Chapter Summaries

During Golden Cloud Valley’s entrance assessment, Lan Chang'an recovered the memories of his first two cultivation lives and resolved to reach the Nascent Soul Realm in this life. After placing third in the Illusory Heart Platform trial, he learned that only its first-place finisher could bypass the other rounds and awaited the announcement of who had passed.

• Lan Chang'an awakened third on the Illusory Heart Platform and recalled his previous lives, including his deaths after reaching Qi Refining Ninth Layer and Late Core Formation.
• He inspected the [Nine Imprint Tablet] and decided he needed to reach the Nascent Soul Realm to uncover its secrets and avoid another reincarnation.
• Lan Chang'an reassured Li Ergou that social status mattered little on the immortal path, then told Lin Yi he had placed third in the trial.
• Lin Yi revealed that the Illusory Heart Platform's first-place finisher could enter Golden Cloud Valley directly, and Lan Chang'an regretted missing that chance.
• A Golden Cloud Valley steward began announcing the names of those who had passed the assessment.

After failing Golden Cloud Valley’s entry examination, Lan Chang'an rejected Lin Yi’s offer to return to the mortal world and considered an offer from the Mu Family. The chapter left Li Ergou tempted by the family’s resources and marriage prospects, while Lan Chang'an remained wary of their demand for heirs.

• Golden Cloud Valley excluded Lan Chang'an, Lin Yi, and Li Ergou from admission, and the deacon led the chosen Immortal Seedlings away.
• On the descent, Senior Brother Yu told Lin Yi that his poor Illusory Heart Platform result had disqualified him, while Lin Yi reflected on the gulf between immortals and mortals.
• Lin Yi invited Lan Chang'an and Li Ergou to join the Guang'an Marquis Estate, but Lan Chang'an refused when he learned it had no First-Order Spiritual Vein.
• Mu Maode, head of the Cultivation Mu Family, offered young cultivators resources and a Spiritual Vein Dao Field in exchange for joining his clan.
• Mu Maode revealed that recruits had to leave ten children bearing the Mu surname, including children with Spiritual Roots, and Li Ergou asked Lan Chang'an whether the arrangement was worthwhile.

Lan Chang'an agreed to join the struggling Mu Family, negotiating five years before he would consider marrying and having children. On the three-month journey to Jade Moon Lake, he weighed the family's meager provisions and considered cultivation methods for his new life, ending as he settled on an ancient method.

• Lin Yi told Lan Chang'an that the Jade Moon Lake Mu Family had lost many cultivators in a feud, faced a shortage of Spiritual Root heirs, and had an injured Foundation Establishment ancestor.
• Lan Chang'an and Li Ergou agreed to join the Mu Family, and Lan Chang'an negotiated five years before he would consider marriage and children.
• Mu Maode chose ten youths as outer-surname disciples and led them toward Jade Moon Lake on horseback, explaining that the trip would take three months.
• At their first wilderness camp, the Mu Family made the youths work and distributed small amounts of Spiritual Sand for cultivation.
• Lan Chang'an reviewed powerful cultivation methods from his previous life, rejected them because he aimed to reach the Nascent Soul Realm, and decided he could only choose an ancient method.

Lan Chang'an cultivated the Ancient Wood Evergreen Art to extend his lifespan and quietly built his strength during the journey to the Mu Family. As the group reached Jade Moon Lake, Zheng Family cultivators ambushed them and demanded that Mu Maode surrender the Immortal Seedlings.

• Lan Chang'an chose the Ancient Wood Evergreen Art for its lifespan benefits and began cultivating it with Spiritual Sand.
• After reaching the art's First Layer, Lan Chang'an practiced mortal martial arts during the remaining journey and advanced to the Martial Arts Innate Realm by age eighteen.
• The Mu Family group arrived near Jade Moon Lake after a long journey, with Lan Chang'an still energetic and the other youths exhausted.
• Zheng Family cultivators launched dozens of fireballs at the escort, killing one Immortal Seedling and injuring several others.
• Lan Chang'an pulled Li Ergou out of a fireball's blast range, while seven Zheng Family cultivators led by Zheng Wugong confronted Mu Maode.

Lan Chang'an fought off a Zheng Family ambush at the Mu Family’s gates, killing Zheng Yan and surviving the Ugly Woman’s soundwave attack. The Zheng Family retreated after the Mu Family’s lightning beast turned the battle, and Lan Chang'an searched Zheng Yan’s corpse for spoils.

• Zheng Wugong and his cultivators ambushed the Mu Family near Jade Moon Lake, while three more attackers waited to kill the fleeing Immortal Seedlings.
• Lan Chang'an used a fire bullet as a feint and killed Zheng Yan with Celestial Finger Flick, then took his Flying Sword.
• The Ugly Woman pursued Lan Chang'an and struck at him with her Small Bronze Bell, but he endured the soundwave attack with his martial arts and Evergreen Mana.
• The Mu Family’s Single-Horned Exotic Beast joined the battle and killed a retreating Zheng Family cultivator with lightning, forcing the attackers to withdraw.
• Four Mu Family Immortal Seedlings and two Zheng Family cultivators died, and Lan Chang'an found that Zheng Yan’s Flying Sword was an Inferior Magic Tool before searching his corpse.

Lan Chang'an settled with the other Immortal Seedlings at Jade Moon Mountain Villa after helping the Mu Family repel a Zheng Family ambush. At the Mu Family’s welcoming banquet, he rejected the women presented to him while Li Ergou chose a bride and learned he could marry her that night.

• Lan Chang'an killed a Zheng Family cultivator and took his spoils after the ambush, while Mu Renlong arrived with reinforcements.
• Mu Renlong and Mu Maode discussed the Zheng Family’s motives as the group traveled to the Mu Family’s ancestral lands.
• Mu Maode settled the six Immortal Seedlings at Jade Moon Mountain Villa, where Lan Chang'an chose a secluded residence beside Li Ergou’s.
• The Mu Family held a welcoming banquet featuring eligible women, but Lan Chang'an turned away each woman who approached him.
• Li Ergou chose a Mu Family girl because she resembled the prettiest girl from his village, and the steward offered to hold their wedding that night.

Lan Chang'an spent two years cultivating with the Mu Family while resisting pressure to marry into the clan, and he discovered that the Ancient Wood Evergreen Art drew in the mysterious Aura of Time. After reaching the Qi Refining Second Layer, he learned that Lin Yi had written about a planned reunion, which Zhao Siyao had agreed to attend.

• Li Ergou married Mu Qing, and Lan Chang'an gave him a handwritten copy of Dragon Locking Secrets as a wedding gift.
• Mu Qing became pregnant, and Mu Maode rewarded Li Ergou lavishly to encourage the other Immortal Seedlings to marry and have children.
• Over the next two years, the other Immortal Seedlings joined the Mu Family through marriage, while Lan Chang'an remained unmarried and received only minimal cultivation resources.
• Lan Chang'an advanced to the Qi Refining Second Layer and realized that the Ancient Wood Evergreen Art might draw in the Aura of Time.
• Lan Chang'an visited Li Ergou, met his son Mu Yifan, and declined Li Ergou's offer of pills and Spirit Stones.
• Li Ergou told Lan Chang'an that Lin Yi had written to say Zhao Siyao would attend their planned reunion at the Gathering Immortal Pavilion.

Lan Chang'an explored Liang Kingdom’s cultivation hierarchy and decided to resume talisman-making to earn Spirit Stones and strengthen his means of protection. At a Mu Family trade fair, he sold a magic tool and bought talisman supplies from Mu Xiuyun, who recognized him.

• Lan Chang'an learned that Liang Kingdom was ruled by the Blazing Fire Palace, with Golden Cloud Valley among its four great sects and the Mu Family among its weaker forces.
• After months of slow cultivation, Lan Chang'an decided to practice talisman-making and attend the Mu Family’s monthly trade fair.
• Lan Chang'an sold the Iron Sword and Wind Travel Talisman from the Zheng Family cultivator for thirty-five Spirit Stones.
• Lan Chang'an bought a worn Black Hair Talisman Brush, cinnabar, and talisman paper from Mu Xiuyun, then tried to bargain down the price.
• Mu Xiuyun looked at Lan Chang'an and asked if he was Lan Chang'an.

Lan Chang'an practiced talisman-making, succeeded in crafting a powerful Golden Blade Talisman, and spent half a year cultivating before leaving the Mu Family with Li Ergou to fulfill their appointment in Hengshui Prefecture. On the journey, he rejected Li Ergou’s suggestion that he marry, insisting that Qi Refining cultivators were too vulnerable to start a family.

• Mu Xiuyun gave Lan Chang'an a discount on talisman materials, then discussed with Mu Yinglan whether he should marry a woman of the Mu Family with a Spiritual Root.
• Lan Chang'an drew several Basic and First-Order Talismans, then used his three sheets of High-Quality Talisman Paper to produce one Golden Blade Talisman after two failed attempts.
• Lan Chang'an cultivated for half a year and wondered whether the Ancient Wood Evergreen Art strengthened his mana over time.
• Lan Chang'an and Li Ergou received permission to leave the Mu Family for half a year and rode toward Hengshui Prefecture to keep their three-year appointment and visit relatives.
• Li Ergou suggested Lan Chang'an marry a woman with a Spiritual Root, but Lan Chang'an refused, saying Qi Refining cultivators were too vulnerable to raise a family.

Lan Chang'an reunited with Zhao Siyao, Lin Yi, Li Ergou, and Xia Feilun in Hengshui Prefecture three years after they left. After the gathering exposed their changed fortunes and relationships, Lan Chang'an asked Lin Yi about local cultivator trade so he could sell talismans.

• Lin Yi welcomed Lan Chang'an and Li Ergou to Hengshui Prefecture and hosted them before Zhao Siyao arrived.
• Zhao Siyao, Lin Yi, Lan Chang'an, Li Ergou, and Xia Feilun reunited at the Gathering Immortal Pavilion, where Zhao Siyao's cultivation and beauty impressed the others.
• Xia Feilun teased Lan Chang'an about his circumstances and offered him cheap medicinal pills, while Zhao Siyao showed concern and Lin Yi struggled with his diminished standing.
• Lan Chang'an asked Zhao Siyao to call him Daoist Lu instead of Brother Lu, and she agreed.
• Lan Chang'an asked Lin Yi about places where cultivators traded, and Lin Yi offered to introduce him to a nearby Rogue Cultivator gathering.

Lan Chang'an attended a Loose Cultivator Trade Fair, sold Talismans, and attracted the attention of Purple Rose Fairy. After she chased him into a ravine, he struck her with a powerful Frostwind Art and left her trapped in its freezing attack.

• Lan Chang'an borrowed ten Spirit Stones from Zhao Siyao to build a connection with the sect disciple, then planned to attend a trade fair before going to the Raging River Gang.
• Lin Yi gave Lan Chang'an a token for a Loose Cultivator Trade Fair outside Hengshui Prefecture, explaining that he could not afford to attend himself.
• Disguised as a young man surnamed Jiang, Lan Chang'an entered the trade fair and sold ten Talismans for forty Spirit Stones.
• Lan Chang'an bought Qi Nourishing Pills and martial-world medicines, then quickly left the trade fair and vanished into the mountain forest.
• Purple Rose Fairy pursued Lan Chang'an to a ravine, where he vanished and used a powerful Frostwind Art to engulf her.

Lan Chang'an killed Purple Rose Fairy and took her belongings, then visited his adoptive family and resumed traveling through the mortal world. Back in Hengshui Prefecture City, he met Zhang Tieshan, who asked him to help with a sect mission to capture a ghost, but Lan Chang'an declined.

• Lan Chang'an ambushed and killed Purple Rose Fairy, took her Storage Bag, and later found it held valuables worth nearly two hundred Spirit Stones.
• Lan Chang'an gave Qi Jingyun three kinds of pills and talismans, supported Li Hong as the next gang leader, and learned Daoist Guan had left after staying in Hengshui Prefecture for two months.
• Lan Chang'an left the Raging River Gang with a copy of the Open Source Scripture and spent over a month traveling by skiff while cultivating the Ancient Wood Evergreen Art.
• Lan Chang'an returned to Hengshui Prefecture City and met Zhang Tieshan, an Outer Sect disciple who had taken first place in the Illusory Heart Platform trial.
• Zhang Tieshan asked Lan Chang'an and Li Ergou to help capture an evil ghost in a Haunted House, but Lan Chang'an declined because the risk and reward did not seem worthwhile.

Lan Chang'an and Li Ergou escaped an ambush by Zheng Family cultivators on the road back to Jade Moon Mountain Villa. After learning the attack was revenge for Lan Chang'an killing Zheng Yan, Lan Chang'an resolved to grow stronger before seeking retaliation and resumed cultivating with pills.

• Lan Chang'an sensed the gorge might be an ambush site and led Li Ergou onto a detour, prompting Zheng Feng and her companions to pursue them.
• Lan Chang'an used Fire Bullets to drive Zheng Feng from the air, then used acceleration talismans to help their horses outrun the pursuers.
• Lan Chang'an and Li Ergou returned to Jade Moon Mountain Villa and reported the attack to Mu Maode, who identified Zheng Feng, Zheng Dong, and their motive.
• Lan Chang'an recorded Zheng Feng and Zheng Dong's names and decided to wait until he could defeat them safely before taking revenge.
• Lan Chang'an worried about his slow cultivation and swallowed a Qi Nourishing Pill before resuming his practice.

Lan Chang'an advanced to the Qi Refining Third Layer and proved himself a First-Order Talisman Master, hoping to secure freedom from the Mu Family's marriage expectations. His achievement disrupted Mu Maode's plans as their five-year agreement neared its end.

• Lan Chang'an tested Qi Nourishing Pills, replied to Lin Yi's letter about a successful ghost hunt, and displayed his Basic Talisman skills at the Mu Family's trade fair.
• Mu Xiuyun tested Lan Chang'an's talisman craft, gave him a book on Talisman Dao, and promised to speak to her father if he became a First-Order Talisman Master.
• Lan Chang'an avoided further contact with Mu Xiuyun, while Li Ergou advanced to the Qi Refining Third Layer and visited him after consolidating his realm.
• After another year, Lan Chang'an reached the Qi Refining Third Layer and successfully crafted a First-Order Fireball Talisman under Mu Xiuyun's examination.
• Mu Maode learned Lan Chang'an had become a First-Order Talisman Master and reconsidered his plan to pressure him into marriage as their five-year agreement approached its end.

Lan Chang'an rejected the Mu Family’s attempt to match him with Mu Yinglan, then negotiated a paid talisman-making arrangement and cultivated at Jade Moon Mountain Villa. Three years later, he joined Li Ergou to hunt Fish Eagles as tensions between the Mu Family and the Zheng Family threatened to escalate, while he quietly prepared to flee if the Mu Family’s protection failed.

• Mu Xiuyun introduced Lan Chang'an to Mu Yinglan, but Lan Chang'an made an excuse to leave, angering Mu Yinglan and confusing Mu Xiuyun.
• Lan Chang'an and Mu Maode agreed that he would receive ordinary clan-member supplies in exchange for making a set number of Talismans each year.
• After three years of cultivation, Lan Chang'an had advanced more than halfway through the Qi Refining Third Layer, while Li Ergou remained stuck at its peak.
• Li Ergou invited Lan Chang'an to hunt Fish Eagles that were stealing Spirit Fish from Jade Moon Lake, and Lan Chang'an agreed to go with him.
• Lan Chang'an connected the Fish Eagles to the Zheng Family’s backing from the Beast Taming Zhou Family and feared the dispute over Violet Heart Copper would grow into a larger conflict.
• Lan Chang'an resolved to flee if the Mu Family’s Foundation Establishment Ancestor could no longer protect the clan.

Lan Chang'an hunted fish eagles to earn contribution points and used his savings to strengthen his defenses as tensions between the Mu and Zheng Families escalated. After Li Ergou’s son showed a spiritual root and Li Ergou advanced to Qi Refining Fourth Layer, the Mu Family drafted him to the Mine Area, where he feared he might die.

• Lan Chang'an ambushed four fish eagles with hidden weapons, then stopped hunting to avoid drawing the attention of whoever directed them.
• Lan Chang'an exchanged contribution points for a Bedrock Shield and bought the Black Gold Saber and Seven Skill Needles, adding them to his growing stock of talismans and magic items.
• The Zheng Family withdrew its fish eagles after suffering heavy losses, while reports described cultivators from both clans confronting one another at the Mine Area.
• Li Ergou learned that his son Mu Ershun had a Low-Grade Spiritual Root, received a Clear Qi Pill, and advanced to Qi Refining Fourth Layer.
• Li Ergou changed his name to Li Changqing and later begged Lan Chang'an to look after his family after the Mu Family drafted him to the Mine Area.

Lan Chang'an gave Li Ergou talismans and promised to look after his family before Li Ergou left for the Purple Copper Mine Area. Assigned to guard the Mu Family’s Medicine Garden, Lan Chang'an learned of the escalating clan conflict and advanced to the peak of the Qi Refining Third Layer.

• Lan Chang'an gave Li Ergou a Healing Talisman and a Wind Speed Talisman, then promised to help Li Ergou's wife and daughter if he could.
• Li Ergou left Jade Moon Mountain Villa for the Purple Copper Mine Area, while Lan Chang'an estimated the Mu Family Old Ancestor had only three to five years left to live.
• The Mu Family assigned Lan Chang'an to guard its Medicine Garden, where he reunited with the wounded Mu Yunfei.
• Mu Yunfei told Lan Chang'an that the Mu and Zheng Families were fighting over Violet Heart Copper and that the Zhou Family was favoring the Zheng Family.
• Lan Chang'an met Alchemist Ge Yi, who was stationed at the Medicine Garden to obtain herbs for urgently needed pills.
• After more than half a year of cultivation at the Medicine Garden, Lan Chang'an reached the peak of the Qi Refining Third Layer.

Lan Chang'an advanced to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer and was appointed Medicine Garden Guardian as the Mu Family sent Mu Yunfei back to the front lines. He settled into the role but clashed with Ge Yi Alchemist over Ge Yi’s unauthorized removal of precious medicinal herbs.

• Lan Chang'an broke through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer after deciding not to conceal his progress.
• Mu Yunfei congratulated Lan Chang'an, while the two discussed their cultivation difficulties and the fighting at the frontline mine area.
• A lineage steward conscripted Mu Yunfei to the front lines and appointed Lan Chang'an as Medicine Garden Guardian.
• Lan Chang'an adapted to overseeing the Medicine Garden and its young cultivators, while avoiding Ge Yi Alchemist.
• Ge Yi demanded a two-hundred-year-old Snake Heart Grass, but Lan Chang'an refused to take responsibility for releasing it without the family head’s approval.
• Ge Yi took several precious medicinal ingredients and returned to his courtyard to refine pills.

After medicinal herbs disappeared from the Medicine Garden, Ge Yi accused Lan Chang'an of neglect and ordered an investigation. When Mu Xiuyun arrived to lead it, Ge Yi poisoned the gathered clan members and revealed his betrayal, leaving her weakened and under attack.

• Ge Yi found damaged herbs and blamed Lan Chang'an for failing to guard the Medicine Garden, then announced that a rare Blood Spirit Mushroom was missing.
• Ge Yi ordered everyone confined while the Mu Family sent Mu Xiuyun and a case-solving cultivator with a black dog to investigate.
• The black dog reacted uneasily, then Ge Yi's poison felled the gathered Mu Family members; Lan Chang'an secretly resisted its effects with his Evergreen Mana and pretended to collapse.
• Mu Xiuyun attacked Ge Yi with her Silver Ruler, but his mana shield stopped the strike while the poison weakened her.
• Ge Yi revealed he planned to kill the Medicine Garden's occupants and steal precious herbs, then threatened to take Mu Xiuyun and cast a Black Net at her.

Lan Chang'an and Mu Xiuyun fought Ge Yi after he revealed his scheme and unleashed an Earth Rock Rat. Their attacks weakened Ge Yi, and Lan Chang'an’s poisoned Needle Rays struck his leg, leaving him poisoned as the battle continued.

• Ge Yi’s black net overwhelmed Mu Xiuyun’s defenses, while Lan Chang'an resisted the poison and sent up a signal talisman.
• Lan Chang'an defended against Ge Yi’s flame, then dodged an Earth Rock Rat’s ambush and trapped the beast with the Binding Vine Technique.
• Lan Chang'an charged Ge Yi with his Bedrock Shield, distracting him long enough for Mu Xiuyun to break the black net and attack with her Silver Ruler.
• Ge Yi blocked Mu Xiuyun’s strike but was pushed to his limit while fighting both cultivators and controlling his magical artifacts.
• Lan Chang'an’s Needle Rays pierced Ge Yi’s shield, and one poisoned needle struck his leg.