Chapter Summaries

After Li Xingwei established his foundation, he chose to wait for Li Qianqing to return before holding his Foundation Establishment Banquet. Meanwhile, Li Qianqing found the entrance to his second opportunity in Yanyu Prefecture, entered the trial, and claimed its first reward.

• Li Lilong told Li Xingwei he would be assigned to Changqing Mountain and offered him the choice of when to hold his Foundation Establishment Banquet.
• Li Xingwei decided to wait for Li Qianqing to return so Yan Xuewei could attend, and Li Lilong advised him to consolidate his cultivation with Spirit Solidification Pills.
• After spending more than half a year in Yanyu Prefecture, Li Qianqing obtained a Jade Pendant key and traveled to a desert where he found the trial entrance.
• Li Qianqing opened the stone gate with the Jade Pendant, entered the trial hall, and studied the instructions for its five stages.
• Li Qianqing defeated the two Rank 2 Low-Grade puppets in the first stage, stored them for the Li Family, and watched a stone platform rise with his reward.

Li Qianqing passed the fourth trial, received an Engraving Knife for carving puppet cores, and entered the fifth trial to prove himself by refining a First Order High-Grade Puppet. After studying and practicing, he completed the puppet on his third attempt.

• Li Qianqing claimed the rewards from the first three trials, including Heaven Cloud Water, and absorbed Primal Chaos Spirit Water in the cultivation room to advance his cultivation plan.
• Li Qianqing destroyed the core of the fourth trial’s powerful puppet and collected it, then received a first order low-grade Engraving Knife after activating the seven patterns tied to the previous puppets’ cores.
• Li Qianqing solved the puzzle at the fifth trial’s door and found instructions to refine a First Order High-Grade Puppet within one year to obtain the final inheritance.
• Li Qianqing studied the puppet-making knowledge, successfully refined a First Order Low-Grade Puppet and then a First Order Mid-Grade Puppet, and completed a Humanoid Puppet on his third high-grade attempt.

After completing a Puppet Dao inheritance, Li Qianqing returned to Changqing Mountain with a Tier 3 Low-Grade Puppet, a High-Grade Spirit Stone, Foundation Establishment Pills, Heaven Cloud Water, and cultivation techniques. He told Li Lilong about his gains and learned that Li Xingwei had established his foundation and that the clan had gathered herbs for Rank 2 High-Grade Spirit Enhancement Pills.

• Li Qianqing spent eight months learning the Puppet Dao and refining a First Order High-Grade Puppet, then received a Tier 3 Low-Grade Puppet and two Jade Slips from the inheritance.
• Li Qianqing returned to Changqing Mountain in mid-February and showed Li Lilong the Tier 3 Low-Grade Puppet.
• Li Qianqing described his journey and gains to Li Lilong, including three Foundation Establishment Pills, Heaven Cloud Water, and Foundation Establishment Techniques.
• Li Qianqing agreed to hold a grand Foundation Establishment Banquet for Li Xingwei, a Four Spiritual Roots cultivator who had recently succeeded in establishing his foundation.
• Li Lilong told Li Qianqing that the clan had gathered ten sets of herbs for Rank 2 High-Grade Spirit Enhancement Pills.
• Li Qianqing returned to his cave abode and sent Yan Xuewei a Sound Transmission Talisman inviting her to the banquet next month.

Li Qianqing hosted Li Xingwei’s Foundation Establishment Banquet, where Yan Xuewei’s attendance displayed her close ties with the Li Family. After revealing that he possessed a Core Formation Spiritual Object and expressing confidence in forming a core, Li Qianqing met Ma Xuanzong and Chen Changsheng to discuss matters after the banquet.

• Qiu Generation cultivators on Changqing Mountain speculated about Li Qianqing’s training journey and the family’s core high-level members.
• Foundation Establishment cultivators from many surrounding forces arrived for Li Xingwei’s banquet, and Li Qianqing welcomed Yan Xuewei and Duan Rongrong.
• Yan Xuewei asked whether Li Qianqing was confident about Core Formation, and he confirmed that he had obtained a Core Formation Spiritual Object.
• Duan Rongrong became more actively engaged with Li Qianqing, while the gathered guests took Yan Xuewei’s presence as proof of her strong relationship with the Li Family.
• Li Qianqing hosted Li Xingwei’s Foundation Establishment Banquet, which proceeded smoothly and strengthened other families’ understanding of the Li Family’s ties to Yan Xuewei.
• After seeing Yan Xuewei and Duan Rongrong off, Li Qianqing met Ma Xuanzong and Chen Changsheng in the reception hall.

Li Qianqing agreed to help the Ma Family and Chen Family eliminate the Sun Family after he reached Foundation Establishment Peak. He then gave Li Qiuling the family’s tenth-layer Qi Refining art, and Li Qiuling began preparing to cultivate it in secrecy.

• Ma Xuanzong and Chen Changsheng asked Li Qianqing to lead the attack on the Sun Family while their families cooperated and each claimed one of its outer spirit vein lands.
• Li Qianqing agreed, but said the Li Family would not act yet; he planned to wait until he reached Foundation Establishment Peak in five or six years.
• Two years later, Li Qianqing refined a Rank 2 High-Grade Spirit Enhancement Pill and considered his cultivation progress and plans to attack the Sun Family.
• Li Qianqing recognized that Li Qiuling had reached Qi Refining Ninth Layer Peak and offered him the chance to cultivate a tenth-layer Qi Refining art before attempting Foundation Establishment.
• Li Qiuling chose to cultivate the Verdant Wood Engulfing Flame Art, absorbed its instructions, and prepared to transform his cultivation art while remaining on Changqing Mountain.

Li Qiuling advanced his alchemy under Li Qianqing’s guidance, successfully refining Rank 2 Clear Spirit Pills as the Li Clan continued to grow stronger. Meanwhile, the weakened Sun Clan lost another subordinate force and remained uncertain about whether Heaven Harmony Sect or the An Clan and Tian Clan would help them.

• Li Qiuling completed his cultivation method conversion, broke through to Qi Refining Tenth Layer, and began learning to refine Rank 2 Pills from Li Qianqing.
• Jiang Weixiong heard cultivators discuss the Li Clan’s rising strength and hoped he could remain comfortably in Tongyang County Cultivator Market.
• Nearly two years after his breakthrough, Li Qiuling refined one Clear Spirit Pill in his first furnace and two in his second under Li Qianqing’s instruction.
• Li Qianqing reflected that Li Lilong had entered Foundation Establishment Late Stage and could eventually have two chances to attempt Core Formation.
• The Sun Clan learned another subordinate force had broken away, while Sun Wubin and the Sun Clan Patriarch worried that Heaven Harmony Sect and the An and Tian Clans were not supporting them.

The Sun Clan Head and Sun Wubin discussed how the An Family and Tian Family offered no reliable support, leaving their clan to depend on its own strength. Meanwhile, Li Qiuling successfully established his foundation, and Li Qianqing revealed that he planned to attempt Core Formation soon.

• Sun Wubin recalled that the An Family and Tian Family had made support conditional on negotiations and passage through Tian territory, while Heaven Harmony Sect said it had already done what it could.
• Sun Wubin suggested joining Clear Wind Valley, but the Sun Clan Head said the valley would not accept them while the sects were avoiding open conflict; he hoped the Li Ma Chen Three Clans would continue to hold back.
• Li Qiuling asked Li Qianqing for a Foundation Establishment Pill after reaching Qi Refining Tenth Layer Peak, and Li Qianqing escorted him to the clan's foundation-establishment cave.
• Li Qiuling succeeded in establishing his foundation by the beginning of May and told Li Qianqing he did not need to consolidate his cultivation.
• Li Lilong celebrated that Li Qiuling brought the Li Family to nine Foundation Establishment cultivators and expected Li Qiuben to make ten, while Li Qianqing said he intended to attempt Core Formation soon.

Li Qianqing arranged for the Ma Family and Chen Family to seize two of the Sun Family’s spirit-vein lands while the Li Family attacked the Sun Clan Ancestral Land. The assault began on the first day of the eighth month, and Li Qianqing revealed his trump card as a Tier 3 Low-Grade Puppet struck at the ancestral land’s defensive array.

• Li Qianqing told Ma Xuanzong and Chen Changsheng to handle the cultivators at two Sun Family spirit-vein lands while the Li Family dealt with the Sun Clan Ancestral Land.
• Li Qianqing set the attack for the first day of the eighth month, and Ma Xuanzong asked to witness the Li Family’s assault.
• Chen Changsheng brought twelve Qi Refining cultivators to surround one spirit-vein land, while the Ma Family prepared to attack the other.
• Li Qianqing led Li Xingwei, Li Xunting, Li Xunming, and Li Xunchen to the Sun Clan Ancestral Land and assigned them to block its four sides.
• The Sun Clan Head and Sun Wubin activated their defensive spirit array and realized the Li Family had come to wipe out their clan.
• Li Qianqing revealed that he would use a Tier 3 Low-Grade Puppet to break through the Sun Clan Ancestral Land’s defenses.

Li Qianqing used a Tier 3 Low-Grade Puppet to break the Sun Clan's defenses and destroy its forces across Wutong Prefecture. The Li Clan took over the Sun Clan's lands, while the Ma and Chen Clans learned of the puppet and remained committed to their friendly ties with the Li Clan.

• Li Qianqing struck the Sun Clan Ancestral Land's spiritual array with a Tier 3 Low-Grade Puppet, and the Sun Clan Head ordered the clansmen to flee rather than seek help from Heaven Harmony Sect.
• The Sun Clan's spiritual array broke, Li Qianqing and the other Li Clan Foundation Establishment cultivators killed the defenders, and Li Qianqing salvaged the spirit herbs and other resources that remained.
• Li Qianqing assigned Li Xunting to guard the Sun Clan Ancestral Land and sent Xingwei to guard Luoyun Valley as the Li Clan prepared to settle the newly acquired territory.
• The An Clan received the Sun Clan's request for help but delayed its reply with conditions, then suspected the Sun Clan had already been destroyed when no answer came.
• The Ma Clan and Chen Clan took the Sun Clan's other spirit vein lands, while Ma Tianxing and the Chen Clan Head decided their clans' friendly relationships with the Li Clan would remain unchanged.

After the Sun Clan’s destruction reshaped Wutong Prefecture, the Huang Clan broke away from the Tian Clan and became a subordinate force of the Li Clan. Li Qianqing oversaw plans for Changlin Mountain and prepared to enter seclusion to form his core.

• Loose Cultivators and Qi Refining clans discussed the Sun Clan’s destruction, while the Qiu Clan was glad it had joined the Li Clan years earlier.
• Huang Tingjing negotiated with Tian Youwei to end the Huang Clan’s subordinate relationship, agreeing to pay three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
• The Wutong Huang Clan asked to join the Li Clan, and Li Qianqing accepted on the condition that it monitor Weishui Prefecture for three years without offering resources.
• Li Qianqing and the clan’s core members planned how to develop Changlin Mountain, including its Spiritual Fields and Spirit Fish lake.
• Li Qianqing announced that he would begin seclusion the next day to form his core.

Li Qianqing entered seclusion to form his core, and two years later the Li Clan witnessed the signs of his success. His breakthrough raised the clan to Core Formation status, leaving its members celebrating the clan’s new strength and future prospects.

• Li Qianqing prepared the clan’s Core Formation cave abode, drank Heaven Cloud Water, and began his seclusion.
• Two years later, Li Xunchen emerged from seclusion after breaking through to mid-stage Foundation Establishment and handled the Fang Family’s request to become a Li Clan subordinate.
• Dark clouds and gathering spiritual energy appeared over Changqing Mountain, signaling that Li Qianqing had succeeded in forming his core.
• Li Clan cultivators celebrated as the clan became a Core Formation cultivation clan, while Li Lilong recognized the significance of the breakthrough.
• The clan retained eight Foundation Establishment cultivators, with Li Qiuben and Li Xunming regarded as Core Formation Seeds.

Li Qianqing successfully formed his core, making the Li family a Core Formation cultivation clan. He and the family’s senior members began preparing to upgrade Changqing Mountain’s spirit veins and take over Tongyang County Cultivator Market.

• Li Xingsheng and Li Lilong celebrated Li Qianqing’s Core Formation and discussed raising the Flame Turtle Changming to the Third Order.
• Li Qianqing examined his new golden core and found his divine sense had reached twenty li, then set priorities for cultivating his secret technique and gathering materials for the Flame Dragon Pearl.
• Li Qianqing noticed that the shattered pearl had turned slightly whiter and gave Shu Shu a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone after leaving his cave dwelling.
• Li Qianqing told Li Lilong to arrange an upgrade to the family’s spirit vein locations and contacted Yan Xuewei about the Core Formation banquet and Tongyang County Cultivator Market.
• Jiang Weixiong received the order to hand Tongyang County Cultivator Market over to the Li family, then learned from Li Xingdu that Li Qianqing had formed his core.

After Li Qianqing formed his core, the Li Clan’s control over Xiangshui Prefecture grew, leaving independent Qi Refining clans facing the loss of their spirit veins. Meanwhile, Duan Rongrong upgraded Li Qianqing’s cave array and prepared to adjust Changqing Mountain’s spirit veins to support new spiritual fields.

• News of Li Qianqing’s core formation spread across Xiangshui Prefecture, and independent Qi Refining clans debated how the Li Clan’s expansion would affect them.
• The Gong Clan head silenced a dispute over whether the Li Clan had deliberately encouraged independent clans to remain outside its subordinate forces.
• Half a month after Li Qianqing formed his core, Duan Rongrong arrived at Changqing Mountain, where five Micro Spirit Veins had been migrated and fused with the original nine into a Small Spirit Vein.
• Li Qianqing welcomed Duan Rongrong and discussed her prospects for core formation before she began upgrading the Spirit Gathering Array in his cave abode.
• Duan Rongrong finished upgrading the array to third-order low grade, and Li Qianqing asked her to adjust the spirit vein nodes to open eight fen of third-order low-grade spiritual fields and two fen of third-order middle-grade fields.

Li Qianqing prepared Changqing Mountain for his Core Formation banquet, expanded the clan’s spiritual fields, and welcomed Core Formation guests from across Zhao Country. The banquet began with the region’s power structure newly established as One Emperor, Four Sects, and Ten Families.

• Duan Rongrong adjusted Changqing Mountain’s spirit veins, while Li Qianqing arranged for her to work on Azure Wave Lake and Changle Mountain after the banquet.
• Li Qianqing entrusted Li Qiuben with planting Rank 3 spiritual medicines, and Li Qiuben planned to enter seclusion for Foundation Establishment on the first day of next month.
• Fang Mingchang arrived at Changqing Mountain, congratulated Li Qianqing, and gave him a sealed jade box as a gift.
• Wei Gongshi arrived on behalf of the Longhui Wei Clan, which had two Core Formation cultivators.
• Yan Xuewei arrived with Duan Rongrong, congratulated Li Qianqing, and gave him an ancient wooden box.
• Li Qianqing hosted the Core Formation banquet and discussed Zhao Country’s new structure with the other Core Formation cultivators.

At Li Qianqing’s Core Formation banquet, the guests discussed how the Li Family’s rise had stabilized Zhao Country’s local balance of power. After the banquet, Li Qiuben began Foundation Establishment with the clan’s support and succeeded smoothly, leaving him ready to tend Changqing Mountain’s spiritual fields.

• Fang Mingchang, Wei Gongshi, Yan Xuewei, and Li Qianqing discussed Zhao Country’s balance of power and agreed that the Li Family’s Core Formation had made conflict in Wutong Prefecture less likely.
• Li Qianqing saw off the banquet guests, and Yan Xuewei left Duan Rongrong on Changqing Mountain to help with the Li Family’s formation work.
• Li Qiuben received a Foundation Establishment Pill from Thirteenth Great Grandfather after the clan revised its rules for high-level members.
• Li Qiuben swallowed the pill and began Foundation Establishment, relying on his Dual Spiritual Roots, Flora Body, and the elders’ guidance.
• By mid-July, Li Qiuben had successfully established his foundation and prepared to cultivate Foundation Establishment techniques and tend Changqing Mountain’s spiritual fields.

Over nearly twenty years, Li Qianqing strengthened the Li Family by raising his cultivation, planning its spiritual medicine production, and guiding its growing ranks of talented clansmen. The chapter ended with Li Changgui discovering his talent for formations and going to report it to Li Qianqing.

• Li Qianqing instructed Li Qiuben to balance ripening Nine Bend Spirit Herbs with the clan’s Rank 2 spiritual medicines, then refined six Nine Bend Spirit Pills and used one to cultivate.
• Nearly twenty years passed; Li Xunming advanced to Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, while Li Qianyin failed to break through and Li Qianqing continued collecting materials for his Natal Magic Treasure.
• Li Qianqing assessed the Li Family’s growth, including its million-plus mortal clansmen and five new Dual Spiritual Roots cultivators, and planned to keep Foundation Establishment Pills within the clan.
• Li Changgui, a Gold-Earth Dual Spiritual Root Foundation Establishment Seed, successfully arranged a first-order low-grade Mini Spirit Gathering Array using only three sets of materials.
• Li Changgui went to the Clan Head Cave Dwelling and told Li Qianqing about his success; Li Qianqing invited him to speak privately as his Great Grandfather.

Li Qianqing evaluated Li Changgui’s formation talent and arranged for Duan Rongrong of Clear Wind Valley to teach him. After spending the day with her new disciple, Duan Rongrong returned to Li Qianqing with another matter to discuss.

• Li Changgui demonstrated his skill by quickly setting up and dismantling a first order low-grade Mini Spirit Gathering Array, and Li Qianqing decided to find him a master.
• Li Qianqing gave Li Changgui formation books and Jade Slips, then contacted Duan Rongrong, who agreed to visit Changqing Mountain three months later.
• Duan Rongrong arrived at Changqing Mountain and, after hearing about Li Changgui’s progress, met him and accepted him as her disciple.
• Duan Rongrong spent most of the day with Li Changgui, then returned to Li Qianqing and said she had another matter to tell him.

Duan Rongrong told Li Qianqing that Heaven Harmony Sect might move against Clear Wind Valley after the next Four Sects Trial, with the Zhao Country Royal Family secretly encouraging the sect. The chapter ended with Heaven Harmony Sect's leaders weighing the royal family's offer while Zhao Wenjin hinted that the sect's poor trial prospects could threaten its future.

• Duan Rongrong told Li Qianqing that Heaven Harmony Sect might act against Clear Wind Valley after the Four Sects Trial, partly because the Zhao Country Royal Family had been in contact with it.
• Li Qianqing reasoned that the royal family wanted to weaken the Four Great Sects and that his family's rise to Core Formation might make Heaven Harmony Sect less likely to attack.
• Duan Rongrong explained that Heaven Harmony Sect had lost two powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators, which could hurt its results in the upcoming trial.
• Duan Rongrong left Changqing Mountain after discussing the news and her plans to guide Li Changgui's formation work during future visits.
• At a secret meeting, Zhao Wenjin urged Heaven Harmony Sect's sect master and Supreme Elder to accept the royal family's offer, warning that poor results in the next trial could harm the sect.
• Heaven Harmony Sect's Supreme Elder questioned how much the royal family knew about the deaths of the sect's cultivators, and Zhao Wenjin said the royal family understood the facts without revealing what it knew.

Zhao Wenjin and Heaven Harmony Sect failed to finalize a cooperation deal as they argued over their respective influence and bargaining power. At Changlin Mountain, Li Xunting broke through to late-stage Foundation Establishment, and Li Qianqing soon learned that Li Qianyin had also succeeded, bringing the Li Family to four late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

• Zhao Wenjin and Heaven Harmony Sect's sect master and Supreme Elder discussed cooperation and benefits, but ended their meeting without an agreement.
• Zhao Wenjin left Heaven Harmony Sect reflecting on the royal family's long game with the Four Great Sects and Zhao Country's Core Formation clans.
• Li Xunting began a breakthrough at Changlin Mountain and successfully advanced to late-stage Foundation Establishment.
• Li Qianqing received Li Xunting's message and was pleased that she had reached late-stage Foundation Establishment.
• Li Qianqing received Li Qianyin's message that she had also advanced to late-stage Foundation Establishment, giving the Li Family four cultivators at that stage.
• Li Qianqing decided to ask Li Qiuben to adjust the clan's spiritual medicine ripening priorities to increase the supply of high-grade Spirit Enhancement Pills.

Li Qiuben harvested the first Nine Bend Spirit Herb and began cultivating more third-order medicines while Li Qianqing prepared pills for his future advancement. After Li Lilong delivered the materials, Li Qianqing refined the Flame Dragon Pearl as his Natal Magic Treasure, increasing his ability to absorb and convert spiritual energy.

• Li Qiuben harvested five stalks of Nine Bend Spirit Herb and gave them to Li Qianqing, who assigned him to cultivate more herbs and other third-order medicines.
• Li Qianqing spent fifty-four days refining five furnaces of Nine Bend Spirit Pills, producing twenty-eight usable pills, then resumed cultivation.
• The Li Family welcomed Li Qiuxin as its tenth Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• Li Lilong delivered the gathered materials for Li Qianqing's Natal Magic Treasure, and Li Qianqing began refining the Flame Dragon Pearl.
• After more than half a year of secluded cultivation, Li Qianqing completed the Flame Dragon Pearl and absorbed it into his body, where it increased his spiritual energy absorption and conversion by thirty percent.