Chapter Summaries

Li Xiuchang agreed to join Pang Yuanfu and Chi Hui on a sect mission to hunt a Pig Demon near White Cloud City. After arranging to leave the next day, he went to prepare supplies, while an illusory Primordial Spirit descended into Number Eight in Eastern Geng District.

• Pang Yuanfu and Chi Hui visited Li Xiuchang and were shocked to learn he had reached the Fourth Layer of Qi Condensation.
• Pang Yuanfu explained that Senior Brother Song Yu had entrusted him with a sect mission to eliminate a First Order Early Stage Pig Demon near White Cloud City.
• Li Xiuchang agreed to join Pang Yuanfu and Chi Hui, and the three planned to set out the next day.
• Li Xiuchang made a list of magical artifacts, pills, and talismans to prepare, then flew to the outer market district to buy supplies.
• An illusory Primordial Spirit descended from the sky and entered Number Eight in Eastern Geng District.

Gui Wuyan used a Longevity Bamboo shoot to persuade Zhang Wanzhi to give him a Heaven Seizing Pill, then warned that someone would face a calamity on this trip. Li Xiuchang finished shopping at the Immortal Dust Sect Outer Market and ran into Pang Yuanfu with his father.

• Gui Wuyan returned to his body with a Longevity Bamboo shoot and Zhang Wanzhi urged him to have it refined into a pill.
• Gui Wuyan pretended to eat the shoot so Zhang Wanzhi would give him a Heaven Seizing Pill, then wrote that someone was destined to face a calamity on this trip.
• Zhang Wanzhi guessed the warning concerned Li Xiuchang and planned to give him a protective magic treasure when he returned.
• Li Xiuchang bought healing pills and Tier 2 Talismans at the Immortal Dust Sect Outer Market while searching for Soul Master equipment.
• Li Xiuchang saw a burly man slap Pang Yuanfu, then learned the man was Pang Yuanfu's father.

Li Xiuchang visited the market with Pang Yuanfu, bought a Dog Soul that its seller insisted was a Wolf Soul, and learned where he might find more Yin Souls. He returned to the Eastern Geng District planning to buy a faster flying boat from Senior Brother Zhang Wanzhi before heading out to gain experience.

• Pang Yuanfu's father tried to persuade Li Xiuchang to hire him, but Pang Yuanfu interrupted and sent him away.
• Pang Yuanfu led Li Xiuchang to a stall selling a Yin Soul after Li Xiuchang asked about Soul Master equipment.
• Li Xiuchang identified the seller's supposed Wolf Soul as a Dog Soul and bought it with its storage gourd for one thousand spirit stones.
• The stall owner told Li Xiuchang about a nearby mountain with many demonic beasts, and Li Xiuchang considered going there to find more Yin Souls.
• Li Xiuchang returned to the Eastern Geng District and decided to visit Senior Brother Zhang Wanzhi to buy a newer flying boat.

Li Xiuchang collected his share of the flying boat profits and bought Zhang Wanzhi’s Deluxe Version Top-grade Magic Tool Flying Boat, while keeping his plan to leave the sect secret. The next morning, he met Pang Yuanfu and Chi Hui at the outer market and invited them aboard his new boat before they set out for White Cloud City.

• Li Xiuchang visited Zhang Wanzhi and received eight thousand spirit stones from the flying boat business.
• Li Xiuchang bought Zhang Wanzhi’s unsold Deluxe Version flying boat for two thousand spirit stones and learned about its formations and Escape Mode.
• Zhang Wanzhi mentioned that a chubby inner disciple had come looking for Li Xiuchang, but Li Xiuchang dismissed the visit as catching up with a friend.
• Li Xiuchang went to the herb fields that evening, then met Pang Yuanfu and Chi Hui at the outer market the next morning.
• Pang Yuanfu summoned his standard-issue flying boat, but Li Xiuchang released his new Top-grade Magic Tool Flying Boat and invited them aboard.

Li Xiuchang, Pang Yuanfu, and Chi Hui reached White Cloud City at high speed to investigate a Pig Demon that had been injuring people and stealing their food. The City Lord explained that the demon remained elusive, leaving the three to pursue a cautious creature whose motives were still unclear.

• Pang Yuanfu and Chi Hui urged Li Xiuchang to fly faster, and he pushed the flying boat to its maximum speed.
• Li Xiuchang and his companions arrived in White Cloud City and declined the City Lord’s offer of a welcome feast so they could address the demon.
• Li Xiuchang recognized Nan Yue, who revealed that the Pig Demon had injured him more than a year earlier.
• Song Wan told the three cultivators that the Pig Demon had injured several people but killed no one, and that its victims had all been carrying food.
• Song Wan said the Pig Demon seemed to steal food, appeared in different places, and had not yet been traced to its lair.

Li Xiuchang used the map and a Rogue Cultivator Attendant’s encounter to identify a promising area to search for the Pig Demon’s lair. While the others searched the mountain, he released and subdued a Dog Soul, then wondered whether it thought it was a wolf.

• Li Xiuchang argued that the Pig Demon’s lair was likely in an unsearched area, and a Rogue Cultivator Attendant identified where he had once encountered the demon.
• Li Xiuchang, Pang Yuanfu, Chi Hui, Song Wan, and the others set out to search the mountain forest and split into groups.
• Li Xiuchang released the Dog Soul at the encounter site, stopped it from escaping, and repelled its attack with his Protective Treasure Light.
• Li Xiuchang beat the Dog Soul into submission, then found that it responded affectionately when he called it a little wolf.

Li Xiuchang named the Dog Demon Wangcai and followed its keen nose to a Pig Demon's cave, where the demon surprised him by attacking with a bundle of First Order talismans. He and his companions tried to smoke the Pig Demon out, but it escaped through a second exit and fighting broke out on the mountaintop.

• Li Xiuchang named the Dog Demon Wangcai, used a Soul Taming Seal to control it, and sent it to track demon beasts.
• Wangcai followed a black boar's scent past an old grave bearing the name Su Qingchun to a cave.
• Li Xiuchang lured a Pig Demon out of the cave, but it blasted Wangcai with a bundle of talismans before retreating inside.
• Pang Yuanfu and Chi Hui joined Li Xiuchang, who sent smoke into the cave to force the Pig Demon out.
• Chi Hui spotted smoke escaping from a second opening on the mountaintop, and she and Pang Yuanfu went to guard it.
• Li Xiuchang heard fighting from the mountaintop and wondered whether the Pig Demon had broken out there.

Li Xiuchang reached the mountaintop to find Pang Yuanfu and Chi Hui unconscious and faced a Pig Demon that had concealed its Late Qi Condensation strength. After Zhang Wanzhi captured the demon and a lurking Yin Soul, Li Xiuchang realized he had mistaken his senior brother’s rescue for an attack and punched him.

• Li Xiuchang found Pang Yuanfu and Chi Hui breathing but unconscious near the cave entrance.
• Li Xiuchang revealed that the Pig Demon was a Late Qi Condensation demon that could speak and had been raised by Scholar Su Qingchun.
• The Pig Demon charged Li Xiuchang, while a Yin Soul tried to ambush him from behind.
• Zhang Wanzhi appeared, captured the Yin Soul and Pig Demon, and shielded Li Xiuchang from the charge.
• Mistaking Zhang Wanzhi for an attacker, Li Xiuchang struck him with his strongest punch, then asked whether he was all right.

Li Xiuchang reunited with Zhang Wanzhi, who had rescued him from a Pig Demon and its master’s spirit, though Li Xiuchang realized he could have handled the danger himself. He took responsibility for preserving the spirit’s consciousness and questioned the Pig Demon about its past, leaving its fate undecided.

• Li Xiuchang and Zhang Wanzhi exchanged blows, then Zhang explained that Gui Wuyan had sent him because Li Xiuchang was predicted to face danger.
• Zhang Wanzhi handed Li Xiuchang the malevolent spirit of Su Qingchun, whose fading self-awareness and unusual Righteous Qi came from his Confucian learning.
• Li Xiuchang concluded Su Qingchun could not be sent into reincarnation and decided to keep him nearby while clearing away his Malevolent Energy.
• Li Xiuchang questioned the restrained Pig Demon about its master and why it had bullied people in White Cloud City.
• The Pig Demon explained that it had become a demon after swallowing Spirit Grass and had stayed with Su Qingchun until its master died of old age.

Li Xiuchang uncovered why the Pig Demon had attacked civilians and agreed to protect Su Qingchun’s fading ghost soul. After the Pig Demon left, Li Xiuchang set out for Green Cui Mountain with a defensive magic treasure from Gui Wuyan.

• Li Xiuchang deduced that the Pig Demon had attacked civilians to draw Immortal Dust Sect disciples to save Su Qingchun’s soul, and promised to keep the ghost safe.
• The Pig Demon explained its plan, thanked Li Xiuchang, and left after learning that Su Qingchun would be cared for.
• Li Xiuchang asked where Wolf Demons were active, and the Pig Demon pointed him to Green Cui Mountain.
• Li Xiuchang decided to investigate Green Cui Mountain, while Zhang Wanzhi warned him to be careful because Gui Wuyan had predicted a tribulation.
• Zhang Wanzhi gave Li Xiuchang Gui Wuyan’s golden abacus magic treasure, which could be used once to protect him.

After completing the mission in White Cloud City, Li Xiuchang went to Green Cui Mountain with Wangcai to find its wolf kin and capture more Yin Souls. He found himself surrounded by a pack of Wolf Demons and their Wolf Souls.

• Li Xiuchang revived Pang Yuanfu and Chi Hui, explained that the Pig Demon had fled, and showed them the Yin Soul he had captured.
• Li Xiuchang left the others, visited his former boxing master at the South Mountain Martial Arts Hall, and then flew to Green Cui Mountain.
• Li Xiuchang released Wangcai and followed it deep into the mountain, killing several first-rank demonic beasts that attacked him.
• Li Xiuchang discovered that a pack of Wolf Demons had surrounded him, led by a late first-rank Wolf King.
• Wolf Souls emerged around Li Xiuchang as the pack closed in.

Li Xiuchang fought a wolf pack and its Wolf Souls, holding back his Abacus Magic Treasure as he relied on his defensive light and talismans. When the Tier 2 Yin Soul wolf king overwhelmed his attacks, he prepared his last talisman and wondered what would happen if he made it one inch thicker.

• Li Xiuchang used his Vajra Dharma Image and Protective Treasure Light to repel the Wolf Souls and knock down the Wolf Demons.
• Li Xiuchang bombarded the pack with Tier 1 Talismans, driving the living wolves back without killing them.
• The wolf king summoned a Tier 2 Yin Soul wolf king, which resisted Li Xiuchang's golden light and led the Wolf Souls' assault.
• Li Xiuchang used Tier 2 Talismans to wound the Yin Soul wolf king, but the other Wolf Souls merged into it and restored its strength.
• With only a Freezing Talisman left and his hand on the Abacus Magic Treasure, Li Xiuchang wondered what would happen if he made the talisman one inch thicker.

Li Xiuchang tested a Tier 2 Freezing Talisman enlarged into a powerful talisman brick, freezing the wolf pack and shattering the First-tier malevolent spirit Wolf King. After subduing the other Wolf Souls, he tried to persuade the Wolf King to accept a Soul Taming Seal, and Wangcai’s intervention left the Wolf King lying down.

• Li Xiuchang added an inch of length to his Tier 2 Freezing Talisman and detonated it, freezing the Wolf Demons and Wolf Souls across a thousand-meter radius.
• Li Xiuchang shattered the immobilized First-tier malevolent spirit Wolf King and bound its largest soul fragments to prevent them from reassembling.
• Li Xiuchang subdued more than thirty injured Wolf Souls with Soul Taming Seals and stored them in the Gourd Artifact.
• Li Xiuchang tried to bargain with the Wolf King, offering to release the frozen Wolf Demons if it accepted a Soul Taming Seal, but refused to free the Wolf Souls.
• Wangcai returned, whined to the Wolf King, and the Wolf King lowered its head and lay down.

Li Xiuchang subdued the Yin Soul Wolf King, returned safely to the Immortal Dust Sect, and began treating his newly gathered Wolf Souls. He kept Gui Wuyan’s Abacus Magic Treasure and left Su Qingchun’s recovery as a long-term task while putting him to work in the medicinal field.

• Li Xiuchang subdued the Yin Soul Wolf King, freed the Wolf Demons, and gathered more than thirty Wolf Souls into his pack.
• Li Xiuchang returned safely to the Immortal Dust Sect and reasoned that Gui Wuyan’s divination could not account for the Length Cheat.
• Zhang Wanzhi told Li Xiuchang to keep the unused Abacus Magic Treasure until Gui Wuyan returned and updated him on the Pig Demon mission.
• Li Xiuchang released his Yin Souls at the medicinal field and treated them to practice his Soul Master skills.
• Li Xiuchang began regularly dispelling Malevolent Energy from Su Qingchun, who remained muddled but obediently helped tend the fields.

Li Xiuchang advanced to the Seventh Layer of Qi Condensation, healed most of the Wolf Souls, and began training Wangcai to become the new leader of Paw Patrol. He left Wangcai fired up to challenge the Ghost Wolf King.

• After a month of treating ghosts, Li Xiuchang reached First Order Soul Master skill but postponed taking the assessment.
• Li Xiuchang spent one inch of Length Value to break through into Late Qi Condensation and kept the remaining three inches in reserve.
• Li Xiuchang healed the soul-body injuries and purged Malevolent Energy from more than thirty Wolf Souls, then assigned over ten of the strongest to his combat division.
• Li Xiuchang returned to the Eastern Geng District, set up spirit stones and a Spirit Gathering Array for the combat ghosts, and began training Wangcai to grow stronger.
• Li Xiuchang urged Wangcai to strive for leadership, and Wangcai's resolve sharpened as the Ghost Wolf King overheard that he could replace it.

Li Xiuchang arranged for Zhang Wanzhi to refine a Soul Banner Magic Tool after learning that Soul Banners were common among Soul Masters and that modern Soul Mastery grew from both Daoist and demonic techniques. He left with the banner promised in a month, while Wangcai began cultivating in the training room.

• Li Xiuchang sent Wangcai to cultivate in the training room and planned to reward the most diligent Wolf Souls with extra resources.
• Li Xiuchang ordered Tier 2 Talismans from Wang Long and visited Zhang Wanzhi to ask about Soul Mastery Magic Tools.
• Zhang Wanzhi served Li Xiuchang Spirit Tea that helped him resolve accumulated doubts and improve his skills.
• Li Xiuchang asked Zhang Wanzhi to refine two top-grade Soul Mastery Magic Tools, and Zhang proposed one Soul Banner combining Soul Capturing, Soul Storage, and Soul Refining.
• Zhang Wanzhi explained the history of Soul Mastery, and Li Xiuchang agreed to collect the Soul Banner in a month.

Li Xiuchang sold Senior Brother Chu Ya his blossomed Lovesick Moonpetals and accepted an order for Her Fragrance flowers. He began planning for Foundation Establishment and sought a way to continue cultivating the Fire Starting Skill, then learned that Zhang Wanzhi had finished his Soul Banner Magic Tool.

• Li Xiuchang told Senior Brother Song Yu that the Lovesick Moonpetals had bloomed, and Senior Brother Chu Ya came the next day to collect all ninety-nine flowers.
• Senior Brother Chu Ya paid Li Xiuchang to grow two hundred Her Fragrance flowers, and Li Xiuchang planted their seeds over the following days.
• Li Xiuchang considered preparing for Foundation Establishment and decided he wanted to keep the Fire Starting Skill after advancing beyond Qi Condensation.
• Li Xiuchang turned to the Preaching Ranking to seek help creating the next chapters of the Fire Starting Skill, avoiding a direct request to his neighbor senior brothers.
• Zhang Wanzhi messaged Li Xiuchang that the Soul Banner Magic Tool was complete and ready for pickup.

Li Xiuchang collected Zhang Wanzhi’s rainbow-colored Soul Banner and tested its power, then refined Qi Nourishing Pills while training the Paw Patrol to store and expel poisonous smoke. Wang Long delivered the Tier 2 Talismans Li Xiuchang had ordered and discussed preparing for Foundation Establishment, leaving Li Xiuchang asking about the Immortal Dust Sect’s supply of Foundation Establishment Pills.

• Li Xiuchang collected Zhang Wanzhi’s Rainbow Soul Banner, which had seven Soul Storage Spaces and grew stronger as it stored Yin Souls.
• Li Xiuchang tested the banner on the Paw Patrol and used it to suppress the Yin Soul Wolf King without relying on his body-refinement strength.
• Li Xiuchang had the Paw Patrol swallow poisonous smoke from his pill refining so they could store it and spit it at enemies, while Wangcai competed to lead the pack.
• Li Xiuchang refined two Qi Nourishing Pills and received more than a dozen Tier 2 Talismans from Wang Long.
• Wang Long said he was preparing early for Foundation Establishment, and Li Xiuchang asked whether the Immortal Dust Sect had a large supply of Foundation Establishment Pills.

Li Xiuchang learned how difficult it was to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill and explored the Preaching Ranking for guidance on establishing his foundation. After reading a comprehensive post, he believed he might be able to establish his foundation without a pill and decided to first reach Peak Qi Condensation.

• Wang Long explained that Foundation Establishment Pills were scarce and discussed his plans to earn enough spirit stones to buy one rather than compete for Inner Sect missions.
• Li Xiuchang offered to lend Wang Long spirit stones if he needed them, and Wang Long left to sell his flying vessel.
• Li Xiuchang returned to the Preaching Ranking, found no replies to his requests for help with the follow-up to "Fire Starting Skill," and submitted a new request to "Domineering Arrogant Heaven."
• Li Xiuchang unlocked and studied "Immortal Path Seeker"'s comprehensive post about Foundation Establishment.
• Li Xiuchang concluded that he might establish his foundation without a Foundation Establishment Pill and decided to return to the medicinal herb field to reach Peak Qi Condensation.

Li Xiuchang prepared for Foundation Establishment by replacing his mana with purer mana cultivated from second-grade Waste Spirit Plants. Meanwhile, Zhang Wanzhi and Chen Changsheng discussed creating cultivation methods tailored to Li Xiuchang and decided to provide Foundation Establishment and Golden Core methods together.

• Li Xiuchang reached Peak Qi Condensation and concluded that he needed to improve the quality and quantity of his mana before attempting Foundation Establishment.
• Li Xiuchang bought a second-grade Waste Spirit Plant and successfully cultivated its wood-attribute spiritual power into denser, purer Charcoal Attribute Mana.
• Li Xiuchang began replacing all the mana in his body through cultivation, planning to temper it further once the process was complete.
• Chen Changsheng told Zhang Wanzhi that Li Xiuchang had asked for the next stage of the Fire Starting Skill, and they discussed how to tailor the method to his mutated Charcoal Attribute Mana.
• Zhang Wanzhi decided to create both Foundation Establishment and Golden Core methods for Li Xiuchang, and Chen Changsheng agreed to help him work on them.