Chapter Summaries

Ye Jingcheng and Ye Haiyi failed to win any Foundation Establishment Pills, collected the final Jade Scale Pill ingredient, and withdrew from the crowded auction. Meanwhile, the Li Family secured two pills, the families in Taihang Market contested their own auction, and Ye Xingyu and Ye Xingqun prepared to begin their operation.

• Ye Jingcheng and Ye Haiyi bid unsuccessfully on the Foundation Establishment Pills as prices climbed, then bought a three-leafed spirit grass from Meng Xuan's friend.
• Ye Haiyi told Ye Jingcheng to return to the Flat House Complex and lie low while cultivators left the auction with valuable goods.
• Xu Wencheng warned Xu Haoshui to focus on obtaining the Purple Mansion Jade Liquid, while Li Yufu led the Li Family away with two Foundation Establishment Pills and planned a disguised return.
• The six family heads in Taihang Market negotiated over six Foundation Establishment Pills, but their competing interests kept tensions high.
• Ye Xingyu and Ye Xingqun agreed to begin their operation, using the Five Poisons Bees' poisonous mist and Inner Hall members.

The Ye Family launched a surprise attack on Yuli Valley, breaching its formations and engaging the Chu Family with spirit beasts and cultivators. Ye Xueliang ambushed Chu Xifeng and then attacked Chu Xuxu, while the battle across the valley continued.

• Two Chu Family cultivators discovered Blackwood Ants at the valley entrance, but Five Poisons Bees killed them and the Ye Family attackers damaged the formation.
• The Ye Family broke through Yuli Valley's concealment formation and found more than twenty Chu Family cultivators, including Foundation Building Cultivators Chu Xifeng and Chu Xuxu.
• The Ye Family used Five Poisons Bees and charging spirit beasts to disrupt the Chu Family's formation as the Water Fire Non-Phase Grand Array produced water and fire serpent spirits.
• Chu Xifeng bound and wounded the Blood Eagle while Chu Xuxu suppressed the Five-Colored Poison Lizard, but Ye Xueliang emerged from the stream and pierced Chu Xifeng's chest with an azure awl.
• Ye Xueliang pressed his attack on Chu Xuxu as the Five-Colored Poison Lizard fired venom-stained earth spikes.

The Ye Family killed Chu Xuxu and the other Chu cultivators, then raided the Chu Family’s mountain stronghold and found a valuable fire-attribute spirit fruit. Meanwhile, the Chen Family launched a planned attack on a Ye Family spirit stone mine, only to enter a larger trapping formation.

• Ye Xueliang and the Ye Family’s beasts killed Chu Xuxu and the remaining Chu cultivators.
• An old Ye Family cultivator intercepted and killed a cultivator searching Jade Snow Mountain for an underground river, then concealed the body.
• Ye Xingyu revealed that a senior Xue Generation member had led the attack and ordered the Ye cultivators to gather storage bags and Fire Pattern Rabbits before setting the stronghold ablaze.
• Ye Xingqun found a nearly mature second-tier Three Stars Fire Pattern Fruit, and Ye Xingyu confirmed that preparations for the next move were ready.
• A Chen Family force broke the formation around the Ye Family’s spirit stone mine and rushed inside, while a larger trapping formation rose around the mountain peaks.

Chen Haobin found the Ye Family’s Spirit Mine exhausted and hurried back to report, while a hidden recording jade slip captured his return. At Taihang Market, the auction’s aftermath turned into a confrontation as the Ye and Chu Families accused the Chen Family of attacking their lands, leaving Chen Xuanzhou under pressure to provide justice.

• Chen Haobin’s cultivators found the Ye Family’s mountain deserted and its Spirit Mine depleted, so he ordered them to return and report to the Chen Family Head and Clan Elders.
• A withered cicada carried a recording jade slip that captured Chen Haobin returning to search the site before it flew away after dark.
• At the Taihang Market auction settlement, the Xu and Mo Families each received two Foundation Establishment Pills, while the Chen Family and a Rogue Cultivator bought one apiece; Jiang Jinghe distributed the auction proceeds.
• Chu Xiyu showed evidence that the Chu Family’s Spirit Valley had been seized, and Ye Xingliu revealed an attack on a Ye Family Spirit Mine while accusing the Chen Family.
• Li Muhe swore a Heart Demon Oath denying his family’s involvement, but Chen Xuanzhou refused to swear and denied the accusations after Chu Xiyu displayed a charred robe as evidence.
• Jiang Jinghe warned Chen Xuanzhou that the matter could become serious if it reached higher authorities, as the Ye and Chu Family Heads demanded justice.

At a family gathering, Chen Xuanzhou agreed to compensate the Ye Family after Chu Xiyu accused the Chu Family of buying Purple Mansion Jade Liquid. In Taichang Market, Ye Jingcheng bought a rare herb for a Tier 2 pill before Ye Haiyi warned him that the Chu Family had obtained Purple Mansion Jade Liquid and they needed to leave early.

• Chen Xuanzhou denied that the Chen Family had attacked the Chu Family Spirit Land, admitted to raiding the Ye Family, and offered compensation.
• Chu Xiyu left to investigate after rumors spread that Old Master Chu had gone to consume Purple Mansion Jade Liquid, while Ye Xingliu secured a compensation agreement from Chen Xuanzhou.
• Ye Jingcheng visited the Jin Family Treasure Pavilion and bought Fox Red Grass, a main ingredient for the Tier 2 Crimson Flame Pill.
• Ye Jingcheng returned to the Flat House Complex after checking for followers, and Ye Haiyi told him they had to leave early because the Chu Family had bought Purple Mansion Jade Liquid.

Ye Jingcheng and Ye Haiyi returned safely to Lingyun Peak with their mission completed, earning substantial Contribution Points and reporting that other clans had probed them at Taichang Market. After restoring his spirit field and preparing to resume cultivation, Ye Jingcheng discovered that Spirit Honey could offset Pill Poison and began using it with a Red Ganoderma Pill to advance his Fire Attribute cultivation.

• Ye Jingcheng and Ye Haiyi traveled west by carriage, then switched to spirit boats and reached Lingyun Peak safely.
• Ye Haiyi delivered the Spirit Beast Bag and storage bag to Ye Xingliu, who awarded him twenty thousand Contribution Points and gave Ye Jingcheng fifteen thousand for the mission and pill-formula research.
• Ye Haiyi told Ye Xingliu that cultivators from other clans had probed them at Taichang Market.
• Ye Jingcheng found more than ten jin of Spirit Honey in his hive, tended his Purple Illusion Flowers, tea trees, bamboo, and spirit beasts, and prepared to cultivate after resting.
• Ye Jingcheng combined Spirit Honey with a Red Ganoderma Pill and began cultivating, finding that the honey removed the stinging pain associated with consuming spirit pills.

Ye Jingcheng refined a Jade Scale Pill for the Jade Scale Snake, then prepared it to break through after the spirit vein at Lingyun Peak was upgraded. The snake swallowed the pill and entered seclusion.

• Ye Jingcheng used the Four Divisions Pill Refining Method and the Crimson Flame Fox's help to successfully refine a Jade Scale Pill.
• Ye Jingcheng heard Ye Haiyi announce that the grand formation was being upgraded, then realized the family's spirit vein was undergoing its long-planned upgrade.
• Ye Jingcheng observed the stronger spiritual energy and Mountain Protection Spirit Shield, then replaced the Spirit Field's Low-Grade Spirit Stone with a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone.
• Ye Jingcheng gave the Jade Scale Snake Treasure Light and two Azure Water Pills before feeding it the Jade Scale Pill.
• The Jade Scale Snake swallowed the pill, announced that it was entering seclusion, and Ye Jingcheng shut down the formation and separated the Five Poisons Bees from it.

Ye Jingcheng witnessed the Jade Scale Snake break through and grow powerful enough to rival a Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator, then prepared his spirit field and bonded with it through Beast Communication. The bond strengthened his body and accelerated his cultivation, leaving him drawing in spiritual energy with the aid of pills.

• Ye Jingcheng sensed Lingyun Peak's Tier 3 Spirit Vein become more potent and cultivated without pills while Spirit Honey slowly cleared his Pill Poison.
• The Jade Scale Snake emerged from its breakthrough with jade scales, whiskers, a stronger Jade Scale Tail Blade, improved Mist Escape, and an aura equivalent to a human cultivator at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.
• Ye Jingcheng fed the hungry Jade Scale Snake Azure Water Pills and Azure Cloud Wolf corpses, then infused it with Treasure Light and let it stabilize.
• Ye Jingcheng planted Purple Illusion Flower, Black Cloud Flower, and Poison Thorn Flower seeds with the Jade Ring Rat, expanded his Welcoming Spring Tea, and spent a month refining pills.
• Ye Jingcheng completed Beast Communication with the Jade Scale Snake, absorbing a surge of pure water-aspect power that strengthened his flesh and blood and increased his cultivation speed by nearly half.
• Ye Jingcheng formed a three-colored vortex to absorb spiritual energy and swallowed a Red Ganoderma Pill and an Azure Water Pill.

Ye Jingcheng broke through to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer and tested the enhanced abilities he gained from the Jade Scale Snake. After tending his spirit beasts and plants, he went to visit Ye Haiyun to ask about Foundation Establishment and the Ye Family’s secrets.

• Ye Jingcheng reached the Qi Refining Ninth Layer after a month of seclusion and considered preparing for Foundation Establishment.
• Ye Jingcheng tested the Jade Scale Snake’s Water Escape Technique and discovered it greatly increased his speed, water affinity, and ability to rise briefly into the air.
• Ye Jingcheng fed his spirit beasts, observed the flourishing spirit flowers and Five Poisons Bees, and collected Spirit Honey and Welcoming Spring Tea.
• Ye Jingcheng left the Jade Ring Rat to guard his courtyard and headed to Ye Haiyun’s courtyard, hoping to learn more about Foundation Establishment and the Ye Family.

Ye Jingcheng joined the Ye Family elders as they tested his bloodline-stimulating pill and rewarded him for his research. After testing his Alchemy, Ye Haiyun explained that the family had Foundation Establishment Pills and Second-Order Alchemists, then urged Ye Jingcheng to prepare for advancement.

• Ye Jingcheng arrived at the courtyard and discovered Ye Haiyun, Ye Haiyi, Ye Xingliu, Ye Haitian, and other Clan Elders gathered there.
• Ye Jingcheng served the elders Welcoming Spring Tea, which they praised as they sampled it.
• Ye Xingliu explained that the family had tested Ye Jingcheng's pill on Fire-Patterned Rats and Flame Fire Snakes, finding that it could stimulate bloodlines but might kill beasts with poor tolerance.
• The Ye Family awarded Ye Jingcheng 5,000 Contribution Points for his pill research and offered to supply herbs for Scarlet Flame Foxes once supplies stabilized.
• Ye Haiyun tested Ye Jingcheng's Alchemy and explained that the Ye Family possessed a Foundation Establishment Pill formula and Second-Order Alchemists.
• Ye Haiyun advised Ye Jingcheng to cultivate his Alchemy and prepare for Foundation Establishment, which he said would be the fastest route forward.

Ye Jingcheng studied Ye Haiyun’s Fire Sincerity Pill formula, strengthened his spirit beasts, and waited for the family’s next assignment. When his Family Token summoned him at night, he joined Ye Xingyu, Ye Jingyu, Ye Haiyi, and a masked Foundation Building Cultivator aboard a stealthy spirit boat bound for the Mount Taihang Mountain Range.

• Ye Haiyun gave Ye Jingcheng the Fire Sincerity Pill formula, explained how he derived it, and warned him to remain available for the family’s upcoming arrangements.
• Ye Jingcheng gave Ye Haiyun Blood Jade Spirit Rice and spirit honey, then exchanged spirit pills for materials at the Treasure Building.
• Ye Jingcheng cared for his spirit beasts and cultivated nearly a hundred combat Five Poisons Bees over the following weeks.
• Ye Jingcheng received an Assemble order, entrusted his Poison Thorn Fruit and Spirit Field to the family, and went to the Treasure Pavilion with his spirit beasts and bees.
• Ye Jingcheng met Ye Xingyu, Ye Jingyu, Ye Haiyi, and an unidentified Foundation Building Cultivator, who checked him with a spirit mirror before leading them toward the Mount Taihang Mountain Range on a black spirit boat.

Ye Jingcheng and his relatives traveled into the Mount Taihang Mountain Range, where Ye Xueliang introduced them to their hidden family base at Sand Cloud Mountain. There, Ye Xuefu summoned Ye Jingcheng to demonstrate his alchemy by refining an Azure Spirit Pill.

• Ye Haiyi introduced Ye Jingcheng, Ye Jingyu, and Ye Xingyu to Ye Xueliang, who warned them about the Ye Family’s powerful enemies and urged them to reach Foundation Establishment.
• Ye Haiyi gave the three young cultivators jade slips describing the Mount Taihang Mountain Range, their destination, and ways to survive its dangers.
• Ye Jingcheng learned about tensions among the region’s families, including the Chu Family patriarch’s planned breakthrough and the Chen Family’s loss of Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Ye Xueliang led the group to Sand Cloud Mountain, where Black Armor Scorpions guarded the area and the family maintained hidden chambers underground.
• Ye Xuefu brought Ye Jingcheng to an Earth Fire Room and asked him to refine an Azure Spirit Pill.

Ye Jingcheng practiced alchemy under Ye Xuefu’s guidance and learned the demanding training regimen required at the underground hall. He then entered the Qi and Blood Gate with his three Spirit Beasts to begin training.

• Ye Jingcheng refined eight Azure Spirit Pills, and Ye Xuefu criticized his technique before demonstrating how he made ten superior pills.
• Ye Xuefu ordered Ye Jingcheng to practice alchemy daily for half a year, and Ye Jingcheng began studying and recording the furnace’s array patterns.
• Ye Jingyu told Ye Jingcheng that he had to challenge the Gravity Field daily and hunt a Spirit Beast every three days, even while refining pills.
• Ye Jingcheng entered the Qi and Blood Gate with the Scarlet Flame Fox, Golden Scale Beast, and Jade Scale Snake, opening the chamber with his Family Token.

Ye Jingcheng tested the Gravity and Puppet Compound Array with his Spirit Beasts, then trained inside it himself and rewarded the beasts afterward. Ye Xueliang gathered the foundation candidates and gave them information about nearby hunting grounds and Second Order Spirit Beasts they could exchange for.

• Ye Jingcheng sent the Scarlet Flame Fox, Golden Scale Beast, and Jade Scale Snake into the Compound Array and watched them fight its Wooden Stake Puppets.
• Ye Jingcheng entered the array, used his shield and Ironwood Plate to resist the puppets, then disabled the Puppet Array when the beasts were badly hurt.
• Ye Jingcheng treated the Spirit Beasts with pills and an Azure Cloud Wolf corpse, and told the Jade Scale Snake it could return to the Stone Chamber the next day.
• Ye Xueliang summoned Ye Jingcheng, Ye Jingyu, and Ye Xingyu, explained the Foundation Establishment Pill exchange rules, and offered a list of nearby hunting targets and Second Order Spirit Beasts.
• Ye Jingcheng read the jade slip and saw information about Purple Mansion Great Demons, huntable Spirit Beasts, and beasts suitable for forming bonds.

Ye Jingcheng continued hunting Monster Beasts around Sand Cloud Mountain and feeding the local Black Armor Scorpions before Ye Xuefu summoned him to observe a Second-Order Purple Yang Pill being refined. The chapter ended with Ye Xuefu asking whether Ye Jingcheng could describe the pill formula.

• Ye Jingcheng and his three beasts killed a First-Order Grade-High Crimson-Marked Leopard, and he collected its corpse.
• Ye Jingcheng recalled his half-month of hunting and fed Spirit Feeding Pills to the Black Armor Scorpions on his way back to the underground Stone Chamber.
• Ye Xueliang told Ye Jingcheng that Ye Xuefu had a task for him, and Ye Jingcheng hurried to the Pill Room.
• Ye Xuefu refined five Purple Yang Pills using the multi-portion method while Ye Jingcheng carefully observed his technique.
• Ye Xuefu collected the pills, cleaned his furnace, and asked Ye Jingcheng to describe the Purple Yang Pill formula.

Ye Jingcheng learned from Ye Xuefu’s pill-refining demonstration and successfully nurtured the Azure Elephant Furnace. When Ye Jingyu and Ye Xingyu returned injured from an encounter with a Golden Eyed Crow, Ye Xueliang confirmed it was a powerful beast that had just laid eggs, and Ye Xuefu began preparing an expedition that might benefit Ye Jingcheng’s Crimson Flame Fox.

• Ye Jingcheng recorded Ye Xuefu’s second-order pill formula, and Ye Xuefu told him he would teach him to record future pill refinements but could not annotate the Foundation Establishment Pill formula because of a Heavenly Dao Oath.
• Ye Jingcheng practiced Furnace Nurturing with the Azure Elephant Furnace and succeeded in revealing its Spirit Patterns and awakening its azure elephant light.
• Ye Jingcheng found Ye Jingyu and Ye Xingyu injured, and Ye Xingyu reported that a Golden Eyed Crow had chased a Golden Armored Pig.
• Ye Xueliang confirmed that the Golden Eyed Crow was a second-order high-grade demon beast that had recently laid eggs and might reach the third order.
• Ye Xuefu agreed to prepare an operation against the Golden Eyed Crow and noted that its likely inner core could help Ye Jingcheng’s Crimson Flame Fox advance.

Ye Xuefu and the others decided not to pursue the injured Golden Eyed Crow into its nest, instead setting an ambush near the nest and using a Spirit Beast to provoke it. After waiting five days, they sent out the Plum Feather Crane, which returned with a black egg and the enraged Golden Eyed Crow in pursuit.

• Ye Xingyu, Ye Jingyu, and Ye Jingcheng advised against chasing the Golden Eyed Crow into its nest, and Ye Xuefu chose to lure it into an ambush with help from other cultivators and Spirit Beasts.
• Ye Xuefu and the others waited near the Golden Eyed Crow's nest for five days, defeating other Monster Beasts that threatened their array while the crow failed to appear.
• Ye Xuefu released the Plum Feather Crane and fed it a Spirit Pill, then the group prepared their Dharma Artifacts for battle.
• The Plum Feather Crane returned with a black egg in its talons, pursued by the shrieking Golden Eyed Crow.

The Ye Family battled and killed a Second Order Late Stage Golden Eyed Crow using a formation and coordinated attacks from their spirit beasts. After collecting the crow and a black spirit egg, Ye Xueliang headed back toward the forest while Ye Xuefu led the others to clear the battlefield and retreat.

• The Golden Eyed Crow attacked the Plum Feather Crane, and Ye Xuefu warned the Ye Family not to look into its eerie golden eyes.
• Ye Xuefu’s eye ability injured him, but Ye Xueliang pierced the crow’s wing with his spear as the Plum Feather Crane drove it toward their Water Attribute trapping formation.
• Ye Jingcheng and the others attacked the trapped crow with their artifacts and spirit beasts, while the formation and Plum Feather Crane kept it from escaping.
• The Jade Scale Snake struck the crow with venom, and the Scarlet Flame Fox engulfed it in a Fireball as Ye Xueliang pierced its heart with a black triangular spike.
• Ye Xueliang collected the Golden Eyed Crow’s corpse and the black spirit egg, then headed toward the forest while Ye Xuefu gathered the formation and prepared the group to retreat.

After the hunt, Ye Jingcheng exchanged Contribution Points for the Golden Eyed Crow’s body and Inner Core, hoping to help the Scarlet Flame Fox advance. Ye Xingyu acquired the Crow’s egg, and Ye Jingcheng began preparing the Fox for its breakthrough.

• Ye Xuefu rewarded the group with Contribution Points and explained that they could exchange for the Golden Eyed Crow’s remains and Spirit Beast egg.
• Ye Jingcheng spent seven thousand Contribution Points on the Golden Eyed Crow’s body and Inner Core, keeping its golden eyes, wings, and feathers as well.
• Ye Xingyu spent three thousand Contribution Points on the Golden Eyed Crow’s Spirit Beast egg and asked Ye Jingcheng about buying spirit pills later.
• Ye Jingcheng returned to his room, activated the formation, and prepared pills for the Scarlet Flame Fox as he focused on its breakthrough.

Ye Jingcheng prepared a Fire Attribute Spirit Gathering Array for the Crimson Flame Fox to absorb the Golden Eyed Crow’s remains and continued hunting Monster Beasts for Contribution Points. After Ye Xueliang announced that the materials for a Foundation Establishment Pill had been gathered, Ye Jingcheng went to watch Ye Xuefu prepare to refine it.

• Ye Xuefu activated a Fire Attribute Spirit Gathering Array and warned Ye Jingcheng that the Crimson Flame Fox might not absorb all the Golden Eyed Crow’s power.
• Ye Jingcheng used Treasure Light on the Crimson Flame Fox, then gave it the Golden Eyed Crow’s demon core and body to consume before leaving it undisturbed to advance.
• Ye Jingcheng hunted an Azure Jade Toad with the Jade Scale Snake and gathered its valuable materials and several Five Poisons Bees.
• Ye Jingcheng returned to Sand Cloud Mountain with enough Contribution Points for a Foundation Establishment Pill, while Ye Xingyu and Ye Jingyu prepared for their own breakthroughs.
• Ye Xueliang told Ye Jingcheng that the Foundation Establishment Pill materials had all been gathered, then took him to the Earth Fire Room to observe Ye Xuefu.