Chapter Summaries

Han Yunzhi killed Yan Kuang after he tried to kill Little Black, and Luo Hong took responsibility for Zhong Weiniang's intervention. Yan Xiuming demanded that Luo Hong cripple his cultivation himself.

• Han Yunzhi used her Yellow Silk Handkerchief and evasive tactics to withstand Yan Kuang's attacks until his Wrathful Aspect Technique began to backfire.
• Yan Kuang launched a concealed Poison Needle and then tried to trade injuries with Han Yunzhi to kill Little Black, but Zhong Weiniang's Red Ribbon shielded the Spirit Beast.
• Han Yunzhi killed Yan Kuang with a barrage of Thunder Fire Talismans, prompting Yan Xiao to rise and Yan Xiuming to confront Zhong Weiniang.
• Luo Hong admitted that Zhong Weiniang had acted at his request and offered to accept punishment, while Han Yunzhi was taken away by Spirit Beast Mountain's disciples.
• Yan Xiuming unleashed his Demonic Arts and demanded that Luo Hong cripple his own cultivation.

Luo Hong used Castrated Jade Dragon Wine to appease Yan Xiuming and negotiate a deal to spare Yan Kuang’s death. He then gave wine to Zhong Weiniang and arranged for her help in approaching Li Huayuan, while Yan Shouyi remained resigned to his dual-cultivation arrangement.

• Luo Hong offered Yan Xiuming three cups of Castrated Jade Dragon Wine, and she became consumed by the wine’s effects and its insight into yin-yang transformation.
• Yan Xiuming demanded the flask in exchange for forgetting Yan Kuang’s death, and Luo Hong asked for a Top-grade Magic Tool that strengthened Water Element Spells.
• Yan Xiuming agreed to bring the requested tool, while Luo Hong resealed the flask and relaxed after the bargain.
• Luo Hong gave Zhong Weiniang a flask for herself and a larger jar for Liu, then asked her to help him request an audience with Li Huayuan.
• Luo Hong considered how the wine and Li Huayuan’s favor could support his plans involving Old Demon Han and the Moon Concealing Sect’s veiled woman.
• The other Foundation Establishment cultivators avoided challenging Luo Hong, and Yan Shouyi silently accepted the matter of dual cultivation with Yan Xiuming.

After the Ascension Competition, Luo Hong returned to Yellow Maple Valley and visited Han Li at Hundred Herbs Garden. Han Li traded a six-hundred-year Righteous Qi Lotus for a Qi Harmonizing Pill formula, and Luo Hong told him about the Bloody Forbidden Zone and its upcoming sixty-year closure.

• Yan Xiuming traded the Azure Water Pearl to Luo Hong for the wine gourd, and the Seven Great Sects selected their candidates for the Ascension Competition.
• Han Li joined Yellow Maple Valley with an Ascension Token and relinquished his Foundation Establishment Pill before settling in Hundred Herbs Garden.
• Luo Hong visited Han Li under the pretext of checking on his Wine Fruit Tree and asked about the lotus-type Spiritual Herb.
• Han Li gave Luo Hong a six-hundred-year Righteous Qi Lotus in exchange for Luo Hong's Qi Harmonizing Pill formula.
• Luo Hong explained the Bloody Forbidden Zone's five-year entry cycle and its impending sixty-year closure, shocking Han Li.

Luo Hong advised Han Li to seek Foundation Establishment Pills through both the Bloody Forbidden Zone and the Sect Grand Tournament, then recruited him to the upcoming Minor Competition. After arranging a way to cultivate their friendship and earn Spirit Stones, Luo Hong focused on strengthening his own combat power for the Bloody Forbidden Zone.

• Luo Hong told Han Li that Fourth-grade Spiritual Root cultivators had low odds of establishing their foundations with one pill, so he would pursue both the Bloody Forbidden Zone and the tournament.
• Luo Hong explained the Minor Competition and invited Han Li to watch him compete for three bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills; Han Li agreed to attend.
• Luo Hong planned to impress Han Li with his spell mastery, become his instructor, and sell pills to fund his cultivation.
• Luo Hong decided that he needed to improve his combat power before entering the Bloody Forbidden Zone, and identified Magic Artifacts as powerful but vulnerable tools.

Luo Hong discovered that prolonged contact with activated Silver Runes could imprint them on his soul, then devised the Jade Talisman Meditation Method to strengthen his spells. After successfully imprinting three runes, he tried the method with Spirit Flood Dragon Secret Markings, but collapsed after a rune entered his soul.

• Luo Hong chose spell cultivation to improve his conventional combat strength and examined how Water Element Spiritual Qi, Five Elements interactions, and special constitutions affected spell power.
• Luo Hong activated the Azure Water Pearl and discovered that its Spirit Soul added three Incomplete Silver Runes to his meridians, making his Water Bullet Technique much heavier and more powerful.
• Luo Hong concluded that long exposure to activated Silver Runes could imprint them on the soul and used this idea to explain how meditation methods and special constitutions worked.
• Luo Hong completed the three runes from the Azure Water Crocodile Spirit Soul and built a Jade Talisman circuit that let him maintain contact with them.
• Luo Hong imprinted the three runes on his soul, then attempted the same method with Spirit Flood Dragon Secret Markings; a Flood Dragon Bone Silver Rune entered his soul, shook his Niwan Palace, and left him unconscious.

After injuring his soul while experimenting with Silver Runes, Luo Hong attended Yellow Maple Valley’s Minor Competition and showed off a layered defense strategy. He won his matches with stacked shields and Water Element spells while Han Li watched and learned from his approach.

• Luo Hong woke with a severe headache, realized the Silver Rune had strained his soul, and went to the Minor Competition after recovering somewhat.
• Luo Hong found Han Li watching the matches, and Han Li treated his soul injury with acupuncture and a Healing pill.
• Luo Hong entered the arena and layered a Spirit Turtle Shield, a Spirit Water Shield, and a Vajra Technique against his opponent’s sword attacks.
• Luo Hong used a Minor Rain Cloud Technique to strengthen his Water Element spells and defeat the Jianghu Qi Disciple.
• Luo Hong won his subsequent matches with the same defense-and-water-spell strategy, and Han Li resolved to copy his shield-stacking approach.

Luo Hong faced Senior Brother Lu in the Minor Competition final and revealed the new defensive and offensive techniques he had developed through the Jade Talisman Meditation Method. He left Senior Brother Lu stunned after a dark green water bullet pierced his defenses and struck his hair crown.

• Luo Hong reached the Minor Competition final, where Senior Brother Lu challenged him and disciples recognized Luo Hong for the profits from Fanghua Garden.
• Luo Hong reflected on his plans to meet Li Huayuan in half a month and decided to use Senior Brother Lu to demonstrate his strength.
• Senior Brother Lu attacked with Green Arc Slashes and then a barrage from the Green Flood Dragon Banner, but Luo Hong's golden-green water shield absorbed the blows.
• Luo Hong instantly fired his Dark Green Seed, a modified Water Bullet Technique that pierced Senior Brother Lu's protective light and struck his hair crown.

Luo Hong won the Minor Competition, then visited the Moon Concealing Sect to trade a six-hundred-year-old Righteous Qi Lotus for finished Pure Lotus Pills. He left Yu Ruoxi challenging his proposed terms and teasing him about his cultivation method.

• Luo Hong defeated Senior Brother Lu's azure flood dragon with his giant crocodile and won the Minor Competition, despite the referee's objections.
• Luo Hong returned to Fanghua Garden, where Han Li repeatedly sought his guidance in spell cultivation and learned about the Qi Concealment Technique.
• Luo Hong suspected Yan Shouyi had endangered Yan Xiuming after realizing Uncle-Master Lei had obtained Yan Xiuming's share of Castrated Jade Dragon Wine.
• Luo Hong gave Li Huayuan and Uncle-Master Lei Flawed Jade Dragon Wine, and Li Huayuan accepted him as a Registered Disciple.
• Luo Hong met Yu Ruoxi and offered his six-hundred-year-old Righteous Qi Lotus in exchange for five finished Pure Lotus Pills.
• Yu Ruoxi teased Luo Hong about cultivating the Ice Skin Jade Bone Method after he refused to hand over the lotus before agreeing on the trade.

Luo Hong negotiated with Yu Ruoxi over the Righteous Qi Lotus and secured an agreement for four Pure Lotus Pills, backed by his new master’s Spiritual Sense Talisman. When Yu Ruoxi revealed they would travel to Mist Mountain to refine the pills, Luo Hong asked if he could stay behind.

• Luo Hong demanded five Pure Lotus Pills for his Righteous Qi Lotus, and Yu Ruoxi pressured him with her Foundation Establishment Late-stage aura.
• Luo Hong activated a Spiritual Sense Talisman from his new master, Li Huayuan, prompting Yu Ruoxi to withdraw her aura.
• Luo Hong revealed that the Pure Lotus Pill could help Yu Ruoxi advance the Ice Skin Jade Bone Method and improve her chances of forming a Core Formation.
• Yu Ruoxi offered four pills, explaining that Orchid Fragrance Liquid at the alchemy site would make them as effective as five.
• Yu Ruoxi told Luo Hong they would travel to Mist Mountain to consult her old friend, an alchemist, and described the mountain’s legend as an ancient demon-sealing ground.
• After hearing about Mist Mountain, Luo Hong asked Yu Ruoxi whether he could avoid going.

Luo Hong reluctantly agreed to accompany Yu Ruoxi to Mist Mountain after failing to negotiate for five Pure Lotus Pills. At the Zhao Family, Clan Leader Zhao prepared to meet Yu Ruoxi while secretly helping the other Mist Mountain families recover their magic power and discussing the declining Zhou Family.

• Luo Hong tried to avoid traveling with Yu Ruoxi, but accepted her offer of four Pure Lotus Pills and followed her toward Mist Mountain.
• Yu Ruoxi calculated how she could use the Righteous Qi Lotus to make Pure Lotus Pills and prepare for her future advancement to Core Formation.
• Zhao Yushu received a high-grade Spirit Shaking Hoe from Clan Leader Zhao as a reward for helping the family.
• Clan Leader Zhao secretly met Qian Tianbao, Granny Sun, and Clan Leader Li in an underground chamber, where they discussed aiding the struggling Zhou Family.
• Clan Leader Zhao learned that her old friend Yu Ruoxi had arrived to request pill refinement and decided to meet her despite the urgent matter planned with the other clan leaders.

Luo Hong and Yu Ruoxi met Zhao Qingling to arrange the refinement of Pure Lotus Pills, and Zhao Qingling agreed to begin in two days. While exploring the Zhao Family grounds, Luo Hong noticed Zhou Xiao'an practicing the Ice Skin Jade Bone Method and wondered why Zhao Qingling planned to buy Pure Lotus Pills for him.

• Yu Ruoxi and Luo Hong arrived at the Zhao Family’s reception hall and met Clan Leader Zhao Qingling.
• Yu Ruoxi presented the materials for three batches of Pure Lotus Pills, including the Righteous Qi Lotus, and said Luo Hong had already been promised four pills.
• Luo Hong revealed that his master was Core Formation Elder Li Huayuan of Yellow Maple Valley, and Zhao Qingling agreed to refine the pills in two days.
• Luo Hong left the hall and wandered to the edge of the Zhao Family formation.
• Zhao Sisi tried to persuade Zhou Xiao'an to stop practicing his punches and play with her.
• Luo Hong recognized that Zhou Xiao'an was practicing the Ice Skin Jade Bone Method and wondered whether his aptitude explained Zhao Qingling’s interest in buying him Pure Lotus Pills.

Luo Hong learned that the Zhou Family's Ice Skin Jade Bone Method had been made public by its late patriarch, who hoped to secure Pills for his declining clan. Zhou Xiao'an traded the complete method to Luo Hong for White Lotus Pills, leaving Luo Hong uneasy about the five families' entanglements.

• Luo Hong tested Zhou Xiao'an's strength and learned that the Ice Skin Jade Bone Method was a Zhou Family secret art.
• Granny Sun explained that Old Man Zhou had revealed the method to attract cultivators who could buy Pills for the family, but the plan had failed.
• Luo Hong offered two bottles of White Lotus Pills for the complete Ice Skin Jade Bone Method, and Zhou Xiao'an eagerly accepted.
• Granny Sun tried to stop Zhou Xiao'an, but he argued that he was the Zhou Family's only remaining cultivator and traded Luo Hong the method.
• Luo Hong grew wary of the five families' conflicts and resolved to return to Yellow Maple Valley once his business was finished.

Luo Hong studied the dangerous Method of Devouring Demons, then used the Silver Runes in his body to master the Mysterious Ice Eight Strikes and open its meridians. After receiving the Pure Lotus Pills and beginning to refine one at Chenxiang Garden, he unknowingly became part of a plan set in motion by Zhao Qingling and the Qian, Sun, and Li family leaders.

• Luo Hong studied the Method of Devouring Demons and judged its risk of Demonic Transformation too great to attempt, but decided he could cultivate the Mysterious Ice Eight Strikes.
• Luo Hong realized the Silver Runes let him locate meridians directly and used them to master all eight forms over ten days.
• Yu Ruoxi and Zhao Qingling gave Luo Hong four Pure Lotus Pills and sent him and Yu Ruoxi to Chenxiang Garden to refine them.
• Luo Hong began refining a Pure Lotus Pill in a medicinal bath while Yu Ruoxi hoped hers would help her overcome the Core Formation Bottleneck.
• Zhao Qingling watched them enter Chenxiang Garden, then told the Clan Leaders of the Qian, Sun, and Li Families that it was time for them to act.

As the four clan leaders activated the Five Elements Prison Sealing Formation, Luo Hong discovered a faster way to refine the Pure Lotus Pills and completed the Ice Skin Chapter. His experiments unexpectedly triggered the Jade Bone Chapter and rapidly advanced his cultivation to the Eleventh Layer of Qi Refining.

• Granny Sun hesitated, but Qian Tianbao urged her to join the attempt before their chance to open the formation vanished for another ten years.
• Zhao Qingling and the other clan leaders activated four stone platforms and used the Zhou Family's Orchid Python to power the fifth, opening a gate above Tianwu Peak.
• Luo Hong routed the Pure Lotus Pill's medicinal power through newly opened meridians, refining the pills several times faster and clearing impurities as White Lotus Silver Runes spread through his body.
• The Pure Lotus Pill's remaining power and the Blue Sphere rearranged Silver Runes around Luo Hong's dantian, smoothing its outer wall and removing its swelling sensation.
• Luo Hong's exploration of his bones triggered the Jade Bone Chapter, and the Blue Sphere's Spiritual Qi drove his Internal Spirit Pressure upward until his cultivation broke through to the Eleventh Layer of Qi Refining.

The four clan leaders opened the Demon Prison Secret Realm to hunt its Demon Beasts, but Qian Tianbao seized an Adamantine Ape's Essence Soul and revealed that he planned to devour it. He argued that the families needed a bold new path to survive, then began his risky attempt as the others faced more emerging beasts.

• Zhao Qingling led the four clan leaders in opening the Five Elements Prison Sealing Formation, while she worried that Granny Sun might oppose their plan.
• An Earth Fire Black Scorpion emerged from the gate, and the four leaders worked together to kill it.
• An Adamantine Ape, a Withered Wood Monster, and a Poison Fire Toad crawled out, and Qian Tianbao and Clan Leader Li killed the Adamantine Ape.
• While the others fought the remaining Demon Beasts, Qian Tianbao drew the Adamantine Ape's Essence Soul into his hand.
• Qian Tianbao rejected Granny Sun and Zhao Qingling's objections, arguing that the families needed their own Cultivators and declaring that he would blaze a new path by devouring the demon.

Qian Tianbao began using the Great Five Elements Universal Saintly Art to absorb demon beast Essence Souls, while Granny Sun and Clan Leader Li protected him from Zhao Qingling. The Mountain Shaking Python broke through the water gate, overwhelmed the three clan leaders, and faced no one capable of stopping it.

• Qian Tianbao swallowed the Adamantine Ape's Essence Soul and used Five Elements Mutual Generation to advance his Ice Skin Jade Bone Method, revealing his plan to cultivate the Great Five Elements Universal Saintly Art.
• Granny Sun recognized Qian Tianbao's ambition, invoked the Five Families' ancestral teachings, and used her lifespan-consuming Azure Wood Everlasting secret art to kill the Withered Wood Monster and support him.
• Qian Tianbao absorbed the Withered Wood Monster's Essence Soul and attacked the Poison Fire Toad, but Zhao Qingling tried to kill him before he could devour its soul; Granny Sun and Clan Leader Li stopped her.
• The Mountain Shaking Python forced its way through the water gate, and Zhao Qingling, Granny Sun, and Clan Leader Li attacked it together but could not penetrate its scales.
• The Mountain Shaking Python struck the three with Primordial Heavy Water, severely injuring them, while Qian Tianbao remained focused on absorbing the Poison Fire Toad's Essence Soul.

After reaching Qi Refining Level Twelve, Luo Hong was swallowed by the Mountain Shaking Python, which also swallowed Yu Ruoxi. Trapped together inside the python, Luo Hong faced Yu Ruoxi’s Charm Skill backlash and the closing black water walls, then unleashed the Spirit Flood Dragon Secret Markings.

• The Mountain Shaking Python emerged from the Secret Realm, sensed Luo Hong at Houtu Peak, and flew toward him.
• Luo Hong completed the Flood Dragon Bone Silver Rune and broke through to Qi Refining Level Twelve, but the python smashed through the wall and swallowed him.
• The python swallowed Yu Ruoxi as well before heading toward a mortal town, while Luo Hong found himself trapped in its black-water inner space.
• Luo Hong’s Green Light Sword was destroyed by the black water, and Yu Ruoxi appeared beside him after being swallowed.
• Luo Hong woke Yu Ruoxi, but her Charm Skill backlash made her attack him as the black water walls pressed closer.
• Luo Hong rubbed away the Sword Pattern bloodstain on his forehead and activated the Spirit Flood Dragon Secret Markings, releasing surging Magic Power.

Luo Hong used Jade Dragon Wine to kill the Mountain Shaking Python and escaped with Yu Ruoxi, but a Demonized Cultivator attacked him while he gathered the serpent’s remains. As the attacker overwhelmed him with superior martial skill, Luo Hong activated the Spirit Flood Dragon Secret Markings’ Overload.

• Luo Hong unleashed Jade Dragon Wine into the Black Water Wall, and its Spiritual Qi surge triggered the Flood Dragon Bone Silver Rune and greatly increased his strength.
• The Mountain Shaking Python crashed into the Stone Pine Forest and died; Luo Hong cut his way out with Yu Ruoxi, knocked her unconscious, and collected the serpent’s Essence Soul.
• A Demonized Cultivator ambushed Luo Hong, kicked him through stone pillars, and smashed the Mountain Shaking Python’s skull while searching for something.
• Luo Hong fought the Demonized Cultivator in his Spirit Flood Dragon Transformation, but the attacker’s superior technique battered him and broke the scales around his Qi Sea Acupoint.
• Luo Hong marked his dantian with blood and Magic Power, then activated the Spirit Flood Dragon Secret Markings’ Overload.

Luo Hong defeated the demonized Qian Tianbao, received a jade slip containing the Five Families’ secret arts, and salvaged the Mountain Shaking Python’s remains. When Yu Ruoxi awoke and confronted him, he deflected her questions with a strange proposal and asked whether she remembered being swallowed by the python.

• Qian Tianbao realized he was beyond saving and recognized Luo Hong’s Jade Bone mastery and flood dragon essence soul as an achievement worthy of the Dragon Subduing Saint Monarch.
• Luo Hong used Overload to punch through Qian Tianbao’s Golden Scale Armor and fatally wound him.
• Before dying, Qian Tianbao gave Luo Hong a jade slip containing the Five Families’ secret arts and the Great Five Elements Universal Saint Art, asking him to look after his daughter after she lifted its Blood Restriction.
• Luo Hong collected the four demonic beast essence souls, recovered from his injuries, and butchered the Mountain Shaking Python to take its valuable parts.
• Yu Ruoxi awoke and found bluish-purple handprints on her shoulders, then held her sword to Luo Hong’s neck and demanded to know what he had done while she was unconscious.
• Luo Hong joked about marrying Yu Ruoxi and having children, then asked whether she remembered being swallowed by the demon python.

Luo Hong convinced Yu Ruoxi and the others that Qian Tianbao and the Mountain Shaking Python had killed each other, then claimed the python’s corpse as compensation for his near-death ordeal. Yu Ruoxi planned to use her master’s Heart Mirror after returning to the sect to recover her memories and learn what happened when her Charm Skill backfired.

• Luo Hong told Yu Ruoxi that the demon python had swallowed him and later died fighting another monster, then lied that he had punched her when she pounced on him.
• Yu Ruoxi lowered her Frost Sword and flew off to check the Demonized Cultivator’s corpse, while Luo Hong resolved to establish his foundation before she could recover her memories.
• Zhao Qingling and the others arrived and questioned Luo Hong about Qian Tianbao and the Mountain Shaking Python’s deaths.
• Luo Hong explained that he had been inside the python and refused to give up its corpse, and Zhao Qingling backed down rather than risk offending Li Huayuan.
• Yu Ruoxi told Zhao Qingling she did not believe Luo Hong’s story but considered him a gentleman for saving her, and she planned to use her master’s Heart Mirror to recover the missing memory.