Chapter Summaries

Lan Chang'an mastered Master Lihuo's alchemy and artifact-refining knowledge, used his inherited memories to plan for the future, and discovered a remarkable aura within Zhang Tieshan. Three years later, after spending time with Zhao Siyao and Zhao Tan'er, he divined that Li Erqing had about a year left to live.

• Lan Chang'an refined three seven-line Black Dragon Pills and reflected on how Master Lihuo's skills and memories clarified his cultivation plans and gave him a possible refuge in Fengyuan Kingdom.
• Lan Chang'an treated the badly injured Zhang Tieshan and sensed an unusual Dharma treasure aura within him, while Zhang Tieshan offered third-rank materials in thanks.
• After three years, Lan Chang'an continued nurturing the Fourth Life's phantom in the Nine Imprint Tablet, and Zhao Siyao and Zhao Tan'er visited him at Yunlai Peak.
• Zhao Siyao warned Lan Chang'an about the Xie Clan's black-market bounty, and Zhao Tan'er asked to visit the ailing Li Erqing.
• Lan Chang'an used divination and concluded that Li Erqing was bedridden and likely had about one year of lifespan remaining.

Lan Chang'an watched the Mystic Water Turtle form a Half-Step Golden Core, then accepted congratulations from Golden Cloud Valley’s cultivators as they recognized the turtle’s value as a guardian. More than half a year later, he rode the third-rank Mystic Water Turtle with Zhao Siyao and Zhao Tan'er to visit the dying Li Erqing.

• Lan Chang'an divined that Li Erqing’s life was nearly over and sent Zhao Tan'er ahead to Jade Moon Lake to visit him.
• The Mystic Water Turtle slowly completed its advancement, forming a Half-Step Golden Core that reassured Lan Chang'an and astonished Golden Cloud Valley.
• Lan Chang'an held a small celebration, where the Grand Elder praised the Mystic Water Turtle and offered it elder treatment and cultivation resources if Lan Chang'an stayed with the sect.
• More than half a year later, Lan Chang'an received word from the Mu Family that Li Erqing was near death and departed with Zhao Siyao and Zhao Tan'er to see him.
• Lan Chang'an and the two Zhao cultivators rode the Mystic Water Turtle out of Golden Cloud Valley as onlookers speculated about his companions and newfound protection.

Lan Chang'an and Zhao Siyao visited the dying Li Erqing on Moon Heart Island and stayed with him through his final days. After Li Erqing died, Lan Chang'an sensed the Nine Imprint Tablet and witnessed his soul being drawn into a vast reincarnation vortex.

• Lan Chang'an arrived at Jade Moon Lake with Zhao Siyao and Zhao Tan'er on the Mystic Water Turtle and was greeted by Mu Jiuan, Yu Yufu, Mu Bingyun, and Li Congren.
• Lan Chang'an learned that Mu Bingyun's husband had died in the Demonic Path war, then went with Zhao Siyao to see the gravely ill Li Erqing.
• Li Erqing recognized Lan Chang'an and Zhao Siyao, reminisced with them about their youth, and called himself Ergou again.
• Lan Chang'an and Zhao Siyao stayed on Moon Heart Island and visited Li Erqing as he spent his remaining days with his family.
• After Li Erqing died, Lan Chang'an sensed the Nine Imprint Tablet tremble and saw Li Ergou's soul being swallowed by a vast gray-white reincarnation vortex.

After Li Erqing died, Lan Chang'an marked his soul for possible recognition in a future life and settled the division of his ashes between Jade Moon Lake and Xuemei Mountain. Seven years later, as the demonic war worsened and Lan Chang'an continued refining puppets, his divination warned of danger even within Golden Cloud Valley.

• Lan Chang'an used the Nine Imprint Tablet to place a Reincarnation Mark on Li Erqing's soul before it entered the reincarnation vortex.
• Lan Chang'an ordered Li Erqing's remains cremated and divided between Jade Moon Lake and Xuemei Mountain, honoring both his final wish and Li Congren's request.
• At Li Erqing's funeral, Zhou Qingxuan secretly told Lan Chang'an that a Beast King Valley cultivator had tried to recruit her, and Lan Chang'an warned her against trusting the demonic sects.
• Lan Chang'an returned to Golden Cloud Valley, strengthened his puppets and Nail-Head Arrow, and crafted a high-quality Third-Order Archer Puppet over the following seven years.
• Lan Chang'an read reports of the Dao Defense Alliance losing ground to Beast King Valley, while the Earth Rock Rat advanced to third-rank mid-stage.
• Six months after completing the Archer Puppet, Lan Chang'an divined an omen of minor misfortune and began investigating the danger threatening him even inside Golden Cloud Valley.

Lan Chang'an discovered that the Peacock Saintess of Beast King Valley had targeted his Mystic Water Turtle, then secretly exposed True Person Yellow Wolf as a Demonic Path informant. Yellow Wolf's network was uncovered amid coordinated rebellions that brought down Chen Kingdom, leaving Jing Kingdom—and nearby Liang Kingdom—on the front line of the invasion.

• Lan Chang'an used divination to trace a threat to the Mystic Water Turtle and learned that Beast King Valley had placed him on a special watch list.
• Xing Peng discovered that the Peacock Saintess wanted Lan Chang'an's Mystic Water Turtle and its cultivation method, after True Person Yellow Wolf had reported them to her.
• Lan Chang'an rejected Xing Peng's suggestion to cooperate with the Peacock Saintess and decided to prepare an escape plan while secretly gathering evidence against Yellow Wolf.
• Lan Chang'an anonymously reported Yellow Wolf to the Dao Defense Alliance, the Profound Yin Sect, and Liang Shaotian's disciple, Miss Wei.
• The Ten Thousand Beasts Merchant Association rebelled alongside other forces, but the Profound Yin Sect crushed it; Yellow Wolf escaped badly wounded as a wanted fugitive.
• Coordinated rebellions helped the Demonic Path take Chen Kingdom, forcing its survivors into Jing Kingdom and bringing the invasion close to Liang Kingdom and Golden Cloud Valley.

Lan Chang'an improved his divination, foresaw Zhao Siyao's life-and-death calamity, and failed to persuade her to leave Golden Cloud Valley with him. After preparing his escape to Fengyuan Kingdom and lighting the Fourth Life, he planned to use Wujian Gate intelligence to find and kill the fugitive True Person Yellow Wolf.

• Lan Chang'an spent two years and ten years of his lifespan raising his divination skill to third-rank middle grade.
• Lan Chang'an divined that Zhao Siyao would face a life-and-death calamity within ten years, but she refused his invitation to leave Golden Cloud Valley.
• Lan Chang'an secretly placed a Reincarnation Mark on Zhao Siyao and sold her a Quasi-Third-Order Puppet and protective talismans before she returned to the front lines.
• Lan Chang'an prepared to flee to Fengyuan Kingdom, arranged safeguards for Xing Peng and Zhou Qingxuan, and left Golden Cloud Valley intelligence about a Demonic Path spy.
• Lan Chang'an lit the Fourth Life and divined that traveling to Fengyuan Kingdom was more auspicious than remaining in Golden Cloud Valley.
• Lan Chang'an received Xing Peng's intelligence on True Person Yellow Wolf and decided to track down and kill him on the way to Fengyuan Kingdom.

Lan Chang'an traveled through Jing Kingdom, tracked down and killed True Person Yellow Wolf, then hurried toward Fengyuan Kingdom after learning the Peacock Saintess was trying to locate him. The chapter ended as a Five-Colored Peacock appeared ahead of him in the desert, while Zhao Tan'er and Zhao Siyao continued defending Yanqing Immortal City from the Demonic Path.

• Zhao Tan'er was pursued by True Person Black Fish and Lin the Black until Zhao Siyao intervened and helped her return to Yanqing Immortal City.
• Lan Chang'an reached Donglai Marketplace, found True Person Yellow Wolf hiding there, and killed him with the Earth Rock Rat's help before capturing his remnant soul.
• The Peacock Saintess searched Qi Feng's memories and had Elder Shi divine Lan Chang'an's route toward Fengyuan Kingdom.
• After searching True Person Yellow Wolf's remnant soul, Lan Chang'an discovered that the Peacock Saintess was tracking him and sped toward Fengyuan Kingdom.
• Lan Chang'an crossed the Black Mist Mountain Range and entered the desert, where a Five-Colored Peacock emerged from the clouds ahead of him.

Lan Chang'an escaped the Peacock Saintess by feigning weakness and trapping her in a talisman array, then ambushed and badly injured the Five-Colored Peacock. As the Peacock Saintess broke free and a terrifying aura approached, Lan Chang'an fled into the Wind-Sand Wasteland with the severed peacock wing and the Saintess's stolen silver ring.

• Lan Chang'an used the Red Sun Blood Transformation Escape to outrun the Five-Colored Peacock, but the Peacock Saintess joined the pursuit and tracked him using the Mystic Water Turtle's blood and shell.
• After widening the distance, Lan Chang'an pretended to be exhausted and lured the Peacock Saintess close, then escaped her Spirit-Controlling Ring with help from his Turtle Puppet and Earth Rock Rat.
• Lan Chang'an trapped the Peacock Saintess in an array of eighteen Treasure Talismans and fled, while the Earth Rock Rat stole her silver ring.
• Lan Chang'an drew the Five-Colored Peacock into pursuit and struck it from behind with a poisoned Nail-Head Arrow, then attacked it with his spirit pets, Puppets, and Treasure Talismans.
• The Earth Rock Rat severed one of the Five-Colored Peacock's wings, and Lan Chang'an took the wing before fleeing as the Peacock Saintess broke through the array.

Lan Chang'an fled the Peacock Saintess across the Flying Sand Desert and neared Fengyuan Kingdom, where he encountered sand bandits attacking Profound Sound Pavilion cultivators. He recognized Jiang Ruotong, diagnosed her worsening poison, and ended the chapter by scolding Miao Jing for giving her the wrong antidote.

• The Peacock Saintess abandoned her pursuit of Lan Chang'an to save the critically injured Five-Colored Peacock and grew wary of Lan Chang'an's many abilities.
• Lan Chang'an recovered from the fight, assessed his losses and spoils, and continued toward Fengyuan Kingdom through the dangerous Flying Sand Desert.
• Lan Chang'an used a Sand Beast carriage to cross the desert and approached Scorpion Desolate City, the nearest great desolate city.
• The Earth Rock Rat spotted the Black Scorpion Brothers attacking a Sand Beast carriage carrying Jiang Ruotong and other Profound Sound Pavilion cultivators.
• Miao Jing asked Lan Chang'an for help, but he refused to intervene as the bandits renewed their attack.
• Jiang Ruotong's poison worsened after Miao Jing gave her a Red Wind Detoxification Pill, and Lan Chang'an identified it as a yin-cold toxin and criticized the choice of medicine.

Lan Chang'an traveled with Profound Sound Pavilion to Scorpion Desolate City, learning about Fengyuan Kingdom and considering where to settle. The chapter ended with the party arriving at Black Scorpion Desolate City, where deputy patrol general Futa showed disdain for Lan Chang'an.

• After Lan Chang'an advised Miao Jing how to treat Jiang Ruotong's poison, Jiang Ruotong thanked him, and he introduced himself as Xu Xuan.
• Jiang Ruotong's group traveled alongside Lan Chang'an, and he accepted her invitation to ride with Profound Sound Pavilion after learning their route led to Scorpion Desolate City.
• Lan Chang'an revealed that he was a third-rank Alchemist, and Jiang Ruotong invited him to become a Guest Elder, offering him the choice of a Dao companion from among the pavilion's female cultivators; he declined for the time being.
• Lan Chang'an learned about Fengyuan Kingdom's Eight Great Desolate Cities, the Outer Sect Alliance, and the risks faced by outer cultivators, then planned to use Scorpion Desolate City as a temporary base.
• Jiang Ruotong helped Lan Chang'an approach Scorpion Desolate City to apply for a residency permit, and deputy patrol general Futa greeted her while privately looking down on Lan Chang'an.

Lan Chang'an settled in Scorpion Desolate City, traded for supplies, refined a deadly poison, and raised his Golden Net Tyrant Body to the peak of the early third rank. As he left the city, an unseen attacker trapped him in poisonous sandy fog and revealed that he had been struck by a third-rank poison.

• Futa helped Lan Chang'an obtain an entry permit, and Lan Chang'an entered Scorpion Desolate City with Jiang Ruotong and the other Profound Sound Pavilion cultivators.
• Lan Chang'an rented a cave abode, learned the city's customs, traded supplies, and received Jiang Ruotong's warning not to reveal that he was a third-rank Alchemist.
• Lan Chang'an prepared Heart-Corroding Pill Poison, cultivated his Golden Net Tyrant Body to the peak of the early third rank, and began making a third-rank Archer Puppet.
• Ada Wan dismissed rumors about Lan Chang'an and returned to working on his flawed female puppet.
• After his residence expired, Lan Chang'an left Scorpion Desolate City, flew through sandy fog, and realized he had been exposed to a third-rank deadly poison.
• An unseen speaker mocked Lan Chang'an for resisting the poison and noted that he was not a physically frail Core Formation True Person.

Lan Chang'an defeated Ada Wan and his puppets, then left Scorpion Desolate City under Futa’s identity and continued toward the Outer Sect Alliance. He reached Heyuan Oasis seeking a place to cultivate in seclusion, where a faint connection drew his attention to a young woman’s bell bracelet.

• Lan Chang'an used his body-refining strength, the Earth Rock Rat, and five Archer Puppets to kill Ada Wan and capture the Human-Faced Jiao Maiden Puppet.
• Lan Chang'an disguised himself as Futa, escaped Scorpion Desolate City, and left Futa to be imprisoned and blamed for Ada Wan’s death.
• Lan Chang'an examined Ada Wan’s records on the Spirit-Transforming Strange Puppet Record and gained new ideas about using soul shadows in powerful puppets.
• Lan Chang'an traveled through the desert to Heyuan Oasis, where he began searching for a suitable place to cultivate in seclusion.
• Lan Chang'an felt a faint connection at a Marketplace and noticed a bell bracelet worn by a young woman selling goods with her brother.

Lan Chang'an used his reputation as a Quasi-Third-Order Alchemist to seek a suitable place to cultivate and discovered that Yun Ling and her family were tied to people from his past lives. After accepting the Yun siblings’ Foundation Establishment Pill commission, he met Granny Yun, recognized her as Master Lihuo’s surviving wife Yun Yan, and finished refining three genuine-grade pills.

• Lan Chang'an bought Yun Ling’s miniature turtle carving with a Youth Preserving Pill and recognized her connection to someone from his Fourth Life.
• Lan Chang'an publicized his alchemy skills to attract offers from Oasis powers, rejected the Wanhua Chamber of Commerce’s restrictive contract, and considered the Long Clan and Star-Moon Chamber of Commerce.
• Yun Hao and Yun Ling visited Lan Chang'an to commission Foundation Establishment Pills, offering an increased fee and a recommendation to a free Third-Order Spiritual Vein site.
• Granny Yun questioned Yun Ling about her strange sense of affinity with Lan Chang'an, then revealed a youthful appearance in private.
• Lan Chang'an met Granny Yun at the Rare Treasures Pavilion, recognized her as Yun Yan, and refused to let her observe his alchemy.
• Lan Chang'an completed the commission and produced three genuine-grade Foundation Establishment Pills.

Lan Chang'an refined Foundation Establishment Pills for the Yun Siblings, then spent half a year studying spirit infusion and created a remote-controlled puppet avatar from his First Life's soul. Yun Ling later gave him directions to Landscape Manor, where he learned that its owner, Elder Duan, was his Fourth Life's grandson and was offered the chance to guard the small Third-Order Spiritual Vein grounds.

• Lan Chang'an refined three superior Foundation Establishment Pills, and Granny Yun paid him one while arranging an introduction to a Third-Order Spiritual Vein daoist site.
• Lan Chang'an studied Ada Wan's puppet techniques, infused a second-order Turtle Puppet with his First Life's soul, and discovered he could control it remotely and share its senses.
• Yun Ling delivered Granny Yun's purple jade pendant to Lan Chang'an, who accepted it without touching her hand and followed its map to Landscape Manor.
• Lan Chang'an recognized the manor's host, Elder Duan, as his Fourth Life's grandson, and Elder Duan offered him a role guarding the spiritual grounds and managing its herbs and alchemy work.

Lan Chang'an settled into Landscape Manor, trained alchemy apprentices, and grew closer to the Yun Siblings while his Mystic Water Turtle secretly took a human-friendly form to see Yun Ling. He used his newly crafted assassin puppet to investigate the Wanhua Chamber of Commerce and the Star-Moon Chamber of Commerce, then sent it out on another mission.

• Lan Chang'an signed a spirit contract with Elder Duan, moved into Landscape Manor, and assigned the Earth Rock Rat to roam and gather resources.
• Elder Duan brought three alchemy apprentices to Lan Chang'an, including the talented Niu Jie, then left to secretly protect the other descendant branches from Fang Zhen.
• Over the next three years, Lan Chang'an cultivated undisturbed while Yun Ling befriended the Mystic Water Turtle, which had transformed itself into a Water Arrow Turtle to meet her.
• Lan Chang'an completed a Third-Order Mid-Grade assassin puppet modeled after Xing Peng and disguised it as a Bamboo Hat Man.
• Lan Chang'an trained the assassin puppet through a staged conversation, confirming that the Wanhua Chamber of Commerce had cultivated multiple Longevity Fruits and learning that the Star-Moon Chamber of Commerce had defeated its hired attackers with a combined technique.
• Lan Chang'an ordered the assassin puppet to continue its mission, and it left the alchemy chamber.

Lan Chang'an refined a premium Second-Order Longevity Pill and quietly used his puppet to support the Star-Moon Chamber of Commerce against the Wanhua Chamber of Commerce while pursuing a rare pill ingredient. As his cultivation and body refinement neared breakthroughs, divination revealed that Zhao Siyao faced a nearly fatal disaster, prompting him to investigate its cause.

• Lan Chang'an refined and swallowed a premium Second-Order Longevity Pill, increasing his lifespan to 1,126 years.
• Yun Ling reported that she had refined her first second-order talisman, and Lan Chang'an praised her and agreed to help the Rare Treasures Pavilion with pill commissions.
• The Star-Moon Chamber of Commerce resisted Wanhua's attempted takeover with help from the assassin Black Owl, Lan Chang'an's remotely controlled puppet.
• Tang Mian and Tang Yue paid Black Owl partly with the first six layers of the Star-Moon Absolute Art, which Lan Chang'an examined and found to be an unusually powerful joint cultivation art.
• Lan Chang'an's body refinement and Core Formation cultivation advanced toward mid-stage breakthroughs as he wondered about the distant war against the Demonic Path.
• Lan Chang'an divined a great ill omen for Zhao Siyao, learned that her destined span was nearly severed, and consumed lifespan to calculate what had happened.

Xia Wenyue learned that Zhao Siyao had died, while Lan Chang'an discovered the Peacock Saintess’s motive for drawing him back to Liang Kingdom. After strengthening his body and sending a puppet there to gather intelligence, he returned to the desert resolved to prepare for revenge without exposing himself.

• Xia Wenyue learned that Zhao Siyao had died and wondered whether the missing Lan Chang'an would return.
• Zhao Tan'er told Zhang Tieshan that True Person Black Crow had killed Zhao Siyao, and Zhang promised to avenge her.
• Lan Chang'an divined Zhao Siyao’s fate, concluded that the Peacock Saintess wanted him to return, and identified her humiliation by him as a flaw threatening her path to Nascent Soul.
• Lan Chang'an advanced his body refinement to mid third-rank, then secretly traveled toward Liang Kingdom and sent the Bamboo Hat Assassin ahead as his puppet.
• The Bamboo Hat Assassin stabilized Zhou Qingxuan’s Gu Restriction and questioned her, giving Lan Chang'an intelligence about the war and Zhao Siyao’s death.
• Lan Chang'an learned that True Person Black Crow was Zhao Siyao’s killer and returned to the desert, considering how a stronger puppet could avenge her and deter the Peacock Saintess.

Lan Chang'an strengthened his defenses and used his assassin puppet and Earth Rock Rat to weaken the Wanhua Chamber of Commerce while helping the Star-Moon Chamber of Commerce gain influence on Heyuan Oasis. After five quiet years, Yun Ling visited before attempting Foundation Establishment, and Lan Chang'an gave her guidance.

• Lan Chang'an nourished his Treasure Talismans and the Five-Colored Peacock feather, preparing defenses and materials for a future Strange Spirit Puppet.
• The Bamboo Hat Assassin poisoned True Person Red Snake during the clash between the Wanhua and Star-Moon Chambers of Commerce, while the Earth Rock Rat stole rare medicines from the Wanhua Medicine Garden.
• Lan Chang'an received the stolen medicines, learned that True Person Red Snake had survived but fallen to False Core, and helped the Star-Moon Chamber of Commerce secure its standing on Heyuan Oasis.
• The Bamboo Hat Assassin met Tang Mian and Tang Yue, and Lan Chang'an copied insights from their Starry Sky Mural inheritance imprint.
• After five peaceful years, Yun Ling visited Landscape Manor before attempting Foundation Establishment, and Lan Chang'an shared cultivation guidance with her.

Yun Ling established her Foundation and continued growing close to Lan Chang'an, while Jiang Ruotong visited Landscape Manor to commission pills and invite him to join Profound Sound Pavilion. A year later, as a stranger attempted to form a Core in the manor, Lan Chang'an discovered that the powerful Fang Zhen had tracked him to Heyuan Oasis and resolved to deal with the threat.

• Yun Ling and Yun Hao visited Lan Chang'an after establishing their Foundations, and he gave them advice on navigating the Cultivation World.
• Jiang Ruotong arrived at Landscape Manor, where Yun Ling identified herself as Lan Chang'an's maidservant and grew uneasy about their familiarity.
• Jiang Ruotong commissioned Lan Chang'an to refine a Moonlight Pill and a Crystal Condensation Pill, and he successfully completed both while she observed.
• Jiang Ruotong invited Lan Chang'an to join Profound Sound Pavilion and offered a female Master as a potential Dao companion, but Lan Chang'an declined for now.
• A year later, Elder Duan brought a black-clothed young man to Landscape Manor to form a Core, while Lan Chang'an gathered materials for future pill refinement.
• Lan Chang'an recognized Fang Zhen, a powerful Late Core Formation elder of Blazing Fire Palace, probing the manor and decided Heyuan Oasis could not allow him to remain.

Lan Chang'an avoided a confrontation with Fang Zhen, refined three Crystal Condensation Pills, and traveled with the Yun Clan to Gutian Immortal City for its major auction. He secretly consigned one of his pills as a grand finale item, hoping to trade it for rare resources and advanced puppet inheritances.

• Fang Zhen sensed the Earth Rock Rat's demonic aura and left Heyuan Oasis without attacking Lan Chang'an or the Lihuo descendants.
• Elder Duan's black-robed youth formed a False Core, and Elder Duan later departed with him while Lan Chang'an suspected he already knew Fang Zhen was nearby.
• Two years later, Lan Chang'an used his Second Life's soul shadow to refine three Crystal Condensation Pills, including two proper products.
• Lan Chang'an traveled to Gutian Immortal City with Granny Yun and the Yun Siblings, then used his Puppet Avatar to trade resources and purchase puppet materials and a Quasi-Third-Order Thousand Mechanisms Cult inheritance.
• Lan Chang'an secretly consigned one Crystal Condensation Pill to Gutian Immortal City's auction, seeking a Third-Order Longevity Pill and higher puppet inheritance in exchange.