Chapter Summaries

A wanted Qi Feng fled to Small Turtle Peak, where Lan Chang'an sheltered him after recognizing his ties to Qi Jingyun and hearing how he had been framed. As Liang Kingdom faced invasion and forced wartime conscription, Lan Chang'an reflected on his breakthrough to the seventh level of Foundation Establishment and the growing threat of war.

• Qi Feng escaped two sect cultivators by using a puppet as a decoy, then flew toward Wuqi Mountain as his injuries and dwindling magic power slowed him.
• The sect cultivators stopped when they sensed a Foundation Establishment Late Stage breakthrough on Small Turtle Peak, and the Mystic Water Turtle rescued Qi Feng from the mountainside.
• Lan Chang'an confirmed Qi Feng was Qi Jingyun's descendant, and Qi Feng stayed on Small Turtle Peak to recover while Lan Chang'an completed his breakthrough to the seventh level of Foundation Establishment.
• Lan Chang'an received Qi Feng, who explained that he had been accused of colluding with Robber Cultivators after surviving an escort-job massacre and was now wanted by the sect.
• Lan Chang'an learned that the Golden Sun Sect was invading Liang Kingdom and that the wartime authorities were forcibly conscripting cultivators and imposing production quotas on Small Turtle Peak.

Lu Chang'an took Qi Feng in as Small Turtle Peak's mountain keeper, gave him pills and guidance, and helped secure the dismissal of the warrant against him. After celebrating Lu Chang'an's advance to Foundation Establishment Late Stage, Fairy Shi discussed their plan to approach Jiang Yechen about the ancient ruins, though he had recently run into trouble with the Jiang Family.

• Lu Chang'an offered Qi Feng a place at Small Turtle Peak, where Qi Feng accepted work as mountain keeper and received pills and cultivation guidance.
• Inspector Liu visited with two sect cultivators, and Lu Chang'an secured the removal of Qi Feng's warrant by invoking his connections to Golden Cloud Valley.
• Lan Rou told Qi Feng that Inspector Liu had come seeking Lu Chang'an's help with talismans and feared offending Lu's close friend, True Person Tianfeng.
• Fairy Shi and Ye Fei congratulated Lu Chang'an on reaching Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and Lu explained why he avoided taking on extra war tasks for battle merits.
• Fairy Shi told Lu Chang'an she would contact Jiang Yechen after Lu consolidated his cultivation, but warned that Jiang had encountered trouble after returning to the Jiang Family.

As the Cultivation War spread into Liang Kingdom, Lan Chang'an remained at Small Turtle Peak, strengthened his preparations, and watched the people around him face the conflict. After Jiang Yechen was gravely wounded and fled the front lines, he sent word that he would come speak with Lan Chang'an.

• Fairy Shi told Lan Chang'an that the Jiang Family was preparing for war and that Jiang Yechen had returned to help his clan.
• Zhou Qingxuan brought the Earth Rock Rat back to Small Turtle Peak, where Lan Chang'an found it had learned the Shrinking Technique and confirmed it had no hidden measures from the Zhou Family.
• Zhou Qingxuan urged Lan Chang'an to consider joining the Beast Taming Zhou Family, but he refused and promised to honor their agreement while she pursued Core Formation.
• Qi Feng advanced to Qi Refining Ninth Layer, and Lan Chang'an successfully drew a Quasi-Third-Order talisman.
• Zheng Wugong chose to go to the front lines to reduce the Zheng Family's conscription burden, while Zheng Sheng brought Lan Chang'an war intelligence and arranged a transaction.
• After hearing that Jiang Yechen had been gravely wounded and had escaped back from the front lines, Lan Chang'an learned that Jiang Yechen wanted to visit Wuqi Mountain for a sincere discussion.

Lan Chang'an and Fairy Shi helped Jiang Yechen restore her memories, then agreed to explore an ancient ruin in the Black Mist Mountain Range. As Lan Chang'an prepared for the expedition, he received word that Zheng Wugong had died on the front line.

• Jiang Yechen arrived at Wuqi Mountain with young Jiang Family clansmen and negotiated with Fairy Shi to buy war supplies and shelter his relatives.
• Lan Chang'an and Fairy Shi agreed to Jiang Yechen's terms, and Jiang Yechen used a damaged soul-path treasure to restore Fairy Shi's memories over seven days.
• After Jiang Yechen left, Fairy Shi recovered memories of the ancient ruin and shared an intimate farewell with Lan Chang'an before agreeing to split its gains six-four.
• Fairy Shi and Lan Chang'an agreed to prepare for two months before traveling to the Black Mist Mountain Range to explore the ruin.
• Lan Chang'an finished preparing his treasures, talismans, puppets, and pills, then received an urgent letter saying Zheng Wugong had died on the front-line battlefield.

Lan Chang'an and Shi Manrong traveled into the Black Mist Mountain Range to reach an Ancient Ruins, but they were ambushed by four Foundation Establishment cultivators and confronted by two Pseudo-Core True Persons. True Person Hu agreed to let Shi Manrong help break the ruins’ formation but rejected Lan Chang'an, who was left surrounded by the cultivators.

• Lan Chang'an and Shi Manrong entered the Black Mist Mountain Range after agreeing to recover and bury the other if either died on the expedition.
• After reaching the poisonous swamp near the ruins, Lan Chang'an and Shi Manrong were ambushed by four Foundation Establishment cultivators and defended themselves with magic items, a puppet, and Shi Manrong’s temporary formation.
• True Person Tan emerged from the swamp, destroyed their formation, and attacked Lan Chang'an and Shi Manrong with powerful core techniques and a magic treasure.
• True Person Hu came out of a stone door and recognized Shi Manrong, who admitted she had known the ruins’ location before True Person Tan’s group arrived.
• True Person Hu and True Person Tan agreed to let Shi Manrong assist with breaking the ruins’ formation, but refused to include Lan Chang'an and had four cultivators surround him.

Lan Chang'an and Shi Manrong negotiated their way into the Ancient Ruins after Lan revealed his puppet mastery and threatened to use a Thunderbolt Talisman. As the group explored the ruins together, Lan's Earth Rock Rat found something puzzling near an ancient building.

• Lan Chang'an used two powerful puppets, spells, and a Thunder Sound Technique to fight off four Foundation Establishment cultivators and kill one of them.
• True Person Tan demanded that Lan either die or submit to a restriction, while True Person Hu slapped Shi Manrong for pleading on Lan's behalf.
• Lan threatened to activate a Quasi-Third-Order Thunderbolt Talisman, so the True Persons agreed to let him and Shi Manrong help explore the ruins without restrictions.
• Lan Chang'an and Shi Manrong entered the underground Ancient Ruins with the two True Persons and three Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• As the group followed a previously explored route through the ruins, Lan sent out his Earth Rock Rat, which signaled a puzzling discovery beside an ancient building.

Lan Chang'an uncovered a high-grade Shadow Ghost Stone and joined True Person Hu, True Person Tan, and Shi Manrong in crossing the ancient ruin’s formation to reach the Hexagonal Palace Tower. After a month of weakening one of its array gates, the group opened a narrow gap in the golden-bronze doors, revealing a faint pearl-like light within.

• Lan Chang'an and the Earth Rock Rat uncovered a high-grade Shadow Ghost Stone hidden in a wall, and Lan Chang'an kept it despite True Person Tan's demand to inspect it.
• The group reached a bridge protected by an ancient formation and spent three months using Puppets and formation knowledge to find a way across.
• After crossing the bridge, the cultivators saw the Hexagonal Palace Tower and identified it as the hub of the ruins' grand formation.
• Lan Chang'an and the others tested the Tower's six array gates, then worked with True Person Hu and Shi Manrong to weaken one gate while using restriction-breaking tools.
• The array gate's defenses collapsed, and the golden-bronze doors loosened enough to reveal a glowing crack.

Lan Chang'an and the others searched the palace tower’s medicine treasury, then True Person Hu uncovered a hidden formation gate leading to an apparent secret vault. After a deadly trap injured Hu and made him lose the token, an unseen attacker struck him with a Shadowless Needle Ray.

• Lan Chang'an sent a Heavy Armor Puppet into the medicine treasury, and True Person Tan, True Person Hu, and Miss Wei followed to search it.
• Lan Chang'an recovered a depleted third-rank demon core with the Earth Rock Rat, then gave it to True Person Hu in exchange for his promised extra pick from the treasury.
• Lan Chang'an quietly took a black medicine jar as the group finished searching the treasury, while Shi Manrong persuaded True Person Hu to investigate a possible hidden formation gate.
• True Person Hu used an Ancient Bronze Token to locate a concealed seventh gate and opened a breach into an independent space, but a formation trap destroyed his life-substitution artifact and wounded him.
• True Person Hu realized the token was missing and went with True Person Tan to search for it, where an unseen Shadowless Needle Ray pierced him from behind.

Lan Chang'an killed True Person Hu and joined forces with Shi Manrong to pursue the treasure vault, while True Person Tan remained a dangerous rival. After Shi Manrong entered the hidden space, Tan discovered that an uncredentialed cultivator could enter too and tried to follow, but Lan Chang'an blocked his path.

• Lan Chang'an assassinated True Person Hu, then defended himself against True Person Tan with his curved-blade Magic Treasure Prototype and Turtle Puppet.
• Shi Manrong explained the hidden gate’s killing array, revealed that she had a token, and agreed to split the treasure with Lan Chang'an.
• Lan Chang'an and Shi Manrong broke the restriction in a pavilion, recovered another token and a Jade Cylinder, and learned that the ruins belonged to Listen-to-the-Sea Pavilion.
• Shi Manrong used her token and a Quasi-Third-Order Restriction-Breaking Talisman to enter the Treasure Vault Space safely.
• True Person Tan threw the Elderly Man through the still-open gate and saw him enter the vault, then rushed toward it as Miss Wei and the High-Nosed Youth followed.
• Lan Chang'an used a powerful gust of force to block True Person Tan from reaching the gate.

Lan Chang'an poisoned and drove off True Person Tan, then entered the Listen-to-the-Sea Pavilion treasure vault after Fairy Shi returned with an Array Formation Inheritance. Inside, he weighed the vault’s treasures and discovered Miss Wei trapped there, before deciding against taking the dying Mystic Wood Vine.

• Lan Chang'an struck True Person Tan with the Black Gold Curved Blade, then escaped his pursuit while a slow-acting poison took hold.
• Lan Chang'an harassed the poisoned True Person Tan with Puppets, preventing him from treating himself effectively.
• Fairy Shi returned with an Array Formation Inheritance, and Lan Chang'an opened the formation gate with her help and entered the treasure vault.
• Lan Chang'an found rare treasures including Yin-Yang Water and a Premium Crystal Condensation Pill, and discovered Miss Wei trapped without a token.
• Lan Chang'an restrained Miss Wei and inspected the dying Mystic Wood Vine, but decided to pursue the more reliable treasures in the second ring.

Lan Chang'an chose to take the Mystic Wood Gourd Vine and its Five Elements Soil from the Treasure Vault, successfully transplanting the vine before leaving with the unconscious Miss Wei. Outside, he learned True Person Tan was failing under the poison and went to deal with him.

• Lan Chang'an discovered that the empty platform had held a Premium Infant Transformation Pill and suspected the Mystic Wood Gourd Vine was planted in Five Elements Soil.
• Lan Chang'an used his Evergreen Secret Technique to strengthen the vine, then transplanted it and collected the Five Elements Soil and spiritual spring water.
• Lan Chang'an found Miss Wei barely alive, decided to keep her for questioning, and carried her out of the unstable Treasure Vault Space with the Dark Gold Token.
• Fairy Shi told Lan Chang'an that True Person Tan's poison was worsening and that he had failed to break through the Bridge Formation.
• Lan Chang'an gave Miss Wei healing pills and Evergreen Mana, then left Fairy Shi to watch her while he went to meet True Person Tan.

Lan Chang'an defeated the poisoned True Person Tan, then erased Miss Wei’s recent memories to keep the ruins’ secrets. He left the Ancient Ruins while Shi Manrong stayed behind to study its arrays, and his formal farewell hinted that they would be separated for a long time.

• Lan Chang'an used his puppets and a nurtured Ice Spell Treasure Talisman to kill True Person Tan after Tan unleashed a desperate final attack.
• Lan Chang'an questioned Miss Wei about how the Ancient Ruins had been discovered and learned that news of the ruins could eventually reach the outside world.
• Miss Wei cooperated as Lan Chang'an erased her memories of the recent events, sparing her life because of Liang Shaotian.
• Seven days later, Lan Chang'an prepared to leave the ruins while Fairy Shi remained with Miss Wei to study the array restrictions for two more months.
• Lan Chang'an formally said farewell to Shi Manrong and left through the passage, while she watched him go with an uneasy premonition.

Lan Chang'an returned to Wuqi Mountain with the Mystic Wood Gourd Vine and other spoils from the Ancient Ruins, then prepared to leave in search of a core-formation opportunity. He departed on the Mystic Water Turtle with the Earth Rock Rat, leaving Qi Feng and the others to wonder where he was going.

• Lan Chang'an found that the Nine Imprint Tablet reacted to the Mystic Wood Gourd Vine, so he reinforced its concealment and brought it back to Small Turtle Peak.
• After returning to Wuqi Mountain, Lan Chang'an learned from Qi Feng and letters that Liang Kingdom’s sects were under pressure in the war and that Feng Kingdom’s spies were causing disorder in the rear.
• Lan Chang'an inventoried his spoils, used Evergreen Mana and the Mystic Water Turtle’s Cloud Rain Technique to tend the gourd vine, and crafted concealment material from Shadow Ghost Stone.
• Lan Chang'an harvested his most valuable herbs, moved the core of Small Turtle Peak’s protective array, and told Qi Feng he was leaving to seek a core-formation opportunity.
• Lan Chang'an rode the Mystic Water Turtle away from Small Turtle Peak with the Earth Rock Rat, while Ye Fei realized he was setting out on a long journey.

Lan Chang'an revisited Bamboo Leaf Mountain and Jade Moon Lake amid Feng Kingdom's raids on Liang Kingdom, reconnecting with Mu Bingyun and Li Erqing. After helping the Mu Family prepare for a possible invasion, he headed toward Golden Cloud Valley but was ambushed by Feng Kingdom cultivators, one of whom recognized him.

• Lan Chang'an learned that enemy cultivators had destroyed the Maple Leaf Huang Family and refused a request to help guard Bamboo Leaf Mountain Market, though he sold talismans and a puppet to its defenders.
• Lan Chang'an reached Jade Moon Lake, reunited with Mu Bingyun, and stayed as a guest while Li Erqing patrolled the surrounding area.
• Li Erqing told Lan Chang'an in secret that his son Mu Jiuan had infiltrated Liang Kingdom and warned him that Liang Kingdom would lose the war, but Li Erqing had refused to collaborate with the enemy.
• Lan Chang'an, Li Erqing, and Mu Bingyun secretly discussed the Mu Family's options, and Lan Chang'an traded them talismans, a puppet, and a Youth Preservation Pill before giving Li Erqing a Talisman Treasure.
• While traveling toward Golden Cloud Valley, Lan Chang'an encountered a concealed group of Feng Kingdom Foundation Establishment cultivators near a destroyed clan, and a Golden Sun Sect youth recognized him as Uncle Lu.

Lan Chang'an encountered his nephew Mu Jiuan among a Feng Kingdom detachment and fought his way through the cultivators who tried to seize his possessions. After killing four Foundation Establishment cultivators, he spared the survivors and continued on, while the detachment withdrew to avoid reinforcements.

• Lan Chang'an recognized Mu Jiuan, but the Feng Kingdom cultivators’ leader demanded Lan’s Storage Bag and Mystic Water Turtle as the price for sparing him.
• Lan Chang'an used a Quasi-Third-Order talisman, his Mystic Water Turtle, and puppets to break through the Feng Kingdom cultivators’ blockade.
• Lan Chang'an killed three Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivators with his Black Gold Curved Blade and Archer Puppet, then split Senior Brother Guang in two.
• Lan Chang'an collected the spoils with help from his Earth Rock Rat and faced the Pseudo-Core True Person, Uncle-Master Lu.
• Lan Chang'an spared Uncle-Master Lu, Mu Jiuan, and the other survivors before departing on his Mystic Water Turtle.
• Uncle-Master Lu ordered the detachment to collect their dead and withdraw, telling Mu Jiuan that Lan's presence had likely saved them all.

Lan Chang'an met with Zhang Tieshan to trade for a Core Transformation Secret Technique, offering precious ores and a magic treasure. Zhang demanded Five Elements Soil in exchange and claimed his secret technique gave False Core cultivators a success rate above thirty percent; Lan Chang'an had not yet agreed.

• Lan Chang'an destroyed evidence from the Feng Kingdom cultivators he had slain and avoided detection by a Liang Kingdom law-enforcement patrol.
• Lan Chang'an gave the patrol Talismans, learned that Zhang Tieshan would return to Golden Cloud Valley within a few months, and received an identity jade pendant.
• Lan Chang'an met Yu Qinghai outside Golden Cloud Valley and left him a sealed letter for Zhang Tieshan requesting a private meeting.
• Three months later, Lan Chang'an met Zhang Tieshan on a remote mountain peak and offered two pieces of Third-Order Gold-Iron Ore for Zhang's Core Transformation Secret Technique.
• Lan Chang'an added a Black Treasure Ruler to his offer, but Zhang Tieshan demanded Five Elements Soil and promised a success rate above thirty percent for False Core cultivators.

Lan Chang'an traded half a jar of Five Elements Soil to Zhang Tieshan for the Dust-Returning Core Transformation Method, then traveled to the Xuemei Mountain Li Clan to seek a route into Jing Kingdom. He learned that the border route was controlled by the demonic cultivator Xiang Jinglong, an old acquaintance whose strength had grown formidable.

• Lan Chang'an verified Zhang Tieshan's Core Transformation Secret Technique, negotiated a trade, and exchanged half a jar of Five Elements Soil for the complete Dust-Returning Core Transformation Method after they swore Heart Demon Oaths.
• Zhang Tieshan's Artifact Spirit used the Five Elements Soil to repair a Spirit Treasure Fragment and sensed an unprobeable mystery surrounding Lan Chang'an.
• Lan Chang'an passed the Liang Kingdom border checkpoint and reached the Xuemei Mountain Li Clan, where Li Congren welcomed him and introduced his wife, Wu Yue'e.
• Lan Chang'an asked Li Congren about entering Jing Kingdom, and Li Congren explained that sect crackdowns and the demonic sect had made escape routes perilous.
• Li Congren identified Xiang Jinglong as the demonic sect figure controlling the key route and said his Quasi-Third-Order Body Refinement made him exceptionally powerful.

Lan Chang'an arranged passage to Jing Kingdom aboard a Jiuchen Merchant Association spirit ship and prepared to leave Liang Kingdom. Before departing, he left Zhou Qingxuan a method to stabilize her Gu insect Restriction, then vanished from Small Turtle Peak, where she discovered a powerful Mountain Protection Array.

• Lan Chang'an learned from Li Congren that crossing the border alone was dangerous and asked him to secure a Jiuchen Merchant Association ship ticket.
• While waiting at Xuemei Mountain, Lan Chang'an learned that Zhou Qingxuan had advanced to Pseudo-Core and agreed to Wu Yue'e's request for Earth Rock Rat offspring if any were born.
• Li Congren obtained Lan Chang'an a recommendation token and a place aboard a spirit ship departing for Jing Kingdom in twenty days.
• Lan Chang'an left Xuemei Mountain after confirming that Earth Rock Rat had not conceived Little Gold Rat's offspring.
• Lan Chang'an left Zhou Qingxuan a Jade Cylinder containing a method to stabilize her Gu insect Restriction and flew west, while she arrived too late to meet him.
• Zhou Qingxuan visited Small Turtle Peak, found Lan Chang'an and his spirit beasts gone, and was shocked when Small Plate Peak's third-order array repelled her divine sense.

Lan Chang'an boarded a Jiuchen Merchant Association spirit ship bound for Jing Kingdom under the alias Wu Fan, paying extra to escape the crowded cargo hold. When the ship diverted toward the Black Mist Mountain Range to collect two unusual passengers, he recognized the veiled woman as someone familiar.

• Lan Chang'an reached the gathering point disguised as Wu Fan and waited with other Liang Kingdom cultivators for the Jiuchen Merchant Association's spirit ship.
• The spirit ship arrived, and privileged passengers boarded through a separate gangway before Lan Chang'an registered under his alias.
• A merchant association cultivator led Lan Chang'an and four others to the cargo hold, but Lan Chang'an paid three thousand Spirit Stones for a private cabin.
• The spirit ship began its journey, then veered north toward the Black Mist Mountain Range and stopped near a river to collect two passengers.
• Lan Chang'an saw a veiled woman among the passengers and found her figure familiar.

Lan Chang'an traveled toward Jing Kingdom aboard the Jiuchen Merchant Association's Spirit Ship, where sect patrols searched for fugitives and the passengers faced dangerous, exploitative choices. At a trade fair, he refused harsh service contracts from Jing Kingdom merchant associations, leaving his prospects for a secure foothold uncertain.

• Lan Chang'an realized that Miss Wei was the Demonic Cult leader's personal disciple and suspected the Jiuchen Merchant Association had ties to the cult.
• The Spirit Ship left Liang Kingdom, and Lan Chang'an reflected on his departure before speaking with the wounded, wanted cultivator surnamed Fang about the war.
• Sect Patrol Cultivators boarded the ship and arrested seven people; Fang escaped suspicion by bribing patrolmen, while Lan Chang'an passed their questioning as Wu Fan.
• The Jiuchen Merchant Association doubled the price of guest rooms, and Liang Kingdom passengers struggled to secure safety or legal identities during the journey.
• Lan Chang'an attended a trade fair with Fang, saw Young Master Wang and Miss Wei, and refused Steward Jia's twenty-year contract, offering instead to consider a guest elder role.
• Steward Jia rejected Lan Chang'an's proposed terms, and two other merchant associations also offered harsh contracts that Lan Chang'an was unwilling to accept.