Chapter Summaries

Li Qianqing began refining Rank 1 Mid-Grade Qi Gathering Pills in larger batches while balancing alchemy with cultivation. In early September, he joined the Li Clan’s annual spirit root testing in Liyang City, where he was responsible for carefully retesting children suspected of having spirit root talent.

• Li Qianqing started refining three sets of Rank 1 Mid-Grade Qi Gathering Pill ingredients per furnace, producing twenty-eight pills in his first batch and deciding to continue despite falling just short of his target.
• He refined one furnace every three days and cultivated with a Rank 1 Mid-Grade Qi Gathering Pill between batches.
• On the first day of early September, Li Qianqing left his alchemy work to lead the Li Clan’s annual spirit root testing alongside Li Qianjing and two other clan cultivators.
• The group traveled to Liyang City, where thousands of Li Clan children aged nine to eleven had gathered for testing.
• The Mid-Stage Qi Refining cultivators conducted the initial tests, while Li Qianqing handled children suspected of having spirit root talent for a more precise assessment.

Li Qianqing and the other Li Family cultivators tested the children of Liyang City for Spiritual Roots. Li Xingtian was the only child found to have them, and he prepared to leave his mortal life for Changqing Mountain.

• Li Qianjing and two other Mid-Stage Qi Refining cultivators conducted rough tests while Li Qianqing precisely tested children suspected of having Spiritual Roots.
• Li Qianqing tested three thousand children, including twenty-one who passed the rough test, before finding Five Spiritual Roots in Li Xingtian.
• Li Qianqing told Li Xingtian to say farewell to his parents and wait at the east gate for the Li Family cultivators.
• Li Xingtian returned home, where his father celebrated his Spiritual Roots and urged him to cultivate properly, while his mother tearfully gave him advice.
• The Spiritual Root testing of Liyang City's children ended at noon.

Li Qianqing and the other Li Clan cultivators continued testing children across the clan’s towns and counties, hoping to find new cultivators. In Xiongying County, they discovered Li Qiantong, a Three Spiritual Roots child, and sent him to bid farewell to his parents before joining the clan.

• Li Qianjing took Li Xingtian back to Changqing Mountain while Li Qianqing and the others continued their spiritual root testing.
• Li Qianqing visited his parents in Yanxin Town and resolved to ensure they would live peacefully in this life.
• After testing the children in Yanxin Town, the group traveled to Xiongying County, where Li Qianqing tested Li Qiantong as having wood, water, and earth spiritual roots.
• Li Qianjing celebrated Li Qiantong’s Three Spiritual Roots, and Li Qianqing told him to say goodbye to his parents before joining the Li Clan cultivators.

Li Qianqing began teaching newly tested cultivators Li Qiantong and Li Xingtian the clan rules and basics of cultivation. He persuaded the distracted Li Xingtian to embrace cultivation, then gave both children three days to memorize the Qi Induction Art before they began practicing.

• Li Qianqing and three clan members completed Spiritual Root testing across the city, counties, and towns, finding two new cultivators: Li Qiantong and Li Xingtian.
• Li Qianqing noticed Li Xingtian was distracted during his guidance and confronted him about preferring life at home to becoming a cultivator.
• Li Qianqing convinced Li Xingtian that cultivation could bring health and a future with many wives, and Li Xingtian resolved to become a cultivator.
• Li Qianqing taught the children basic clan rules and cultivation knowledge, then gave them copies of the Qi Induction Art to memorize within three days.
• Li Qianqing asked Li Qiantong to stay behind after the lesson.

Li Qianqing tested Li Qiantong’s knowledge and future ambitions, then asked Li Qianyin to forge nine blades from Molten Cloud Crystal for his secret art. The chapter ended with Li Qianyin demanding a refining fee.

• Li Qianqing confirmed that Li Qiantong remembered the lesson on spiritual roots and had no desire to live as Li Xingtian did.
• Li Qianqing told Li Qiantong to study the Qi Induction Art and try Qi Induction into the Body on his own in three days.
• Li Qianqing revealed that he had noticed Li Qianyin hiding nearby because Li Xingtian and Li Qiantong had both glanced toward her.
• Li Qianqing gave Li Qianyin First-Order High-Grade Molten Cloud Crystal and asked her to forge nine palm-sized blades for his Floating Shadow Blade secret art.
• Li Qianyin accepted the material but demanded a refining fee, and Li Qianqing asked how many spirit stones she wanted.

Li Qianqing discussed Li Qianyin’s artifact-refining work and continued guiding the clan’s young cultivators before attending his first Li Family Core High-Level Meeting. He sought to persuade the clan to avoid a future crisis over a Miniature Spirit Mine, while the meeting began with an overview of the Li Family’s businesses and finances.

• Li Qianyin assured Li Qianqing she would refine his magic artifact carefully and explained that Li Lilong knew she had gone out to observe his teaching.
• Li Qianqing returned home and prepared to refine Qi Gathering Pills, reflecting that Li Qiantong had completed Qi Induction into the Body without help while Li Xingtian had needed his assistance.
• Li Qianqing planned to guide the two young cultivators over the coming year and identify their individual potential.
• In mid-December, Li Qianqing attended his first Li Family Core High-Level Meeting, intending to warn the clan about the danger of the Miniature Spirit Mine that might be discovered around the year after next.
• Li Lilong outlined the Li Family’s shops, spiritual fields, and annual savings for Li Qianqing as the meeting began.

Li Qianqing attended his first Core High-Level Meeting, where the Li Family discussed its plans for cultivation, farming, and relations with other forces. He proposed improving relations with the Huang Clan, laying groundwork for possible future cooperation.

• Li Dihong proposed using half a mu of Changqing Mountain’s First Grade Middle Rank Spiritual Field to grow Fish Scale Grass for a mutated Azure Jade Fish, and Li Lilong and Li Ditu agreed.
• Li Ditu asked Li Qianqing about his pill-making success, and Li Qianqing reported producing eight Rank 1 Mid-Grade Qi Gathering Pills per furnace most of the time.
• Li Qianqing recommended that Li Qiantong explore spirit planting and alchemy, while the leaders approved letting him try both and noted Li Xingtian’s interest in having more children.
• The family reviewed its stable ties with nearby cultivation forces, including its conflict with the Jiang Family and its ordinary relations with the Huang Clan.
• Li Qianqing suggested improving relations with the Huang Clan so the Li Family could cooperate with it in the future.

Li Qianqing persuaded the Li Family elders to build ties with the Huang Clan and was assigned to invite them to Li Cunliu’s upcoming birthday. He then received a powerful set of nine Mid-Grade Magic Tools from Li Qianyin, who named them Nine Lives Soul Chaser.

• Li Qianqing argued that the Li Family should befriend the Huang Clan because its feud with the Jiang Family was beyond repair and the Huang Clan might prove useful in the future.
• Li Ditu and Li Cunliu supported Li Qianqing’s proposal, and Li Cunliu tasked him with inviting the Huang Clan to his one hundred fiftieth birthday next year.
• After the family meeting, Li Qianyin waited for Li Qianqing and presented the nine blades she had refined for him.
• Li Qianqing praised the blades as an impressive set of Mid-Grade Magic Tools, and Li Qianyin revealed their name: Nine Lives Soul Chaser.

Li Qianqing finished refining Rank 1 Mid-Grade Qi Gathering Pills and handed 1,602 to Li Lilong, impressing him with his pill-forming rate. In May, Li Qianqing arrived at the Huang Clan’s Pingding Mountain to invite them to the Li Family Patriarch’s birthday banquet, where Huang Lixin decided to receive him personally.

• Li Qianqing completed the Qi Gathering Pill task and gave Li Lilong a Storage Bag containing 1,602 pills.
• Li Lilong praised Li Qianqing’s pill-forming rate and agreed that he should take over the family’s Rank 1 High-Grade Pill refining.
• Li Qianqing prepared for his trip to the Huang Clan while continuing his cultivation and guiding Li Qiantong and Li Xingtian.
• Li Qianqing traveled nearly two days to Pingding Mountain and announced himself at the Huang Clan’s entrance.
• After hearing that Li Qianqing had arrived, Huang Lixin chose to go down the mountain and receive him personally.

Li Qianqing visited the Huang Clan to invite them to Li Cunliu’s 150th birthday, and Huang Lixin agreed that the clan would send a representative. After hearing Huang Lixin’s account, Huang Zhifeng decided to attend personally, seeing the Li Family’s invitation as a sign of sincerity.

• Huang Lixin welcomed Li Qianqing and learned that he had come to invite the Huang Clan to Li Cunliu’s birthday celebration.
• Huang Lixin agreed that the Huang Clan would send someone to offer congratulations, without specifying who would attend.
• Li Qianqing left Pingding Mountain, hoping the Huang Clan’s choice of representative would reveal its attitude toward the Li Family.
• Huang Lixin reported the visit to Huang Zhifeng, who considered the Li Family’s motives and the value of building relations with them.
• Huang Zhifeng decided to attend Li Cunliu’s birthday personally, surprising Huang Lixin.

Li Cunliu celebrated his one-hundred-and-fiftieth birthday, and Huang Zhifeng’s personal visit showed that the Li and Huang families were moving toward closer ties. The feast ended with Li Qianqing seeing their cooperation as a chance to turn the coming Miniature Spirit Mine crisis against the Jiang family.

• Li Lilong welcomed guests to Changqing Mountain and personally escorted Huang Zhifeng through the gate.
• Huang Zhifeng praised Li Qianqing, who returned his salute while attending to the feast preparations.
• Li Qianqing joined Li Qianyin at the feast and noted that Li Cunliu and Huang Zhifeng were speaking privately.
• Li Cunliu welcomed Huang Zhifeng prominently in his birthday remarks, and Li Qianqing inferred that their discussion had gone well.
• The guests began eating, while Li Qianqing considered how Li-Huang cooperation could help the Li family gain a larger share of the Miniature Spirit Mine.

After the Huang Clan attended Li Cunliu’s Longevity Feast, the Jiang Clan debated whether the Li Clan was forming an alliance against them and decided to watch both clans closely. Ten months later, Li Qianqing continued preparing for a coming Miniature Spirit Mine discovery while strengthening his combat abilities.

• Li Cunliu and Huang Zhifeng discussed a possible marriage alliance, but Huang Zhifeng said the Huang Clan had no suitable candidate.
• The Jiang Clan learned that Huang Zhifeng had attended Li Cunliu’s Longevity Feast and held a meeting to assess the Li Clan’s intentions.
• Jiang Chunfeng argued that the Li Clan’s openness would force the Jiang Clan to stay alert whether or not the Li Clan intended to target them.
• The Jiang Clan concluded that the Li Clan probably had no immediate plans against them, but decided to monitor the Li and Huang Clans.
• Ten months after Huang Zhifeng’s visit, Li Qianqing finished cultivating and anticipated the discovery of a Miniature Spirit Mine.
• Li Qianqing practiced Floating Shadow Blade at Minor Mastery and had already cultivated Void God Needle to Greater Mastery.

The Chen Clan discovered a Miniature Spirit Mine but feared that mining it alone would draw the three great Foundation Establishment clans’ retaliation, so the Chen Clan Head chose to inform all three and seek a small share. The story then shifted to Changqing Mountain, where Li Qianqing was set to guide Li Qiantong and Li Xingtian.

• The Chen Clan Head confirmed that a Miniature Spirit Mine lay about one hundred and ten li from the Chen Clan Ancestral Land.
• The Chen Clan Head explained that mining the Miniature Spirit Mine secretly could bring disaster upon the Chen Clan.
• The Chen Clan Head decided to notify the Li Family, the Jiang Family, and the Huang Clan so the Chen Clan could seek a share of the mining.
• The Chen Clan sent people to guard the Miniature Spirit Mine and carry the news to the three Foundation Establishment clans.
• At Changqing Mountain, Li Qianqing prepared to guide Li Qiantong and Li Xingtian, while the chapter noted that a child of the Xing Generation had been found with Five Spiritual Roots the previous September.

Li Qianqing taught Li Qiantong and Li Xingtian, who each showed interest in Body Refinement for different reasons. Afterward, Li Lilong told him that the Chen Family had discovered a Miniature Spirit Mine, and Li Qianqing realized the family had informed all three Foundation Establishment clans to protect its mining share.

• Li Qiantong asked Li Qianqing whether he could practice Body Refinement, and Li Qianqing recommended trying to reach Body Refinement First Layer.
• Li Xingtian asked to practice Body Refinement because he hoped it would help him dual cultivate, and Li Qianqing told him he could try.
• Li Qianqing reflected on the other Xing Generation Five Spiritual Roots cultivator, whose cultivation he planned to keep guiding without forcing a change.
• Li Lilong told Li Qianqing that the Chen Family had discovered a Miniature Spirit Mine and informed the Li Family.
• Li Qianqing concluded that the Chen Family had also informed the Huang Family and Jiang Family to preserve its share of the mine, and Li Lilong praised his reasoning.

Li Qianqing agreed to represent the Li Family in negotiations with the Chen Family over the Miniature Spirit Mine, while the Li and Huang Clans prepared to cooperate against the Jiang Clan. The Jiang Clan convened a meeting and considered its options, but rejected involving an outside clan.

• Li Lilong told Li Qianqing that the Li Family Patriarch had contacted the Huang Clan Patriarch about cooperating over the mine.
• Li Qianqing agreed to visit the Chen Family to discuss dividing the mine’s shares after first meeting with Li Cunliu.
• The Jiang Clan learned that the Chen Family had also informed the Li and Huang Clans, putting the Jiang Clan at a disadvantage.
• Jiang Chunfeng warned that attacking the Chen Family would give the Li and Huang Clans a reason to unite against the Jiang Clan.
• The Jiang Clan rejected asking the Wang Family for help because the mine’s shares were meant to be divided among the local clans.

Li Qianqing and Huang Lixin agreed to cooperate against the Jiang Clan over the Miniature Spirit Mine, while Jiang Chunfeng arrived at the Chen Clan Ancestral Land unaware of their plan. The Chen Clan Head opened the meeting to discuss how the mine’s shares would be divided.

• Jiang Chunfeng rejected inviting an Outer Prefecture clan and volunteered to visit the Chen Clan Ancestral Land to assess the Li and Huang Clans’ cooperation.
• Li Qianqing met Huang Lixin at the Chen Clan Ancestral Land, and they began discussing how to keep the Jiang Clan from taking a share of the Miniature Spirit Mine.
• Li Qianqing proposed that the Li and Huang Clans reject a simple division and claim mining shares through their own strength.
• Huang Lixin agreed to Li Qianqing’s plan, which could leave the Jiang Clan with no share unless it paid a heavy price.
• Jiang Chunfeng arrived last, and the Chen Clan Head began the meeting about dividing the mine’s shares.

The Chen Clan Head secured a ten percent share of the Miniature Spirit Mine, leaving the Li, Huang, and Jiang clans to divide the rest. After rejecting Jiang Chunfeng’s proposal for an even split, Li Qianqing pushed for a contest, and the clans agreed to decide the shares through spell duels.

• The Chen Clan Head asked for ten percent of the mine’s yield, and Li Qianqing, Huang Lixin, and Jiang Chunfeng all agreed before he left.
• Jiang Chunfeng proposed that the three great clans split the remaining ninety percent evenly, but Li Qianqing and Huang Lixin rejected the plan.
• Li Qianqing argued that the clans should fight to determine who deserved the larger shares, while Jiang Chunfeng warned against a costly war.
• Jiang Chunfeng proposed spell duels, with each clan fielding cultivators at the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Qi Refining Layers, and challenged Li Qianqing to compete.
• Li Qianqing accepted the challenge, and Huang Lixin said the Jiang and Li clans had to compete first, with the Huang Clan needing to secure at least second place.

Jiang Chunfeng negotiated the dueling contest and Miniature Spirit Mine shares to favor the Jiang Family while the Huang Clan and Li Family agreed to the terms. Three days later, Foundation Establishment cultivators from Xiangshui Prefecture gathered at the Chen Clan Ancestral Land for the contest.

• Jiang Chunfeng agreed with Huang Lixin’s plan for the Huang Clan to secure second place, while Li Qianqing said he had no objections.
• Li Qianqing proposed that the first-, second-, and third-place families receive fifty, thirty, and ten percent of the Miniature Spirit Mine’s mining share, and Huang Lixin agreed.
• Jiang Chunfeng accepted the shares and set the contest for three days later at the Chen Clan Ancestral Land.
• After leaving, Jiang Chunfeng sent a Sound Transmission Talisman to his clan head, confident the Jiang Family would win the Seventh- and Ninth-Layer duels.
• The Chen Clan Head prepared the venue despite worrying that the contest might damage his ancestral land, and Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered there three days later.

The Li, Jiang, and Huang Clans gathered to contest the Miniature Spirit Mine’s mining shares, and Li Qianqing entered the Qi Refining Seventh Layer bout against Jiang Chuntu. As the fight began, Li Qianqing struck Jiang Chuntu down, moving the Li Clan’s plan forward.

• The three clans assembled at the Chen Clan’s venue, with the Chen Clan Head reluctantly serving as judge.
• Jiang Chunfeng told Jiang Chuntu to fight Li Qianqing hard, while believing the Li Clan would protect its important alchemist and that the Huang Clan would stay neutral.
• Li Qianqing volunteered for the Seventh Layer bout, and he and Jiang Chuntu took their places as the first match began.
• Li Qianqing and Jiang Chuntu charged at each other without using the Object Manipulation Technique.
• Jiang Chuntu felt pain in his neck, then saw the world sink as his body stopped responding.

Li Qianqing killed Jiang Chuntu in a duel, triggering the conflict between the Li Family and the Jiang Clan ahead of schedule. As the two clans began fighting, Huang Lixin held the Huang Clan back and waited for a more advantageous moment to intervene.

• Li Qianqing killed Jiang Chuntu with a swift strike, shocking the gathered cultivators.
• Li Cunliu protected Li Qianqing and challenged Jiang Gaoyuan, who ordered his clan to attack.
• Li Cunliu and Jiang Gaoyuan began fighting in midair with their spiritual artifacts.
• Li Dihong gathered the Li Family’s Qi Refining cultivators around Li Qianqing as both clans began battling.
• Huang Lixin refused to let the Huang Clan join the fight yet, waiting for the Li Family to fall behind before intervening.