Chapter Summaries

After surviving an ambush near Crescent Moon Island, Chu Mu recovered and examined the leader’s remains, discovering that the man’s Blood Essence contained several distinct, artificially fused demon-beast bloodlines. While searching the attackers’ spoils for clues about Bloodline Fusion, Chu Mu found a Jade Slip matching the token from the East Lake Secret Realm and recognized it as originating from the ancient Immortal Path Sect.

• Chu Mu hid on a nearby island, decided not to return to Crescent Moon Island yet, and put away his Falcon Puppets after realizing they had exposed him to the ambushers.
• Chu Mu fed Wangcai demon-beast flesh and recovered his depleted spiritual power, True Fire, and Divine Soul Blade Intent.
• Chu Mu examined the leader’s remains and found that the Blood Essence contained distinct Mystic Water Golden-Patterned Crocodile, flood dragon, and avian bloodlines fused together.
• Chu Mu searched the surviving Storage Talismans and found a fortune in demon-beast materials, cores, and other items.
• Chu Mu noticed a Jade Slip among the spoils that matched the East Lake Secret Realm token and identified it as belonging to the ancient Immortal Path Sect.

Chu Mu studied an Immortal Path Sect Jade Slip describing experimental demon beast Bloodline Fusion and decided to remain in the Vast Ocean to investigate it over time. He established a secluded Cave Abode, spent nearly two years studying demon beast materials and refining pills, and began another period of cultivation with Wangcai.

• Chu Mu read an incomplete Jade Slip about Bloodline Fusion, including an experiment combining Mystic Water Golden-Patterned Crocodile, Jiaolong, and Flying Bird bloodlines, and considered whether the process could be perfected.
• Chu Mu chose an ordinary island southeast of Crescent Moon Island as a cultivation site and carved a Cave Abode into its southwestern cliff.
• Chu Mu studied demon beast spiritual materials and refined forty-nine batches of pills from his Demon Cores, keeping pills suited to his cultivation and preparing others for Wangcai.
• Chu Mu fed Wangcai pills and demon beast flesh, noting that it was nearing Second Order Late Stage.
• Chu Mu shared Spirit Wine and roasted demon beast flesh with Wangcai, then slept for several days before sealing the Cave Abode and resuming secluded cultivation.

After six years of seclusion, Chu Mu and Wangcai broke through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage and Second Order Late Stage, respectively, while Chu Mu reforged his Bright Moon Battle Armor for speed and power. On his return to Crescent Moon Island, he fought off repeated attackers and drew the attention of a Four Seas Trading Company manager, who offered to explain how he recognized Chu Mu as a returning cultivator.

• Wangcai emerged from the cave in black armor after reaching the Second Order Late Stage, and Chu Mu finished reforging the Bright Moon Battle Armor.
• Chu Mu stored his newly refined puppets and left the island with Wangcai aboard an upgraded Flying Boat bound for Crescent Moon Island.
• Attackers repeatedly targeted Chu Mu during the voyage, and he killed more than ten of them before reaching Crescent Moon Island.
• A manager from the Four Seas Trading Company approached Chu Mu to buy his demon beast materials and said he could explain how he had recognized Chu Mu's return.

Chu Mu uncovered Crescent Moon Island’s sale of detailed cultivator records and traded for information and manuals before teleporting back to Crimson Clouds. There, he heard that the Hundred Treasures Pavilion had opened nine years earlier under a shopkeeper surnamed Chang, prompting him to fly off to investigate.

• Chu Mu learned that Crescent Moon Island’s records of cultivators entering and leaving were being sold, then copied the records and examined his own entry.
• Chu Mu traded for Alchemy Manuals, Weapon Manuals, and bloodline records, then left the Four Seas Trading Company with a Sound Transmission Token.
• Chu Mu teleported from the outer seas to Crimson Clouds after wandering Crescent Moon Island for a time.
• At the Teleportation Hall, Chu Mu questioned a clerk from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion about its shopkeeper, who had the surname Chang, and learned the guild had been established nine years earlier.
• Chu Mu flew away after hearing about the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, and the clerk sent a message to the shopkeeper.

After returning to his cave abode, Chu Mu found that most of his Spirit Herbs had died and decided not to devote himself to learning Spirit Planting for now. He studied the Great Sun True Scripture’s Lifebound Magic Treasure formula, realized its Great Sun Golden Wheel conflicted with his Blade Intent-centered cultivation, and began experimenting with a treasure that could unite both.

• Chu Mu returned to his cave abode and found that only 232 of the 508 Spirit Herbs he had planted remained.
• Chu Mu harvested failing herbs, planted new seeds, and considered studying Spirit Planter knowledge before deciding to focus on more urgent matters.
• Chu Mu studied the Great Sun Golden Wheel formula in the Great Sun True Scripture and concluded that it conflicted with his Blade Intent-centered Essence, Qi, and Spirit cultivation.
• Chu Mu decided he would need to devise a Lifebound Magic Treasure that could accommodate both Great Sun True Fire and Blade Intent.
• Chu Mu summoned his Flame Blade and repeatedly reshaped and dismantled it with formation-restriction Runes as he developed a new design.

After a long attempt to design a Lifebound Magic Treasure, Chu Mu met Chang Hongyi, an old acquaintance now managing Hundred Treasures Pavilion's business in Red Glow. He accepted her Sound Transmission Token and invitation to a trade fair, then considered his plans for remaining in the Vast Ocean.

• Chu Mu realized that although he could forge a Lifebound Magic Treasure, he lacked the knowledge to design one properly.
• Chang Hongyi arrived at Chu Mu's Cave Abode, and he invited her inside for wine and conversation.
• Chang Hongyi explained that Hundred Treasures Pavilion had sent her to the Vast Ocean to develop trade in Monster Beast spiritual materials, and that she temporarily oversaw its Red Glow business.
• Chu Mu told Chang Hongyi he expected to remain in the Vast Ocean for some time while he considered how to fulfill his contract and reach the ancient Teleportation Array.
• Chang Hongyi gave Chu Mu a Sound Transmission Token and invited him to Hundred Treasures Pavilion's upcoming trade fair, which he agreed to attend.
• After Chang Hongyi left, Chu Mu examined his remaining Alchemical Pills and reflected on what he had learned in the Vast Ocean as a decision began to form.

After spending over half a month studying monster-based cultivation, Chu Mu went to Jinghua Street and found Chang Er being beaten by other Bloodline Cultivators. He saved Chang Er and heard how years of exploitation had left him trapped in poverty and unchanged in cultivation.

• Chu Mu studied books and Jade Slips about bodily modification and the cultivation system of the Vast Ocean Cultivation Realm.
• After receiving a voice transmission, Chu Mu left his Cave Abode and went to Jinghua Street in Red Glow City.
• Chu Mu saw several severely mutated Bloodline Cultivators beating a man but initially continued on without intervening.
• The beaten Chang Er recognized Chu Mu and begged him to help, so Chu Mu sent his attackers flying and lifted Chang Er to his feet.
• Chu Mu asked Chang Er about his life, and Chang Er described paying tribute, suffering theft, and struggling to earn a living as a guide.

Chu Mu recognized that his ability to remove Monster Beast bloodline corrosion gave him a major advantage in the Vast Ocean Cultivation Realm, and he began seeking a way to turn it into wealth and influence. He entered the Hundred Treasures Pavilion to pursue that opportunity as the fifty-year appointment drew near.

• Chu Mu gave Chang Er a bottle of Tranquilizing Pills in exchange for finding shops in Red Glow City that were for sale or lease.
• Chang Er discovered that the pills were Flawless Pills with no Monster Beast corrosion.
• Chu Mu considered using his skills in alchemy and weapon refinement to build wealth through the Hundred Treasures Pavilion rather than hunting monsters alone.
• Chu Mu arrived at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, where Hongyi greeted him as Chu-dage.
• Chu Mu accepted Hongyi's form of address and entered the shop with Wangcai.

Chu Mu attended a Hundred Treasures Pavilion trade fair in Red Glow City, where he traded pills and displayed the power of his Little Zhou Tian Puppet Grand Array to establish his reputation. After exchanging the array for Demon Cores, he learned that the buyer, Chen Hanyun, was the legitimate son of Sky Cloud Real Person.

• Chu Mu entered the pavilion with Wangcai and met its Foundation Establishment guests, including Enforcement Hall outer hall master Hall Master Chen and a former Longevity Sect cultivator who recognized him from Jingmen.
• Chu Mu exchanged a Jade Bottle of Flawless Pills with Hall Master Chen for the body of a Second Order Perfected Infant Carp Beast, excluding its Demon Core.
• Chu Mu displayed twelve second-order low-grade puppets and showed recorded footage of the array trapping a Second Order Late Stage Mystic Water Golden-Patterned Crocodile and restraining a Third Order Crimson Hawk Beast.
• Chen Hanyun offered enough Second Order Demon Cores to acquire the puppet grand array, and Chu Mu exchanged it for the cores.
• Chu Mu invited the cultivators to contact him for artifact refinement and alchemy services, then learned from the young woman that Chen Hanyun was Sky Cloud Real Person's legitimate son.

Chu Mu arranged to open a shop in Crimson Clouds and asked Hongyi to send word to Xu Yuan, while making clear that his dealings with her were business transactions. At the Exchange Fair, he met Chen Hanyun’s cousin Chen Hanwen, discussed supplying Flawless Pills, and learned that Chen Hanyun had taken an interest in his independent status.

• Chu Mu asked Hongyi whether she had a personal relationship with Chen Hanyun, and she assured him there was none.
• Chu Mu told Hongyi he planned to open a shop in Crimson Clouds and asked her to arrange for a message to reach Xu Yuan in the northwest.
• Chu Mu promised Hongyi help in return for her assistance, and the Exchange Fair shifted into informal gatherings.
• Chen Hanyun and Chen Hanwen joined Chu Mu, and Chen Hanyun introduced his cousin, the outer hall master of the Enforcement Hall.
• Chen Hanwen asked Chu Mu for more Flawless Pills, and Chu Mu offered to refine them to meet his needs.
• Chen Hanyun asked whether Chu Mu was an independent cultivator, and Chu Mu said he preferred freedom from restraints.

After the Exchange Fair boosted Chu Mu’s reputation, he considered settling in Red Glow City and inspected a shop the Mountain Alliance was selling. The alliance offered him a low price in exchange for a nominal master-disciple bond with a talented relative, and Chu Mu left with two days to decide.

• Chu Mu ended the Exchange Fair, gave Yue'er a Sound Transmission Token for Miss Hongyi, and returned to his Cave Abode with the drunken Wangcai.
• After receiving several Sound Transmissions, Chu Mu emerged from his Cave Abode and saw that news of his skills and accomplishments had spread through the city.
• Chang Er showed Chu Mu a Mountain Alliance shop for sale on Moon Glow Street, and Chu Mu questioned the alliance’s burly shopkeeper about its sale.
• The Mountain Alliance elders told Chu Mu that a third-order Wind Splitting Beast had devastated Mountains Island and offered to sell the shop cheaply.
• The old elder proposed a nominal master-disciple bond with his talented relative in the path of Artifact Refining, and Chu Mu asked for two days to consider the arrangement.

Chu Mu considered Mountain Alliance’s offer to sell its shop and learned that the weakened faction hoped to use his reputation and skills to protect its interests. He let Hong'er negotiate on his behalf, while Chang Er signed a binding contract to follow his path.

• Chu Mu met Hong'er at Moonlight Restaurant, and she explained that Mountain Alliance might seek his support and cultivation expertise in exchange for the shop and future offerings.
• Chu Mu asked Hong'er to investigate Mountain Alliance and agreed that he owed her two favors.
• Chu Mu offered Chang Er a path forward, and Chang Er signed a Divine Soul Contract requiring him to appear at Mountain Alliance Merchant House in two days.
• After Wangcai stole Demon Beast Meat, Chu Mu considered using blood-based bait to hunt different demon beasts and recorded the idea on a Jade Slip.
• Hong'er reported that Mountain Alliance was weakened, its leader was injured, and it was losing its interests in Red Glow City; Chu Mu agreed to let her negotiate, offering only nominal discipleship while promising not to withhold his knowledge.

Chu Mu completed the True Understanding Pavilion and accepted Chang Fang as a nominal disciple in exchange for the Mountain Alliance’s support. After testing Chang Fang’s weapon-refinement ability, Chu Mu stocked the shop with artifacts and puppets from his Storage Space.

• Chu Mu finished constructing the True Understanding Pavilion, and the girl and Chang Er congratulated him.
• The girl explained the Mountain Alliance’s apprenticeship gift and annual tuition, and Chu Mu gave her Tranquil Peace Pills.
• A Mountain Alliance elder brought Chang Fang to Chu Mu, who recognized the youth’s transplanted Blazing Flame Bird bloodline and accepted him as a disciple.
• Chu Mu tested Chang Fang by asking him to refine Demon Ink Black Bone, then told Chang Er to show him the shop and prepare a room.
• Chu Mu filled the Pavilion’s shelves with artifacts and puppets he had accumulated in his Storage Space.

Over the year, Chu Mu established the True Understanding Pavilion and made it famous across Red Glow City through his superior weapon refinement, alchemy, and puppet craft. The shop brought in enormous profits and rare materials, while Chu Mu continued developing his skills and overseeing his registered disciples.

• Chang Er managed the busy True Understanding Pavilion, while Chu Mu tended its spirit field and instructed his three registered disciples to refine demon beast bones.
• Chu Mu reflected on how his dealings with the Mountain Alliance and the pavilion had earned him nearly a hundred Sound Transmission imprints and connections with powerful cultivators.
• Chu Mu reviewed the Light Screen Panel, noting steady progress in cultivation and the addition of low-grade formation and spirit-plant skills.
• Chu Mu watched a projection of the pavilion's extensive inventory, including nearly a hundred types of puppets that made it stand out among Red Glow City's shops.
• The True Understanding Pavilion earned ten to twenty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones each day and attracted rare materials, including a thousand-year-old spirit herb traded for a Second Order Puppet.

Chu Mu recorded his Demon Beast bloodline-fusion experiments and considered how they could help him understand bloodlines and Wangcai’s advancement. He then visited Livestock City, where he selected several hundred human livestock for an experiment and took them back toward True Understanding Pavilion.

• Chu Mu prepared weapon-refinement teaching materials for his nominal disciples and gained fresh insights while reviewing the subject.
• Chu Mu examined his surviving experimental Demon Beasts, recorded their changes, and concluded that bloodline fusion was possible but unpredictable.
• Chu Mu reviewed his research and reflected on the Vast Ocean Cultivation Realm’s preference for bloodline purity and his own reasons for studying fusion.
• Chu Mu traveled to Livestock City and learned that arrays soothed and misled its human livestock, making their lives seem peaceful and ordinary.
• Chu Mu examined the livestock’s bloodlines, selected several hundred people, and flew with them toward True Understanding Pavilion.

Chu Mu brought several hundred mortals from Livestock City to prepare for bloodline experiments while teaching his three nominal disciples weapon refinement. He tested a Phantom Dream Token on the mortals and began investigating Monster Beast bloodlines, the source of Hanhai’s suffering.

• Chu Mu ordered Chang Er to arrange the mortals brought from Livestock City for his experiments.
• Chu Mu examined his disciples’ refined spirit materials, demonstrated artifact refinement, and assigned them to study an Image Retention Disk and make a Phantom Dream Token within a month.
• Chu Mu used the Phantom Dream Token to immerse the mortals in an illusion, reflecting on how powerless mortals were against cultivators.
• Chu Mu searched a mortal man’s body for the cause of Hanhai’s suffering: Monster Beast bloodlines.

After years of experiments, Chu Mu developed a theory of Bloodline Genealogy that traced Monster Beast bloodlines through generations of mutations. He began testing whether related bloodlines could guide Wangcai’s Adamantine Wolf bloodline toward ancestral transformation.

• Chu Mu reviewed years of Bloodline Fusion experiments and concluded that ancestral return was a genuine possibility.
• Chang Er delivered an early First Order Thorn Bone Turtle, and Chu Mu studied its Yellow Rank Low Grade Bone Piercing Fish bloodline.
• Chu Mu determined that the Bone Piercing Fish descended from the Silver Spine Fish and the Withered Bone Fish, establishing a clearer theory of Bloodline Genealogy.
• Chu Mu considered tracing Wangcai’s Adamantine Wolf bloodline to its ancestral source and fusing related bloodlines to increase the chance of transformation.
• Chu Mu began a more systematic round of bloodline experiments, using low-rank Monster Beasts and setting aside some Alchemy and Artifact Refining work.

Xu Yuan and his family arrived in Red Glow City and were welcomed at Chu Mu’s True Understanding Pavilion while Chu Mu continued researching bloodline transformation. After a successful but fatal experiment, Chu Mu considered whether his discoveries matched secrets known to earlier cultivators.

• Xu Yuan, Xia Yu, and Xu Jinhuai arrived in Red Glow City and received an unfamiliar message saying Chu Mu was in seclusion.
• Chang Er collected the family and brought them to the True Understanding Pavilion, where Xu Yuan scolded Xu Jinhuai for acting rashly.
• Chu Mu examined a Silver Spine Fish transformed from a Bone Piercing Fish and concluded that his bloodline transformation method had a workable framework.
• Chu Mu wondered whether earlier cultivators had developed similar methods and examined an incomplete Bloodline Fusion fragment from an Immortal Path Sect Jade Slip.
• Chu Mu cleared away the experimental remains, killed the dying Silver Spine Fish, and let Wangcai devour it.

Chu Mu reunited with Xu Yuan and learned how years of war had devastated Xu Yuan’s family and left him hopeless about Foundation Establishment. Xu Yuan chose bloodline cultivation, and Chu Mu transplanted an Ice Spirit Jade Scale Beast bloodline into him, leaving him to fuse with it and prepare for Bloodline Foundation Establishment.

• Chu Mu reunited with Xu Yuan, Xia Yu, and Xu Jinhuai, then heard how war had killed Xu Yuan’s two younger children and forced the family to wander for years.
• Chu Mu offered Xu Yuan orthodox Foundation Establishment or bloodline cultivation, and Xu Yuan chose the bloodline path.
• Xu Yuan selected the Ice Spirit Jade Scale Beast bloodline, and Chu Mu gave him instructions and a True Understanding Pavilion token before preparing the transplantation.
• On the sixth day, Chu Mu transplanted the Earth Rank Low Grade bloodline into Xu Yuan and placed him in seclusion with a bloodline grand formation and Ice Spirit Pills.
• Chu Mu told Xia Yu and Xu Jinhuai that Xu Yuan would achieve Bloodline Foundation Establishment after emerging, then reviewed recordings of the courtyard and departed.

At True Understanding Pavilion’s annual Exchange Fair, Chu Mu studied the Great Sun True Scripture and considered the challenges he would face in condensing a Golden Core. He identified three rare treasures that could aid his breakthrough, but had not obtained any of them.

• Chang Er finished preparing True Understanding Pavilion’s Exchange Fair, and Chu Mu instructed him to welcome every guest carefully.
• Chu Mu studied the Golden Core chapter of the Great Sun True Scripture and learned how Essence, Qi, and Spirit fused to form an Immortal Fetus.
• Chu Mu tested his Man-Blade Unity technique and found that even its brief fusion of Essence, Qi, and Spirit consumed him heavily.
• Chu Mu realized that his unusually powerful Essence, Qi, and Spirit could make condensing a Golden Core harder, despite strengthening the Golden Core he might form.
• Chu Mu wrote down the Immortal Fetus Pill, Ten Thousand Yang Liquid, and Deep Sea Musk as rare treasures that could aid a Golden Core breakthrough.