Chapter Summaries

Ye Jingcheng monitored the Ye Family’s tunnels and trained his spirit beasts as several of them broke through. With the Golden Scale Beast’s strength greatly increased, Ye Jingcheng grew more confident in the Ye Family’s coming operation against the Li Family.

• Ye Jingcheng used his divine sense to explore six hidden tunnels beneath the Ye Family estate and reflected on the gains from cultivating the Celestial Soul Art.
• Ye Jingcheng helped the Three-Colored Cloud Deer test its breakthrough, finding that it could summon two Wood Puppets and had strengthened its existing abilities.
• Ye Jingcheng sent word to Ye Xinghe, who began arranging the Ye Family’s next move as the Li Family’s pill sales and circumstances worsened.
• The Jade Ring Rat broke through, and Ye Jingcheng rewarded it with two Spirit Nurturing Pills.
• The Golden Scale Beast broke through three days later, and Ye Jingcheng tested its stronger Earth Spike Art and Golden Armor Art before deciding not to let it fight in the crowded market district yet.

Ye Jingcheng prepared to leave with new defensive treasures as the Ye Family’s plan against the Li Family began moving forward. Meanwhile, Mo Wenchen secretly teleported away, and an old man at Lingyun Peak detected his departure through a Sea Heaven Leech.

• Ye Jingyu delivered Ye Jingcheng a Four Direction Spirit Beast Bag, a Golden Bell Shield Spirit Talisman, and an Aura Protection Pendant, which Ye Jingcheng chose to refine before leaving.
• Two days later, Ye Jingcheng and another veiled cultivator departed by spirit boat with a Jade Ring Rat, while a hidden Spirit Shield rippled nearby.
• Li Mutian received a jade talisman, crushed a jade slip, and worried that the Ye Family might once again have anticipated the Li Family’s scheme.
• Mo Hongyuan consulted Mo Wenchen, who told him to let the Ye and Li Families clash, watch the person buying Azure Wave Wine, and begin brewing Supreme Mystery Spirit Wine.
• Mo Wenchen activated an array and vanished from the bottom of the lake, and an old man at Lingyun Peak used a Sea Heaven Leech and mirror to detect the teleportation.

Ye Jingcheng and Ye Xinghe flew into an ambush at Tiger's Roar Pass, where formations and a heretical cultivator attacked them. As the pursuers closed in, Ye Jingcheng countered the enemy’s gong with his Soul Startling Drum.

• Ye Xinghe used a Formation Breaking Talisman to tear open the first formation as Ye Jingcheng resisted an illusion and deflected a silver needle with his treasures and Spirit Beasts.
• The spirit boat entered a gravity formation, but Ye Xinghe broke it with another talisman and helped the boat rise again.
• Ye Jingcheng recognized Li Yufu and Li Muhe among three pursuers while Ye Xinghe crushed a jade slip to alert the sect.
• The ghost-eyed Heretical Cultivator attacked with an illusion and a ghost-faced gong, which overwhelmed Ye Xinghe and several Spirit Beasts.
• Ye Jingcheng beat his Soul Startling Drum to clash with the gong’s sound waves.

Ye Jingcheng and the Ye Family fought off Li Yufu, Li Muhe, and a Blood Cultivator while waiting for reinforcements. Turtle Ancestor revealed himself and engaged Xu Chunlin, while Ye Jingcheng killed Li Yufu and the Heretical Cultivator; Li Muhe was trapped as Ye Jingyu and Ye Xingliu blocked his escape.

• Ye Jingcheng used the Blackwood Coffin and his spirit beasts to hold off the Black Robed Heretical Cultivator while Lizard Elder and the Blood Eagle struggled against Li Muhe.
• The Heretical Cultivator spotted Ye Jingcheng activating a Corpse Spear Spirit Talisman, and the attackers focused their strikes on him as he raised his defenses.
• Turtle Ancestor appeared to block a Golden Arrow Technique and confronted Xu Chunlin, who had been hiding nearby.
• Ye Jingcheng activated the corpse spear and killed Li Yufu, then drew in the Heretical Cultivator's shield and slew him with the spear and his spirit beasts.
• Li Muhe tried to flee, but Ye Jingyu and Ye Xingliu blocked his way, and Ye Jingcheng revealed that the Ye Family had applied to become a Purple Mansion Family.

Ye Jingcheng and the Ye Family defeated the Li Family’s forces and received permission to take over the Li Family’s territory, securing their rise as a Purple Mansion Family. Grandmaster Taihao revealed that an injured, disguised Purple Mansion cultivator had escaped, then granted the family three months to settle matters and privately offered to recommend Ye Jingcheng to the sect.

• Ye Xingliu praised Ye Jingcheng, gave him the three Storage Bags from the slain Li Family cultivators, and reassured him that Grandmaster Taihao had gone to protect Turtle Ancestor.
• Grandmaster Taihao arrived with Turtle Ancestor and told the Ye Family that the escaped Purple Mansion cultivator was not Xu Chunlin, though he had been wounded and would need time to recover.
• Grandmaster Taihao said he would report the Li Family’s violation to the sect and leave the family’s disposal to the Ye Family, while warning them to behave like a Purple Mansion Family.
• Ye Xinghe gave Grandmaster Taihao Jade Slips recording the battle and the appearances of Li Yufu and Li Muhe.
• Grandmaster Taihao granted the Ye Family three months’ leave to settle their affairs before returning to Jade Dragon Valley, then privately offered to recommend Ye Jingcheng to the sect.

After Grandmaster Taihao left, Ye Xingliu assigned Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingyu to secure the Li Family’s herb garden at Buyun Valley while the Ye Family prepared to take over the Li Family’s resources. The cousins reached the valley and found the Ye Family had already seized it, but still needed a Foundation Building Cultivator to guard it.

• Ye Jingcheng told Ye Xingliu that Grandmaster Taihao was not a suitable master for him and that joining the sect would be dangerous, easing Ye Xingliu’s concern.
• Ye Xingliu sent Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingyu to Buyun Valley to protect the Spirit Herbs, and tasked Ye Xinghe with announcing Ye Haicheng’s breakthrough and inviting people to the Purple Mansion Assembly.
• Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingyu traveled to Buyun Valley by spirit boat, with Ye Jingcheng restoring his energy while his Spirit Beasts guarded the vessel.
• The cousins arrived to find Buyun Valley covered by the Ye Family’s Seven Mysteries Mist Rain Array, confirming that the family had taken control of the herb garden.
• Ye Jingyu explained that the Ye Family still needed a Foundation Building Cultivator to guard the valuable valley against Robber Cultivators.

Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingyu reached Buyun Valley, where Ye Xingqun had secured the Li Family’s herb gardens after the Ye Family seized the valley. While inspecting the lavish Spirit Ascension Garden, Ye Jingcheng found valuable herbs for his alchemy and a Heavenly Spirit Fruit tree, leaving the Ye Family with a major windfall.

• Ye Jingcheng sent his Jade Ring Rat to check Buyun Valley’s entrance before he and Ye Jingyu met Ye Xingqun.
• Ye Jingyu reassured Ye Xingqun that Grandmaster Taihao had authorized the Ye Family to deal with the Li Family, and Ye Jingcheng explained that the family had become a Purple Mansion Family.
• Ye Xingqun told them the Li Family had uprooted or destroyed many Spirit Herbs during the attack, though the Ye Family had prevented greater losses.
• Ye Xingqun led Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingyu through Buyun Valley’s herb gardens and into the Spirit Ascension Garden, whose formation arrays raised its spiritual energy to Tier 2 mid-grade levels.
• Ye Jingcheng identified several ancient Spirit Herbs, including an eight-hundred-year Heavenly Crimson Flower that could serve as an ingredient for the Scarlet Flame Fox’s Tier 2 pill.
• Ye Jingcheng discovered a Heavenly Spirit Fruit tree, a source of one of the Taiyi Sect’s Foundation Establishment Pill ingredients.

Ye Jingcheng relaxed in Buyun Valley and opened three Storage Bags, sorting through the treasures taken from Li Yufu, Li Muhe, and the black-robed Heretical Cultivator. The Heretical Cultivator’s plentiful collection left Ye Jingcheng delighted as he considered what to keep and what to give the family.

• Ye Jingcheng sensed his Wood Aspect Spiritual Energy strengthening in Buyun Valley and enjoyed tea beneath the stars.
• Ye Jingcheng found little of value in Li Yufu’s Storage Bag but kept his binding artifact, the Azure Cloud Ring.
• Ye Jingcheng claimed Li Muhe’s Sky Wind Pouch, Golden Faced Silver Ring Saber, pill furnace, Heavenly Net Array, and Hidden Spirit Grand Array, while considering other items for the family.
• Ye Jingcheng opened the black-robed Heretical Cultivator’s Storage Bag and found Spirit Stones, Jade Slips, Jade Boxes, powerful Dharma Artifacts, and a Second Order spirit boat.

Ye Jingcheng sorted the spoils he had collected and settled into guarding Buyun Valley after the Ye Family’s rise to a Purple Mansion Family. Before leaving with the thousand-year Spirit Herbs, Ye Xinghan warned him that Blood Pacts could fail against Wood Demons, prompting Ye Jingcheng to consider trying one with the help of his Treasure Book.

• Ye Jingcheng sorted his Dharma Artifacts, kept those suited to his fighting style, and set aside the rest and illicit Jade Slips for the Ye Family.
• He found no Illusory Eye spell among the Jade Slips, counted more than two thousand Spirit Stones, and estimated the spoils could bring forty or fifty thousand Contribution Points in total.
• Ye Jingcheng spent several peaceful days cultivating and refining pills while the Spirit Herb Gardens in Buyun Valley settled in.
• Ye Xinghan arrived with Ye Jingyu and the family’s Spirit Plant Masters to transplant thousand-year Spirit Herbs, and Ye Jingcheng learned the Ye Family had occupied Buqing Mountain and now controlled three Second Order spirit veins.
• Ye Xinghan warned Ye Jingcheng that a Wood Demon might fake the success of a Blood Pact to escape, and Ye Jingcheng wondered whether his Treasure Book could help him succeed where others had failed.

Ye Jingcheng used Jade Soul Pills to break through to Foundation Establishment Middle Stage divine sense and learned he could begin cultivating the Soul-Splitting Secret Technique. After Ye Haiyi arrived to take charge of Buyun Valley, Ye Jingcheng departed for Lingyun Peak to attend Ye Jingyong’s wedding and investigate the family’s Wood Demon.

• Ye Jingcheng absorbed the Jade Soul Pills and expanded his divine sense across Buyun Valley and the surrounding area.
• Ye Jingcheng considered cultivating the Soul-Splitting Secret Technique and hoped to form a Beast Communication with the Three-Colored Cloud Deer after it advanced to Tier 2.
• Ye Jingcheng congratulated Ye Jingyu on reaching Qi Training Stage 6 and drank tea with her.
• Ye Haiyi arrived and told Ye Jingcheng to return for Ye Jingyong’s wedding banquet while he took over Buyun Valley.
• Ye Jingcheng prepared for the journey, then set off toward Lingyun Peak with Ye Jingyu and two younger clansmen, hoping to examine the Wood Demon.

Ye Jingcheng returned to the Ye Family after obtaining the Heavenly Crimson Flower and learned that a family ancestor would summon him in a few days. He also asked to take the captured wood demon, whose image had appeared in his Treasure Book, and Ye Xingliu approved the exchange.

• Ye Jingyu envied Ye Jingcheng’s progress as they returned to the Ye Family aboard a Second Order spirit boat, and he encouraged her to pursue Foundation Establishment.
• Ye Jingcheng reported his mission to Ye Xingliu and exchanged for a Spirit Herb as the family prepared for Ye Jingyong’s wedding alliance with the Chu Family.
• Ye Xingliu told Ye Jingcheng that a family ancestor would summon him in a few days and reassured him that the ancestors rarely interfered in family affairs.
• Ye Jingcheng asked whether the family had subdued the wood demon, and Ye Xingliu said they planned to imprison or kill it for its wood heart.
• Ye Jingcheng asked to exchange for the wood demon as a Spirit Plant after its image appeared in his Treasure Book, and Ye Xingliu agreed to let him take it from the family Spirit Herb Garden.

Ye Jingcheng discovered that the Wood Demon had escaped the Spirit Herb Garden and captured it beneath the Council Hall. He brought it to his courtyard, where a Soul Contract gave him control over it.

• Ye Jingcheng used his divine sense to find the Wood Demon burrowing beneath the Council Hall, and he and Ye Xingliu forced it aboveground with spirit talismans.
• Ye Xingliu trapped the Wood Demon in a golden ring, and Ye Jingcheng sealed it in a Spirit Beast Bag and took it to his courtyard.
• Ye Jingcheng planted the Wood Demon in a pit and began forming a contract, while it appeared to believe he could not bind it.
• Ye Jingcheng completed the Soul Contract, and the Wood Demon panicked and tried to flee.
• Ye Jingcheng used the contract to make the Wood Demon writhe in pain until it returned to its spot, subdued.

Ye Jingcheng bound the wood demon with a soul contract and wore it down through the night, then settled into life at Lingyun Peak with his beasts. The next day, Ye Xinghan visited, and Ye Jingcheng’s close relatives gathered in his courtyard to celebrate.

• Ye Jingcheng discovered that the wood demon escaped formations and broke blood contracts by draining their spiritual energy, but his soul contract kept it trapped.
• Ye Jingcheng assigned Beast Rooms to the Golden Scale Beast, Jade Scale Snake, Three-Colored Cloud Deer, and Scarlet Flame Fox, then had the Golden Scale Beast attack the wood demon with Earth Spike Art.
• Ye Jingcheng cultivated the Celestial Soul Art through the night while the Golden Scale Beast repeatedly tormented the wood demon.
• Ye Xinghan warned Ye Jingcheng to keep the Sealing Talisman on the wood demon, but Ye Jingcheng explained that he was breaking it in and served him Yunshan Tea.
• Ye Xinghan said he had found a way to use blood contracts on spirit plants and promised to share it with Ye Jingcheng once perfected.
• Ye Jingyu, Ye Jingyong, and Ye Jingli arrived, and Ye Jingli brought wine, fish, and snacks for a celebratory gathering.

Ye Jingcheng celebrated Ye Jingyong’s upcoming wedding with family members, then checked on his spirit beasts and considered his cultivation. After visiting family elders, he answered Ye Xuecang’s summons and entered the parted spirit lake to speak with him.

• Ye Jingli, Ye Jingcheng, Ye Jingyu, and Ye Jingyong celebrated Ye Jingyong’s wedding and discussed the Xu Family’s support for Li Family remnants at Taihang Market.
• Ye Jingcheng inspected his Five Poisons Bee hive, found more than two thousand pupae and abundant Spirit Honey, and discovered that the Wood Demon still wanted to escape their Soul Contract.
• Ye Jingcheng practiced cultivation, reflected on balancing the four aspects, and visited Ye Haiyun, Ye Haiping, and Ye Haitian.
• Ye Jingcheng received a summons from Ye Xuecang and went to the spirit lake, where Ye Xuecang emerged from the parted water with Ye Haicheng behind him.
• Ye Jingcheng entered the spirit lake and found himself in a wondrous hidden space.

Ye Xuecang told Ye Jingcheng that the family would present his abilities as an Acquired Spirit Body and cultivate him as a candidate for family head. After learning that the family was preparing a major move for next year’s Purple Mansion Assembly, Ye Jingcheng returned to find preparations underway for the wedding.

• Ye Xuecang gave Ye Jingcheng a jade slip describing the Blood Wood Spirit Body and said the family would use it to explain his abilities and cultivate him as a candidate for family head.
• Ye Jingcheng suggested Ye Jingyu was more suitable, but Ye Xuecang explained why Jingcheng’s talents and his four beasts made him a better choice.
• Ye Jingcheng confirmed that he could heal third-rank Spirit Beasts, and Ye Xuecang said the family would borrow his Spirit Beasts for next year’s Purple Mansion Assembly.
• Ye Xuecang gave Ye Jingcheng a Spirit Transformation Pill formula and a Beast Communication Body secret art suited to his Golden Scale Beast.
• Ye Jingcheng returned to find red Double Happiness Characters, banquet tables, and Chu Family cultivators gathered for the next day’s wedding.

Ye Jingcheng attended Ye Jingyong’s wedding to Chu Yanliu before the Chu Family proposed that the Ye and Chu families open a shop in Taichang Market together. The Ye Family agreed to investigate the offer but prioritized preparing for its upcoming Purple Mansion Ceremony.

• Ye Jingyong welcomed Chu Yanliu to Lingyun Peak, and the families celebrated their wedding with a day of ceremonies and feasting.
• Chu Xiyu told Ye Xingliu that the Chu Family proposed opening a shop in Taichang Market, with each family supplying a representative and the Chu Family covering forty percent of the rent.
• Ye Xingliu said he needed to consult his eldest uncle, while Chu Xiyu invited the Ye Family to the Chu Family’s Purple Mansion Ceremony two years later.
• Ye Xingliu asked Ye Jingcheng, Ye Jingyu, and Ye Haiyun for their views on opening a pill shop.
• Ye Jingcheng supported going to Taichang Market but warned that the Ye Family should secure better terms and investigate whether the Chu Family might be reselling goods through sect connections.
• Ye Xingliu agreed to investigate the proposal, while Ye Haiyun urged the family to focus first on preparing for its own Purple Mansion Ceremony.

Ye Jingcheng successfully split off two souls into Five Poisons Bees and focused on cultivating his beasts and expanding his hive. He prepared the growing swarm for the Ye Family’s upcoming operation and planned to supply Ye Jingli with bees.

• Ye Jingcheng used Soul Splitting to occupy and refine two Five Poisons Bees as Soul Avatars, then stored them safely in his Spirit Beast Bag.
• Ye Jingcheng fed and assessed his Spirit Beasts, noting that the Three-Colored Cloud Deer had reached Qi Training Stage 8 and that his wood aspect still lagged behind.
• Ye Jingcheng gave Spirit Transformation Pills to his four beasts and considered forming a Beast Communication Mark with the Wood Demon to balance his cultivation.
• Ye Jingcheng found that his beehive had produced more than two thousand Five Poisons Bees, including ten queen bees and thirty drone bees, and decided to provide some to Ye Jingli.
• Ye Jingcheng selected twelve gifted worker bees, reinforced the hive’s Blood Contracts, and fed the gifted bees powdered Spirit Transformation Pills.

Ye Jingcheng reviewed a year of cultivation and improvements before visiting Ye Xuecang to deliver pills and receive new ingredients. He learned that he would lend several Spirit Beasts and a split soul to the family in half a month.

• Ye Jingcheng reflected on his progress in cultivation and alchemy, including his nearly mature Five Poisons Bee split souls and his Tier 2 Grade-Middle Alchemist skill.
• Ye Jingcheng saw that the Peachwood Demon had begun budding and claimed it could bear peaches, while his Spirit Field plants had sprouted.
• Ye Jingcheng delivered Serpentine Essence Pills, Enticement Beast Pills, and Falling Cloud Powder to Ye Xuecang, who gave him more herbs and a Tier 2 Purple Glow Fruit.
• Ye Xuecang told Ye Jingcheng that in half a month he would borrow the Jade Scale Snake, Crimson Flame Fox, and Golden Scale Beast, and that Ye Jingcheng could send one split soul as well.

As the Ye Family prepared for Ye Haicheng’s Purple Mansion Assembly, the Mo and Xu Families weighed how to respond to its rising power. The Ye Family began a clan-wide review of its strength and resources, while the Xu Family planned to challenge Ye Jingcheng in alchemy and investigate the Ye Family’s Spirit Beast Valley.

• Mo Hongyuan reported the Ye Family’s Assembly invitations and business plans, and Mo Wenchen decided to stay away and claim secluded cultivation after secretly checking the others with a silver mirror.
• Xu Chunlin also chose not to attend the Assembly and told Xu Wenchang to have Wen Cheng challenge Ye Jingcheng in alchemy and seek access to the Ye Family’s Spirit Beast Valley.
• Xu Wenchang told Xu Chunlin that the Li Family’s Wind Spirit Root girl had married Ji Yu and would join the effort against the Ye Family, and Xu Chunlin ordered her kept hidden until she reached Foundation Establishment.
• Ye Jingcheng went to the Treasure Pavilion for the clan meeting as the Ye Family gathered to celebrate its new Purple Mansion status and discuss its expanded territory and future.
• Ye Haicheng led the ancestor worship, then Ye Xingliu began the clan inventory, listing the Ye Family’s cultivators, practitioners of the four major arts, spirit mountains, and resource sites.

At the Ye Family Clan Meeting, Ye Haicheng reminded the clansmen of the Xu Family’s past attack before Ye Xingliu announced new rules and rewards for the family’s rise to Purple Mansion status. The meeting ended with the family collecting high-level Spirit Beasts, setting its plan in motion as preparations began for the Purple Mansion Ceremony.

• Ye Xingliu summarized the Ye Family’s growth, and Ye Haicheng urged everyone to remember the clan’s humiliation at the hands of Xu Wenchang and the Xu Family.
• Ye Xingliu announced a thirty-percent stipend increase, rewards for clansmen who had children with Spirit Roots, and Spirit Beasts for newly joined clansmen.
• Ye Xingliu announced that registered First Rank Peak or higher Spirit Beasts would receive half a cultivator’s stipend.
• Ye Jingcheng handed over his Spirit Beasts and placed the Five Poisons Bee with a fragment of his soul in the bag holding the Scarlet Flame Fox, trusting the family’s preparations for its plan.
• Ye Xingliu ended the meeting and instructed the elders to prepare lodging, feasts, and other arrangements for the Purple Mansion Ceremony.