Chapter Summaries

Qin Fengming defeated and killed the Fourth Elder of Juque Fort, then returned to his cave dwelling and assessed the weaknesses exposed by the battle. He decided to improve his defenses and escape methods by studying high-grade defensive and flying talismans.

• Qin Fengming rejected the Fourth Elder's offers of service and a secret treasury, then killed him with a sword.
• Qin Fengming's small yellow beast devoured the Fourth Elder's soul, confirming that the banner could consume souls.
• Qin Fengming searched the Fourth Elder's corpse, burned it to ashes, and collected three storage rings before fleeing to Luoxia Sect.
• Qin Fengming returned to his cave dwelling and concluded that his defenses and escape methods were inadequate against Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Qin Fengming studied the Compendium of Beginner Talismans to learn the Five Elements Defense Talisman and the Gale Talisman.

Qin Fengming tested the mysterious liquid on the red little beast and used it to make the beast his spirit companion. After four months of secluded cultivation, he emerged having refined many talismans, while his cultivation remained largely unchanged.

• Qin Fengming sorted the spoils from the Juque Fort elders and found more than ten thousand spirit stones and two spirit artifacts.
• Qin Fengming gave the red little beast water infused with the mysterious liquid, and the beast eagerly drank it.
• Qin Fengming persuaded the red little beast to accept the Spirit Control Art in exchange for more of the liquid and made it his spirit beast.
• Qin Fengming checked the plants he had watered with the liquid and found that they had not changed.
• Qin Fengming spent nearly four months in secluded cultivation and refined the Five Elements Defense Talisman, the Gale Talisman, and thousands of other talismans.
• Qin Fengming emerged from his Cave Abode with little progress in cultivation, but he had enough pills to pursue further advancement.

After nearly two years of seclusion, Qin Fengming reached Qi Gathering Stage Great Perfection and refined the Soul Devouring Banner. He left Luoxia Sect for the outskirts of the Barren Forest, stopping at the Yellow Sparrow Mountain Marketplace to prepare for the journey.

• Qin Fengming spent a year cultivating and used Yellow Essence Pills to break through to Qi Gathering Stage Great Perfection, then stabilized his realm.
• Qin Fengming refined the Soul Devouring Banner, nearly succumbing to its power before mastering it; he discovered it could rival a top-grade magical artifact.
• Qin Fengming decided to seek more fragments in the outskirts of the Barren Forest and gathered supplies for the trip.
• Qin Fengming reported his plans to the External Affairs Pavilion, left Luoxia Sect, and disguised himself before traveling to the Yellow Sparrow Mountain Marketplace.
• Qin Fengming visited the Treasure Gathering Tower and asked to see its maps, learning that the shop had two jade slips showing the Qingyuan Continent.

Qin Fengming bought maps and learned that the Luoxia Sect Marketplace auction would feature two rare puppet beasts from the Yishen Sect. He attended the auction in disguise and won the pair for 1,250 Spirit Stones.

• Qin Fengming bought maps of the Great Liang Kingdom and Qingyuan Continent at the Treasure Gathering Tower.
• The shop assistant told Qin Fengming that two Qi Gathering stage puppet beasts would be auctioned the next afternoon.
• Qin Fengming disguised himself and attended the auction, where he saw cultivators from several kingdoms.
• Wang Wei presented the puppet beasts and described their strength and attacks.
• Qin Fengming outbid the remaining bidders and bought the two puppet beasts for 1,250 Spirit Stones.

Qin Fengming reached Wanqiong Mountain Range and stopped at Cui Family Village to learn where he was. The villagers mistook him for a martial arts expert and begged him to save their village, and the clan head began explaining their predicament.

• After more than twenty days of travel, Qin Fengming reached Wanqiong Mountain Range and avoided flying over Zhui Feng Valley's territory.
• Qin Fengming found a nearby village and changed his appearance before approaching it.
• In the deserted village, Qin Fengming met Cui Ming, who mistook him for a martial arts expert and asked him to help.
• Cui Ming brought Qin Fengming to the gathered villagers and introduced him to the clan head.
• The clan head begged Qin Fengming to save Cui Family Village and began telling him what had happened.

Qin Fengming heard that a Red-eyed Snow Wolf had driven villagers from their homes and went alone to deal with it. He fought the powerful demon beast and sought to capture it alive for its valuable materials.

• The villagers told Qin Fengming that the wolf had killed several hunters and a Martial Master, leaving them unable to hunt safely.
• Qin Fengming volunteered to confront the wolf and went alone into the forest after Cui Ming and another man showed him the way.
• Qin Fengming used concealment talismans to fly to the wolf's cave, where he found the Red-eyed Snow Wolf cultivating.
• Qin Fengming revealed himself and attacked with the Huntian Halberd and fire serpents, while the wolf countered with sharp claws and frigid white mist.
• Qin Fengming decided to capture the wolf alive and sent fresh fire serpents after it when the first pair dissipated.

Qin Fengming killed the Red-eyed Snow Wolf and returned to Cui Family Village, where the villagers celebrated his victory and offered him a reward. After he refused their silver, the patriarch offered to show him an ancestral object whose purpose the village had never discovered.

• Qin Fengming wore down the Red-eyed Snow Wolf with the Huntian Halberd and fire snakes, then bound and killed it with his magic artifacts.
• Qin Fengming collected the wolf's demon core and corpse, and found silver beside the body of the martial arts expert hired by Cui Family Village.
• Cui Ming and the middle-aged man welcomed Qin Fengming back, and the villagers thanked him for slaying the mountain wolf.
• The patriarch and villagers held a feast for Qin Fengming and offered him over a hundred taels of silver, which he refused.
• The patriarch offered to retrieve a mysterious object preserved in the clan ancestral hall, and Qin Fengming became interested.

Qin Fengming accepted an ancient scroll from the villagers of Cui Family Village and discovered it contained a cultivation technique written in unfamiliar characters. He traveled to a Zhui Feng Valley Marketplace seeking a way to read it, but left without finding a suitable reference book.

• The village chief gave Qin Fengming an unopenable crimson scroll, and Qin returned the silver he had found near the mountain wolf's cave.
• Qin Fengming took the mountain wolf demon's corpse and left Cui Family Village, then flew east to avoid Zhui Feng Valley.
• In a secluded valley, Qin Fengming opened the scroll with spiritual power and found more than ten thousand characters recording a cultivation technique he could not read.
• Qin Fengming disguised himself and concealed his cultivation before traveling to a Zhui Feng Valley Marketplace to search for books about ancient characters.
• Qin Fengming found no books comparing ancient and modern characters, bought a book on formations, and learned that mundane-world bookshops might carry the texts he needed.

Qin Fengming sought someone who could decipher ancient writing and found Mr. Wen, an expert willing to translate the characters from his ancient book. After selling a rare ginseng for twenty thousand taels in Cangbei City, Qin Fengming asked the medicine shop owner for help finding a residence.

• Qin Fengming entered a Cangbei City bookshop and showed an assistant characters from the crimson-red scroll.
• Mr. Wen recognized the writing as a script from more than a hundred thousand years ago and translated the characters he knew.
• Qin Fengming told Mr. Wen that his ancient book contained roughly ten thousand characters, and Mr. Wen estimated translating them would take several months to a year.
• Qin Fengming arranged to return the next morning and ask Mr. Wen to come with him to translate the writing.
• Qin Fengming sold a large old ginseng to the medicine shop owner, Wei, for twenty thousand taels of silver.
• Qin Fengming asked Wei whether he knew of a Household selling a residence or manor.

Qin Fengming bought a manor in Cangbei City and had Mr. Wen translate the writing on the crimson scroll. After the translation was complete, Qin Fengming left the city, studied the text in seclusion, and discovered it was a cultivation technique.

• Qin Fengming bought a furnished manor from the old man surnamed Wei for ten thousand taels of silver and instructed the servants to avoid disturbing him in the rear garden.
• Qin Fengming gave Mr. Wen scrambled portions of the ancient text to translate, then stayed with him and supplied further pages as the old man worked.
• After more than six months, Mr. Wen completed the translation, and Qin Fengming thanked him with silver, the manor deed, a pill, and a jade pendant before leaving Cangbei City.
• Qin Fengming traveled to a remote mountain range, set up the Four Symbols Primordial Chaos Formation, copied the translation onto a jade slip, and burned the paper sheets.
• After studying the jade slip for three days and nights, Qin Fengming confirmed that the crimson scroll contained a cultivation technique.

Qin Fengming discovered that the jade slip contained the renowned Profound Clarity Upper Purity Art and began cultivating its Qi Gathering-stage Spirit Concealment Art. After enduring severe pain, he found that the technique could hide his cultivation while also refining his body.

• Qin Fengming recognized the translated jade slip as the Profound Clarity Upper Purity Art, a powerful righteous cultivation technique whose main method required Foundation Establishment.
• Qin Fengming learned that the Spirit Concealment Art could hide only part of his cultivation and could be practiced only during the Qi Gathering stage.
• Qin Fengming traveled deeper into the Wanqiong Mountain Range, found a secluded cave, and secured it with the Four Symbols Primordial Chaos Formation.
• Qin Fengming practiced the Spirit Concealment Art by dispersing the spiritual power in his dantian throughout his body, enduring pain and fainting several times without giving up.
• Qin Fengming realized that cultivating the Spirit Concealment Art also tempered his bones and meridians.

Qin Fengming continued enduring the pain of practicing the Spirit Concealment Art while two Core Formation cultivators from Zhui Feng Valley stopped above his hidden cave. After discussing their recent battle and agreeing to become cultivation partners, the pair remained unaware of Qin Fengming nearby.

• Qin Fengming repeatedly fainted from the pain of practicing the Spirit Concealment Art but persisted for more than two months.
• Senior Brother Cui and Junior Sister Ge, both Core Formation cultivators from Zhui Feng Valley, arrived at the mountain to rest on their return from the Floating Mountain Kingdom.
• Senior Brother Cui and Junior Sister Ge recalled how they had fought Old Monster Qiu Shan and escaped with the help of the Universe Brush treasure.
• Junior Sister Ge hinted that she wanted the Azure Red Swords as tokens for their partnership, and Senior Brother Cui realized she had agreed to become his cultivation partner.
• Senior Brother Cui took Junior Sister Ge's hands and promised to cherish her and never betray her.

Qin Fengming overheard two Core Formation cultivators reveal that the Ancient Battlefield would open in two years, then left his secluded retreat for the Barren Forest. After reaching its nearby Marketplace in disguise, he searched for a reliable map before entering the dangerous forest.

• A Core Formation man promised to ask his Master for permission to marry his Junior Sister, and the two flew toward Zhui Feng Valley after discussing the Ancient Battlefield's opening in two years.
• Qin Fengming emerged from his concealment after the pair left and decided to report what he had overheard to his sect after leaving the Barren Forest.
• Qin Fengming confirmed that the Four Symbols Primordial Chaos Formation had hidden him from the Core Formation cultivators and considered the effects of his newly mastered Spirit Concealment Art.
• Qin Fengming packed away the formation, changed his appearance, concealed his cultivation as Qi Gathering Stage Six, and flew north toward the Barren Forest.
• After traveling for more than twenty days, Qin Fengming reached the nearby Marketplace and began looking for a more complete map of the forest.

Qin Fengming bought maps of the Barren Forest and agreed to travel with three cultivators who offered to guide him to a hidden valley. He recognized their trap and decided to deal with them if they attacked.

• Qin Fengming purchased every available map of the Barren Forest for two hundred and seventy spirit stones.
• Zhang Feng, Wang Dong, and Wang Lin stopped Qin Fengming as he left the Marketplace and offered to guide him for thirty spirit stones.
• Qin Fengming claimed he was seeking a medicinal herb and accepted their offer to lead him to a hidden valley.
• Qin Fengming realized the three men intended to trap him, but agreed to go with them while preparing to strike back if necessary.

Qin Fengming traveled with Zhang Feng and the Wang brothers into the Barren Forest, concealing his strength while learning about its dangers. The group reached a region inhabited by dozens of coordinated sound-wave-attacking demonic beasts, and Zhang Feng warned Qin Fengming to proceed carefully.

• Qin Fengming left the Marketplace with Zhang Feng and the Wang brothers, pretending to be an inexperienced cultivator as Wang Dong answered his questions.
• The four men entered the Barren Forest through its mist, and Qin Fengming quickly recovered from the illusionary effect.
• Zhang Feng explained that an aerial restriction prevented cultivators from flying on magic artifacts, so Qin Fengming followed the others using the Sky Soaring Art.
• The group traveled cautiously for nearly five hours, changing directions and avoiding other cultivator groups they encountered.
• Zhang Feng warned Qin Fengming that dozens of mid-stage Qi Gathering Stage demonic beasts lay ahead and explained that their coordinated sound-wave attacks had defeated past hunting parties.

Qin Fengming split from Zhang Feng and the Wang brothers when a group of demon beasts pursued them, then stopped at the edge of their territory to test his strength against three pursuers. He killed them with flame talismans, escaped the reinforcements drawn by their cries, and rejoined the others without revealing what had happened.

• Zhang Feng warned the group that demon beasts were approaching, so he and the Wang brothers split up from Qin Fengming and flew in different directions.
• Qin Fengming saw the demon beasts divide to pursue all four cultivators and, after increasing his speed, chose to stop and confront the three following him.
• Qin Fengming used six high-grade talismans to turn the three demon beasts into ashes despite their sonic cries disrupting the flaming pythons.
• The small yellow beast devoured the three demon beasts' souls, and Qin Fengming recalled it after sensing two or three dozen more beasts approaching.
• Qin Fengming reunited with Zhang Feng and the Wang brothers and claimed he had barely escaped the three beasts after exhausting himself.

Qin Fengming was lured into a secluded valley by Zhang Feng and the Wang brothers, who tried to rob and kill him. When they attacked, his first Five Elements Defense barrier broke, but his second barrier remained.

• Zhang Feng led Qin Fengming to a secluded valley while the Wang brothers kept him trapped between them.
• After confirming there were no other cultivators nearby, Zhang Feng and the Wang brothers surrounded Qin Fengming and demanded his treasures.
• Wang Lin admitted that the three planned to kill Qin Fengming even if he surrendered, and Qin Fengming focused his attention on Zhang Feng.
• Zhang Feng and the Wang brothers attacked Qin Fengming with one top-grade and two high-grade magic artifacts.
• Qin Fengming activated two Five Elements Defense talismans, and the first barrier shattered after five combined attacks.

Qin Fengming held off the three attackers behind a powerful Five Elements barrier, then destroyed their magical artifacts and demon beasts with a barrage of unusually potent Fireball Talismans. He followed up by targeting each man with another fireball and a yellow rope.

• Qin Fengming’s barrier repelled the three men’s attacks, astonishing Zhang Feng, who had mistaken it for an ordinary Five Elements Defense Talisman.
• Zhang Feng summoned an Earth Flame Dragon with a Beast Talisman, while the other two men brought out a fire-spewing gourd and a spider demon beast to attack Qin Fengming.
• The three attackers protected themselves with Diamond Talismans as Qin Fengming unleashed waves of Fireball Talismans.
• Qin Fengming’s fireballs drained the magical artifacts of their spiritual energy, killed the spider demon beast, and destroyed Zhang Feng’s Beast Talisman.
• Qin Fengming sent a Fireball Talisman and a yellow rope toward each of the three men.

Qin Fengming defeated Zhang Feng, Wang Dong, and Wang Lin, then used the Soul Devouring Banner to devour the Wang brothers’ souls. He promised Zhang Feng a chance at reincarnation in exchange for testing a drop of pale-blue liquid, and was surprised when it restored Zhang Feng’s spiritual power.

• Qin Fengming shattered the three men’s barrier, bound them, and sealed their spiritual power.
• Qin Fengming refused to explain his talismans’ power and used the Soul Devouring Banner to pull Wang Dong’s soul from his living body and devour it.
• Wang Lin cursed Qin Fengming, who sent the little yellow beast to devour Wang Lin’s soul as well.
• Qin Fengming offered Zhang Feng a chance to enter the Netherworld if he tested a drop of pale-blue liquid, and Zhang Feng agreed.
• The liquid replenished Zhang Feng’s spiritual power, leaving Qin Fengming surprised and asking how he felt.

Qin Fengming tested the mysterious liquid and discovered that it restored his spiritual power and slightly increased it, then studied his map. Meanwhile, Juque Fort’s cultivators entered the Barren Forest to hunt a level-five Azure Spirit Beast, hoping its demonic core would help Wu Qingfeng reach the Core Formation stage.

• Qin Fengming killed Zhang Feng after confirming the liquid had caused him no harm, spared Zhang Feng’s soul from the yellow little beast, and incinerated the three men’s bodies.
• Qin Fengming diluted a drop of the mysterious liquid with water and found that it replenished his spiritual power, eased his fatigue, and slightly increased his cultivation.
• Qin Fengming put the green gourd away and examined his map as several dozen Juque Fort cultivators entered the Barren Forest.
• Wu Qingfeng, Wu Qinglin, and Wu Qingxuan discussed the missing Fourth Brother and their lack of the Eight-faced Fire Thunder Formation.
• Wu Qingfeng said Juque Fort would risk everything to obtain the Azure Spirit Beast’s demonic core, which he believed would raise his chance of reaching the Core Formation stage by thirty percent.