winds and waited until the energy explosion subsided.
• Qin Fengming found Lin Yu severely injured while the Luoluo Beast remained comparatively unscathed, then prepared hidden figures and ambushes in the passage.
• Qin Fengming appeared between Lin Yu and the Luoluo Beast and challenged the injured cultivator.
• Lin Yu summoned a water dragon, but Qin Fengming’s sword beams pinned it in midair.
• Lin Yu launched a heavy-water droplet secret art, and Qin Fengming let the expanding mass envelop him without defending himself.

Qin Fengming escaped Lin Yu’s Heavy Water Secret Art and fought the Luoluo Beast in close combat, overpowering the savage ancient variant. He then captured the beast with a cloud of dark mist, leaving Lin Yu stunned.

• Lin Yu’s Heavy Water Secret Art enveloped Qin Fengming, but azure-blue mist from Qin Fengming’s body dispelled it.
• The recovering Luoluo Beast gathered energy and charged at Qin Fengming and Lin Yu.
• Qin Fengming’s Azure Spirit Sword Lights weakened the beast’s claw attacks, and his fists shattered the remaining projections.
• Qin Fengming fought the Luoluo Beast at close range, landing hundreds of punches and blasting it several zhang away with a strike powered by the Treasure Refining Ghost Art.
• Qin Fengming released dark mist that enveloped the Luoluo Beast, and the beast vanished when the mist dispersed.

Qin Fengming confronted the wounded Lin Yu after capturing the Luoluo Beast and summoned Qiongqi through the Divine Emperor Seal replica to attack him. Lin Yu tried to flee through a nearby tunnel, but Qin Fengming intercepted him and demanded a strand of his soul.

• Lin Yu questioned Qin Fengming about taking the Luoluo Beast and declared that the Brown Fish Clan would not let him leave alive.
• Qin Fengming summoned Qiongqi with the Divine Emperor Seal replica, and its sword feathers destroyed Lin Yu's treasures.
• Lin Yu used a phantom to flee toward the tunnel, but Qin Fengming intercepted him with five-colored escape light and the Soul Devouring Claw.
• Lin Yu cleaved through the Soul Devouring Claw with two ice-blue blades and rushed toward Qin Fengming.
• Qin Fengming struck Lin Yu and demanded that he hand over a strand of his soul in exchange for his life.

Qin Fengming overpowered the weakened Lin Yu and demanded a strand of his soul. When four allies arrived to aid Lin Yu, Qin revealed seven peak Integration stage puppets and two swords, forcing Lin Yu to negotiate.

• Lin Yu charged Qin Fengming to reach the passage, but Qin’s fist sent him flying and left him unable to win a direct fight.
• Four late Integration stage cultivators emerged from the passage, and Lin Yu urged them to join him against Qin Fengming.
• Qin Fengming ignored Lin Yu’s allies and demanded that Lin Yu surrender a strand of his soul or be killed.
• Seven peak Integration stage puppets appeared behind the four cultivators as the Azure Rainbow Sword and Glimmering Firefly Sword targeted them.
• Lin Yu refused to surrender his soul and offered to sign a lifelong non-aggression contract and complete three tasks instead.

Qin Fengming made Lin Yu sign a binding contract and forced the other Integration stage cultivators in the ore deposit to surrender strands of their souls. He arranged for them and the Brown Fish Clan cultivators to help him at Ice Valley later, then secured thirty percent of the mine’s output.

• Qin Fengming agreed to end his fight with Lin Yu in exchange for Lin Yu signing a powerful binding contract.
• Qin Fengming demanded soul strands from four Integration stage cultivators and revealed six captured Brown Fish Clan cultivators, prompting the four and the six to comply.
• Qin Fengming asked Lin Yu about the Integration cultivators forced to mine in the deposit, then made more than a dozen of them surrender soul strands and arranged for them to watch over the Nascent Soul stage miners until their contracts ended.
• Qin Fengming required the Brown Fish Clan cultivators to help him at Ice Valley later, and Lin Yu agreed to give him thirty percent of the ore deposit’s output.

After leaving the mine with Madam Yan, Qin Fengming confronted the Chongwen Island cultivators who had forced him to swallow a Spirit Suppressing Pill. He overpowered them and demanded that they surrender strands of their souls or die, leaving the four captives agreeing to his terms.

• Qin Fengming appeared before the Wu-surnamed cultivator and threatened him for having forced him to swallow a Spirit Suppressing Pill.
• The other four Chongwen Island cultivators activated the Myriad Illusions Reversal Formation and demanded that Qin Fengming release Wu.
• Qin Fengming disrupted the formation with a single strike and summoned four advanced puppets to restrain the cultivators.
• Madam Yan hinted that Qin Fengming was connected to Lin Yu, and the Wu-surnamed cultivator suspected he was from the Myriad Star Gate.
• Qin Fengming imprisoned Wu's soul, and the other four cultivators agreed to surrender strands of their souls.

Qin Fengming spent more than two years harvesting Black Scale Stone and Soul Mist Crystal Stone in a dangerous region of Black Mist Island, using the soul mist to strengthen his Treasure Refining Ghost Art. He left to seek Profound Soul Crystals and, after checking his spell plate, headed toward the Dragon Soul Beast, which he had marked and now saw near the Ji Family’s people.

• Qin Fengming left the Brown Fish Clan’s mining site and reflected that the Mountain Demon had frightened the Luoluo Beast, allowing him to capture it without revealing the Mountain Demon.
• Qin Fengming spent more than two years in a soul-mist region collecting Black Scale Stone and Soul Mist Crystal Stone while refining the soul mist with the Treasure Refining Ghost Art.
• Qin Fengming sensed that the soul mist had strengthened and purified his soul energy, though he still had not found the Soul Essence Stone he needed.
• Qin Fengming left the region because he still needed to collect Profound Soul Crystals for two powerful cultivators.
• Qin Fengming checked his spell plate, saw that the Ji Family’s people were near the Dragon Soul Beast and that his marked targets were nearby, then flew toward them.

Qin Fengming reached a valley in Lipo Valley territory and demanded that Ji Dongjue return the Dragon Soul Beast. A Lipo Valley cultivator refused and ordered an attack, leaving Qin Fengming facing two incoming black blades.

• Qin Fengming entered a mountainous region where a flight-restricting ban forced him to travel on foot.
• After seven days, Qin Fengming found Ji Dongjue, the other Ji Family members, Feng Yunshan, two Blue Star Sect cultivators, and nine unfamiliar cultivators gathered in a valley.
• Qin Fengming demanded that Ji Dongjue return the Dragon Soul Beast, saying their agreement had expired.
• A pale-faced Lipo Valley cultivator claimed the sect wanted the Dragon Soul Beast and threatened Qin Fengming.
• Two cultivators beside the Lipo Valley man sent black blades at Qin Fengming.