Chapter Summaries

Su Qing joined Hundred Treasures Pavilion’s party on the way to the Hunting Grounds and rented out his Puppets for a thousand Spirit Crystals. The party passed a Cloud Mountain Sect inspection after Ma Tuan paid the leading disciple, while Su Qing regretted losing his former official position.

• Fire Egg carried Su Qing to the party outside Hao Family Village, where Su Qing apologized for arriving late.
• Qing He asked why Su Qing had put away his Puppets, and Su Qing agreed to deploy them after Hundred Treasures Pavilion paid him and promised compensation for losses.
• Su Qing released his Puppets, and Ma Tuan and Qing He discussed his strength and whether he would help the party if a fight broke out.
• The party set off for the Hunting Grounds and encountered Cloud Mountain Sect disciples demanding to inspect their Storage Bags.
• Ma Tuan secretly paid the leading disciple, who let Hundred Treasures Pavilion pass without inspecting its members’ Storage Bags.
• Su Qing condemned the Cloud Mountain Sect’s corruption and regretted giving up his official position.

Su Qing's party crossed the Hunting Grounds and reached the Forward Camp, where they settled in before continuing toward Black Tiger Mountain. Su Qing stayed inside his Hiding Cave, planning to secure the camp with his puppets before venturing out.

• Su Qing watched former Spirit Planters kill a Wolf Tiger Beast in the valley, and his party waited until they finished before passing through.
• The party traveled across the wilderness toward Black Tiger Mountain and stopped at the Forward Camp.
• Ma Tuan placed Spirit Houses at the corners of their lodging area, and Liang Hai Shun began setting up a protective array.
• Qing He asked Su Qing to have his puppets help patrol the camp at night, and Su Qing agreed.
• Su Qing declined to leave his Hiding Cave and planned to release the Wood Spirit Servants after dark to watch the surroundings.

At the Forward Camp, Su Qing struggled to sell his Puppets until he discovered that Rogue Cultivators were eager to buy Demoness Puppets, earning deposits and sales. Just as he headed back to refine more, Guo Qiao Lian asked him to make a Spirit Lotus Leg for an injured cultivator willing to pay six thousand Spirit Crystals.

• Su Qing explored the Forward Camp, rented a Spirit House, and tried to sell his Lizard Warriors to a powerful Body Cultivator named Wei Debao.
• Wei De Bao rejected the Lizard Warriors but eagerly bought a Demoness Puppet and paid a deposit for a custom-made one.
• Su Qing promoted the Demoness Puppets and sold three Lizard Puppets and six Demoness Puppets, collecting deposits for orders he still needed to refine.
• Guo Qiao Lian found Su Qing and told him about a cultivator with a severed leg who wanted a Spirit Lotus Leg.
• Su Qing agreed to make the leg after hearing that the injured cultivator would pay six thousand Spirit Crystals.

Su Qing accepted the job of crafting Spirit Lotus Legs for Niu Ya, a famed hunter whose three legs had been severed. After he began installing the prosthetics, two legs were fitted successfully, but the third needed adjustments because Niu Ya had misrepresented its measurements.

• Su Qing traveled with Guo Qiao Lian to Niu Ya’s camp and found the injured hunter surrounded by his worried brothers.
• Su Qing asked Niu Ya about the shape of his new legs, and Niu Ya gave him inaccurate measurements for the middle leg out of embarrassment.
• Su Qing used White Jade Lotus Root and his Puppet Master techniques to craft Spirit Lotus Legs while Guo Qiao Lian watched in amazement.
• Su Qing installed the first two legs, drawing a shocked cry from Guo Qiao Lian at his rough-looking method.
• Su Qing found that the third leg did not fit, and Niu Ya admitted it should be shorter and thinner.

Su Qing began refining a Meditating Doll, hoping it would cultivate in sync with him and improve his cultivation prospects. His first attempt failed when he could not align the doll’s cultivation frequency with his own, leaving him to try again with the many material sets he had prepared.

• Niu Ya tested the Spirit Lotus Legs, walked on them, and later repaid Su Qing by delivering a demonic beast as payment.
• Su Qing grew busy refining puppets and treating the wounded with Guo Qiao Lian, while learning that Tang Wanqing was hunting at the Dwarf Mountain Defense Line.
• After a caravan delivered the materials, Su Qing spent over twenty thousand Spirit Crystals on more than twenty sets of Meditating Doll materials and prepared to refine one.
• Su Qing assembled a doll in his own likeness, inscribed its runes, and activated it with fragments of five Spirit Crystals.
• Su Qing tried to synchronize the doll’s cultivation frequency with his own, but after more than an hour the doll began smoking and the refinement failed.

After repeated failures refining a Meditating Doll, Su Qing recognized that Gambler's Blight had driven him to risk too many Spirit Crystals. He stopped and sought Guo Qiao Lian's help improving his Spiritual Sense Micro-manipulation, and she readily agreed to teach him.

• Su Qing failed to refine more than twenty Meditating Dolls over three days, gaining only a small amount of proficiency while spending over ten thousand Spirit Crystals.
• After an explosion injured him, Su Qing realized he had fallen into Gambler's Blight and stopped refining before risking his entire fortune.
• Su Qing determined that weak Spiritual Sense Micro-manipulation was causing failures at the Spiritual Synchronization step and went to find Guo Qiao Lian.
• Su Qing considered offering Guo Qiao Lian the Spider Doctor in exchange for instruction, but she agreed to teach him without hearing his proposed terms.

Su Qing and Guo Qiao Lian exchanged teachings, with her passing on the first two levels of her family’s Needle Control Technique and him giving her a booklet about Biomimetic Runes. After Guo Qiao Lian left, Su Qing began studying the technique while Fire Egg guarded the house.

• Guo Qiao Lian explained that her inherited Needle Control Technique was a Profound Grade Secret Technique and offered to teach Su Qing its first two levels.
• Guo Qiao Lian copied the first two levels of the Needle Control Incantation while Su Qing prepared a booklet of his Biomimetic Rune insights for her.
• Su Qing gave the booklet to Guo Qiao Lian, who accepted it after he said they were friends helping each other.
• Su Qing gave Fire Egg over a hundred pounds of beast meat and told it to guard the house instead of mooching food from others.
• After Guo Qiao Lian and Fire Egg left him alone, Su Qing focused on studying the Needle Control Technique.

Su Qing studied the Needle Control Incantation and realized his Spirit Splitting skills were far too crude to craft a Meditating Doll, so he went to buy cultivation materials. At Hundred Treasures Pavilion, Qing He proposed a job that would have him turn her Fire Spirit Sword into a puppet.

• Su Qing memorized the Spirit Refining instructions and learned that Spirit Splitting required extensive practice and specialized spiritual materials.
• Su Qing went to Hundred Treasures Pavilion, where he met Tong Xin, who was temporarily managing the shop for Shopkeeper Liu.
• Su Qing ordered materials for cultivating the Needle Control Incantation, and Qing He warned him that the technique was dangerous.
• Qing He drew her Fire Spirit Sword and revealed that she wanted Su Qing to inscribe it with a Tier 2 Intelligence Rune and transform it into a puppet.

Qing He asked Su Qing to turn her oversized Fire Spirit Sword embryo into a puppet that could move and fight on its own, and he agreed to try. Qing He paid for five sets of materials in advance, leaving Su Qing eager to begin the profitable job.

• Qing He asked Su Qing to refine her Fire Spirit Sword embryo into a puppet capable of following commands and fighting independently.
• Qing He explained that the oversized sword had been cast from a single piece of Crimson Fire Profound Crystal, but she could not wield it with her spiritual power or Sword Control Art.
• Su Qing agreed to attempt the puppet refinement after warning Qing He that he could not add the special effects of an artifact refiner.
• Su Qing accepted Qing He's offer to have Ma Tuan serve as the sword's sparring partner during testing.
• Tong Xin demanded five hundred Spirit Crystals per set of materials, and Qing He paid for five sets as an advance on Su Qing's work.

Su Qing refined a Meditating Doll and achieved Spiritual Synchronization, causing it to generate spiritual power in sync with his own. He left the chapter with a new, seemingly endless source of cultivation energy as the Black Mountain Tiger hunt approached.

• Su Qing cultivated the Needle Control Incantation for a month while earning Spirit Crystals and improving his puppet-making skills.
• Qing He returned from Black Tiger Mountain and asked Su Qing to finish a Magic Sword Puppet before the planned hunt; he promised to deliver it within half a month.
• Liang Hai Shun and He Lian Xian worried about the dangers of the Black Mountain Tiger hunt, then bought Lizard Warriors from Su Qing.
• Su Qing used five sets of materials before successfully activating a Meditating Doll and began cultivating alongside it.
• Su Qing synchronized his spiritual power with the Meditating Doll through Spiritual Synchronization, and another identical pulse of spiritual power appeared in his sea of consciousness.

After refining a Meditating Doll, Su Qing realized he needed more dolls and a protected place for them to cultivate, but his own limits meant eight would be enough for now. He finished refining eight dolls, then turned his attention to earning money and preparing the Fire Spirit Sword Embryo for work on its runes.

• Su Qing confirmed that the Meditating Doll could cultivate on his behalf, but recognized its limitations, high cost, and need for a protected Spirit House.
• Su Qing calculated that his current cultivation limit allowed him to benefit from at most eight Meditating Dolls and decided to focus on improving his combat strength for the Black Tiger Mountain trip.
• Su Qing spent five days and nights refining dolls until he had eight, leaving the remaining materials unused.
• Su Qing considered the upkeep costs of his dolls and other Puppets and resolved to make more money.
• Su Qing found that Bear Two could not damage the Fire Spirit Sword Embryo and concluded he could only modify its runes.

Su Qing devised a ground-based puppet built around Qing He's Fire Spirit Sword Embryo and obtained Heavenly Spirit Gold to refine it. At the front line, Tang Wanqing's exhausted Bear King Team kept defending the Dwarf Mountain Defense Line as she pursued enough Spirit Crystals to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill.

• Su Qing planned to attach an Azure Steel Leg to the Fire Spirit Sword Embryo with a Heavenly Spirit Gold spring and equip it with Intelligence, Combat, Biomimetic, and Fire Runes.
• Qing He gave Su Qing all the Heavenly Spirit Gold at Hundred Treasures Pavilion, while Tong Xin protested that the shop needed the material for customers.
• Rogue Cultivators fortified the Dwarf Mountain Defense Line with Cloud Mountain Sect's Thunderfire Array as they waited for demonic beasts to attack.
• Tang Wanqing collected the Bear King Team's rewards, distributed pills and a Magic Artifact to her wounded teammates, and bathed in exhaustion.
• Tang Wanqing calculated that killing eleven or twelve more Tier 1 demonic beasts could earn her enough Spirit Crystals to seek a Foundation Establishment Pill, then fell asleep in the bath.

Su Qing completed the Sword-Human Puppet by combining Azure Steel Legs, spring components, and a Fire Spirit Sword Embryo, then named the newly created Puppet. Its creation unlocked three Artifact Puppet Blueprints, including the mysterious Cluster Hummingbird, which Su Qing suspected could become a widely useful trump card.

• Su Qing praised He Lian Xian's Sky Blue Springs and paid him with a Lizard Warrior, while asking him to prioritize two Defensive Artifacts.
• Su Qing saw Guo Qiao Lian buy armor for her White Tooth Elephant and reminded her that he was already working on her eight Lizard Warriors.
• Su Qing assembled the Azure Steel Legs, springs, and Fire Spirit Sword Embryo, inscribed the runes, and activated the Puppet with three hundred Spirit Crystals.
• Su Qing named his successful creation the Sword-Human Puppet, and the System Panel unlocked three Blueprints, including the Cluster Hummingbird.
• Su Qing read the Artifact Puppet Type description and wondered what the Cluster Hummingbird could do.

Su Qing prepared for danger after a beast pack breached the Dwarf Mountain Defense Line, then delivered Qing He a powerful new puppet. The Forward Camp remained uneasy about the defense line, while Hundred Treasures Pavilion insisted its Black Tiger Mountain mission would proceed within a month.

• Su Qing saw one or two hundred Tier 1 demonic beasts racing toward the Forward Camp and realized the Dwarf Mountain Defense Line might be in trouble.
• Tens of thousands of Rogue Cultivators quickly killed the beasts, but camp residents worried about what their arrival meant for the defense line.
• Qing He told the Professionals that Hundred Treasures Pavilion would not change its trip to Black Tiger Mountain and expected to act within a month.
• Su Qing delivered Qing He the new Sword-Human Puppet, whose blue-steel limbs and crimson spirit sword impressed her.

Su Qing negotiated payment for the Sword-Human Puppet with Qing He, who had no Spirit Crystals, and secured a Spirit Contract promising materials from the Black Mountain Tiger hunt or a favor if she died. He then bought materials for Armored War Bears and ordered heavy weapons for his Puppets.

• Su Qing refused Qing He's offer of assistance in place of payment and demanded that she pay for the Sword-Human Puppet and its materials.
• Qing He admitted she had no Spirit Crystals and offered Tier-2 Demonic Beast materials from the Black Mountain Tiger hunt as payment.
• Su Qing agreed to take the materials if the hunt succeeded, claim the Puppet if Qing He died, and receive one favor from her under a Spirit Contract.
• Su Qing bought three sets of Armored War Bear materials from Tong Xin for three thousand Spirit Crystals per set.
• Su Qing ordered paired War Blades and heavy War Hammers for his Puppets, prompting Tong Xin to praise his unusual Puppet-refining skill.

Su Qing bought a Wind-Thunder Hammer, War Blades, and Magic Artifacts, then earned Spirit Crystals by selling prosthetic legs. After five days, he began refining a Dual-Blade Lizard and successfully finished the puppet, leaving it ready to activate.

• Su Qing bought the Wind-Thunder Hammer from Tong Xin for twelve thousand Spirit Crystals and purchased ten Demon Slaying Sabers and several Magic Artifacts.
• Su Qing promoted his Lizard Warrior and prosthetic legs, secured orders, and earned nearly twenty thousand Spirit Crystals over five days.
• Su Qing examined the Dual-Blade Lizard’s requirements and calculated that its two War Blades made the puppet costly to refine.
• Su Qing attached the two War Blades to a Lizard Warrior and successfully refined his first Dual-Blade Lizard.
• Su Qing activated the puppet, and spiritual light from its Energy Slot illuminated its runes.

Su Qing refined a successful Dual-Blade Lizard and an Explosive Hammer War Bear, adding powerful Puppets to his arsenal. After neighbors noticed the War Bear wielding its hammer, Zhang Hai arrived to visit.

• Su Qing failed to refine several Dual-Blade Lizards before successfully creating one that could wield two War Blades and use combat skills.
• Su Qing refined for a full day and night, using all ten War Blades, then rested and considered beginning the Immovable Heavenly King Technique’s internal refinement.
• Su Qing studied the Explosive Hammer War Bear blueprint and spent three days refining its materials, succeeding with two Puppets.
• Su Qing and his Puppets fitted a thousand-jin Wind-Thunder Hammer onto the first Explosive Hammer War Bear, whose demonstration startled the Rogue Cultivators nearby.
• Su Qing stored the War Bears when he heard Zhang Hai call from outside the Spirit House.

Su Qing met Zhang Hai, who thanked him for the Exorcism Talismans that had protected him from the Headless Evil Spirit. Zhang Hai explained that the Gao Family Butcher Shop had vanished after its evil occupant fought three Foundation Establishment cultivators, leaving the Living Area safe for now.

• Su Qing welcomed Zhang Hai and brought him to a tea house, where Zhang Hai thanked him for the talismans protecting his courtyard.
• Zhang Hai told Su Qing that he had become a Tier 1 Formation Master by refining the Golden Light Array.
• Zhang Hai explained that the Headless Evil Spirit had killed unprotected cultivators in the Living Area, while Su Qing’s talismans had saved him twice.
• Zhang Hai recounted that Gao Erqiang, covered in foul-smelling heads, had fought three Foundation Establishment cultivators at the Gao Family Butcher Shop.
• The battle left one Cloud Mountain Sect disciple dead, another injured, and the Fate Comes Pavilion Master wounded; afterward, the Gao Family Butcher Shop vanished and the Headless Evil Spirit stopped appearing.
• Su Qing and Zhang Hai agreed that the Wandering Evil’s departure was good for the Rogue Cultivators, and Zhang Hai praised Su Qing’s cultivation and Puppets.

Su Qing learned that the Cloud Mountain Sect had conscripted Rogue Cultivators and suspected the Dwarf Mountain Defense Line had fallen. At the Forward Camp, True Inheritance disciple Yuan Tianye accused Su Qing of deceiving the sect and demanded that he kneel, leaving Su Qing to see him as a naive fool.

• Zhang Hai explained that White Cloud Market Town had forced Rogue Cultivators to pay a monthly exemption fee or serve the Cloud Mountain Sect, and that he had been sent to the Forward Camp to set up formations.
• Zhang Hai told Su Qing that a Tier-2 Formation Master and several Tier 1 Formation Masters had also arrived, prompting Su Qing to suspect the Dwarf Mountain Defense Line could no longer hold.
• Su Qing sold Zhang Hai two Lizard Warriors and then saw Yuan Tianye directing Rogue Cultivators as they installed formations around the Forward Camp.
• Yuan Tianye demanded that Su Qing salute him as a True Inheritance disciple, and Su Qing replied that he had been expelled from the sect.
• Yuan Tianye accused Su Qing of hiding his cultivation to avoid serving the sect, while Su Qing concluded that Yuan Tianye was too naive to understand the Cultivation world.

Su Qing left Yuan Tianye’s attempt to command him unanswered, while the Cloud Mountain Sect sealed the Forward Camp and angered the rogue cultivators. After learning that a Level 2 Guest Elder of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion could earn protection, Su Qing considered using his puppet-making skills to qualify, but worried that his cultivation could not support Tier 3 rune work.

• Su Qing ignored Yuan Tianye’s demand to kneel, and the rogue cultivators refused Yuan Tianye’s order to stop him.
• Yuan Tianye continued setting formations as the Cloud Mountain Sect prepared to keep the rogue cultivators from leaving the Forward Camp.
• Su Qing asked Tong Xin whether the Hundred Treasures Pavilion could protect him, and Liang Hai Shun explained the status and requirements of a Level 2 Guest Elder.
• The rogue cultivators voiced their anger at the Cloud Mountain Sect and encouraged Su Qing, who accepted puppet-material orders before returning to his Spirit House.
• Su Qing calculated that advancing his Biomimetic Runes might qualify him as a Tier 2 Puppet Master, but feared his cultivation was too low to draw Tier 3 Runes.