Chapter Summaries

Qin Fengming learned that Sima Bo wanted him to reach Core Formation within fifteen years because the Sky Flame Mountain Range would open soon. Sima Bo explained the dangerous region’s history and revealed that a past expedition by two Guo cultivators had led to both later reaching Nascent Soul, a secret that reignited the cultivation world’s interest.

• Qin Fengming told Sima Bo that he planned to spend twenty or thirty years cultivating while consolidating his mastery of five skills.
• Sima Bo insisted that Qin Fengming reach Core Formation within fifteen years, and Qin Fengming questioned the urgency.
• Sima Bo told Qin Fengming that the Sky Flame Mountain Range would open in seventeen or eighteen years and described its dangers, restrictions, and abundant treasures.
• Sima Bo explained that two Guo cultivators had survived an expedition into the mountain range and later both reached Nascent Soul.
• Sima Bo said that pressure from major sects had forced the Guo lineage to reveal what happened, stirring a storm in the cultivation world.

Two Guo family cultivators described finding a mysterious jade-green pool in the Sky Flame Mountain Range that greatly accelerated their cultivation and helped them reach the Nascent Soul stage. Their account revealed that the pool moved between openings, and hearing of it left Qin Fengming eager to enter the range.

• The two Guo cultivators recounted how they reached the central region of the Sky Flame Mountain Range and found a mist-shrouded area filled with dense spiritual energy.
• After searching the area, the two Guo cultivators discovered a jade-green pool and felt its pure spiritual energy when they touched the water.
• The two Guo cultivators soaked in the pool for several months, then left the range and later advanced to the peak of Core Formation and the Nascent Soul stage.
• Cultivators searching for the pool learned that it existed but changed location between openings, making the Sky Flame Mountain Range a coveted and violent destination.
• Qin Fengming heard Sima Bo mention the Sky Flame Mountain Range and became eager to enter it for a chance to reach the Nascent Soul stage.

Qin Fengming resolved to enter the Sky Flame Mountain Range and was ordered to spend the next fifteen years cultivating at Manghuang Mountain in preparation. Sima Bo and Venerable Dao Ling revealed that the sect intended to use Qin Fengming to draw the attention of hostile factions, and Qin Fengming began establishing a secluded Cave Abode near the mountain’s edge.

• Qin Fengming told Sima Bo and Venerable Dao Ling that he would enter the Sky Flame Mountain Range even if he failed to reach Core Formation within fifteen years.
• Sima Bo ordered Qin Fengming to remain at Manghuang Mountain and cultivate for fifteen years, while Venerable Dao Ling warned him not to force a breakthrough.
• Sima Bo and Venerable Dao Ling discussed using Qin Fengming’s presence in the Cultivation World to distract the Shen God Sect and other hostile sects from Manghuang Mountain.
• Qin Fengming flew west, chose a remote valley near the edge of Manghuang Mountain, and summoned two ape-shaped puppets to excavate his Cave Abode.

Qin Fengming settled into a new Cave Abode, consolidated what he had learned from his five masters, and discovered the power of the five secret techniques they had given him. While he remained in seclusion, news of the Three Realms War transformed the Cultivation World, and Manghuang Mountain became highly sought after.

• Qin Fengming established a Cave Abode, set up the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Formation, and placed his spirit beasts, spirit insects, and spirit herbs in protected chambers.
• Qin Fengming spent more than two years consolidating what he had learned from his five masters while cultivators across the Yuanfeng Empire rushed to prepare for the Three Realms War.
• Manghuang Mountain became the empire's most sought-after place for refining pills and magic treasures, forcing the Baleful God Sect to restrain its efforts to annex it.
• Qin Fengming inspected the five jade slips from his masters and learned about Startled Soul Whisper, Soul Devouring Claw, Spiritual Energy Slash, Lightning Escape, and Ding Jia Shield.

Qin Fengming prepared to break through the Core Formation bottleneck after three years of cultivation, reaching the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. He began the breakthrough by taking a Calming Heart Pill and preparing to consume his Xinwu Pill.

• Qin Fengming chose to focus on cultivation instead of learning Spiritual Energy Slash and Ding Jia Shield, and set aside Wen Taihang’s ten Essence Nourishing Pills because they were meant for Core Formation cultivators.
• Qin Fengming cultivated for three years while using his modified Spirit Gathering Array to gather energy and replenish his mysterious gourd.
• Qin Fengming reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, with his spiritual power saturated and ready for a Core Formation breakthrough.
• Qin Fengming swallowed the Calming Heart Pill Xiao Hongzhi had given him, steadying his mind and strengthening his divine sense.
• Qin Fengming took out the Xinwu Pill he had refined and prepared to consume it for the breakthrough.

Qin Fengming cultivated with Xinwu Pills but discovered that their medicinal power was dissipating through his meridians instead of entering his dantian. Unable to explain the problem and wary of telling his five masters, he left his cave to search Manghuang Mountain’s library.

• Qin Fengming consumed a Xinwu Pill and spent a year cultivating amid five-colored radiance.
• Qin Fengming took another Xinwu Pill but found that its power could not be drawn into his dantian and instead seeped away through his meridians.
• Qin Fengming consumed another pill and confirmed that its medicinal power dispersed without entering his dantian.
• Qin Fengming could not determine the cause of the abnormality and decided not to tell his five masters.
• Qin Fengming fed his spirit beasts and spirit insects, activated his cave restrictions, and flew to Manghuang Mountain’s library.

Qin Fengming used his Young Lord Token to cross Manghuang Mountain’s restrictive formations and reach Shulu Hall, where Elder Chen Bingzhang welcomed him. The chapter left Qin Fengming learning that his token exempted him from the usual recommendation needed to consult the ancient texts.

• Qin Fengming relied on Shu Jingliang’s map jade slip and his Young Lord Token to navigate Manghuang Mountain’s restrictive formations.
• After nearly two hours of flight, Qin Fengming arrived at Shulu Hall and saw a hostile cultivator from the Huangzhou Mo family leave the hall.
• A barrier stopped Qin Fengming at the entrance, and he identified himself as a disciple of Manghuang Mountain’s five Great Cultivators and asked to consult ancient texts.
• Elder Chen Bingzhang recognized Qin Fengming as the Young Lord, dismissed the barrier, and welcomed him inside.
• Qin Fengming noticed a Teleportation Array in the otherwise empty first-floor hall and asked about the procedures for consulting ancient texts.
• Elder Chen explained that Qin Fengming’s token exempted him from the usual requirement for a hall administrator’s recommendation.

Qin Fengming searched Manghuang Mountain’s records for an explanation of his unusual cultivation condition but found nothing. Elder Chen pointed him toward Elder Tianquan, a reclusive collector of obscure records, and Qin Fengming set out to seek him.

• Qin Fengming paid Elder Chen five hundred spirit stones and used the Teleportation Array to enter Shulu Hall’s record room.
• Qin Fengming spent half a month reviewing the books, records, and jade slips, but found no explanation for his condition.
• Qin Fengming returned to the main hall and thanked Elder Chen for the records he had read.
• Elder Chen told Qin Fengming that Elder Tianquan collected obscure tales and records, and gave him a jade slip about the Elder.
• Qin Fengming left Shulu Hall and flew southeast toward Elder Tianquan’s cave abode.

Qin Fengming sought out Venerable Tianquan and learned about the reclusive elder’s history with Ancestor Tianji. After meeting him, Qin Fengming boldly claimed he could spot flaws in ordinary formations, and Venerable Tianquan demanded that he prove it in a test.

• Qin Fengming recalled how Venerable Tianquan and Ancestor Tianji had studied under the same Supreme Elder, then parted ways after Tianquan left Manghuang Mountain for over four hundred years.
• Qin Fengming crossed Manghuang Mountain’s restrictive spells with the Young Master’s token and reached the barren valley marked as Venerable Tianquan’s Cave Abode.
• When Qin Fengming’s Fire Python Talismans vanished inside a formation, Venerable Tianquan called out and recognized him as Dao Ling’s disciple.
• Venerable Tianquan appeared as a handsome middle-aged man, and Qin Fengming confirmed that he was the disciple who had entered the tutelage of five Great Cultivators.
• Qin Fengming claimed he could easily find flaws in ordinary formations, prompting Venerable Tianquan to demand that he prove his ability in a test.

Qin Fengming accepted Venerable Tianquan’s test and entered an ancient illusionary formation, where he resisted its first attack before encountering visions of Gongsun Jingyao and Gongsun Jiayan. The chapter left him hearing that demons had overrun his homeland and that the sisters’ ancestor had vanished after fighting two Nascent Soul demons.

• Qin Fengming agreed to test his formation skills against Venerable Tianquan’s ancient illusionary formation despite its danger.
• Qin Fengming entered the formation and found himself in a beautiful landscape, where he studied his surroundings without moving.
• Venerable Tianquan activated the formation with a command token, and Qin Fengming was assailed by a fragrance that clouded his senses.
• Qin Fengming saw Gongsun Jingyao and Gongsun Jiayan, who told him demons had overrun Haoyu Kingdom and Great Liang Kingdom.
• Gongsun Jingyao and Gongsun Jiayan said their ancestor had faced two Nascent Soul demons to help them escape, and that his fate remained unknown.

Qin Fengming endured Venerable Tianquan’s illusion formation and searched for its hidden core, eventually believing he had passed the trial. As he followed Venerable Tianquan toward the valley, the apparent escape proved to be another illusion, and Qin Fengming began sinking into the ground.

• Qin Fengming saw an illusion of Gongsun Jiayan reporting that demons had invaded Haoyu Kingdom and Great Liang Kingdom, but he broke free before it trapped him.
• Qin Fengming rejected using Nourishing Yin Wood to resist the formation and instead searched for its core while guarding his mind.
• Venerable Tianquan tested Qin Fengming with scorching heat, but Qin Fengming endured the attack without moving.
• Venerable Tianquan appeared after the formation vanished, praised Qin Fengming, and invited him to his cave abode.
• Qin Fengming followed Venerable Tianquan, then began sinking as Venerable Tianquan vanished into specks of multicolored light.

Qin Fengming struggled inside an illusion formation that made him fall endlessly, while Venerable Tianquan watched from outside and was startled by Qin Fengming’s powerful talismans. After hours of failed attempts, Qin Fengming suddenly hit upon an idea for escaping the illusion.

• Qin Fengming realized that Venerable Tianquan and the bottomless cave were illusions, but the formation’s pull kept him falling despite his efforts.
• Venerable Tianquan observed Qin Fengming from outside the formation and reflected on how he had obtained and mastered the powerful illusion formation.
• Qin Fengming spent hours falling and tried spirit artifacts and Fire Python Talismans, but none of them affected the illusion.
• Venerable Tianquan was shocked when Qin Fengming released hundreds of mutated Fire Python Talismans and recognized his talent for refining them.
• Qin Fengming withdrew his divine sense and searched his memories of formation manuals for a solution; after many more hours, an idea came to him.

Qin Fengming escaped a dangerous illusion by shutting off his senses, then used a Puppet and his knowledge of formations to find and destroy the illusion array’s four cores. Venerable Tianquan watched as Qin Fengming emerged into a desolate mountainous landscape after breaking the array.

• Qin Fengming entered meditation within the illusion, severing his senses from the outside world, and awoke sprawled on the rocky ground after the illusion vanished.
• Qin Fengming summoned a humanoid Puppet and cautiously sent it through the array to search for faint spiritual power fluctuations.
• Venerable Tianquan refrained from launching another attack and watched to see whether Qin Fengming could locate the array core.
• Qin Fengming detected four locations where spiritual power gathered and dispersed, then sent nearly two hundred talismans at them.
• Qin Fengming’s attack destroyed the four array cores, and Venerable Tianquan praised him for breaking the illusion array.

Qin Fengming visited Venerable Tianquan and asked to consult his collection of cultivation histories for answers to a question. After testing Qin Fengming’s Spiritual Root, Venerable Tianquan identified it as the extraordinarily rare Five Dragon Physique.

• Qin Fengming thanked Venerable Tianquan for weakening the illusion array and passing him through its test.
• Venerable Tianquan brought Qin Fengming into his Cave Abode and asked him to explain his visit.
• Qin Fengming admitted he wanted to search Venerable Tianquan’s books for an answer to a question.
• Qin Fengming asked Venerable Tianquan to test his Spiritual Root before he revealed the question.
• Venerable Tianquan examined Qin Fengming for half an hour and identified his Spiritual Root as the Five Dragon Physique.

Qin Fengming learned that Venerable Tianquan recognized his rare Five Dragon Physique, but Tianquan refused to explain it and sent him away. After Qin Fengming named the formation in Tianquan’s cave, the cultivator hurried to bring him back, and recounted how he had acquired the ancient formation scroll.

• Venerable Tianquan identified Qin Fengming as possessing the Five Dragon Physique but refused to discuss it further.
• Qin Fengming left Tianquan’s cave and named its ruined formation the Myriad Illusions Reversal Formation.
• Tianquan caught up with Qin Fengming and questioned him about the formation, then invited him back to the cave to discuss it.
• Qin Fengming returned with Tianquan and sat down as Tianquan asked whether he was certain of the formation’s identity.
• Tianquan recalled saving a small cultivation family from a Peak Core Formation cultivator, after which the family gave him an ancient formation scroll.

Venerable Tianquan explained how he had spent decades reconstructing most of the Myriad Illusions Reversal Formation from a partial scroll, and Qin Fengming used his knowledge of the formation to bargain for answers about his Spiritual Root. Venerable Tianquan gave him an introduction to the Five Dragon Physique, and Qin Fengming finished reading it in grave agitation.

• Venerable Tianquan found a partial formation scroll, compensated the cultivator Lineage that gave it to him with a protective formation, and spent decades identifying and reconstructing the formation.
• Venerable Tianquan perfected the Myriad Illusions Reversal Formation to seventy percent but could make no further progress without the missing upper half.
• Qin Fengming said he had seen an introduction to the formation and used that knowledge as leverage to ask Venerable Tianquan about his Spiritual Root.
• Venerable Tianquan gave Qin Fengming a book and jade slip about the Five Dragon Physique in exchange for a detailed account of the formation.
• Qin Fengming studied the materials for more than ten hours and returned them with a grave expression.

Qin Fengming learned that he possessed the rare Five Dragon Physique and demanded that Venerable Tianquan explain its nature in detail. Venerable Tianquan relented and explained that the constitution made early cultivation almost impossible but brought extraordinary cultivation speed after reaching the Integration realm.

• Qin Fengming asked whether Venerable Tianquan was certain he had the Five Dragon Physique, and Venerable Tianquan confirmed it without doubt.
• Qin Fengming requested a fuller explanation, but Venerable Tianquan refused because Qin Fengming already had access to the ancient texts.
• Qin Fengming threatened to withhold what he knew about the Myriad Illusions Reversal Formation unless Venerable Tianquan explained the Five Dragon Physique.
• Venerable Tianquan pressured Qin Fengming with his Nascent Soul cultivation, then withdrew the force and agreed to explain.
• Venerable Tianquan said the Five Dragon Physique came from the upper realm and explained that its bearers struggled to cultivate early on but advanced extraordinarily quickly after reaching the Integration realm.

Venerable Tianquan explained the Five Dragon Physique’s extraordinary potential and severe cultivation obstacles in the Human Realm, while noting that Qin Fengming’s unusually rapid progress suggested something unusual about his physique. Qin Fengming asked him to keep the secret and shared what he knew about the Myriad Illusions Reversal Formation, after which Tianquan accepted the jade slip and dismissed him.

• Venerable Tianquan explained that the Five Dragon Physique could greatly improve the chance of reaching the Mahayana Realm but made advancement difficult in the resource-poor Human Realm.
• Venerable Tianquan said Qin Fengming’s rapid cultivation contradicted what he knew about the physique and suggested Qin’s version differed from the ancient descriptions.
• Qin Fengming asked Venerable Tianquan not to reveal his Five Dragon Physique, and Tianquan agreed.
• Qin Fengming copied everything he knew about the Myriad Illusions Reversal Formation onto a jade slip and gave it to Venerable Tianquan.
• Venerable Tianquan examined the jade slip with delight, accepted it, and told Qin Fengming he could leave.

Qin Fengming used the simplified Mystic Sound Blood Transformation Array to negotiate with Venerable Tianquan for another benefit. After Venerable Tianquan agreed to consider his request, Qin Fengming handed over the formation jade slip for inspection.

• Venerable Tianquan examined Qin Fengming’s detailed account of the Myriad Illusions Reversal Formation and agreed to restore a replica.
• Qin Fengming claimed he had encountered an ancient formation, prompting Venerable Tianquan to offer him another benefit if it interested him.
• Qin Fengming revealed that he possessed the incantations for a simplified Mystic Sound Blood Transformation Array, and Venerable Tianquan eagerly agreed to trade for them.
• Qin Fengming asked whether Venerable Tianquan knew how to repair spirit treasures, but Venerable Tianquan said he did not.
• Venerable Tianquan promised to fulfill a request if the formation proved worthwhile, and Qin Fengming handed him the jade slip.

Qin Fengming traded a copied Mystic Sound Blood Transformation Array for a copy of Venerable Tianquan’s remnant Myriad Illusions Reversal Formation. The exchange left Qin Fengming encouraged to keep searching for a way past the limits of his Five Dragon Physique.

• Venerable Tianquan examined Qin Fengming’s jade slip and recognized the formation as a simplified Mystic Sound Blood Transformation Array.
• Qin Fengming asked to exchange the formation for Venerable Tianquan’s remnant Myriad Illusions Reversal Formation.
• Venerable Tianquan warned that studying the remnant formation was dangerous for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but handed Qin Fengming the ancient scroll to copy.
• Qin Fengming copied the unfamiliar writing into a jade slip and promised not to tell anyone about the formation.
• Venerable Tianquan encouraged Qin Fengming not to lose heart over his Five Dragon Physique, and Qin Fengming vowed to seek a path to advancement.