Recaps

Xu Yi prepared to take over Guanglong Hall and visited Jiang Ming to obtain supplies for the dangerous assignment. He bought a Starry Sky Ring, furnished it with a Spirit Gathering Array, and placed Qiu Wa and the Ice Fire Rabbit inside before heading toward Qingxing City.

• Xu Yi accepted True Man Scarlet Fire’s appointment as head of Guanglong Hall and requested detailed information about Guanglong Hall and Qingxing City.
• Xu Yi told Qiu Wa and Desolate Ancestor about his new post, then sent Desolate Ancestor ahead to Qingxing City while he and Qiu Wa left Xuanqing Sect separately.
• Xu Yi met Jiang Ming at the Five Lakes Merchant Alliance’s Inkwell Branch and bought a Starry Sky Ring for a thousand essence pills.
• Xu Yi set up a Spirit Gathering Array inside the Starry Sky Ring, and Qiu Wa moved in.
• Xu Yi used a Blood Refinement Contract to place the Ice Fire Rabbit inside the ring.

Xu Yi and Jiang Ming attended an alchemy symposium with Bao Guang, where Kong Qi demonstrated a method that contradicted everything Xu Yi had learned about refining an Essence Pill’s auxiliary agent. The chapter ended with Xu Yi and Jiang Ming stunned by the result.

• Jiang Ming invited Xu Yi to an alchemy symposium, and Xu Yi agreed to attend with him.
• Jiang Ming contacted Bao Guang, who arrived early and led them to the Tao Family residence for the gathering.
• Bao Guang brought Xu Yi and Jiang Ming underground to a hall where more than a hundred cultivators had gathered.
• Kong Qi began the symposium by refining an auxiliary agent, adding the ingredients to the furnace in stages.
• Xu Yi and Jiang Ming watched the method succeed despite contradicting the alchemy techniques they knew.

Kong Qi and a cloaked pill master demonstrated a flexible alchemy method, leaving Xu Yi convinced it relied on a learnable understanding of medicinal properties. Kong Qi explained the exchange gathering’s purpose and invited attendees to demonstrate their skills, while Xu Yi wondered why the organization was sharing its methods so openly.

• Kong Qi refined auxiliary agents successfully three times using different herb orders, astonishing Xu Yi and the newcomers.
• A cloaked figure refined Essence Pills successfully three times, producing more than thirteen hundred pills and confirming Xu Yi’s theory that the method could be learned.
• Kong Qi answered questions, saying the group meant to share its teachings, gave no date for returning to Modou City, and kept its organization’s name secret.
• Kong Qi invited attendees to demonstrate their alchemy, and several people hurried onto the stage, hoping to attract the organization’s notice.

Xu Yi demonstrated an extraordinary talent for preparing auxiliary agents and earned Kong Qi’s invitation to join the Golden Core Society. Kong Qi explained the society’s origins and open research culture, while Xu Yi recognized the subtle loyalty that held it together.

• Xu Yi stepped forward and prepared two auxiliary agents in succession, then failed on his third attempt.
• Xu Yi succeeded on his fourth attempt, impressing Kong Qi, who took him to a secluded chamber for a private conversation.
• Kong Qi invited Xu Yi to become a Gray Chapter Member of the Golden Core Society.
• Xu Yi asked why the society shared its alchemical knowledge and preached the Way instead of guarding its techniques.
• Kong Qi described how five alchemy researchers founded the society around an inclusive research culture, and explained that its members maintained other identities in the Cultivation World.
• Xu Yi concluded that the Golden Core Society’s loose structure and subtle influence fostered a deep sense of belonging.

Xu Yi joined the Golden Core Society as an initiate, then traveled to Qingxing City to take charge of Guanglong Hall’s branch office. He learned that the struggling hall was close to collapse and went to gather its people.

• Kong Qi gave Xu Yi a gray Initiate's Chapter badge, explained how members could earn points and rank up, and welcomed him to the Golden Core Society.
• Xu Yi exchanged Ruyi Pearls with Kong Qi, then left Modou City without meeting Jiang Ming.
• Jiang Ming’s gathering broke up as people questioned him about Xu Yi, and he introduced Xu Yi as the new chief guest retainer of the Five Lakes Merchant Alliance's Inkwell Branch.
• Xu Yi traveled to Qingxing City, rented a secret chamber, and studied information about Guanglong Hall and the city.
• Desolate Ancestor told Xu Yi that Guanglong Hall was nearly falling apart, with most branches closed and its merchants taken by rival sects.
• Xu Yi set out with Desolate Ancestor for Guanglong Hall’s branch office in Qingxing City.

Xu Yi took over Guanglong Hall but spent his first days resting while its rivals doubted the hall could survive. Zuo Feng tried to secure Wang Qijue and Lei Qianxiao’s cooperation in dividing Guanglong Hall’s holdings if it fell, but Wang urged them to wait and see.

• Xu Yi showed his token at Guanglong Hall, met manager Bai Qing, and asked for a quiet courtyard and several days of rest.
• Xu Yi kept to himself for seven or eight days, making no visible move to manage Guanglong Hall.
• Zuo Feng hosted Wang Qijue and Lei Qianxiao at White Tiger Tower and proposed that their halls stand together.
• Zuo Feng argued that Guanglong Hall was collapsing because Vice Hall Master Kuang had alienated people and Xu Yi lacked support.
• Lei Qianxiao welcomed the possibility of dividing Guanglong Hall’s holdings, while Wang Qijue insisted they wait to see whether it actually fell.

Kuang Xiong and eight sub-hall masters confronted Xu Yi at Guanglong Hall, expecting to force him out, but Xu Yi seized control and crushed their resistance. He ordered Kuang Xiong interrogated over Qing Xiu’s death and announced that all branch halls would be shut down.

• Zuo Feng and Lei Qianxiao celebrated Kuang Xiong’s advance on Guanglong Hall and planned to take over its headquarters.
• Kuang Xiong and the eight sub-hall masters entered Guanglong Hall and found Xu Yi calmly being attended by maids.
• Xu Yi dismissed the rebels, seized Kuang Xiong, and crushed Hall Master Cao when he tried to rally the others.
• The sub-hall masters surrendered, and Xu Yi ordered Desolate Ancestor to interrogate Kuang Xiong about Qing Xiu’s death.
• Xu Yi announced that Guanglong Hall would retain only its main hall and temporarily close every branch hall.

Xu Yi seized control of Guanglong Hall, shut it down for reorganization, and used appointment tokens to quiet the rebels. After learning that the hall’s branch leaders had withheld profits, he discovered that Guanglong Hall owed Xuanqing Sect 130,000 yuan-dan, leaving its external problems unresolved.

• Xu Yi ordered Guanglong Hall into lockdown, abolished the branch-hall positions, and offered appointment tokens to those who earned them through the reorganization.
• Zuo Feng, Wang Qijue, and Lei Qianxiao concluded that Kuang Xiong had lost and worried that Xu Yi’s takeover could bring trouble to them.
• Xu Yi told True Man Scarlet Fire that he had handled the hall, while reflecting that the sect’s communications blackout had helped keep his past hidden.
• Desolate Ancestor reported that Kuang Xiong had confessed to stirring up the rebellion for profit and that Guanglong Hall’s branch halls had kept much of the money they collected.
• Desolate Ancestor told Xu Yi that Guanglong Hall had fallen behind on its payments and owed Xuanqing Sect 130,000 yuan-dan.

Xu Yi took responsibility for Guanglong Hall’s Origin Pill debt and ordered the hall to focus exclusively on buying medicinal ingredients, while Zuo Feng, Lei Qianxiao, and Wang Qijue united against him. The three rivals dismissed Xu Yi’s plan as foolish and agreed to watch for a chance to strike.

• Xu Yi told Desolate Ancestor that he had promised True Man Scarlet Fire to pay the Origin Pills owed before year’s end, then asked about capable staff.
• Xu Yi ordered Guanglong Hall to suspend all other businesses and deal only in medicinal ingredients used to refine Origin Pills, and he announced he would enter seclusion.
• Wang Qijue told Zuo Feng and Lei Qianxiao that Xu Yi had joined the Xuanqing Sect and might oppose them over Guanglong Hall’s lost clients.
• Zuo Feng, Lei Qianxiao, and Wang Qijue agreed to stand together and resist Xu Yi’s efforts to reclaim Guanglong Hall’s business.
• A messenger reported that Guanglong Hall was buying medicinal ingredients in bulk at prices twenty percent above the market rate.
• Zuo Feng, Lei Qianxiao, and Wang Qijue laughed at Xu Yi’s strategy but agreed to watch him closely and attack if an opportunity arose.

Xu Yi ended his seclusion, completed Guanglong Hall’s bulk herb purchases, and arranged for merchants to supply the hall regularly. Tang Shanhai returned afterward with an enormous offer of origin-pill ingredients, leaving Xu Yi to question his stated quantity.

• Xu Yi met the merchants who had waited seven days and apologized before Guanglong Hall completed their herb purchases.
• Xu Yi offered the merchants an additional ten percent above the agreed price for long-term supplies, and they agreed to deliver herbs on the fifth of every month.
• Desolate Ancestor reported that Guanglong Hall had nearly run out of origin pills, but Xu Yi told him not to worry.
• Xu Yi sent Desolate Ancestor to check for a visitor, and Tang Shanhai soon arrived to speak with him privately.
• Tang Shanhai offered to sell Xu Yi another batch of origin-pill ingredients, and Xu Yi laughed at the quantity he claimed to have.

Xu Yi met Tang Shanhai, who offered to help revive Guanglong Hall, but Xu Yi concealed his plans. Tang later reported that Xu Yi was a World Child to a hidden superior, while Xu remained occupied with Guanglong Hall and promised Kong Qi he would seek guidance on alchemy once matters there were settled.

• Xu Yi realized Tang Shanhai was sounding him out, and Tang explained that Elder Xi had praised Xu Yi and introduced them.
• Tang Shanhai offered business advice for Guanglong Hall's medicinal-herb trade, but Xu Yi claimed he was merely carrying out orders and knew little of the plan.
• Tang Shanhai warned Xu Yi that spies from three families had visited, then left Guanglong Hall.
• Tang Shanhai reported to a hidden figure that Xu Yi was an exceptional World Child, and the figure ordered him not to neglect Xu Yi.
• After a month at Guanglong Hall, Xu Yi contacted Kong Qi, who urged him to pursue the Way of Alchemy; Xu Yi promised to seek Kong Qi's guidance when his current work was settled.

Xu Yi continued his unexplained preparations for Guanglong Hall’s reopening while his rivals decided to help him buy up ingredients, believing they could thwart his plans. As the reopening approached, Xu Yi raised prices early and strengthened the loyalty of his newly promoted staff, then learned that a Guanglong Token holder had come to see him.

• Xu Yi told Kong Qi about an opportunity, and Kong Qi said he would report it before responding.
• Zuo Feng, Wang Qijue, and Lei Qianxiao discussed Xu Yi’s costly ingredient purchases and decided to help him buy in bulk so they could undermine his plans.
• Desolate Ancestor warned Xu Yi to rest and reported that Qingxing City’s cultivator population had risen by thirty percent.
• Xu Yi ordered Guanglong Hall to raise its prices a day early and reassured Desolate Ancestor that the decision would not cause a loss.
• Bai Rushui reported that a Guanglong Token holder was waiting to see Xu Yi, who encouraged Bai Rushui and promised formal appointments based on merit within three months.

Xu Yi staged the third medicinal-ingredient exchange to expose the three rival halls’ undercover merchants and explain his tactics to the waiting traders. He revealed that the rivals had sold Guanglong Hall ingredients worth 130,000 origin pills, then asked the others why they feared he would refuse to trade with them.

• Xu Yi promised Bai Rushui and the other servants official appointments, and Bai Rushui swore their loyalty to the Hall Master.
• Bai Rushui brought a cloaked figure to meet Xu Yi, who invited him to watch a magic trick in the alchemy room.
• More than three hundred merchants gathered for the exchange, but Desolate Ancestor reported that the three rival families had already sold ingredients worth 130,000 origin pills.
• Xu Yi revealed that only undercover merchants sent by Wang Qijue, Lei Qianxiao, and Zuo Feng's families had made deals, while the other visitors had been used as spectators.
• Xu Yi apologized to the merchants, explained his suspicions about Qingxing City's other three halls, showed the transaction receipts, and asked why they thought he would refuse to buy from them.

Xu Yi persuaded the merchants to sell medicinal ingredients despite Guanglong Hall's shortage of origin pills by arranging a guarantee from Tang Shanhai and Guanglong Trading Company. After the merchants signed contracts, Xu Yi rewarded two disguised helpers who had helped make the deal happen.

• Xu Yi explained that unexpected demand and his rivals' schemes had left him short of origin pills, then offered to pay the merchants' balance within half a month.
• When the merchants objected to receiving only a deposit, Xu Yi said he had invited a guarantor and Tang Shanhai emerged.
• Tang Shanhai offered to hold the merchants' ingredients in trust, pay them a twenty-percent advance, and return their goods if Guanglong Hall failed to settle the balance within fifteen days.
• The merchants accepted the arrangement, signed contracts witnessed by Tang Shanhai, and went to the alchemy workshop to collect their deposits.
• Xu Yi met two disguised helpers in his secret chamber, praised their role, and told them to collect rewards from Bai Rushui and avoid using those disguises again.

Xu Yi’s staged transaction succeeded, and Tang Shanhai showed him that the traders’ purchases had far exceeded expectations. The chapter revealed that Xu Yi had secured Guanglong Trading Company’s enormous loan by demonstrating his pill-refining ability, leaving Tang curious about Xu Yi’s larger plan.

• Xu Yi recalled how two inconspicuous performers, planted in the crowd, had steered the transaction toward a successful conclusion.
• Xu Yi sent Desolate Ancestor to fetch Tang Shanhai, who showed him a tally far larger than Xu Yi had expected.
• Tang Shanhai asked Xu Yi to explain his plan, while Xu Yi pointed out that the deal benefited Tang as well.
• Xu Yi’s plan relied on Tang Shanhai and Guanglong Trading Company lending him funds, with medicinal ingredients as collateral and pill-refining ability backing repayment.
• Xu Yi had revealed his alchemy skills to Tang Shanhai, convincing him that the loan’s shortfall was no real risk.

Xu Yi kept his real plan from Tang Shanhai, while the leaders of three factions tried to decipher Guanglong Hall’s rapid purchases of essence-pill ingredients. They suspected Xu was using his buying spree to scare them away from interfering, but Zuo Feng warned that their theory might be wrong.

• Xu Yi told Tang Shanhai to wait for the results of his secret plan, and Tang agreed to keep cooperating.
• Boss Jia cleared White Tiger Tower again as Lei Qianxiao, Zuo Feng, and Wang Qijue arrived without attendants and sealed themselves in Cangfeng Residence.
• Lei Qianxiao and Zuo Feng worried that Xu Yi and Guanglong Trading Company were pursuing a dangerous scheme, while Wang Qijue tried to reassure them that their deal had made a profit.
• Wang Qijue said rising ingredient prices came from Guanglong Hall’s purchases and suggested Xuanqing Sect was behind the company’s plans.
• Zuo Feng proposed that Xu Yi was using the purchases to frighten the three leaders into staying out of his way, and Wang Qijue agreed.
• Lei Qianxiao celebrated the possibility that they had helped Xu’s plan, but Zuo Feng cautioned that his explanation was only a guess.

Lei Qianxiao, Zuo Feng, and Wang Qijue expected Guanglong Hall to collapse, but its closure and the rejection of a proposal to buy its stockpile sent medicinal-ingredient prices plunging. They realized their costly inventory had become difficult to sell, even in distant markets.

• Lei Qianxiao, Zuo Feng, and Wang Qijue agreed to risk buying more medicinal ingredients in hopes of driving Xu and Guanglong Hall out of business.
• Merchants gathered outside Guanglong Hall as its doors stayed shut and it failed to announce purchase prices.
• Xu Yi announced that Guanglong Hall would suspend operations for rectification after suffering enormous losses.
• Tang Shanhai's proposal for Guanglong Trading Company to buy Guanglong Hall's stockpile was rejected by its Elder Council, triggering market chaos.
• Wang Qijue received news that prices had already plunged in Cloud City, and Zuo Feng warned that their large inventory would be hard to sell.

After the medicinal-ingredient market collapsed, Lei Qianxiao, Wang Qijue, and Zuo Feng were forced to sell their stock at a loss. More than half a month later, Guanglong Hall reopened all nine locations with a new model centered on customers choosing Origin Pill ingredients from display cases.

• On September 6, three major trading houses began buying medicinal ingredients, then two lowered their prices after the first finished buying, triggering a rush to sell.
• Lei Qianxiao returned after ordering his men to sell their ingredients and lamented the losses he, Wang Qijue, and Zuo Feng had suffered.
• The three accepted that they had been caught in a much worse market collapse than they had expected.
• More than half a month later, Guanglong Hall and its eight branches reopened across Qingxing City.
• Guanglong Hall replaced its old counters with display cases of four Origin Pill ingredients that customers could choose and pay for at the counter.

Xu Yi's unusual trade fair at Guanglong Hall baffled Qingxing City's merchants, while Tang Shanhai questioned whether Xu Yi had a real plan. The chapter left Zuo Feng, Lei Qianxiao, and Wang Qijue rushing to the South Plaza after learning Guanglong Hall had outmaneuvered them.

• Zuo Feng, Lei Qianxiao, and Wang Qijue dismissed Guanglong Hall's rising prices as the desperate antics of a failing business.
• Zuo Feng ordered his attendant to stop reporting on Guanglong Hall, but Deputy Hall Master Sui urgently summoned him to the South Plaza and said they had suffered a major loss.
• Wang Qijue hurried to the South Plaza, followed by Zuo Feng and Lei Qianxiao.
• Tang Shanhai woke Xu Yi and confronted him about the trade fair's dramatically inflated medicinal-ingredient prices.
• Tang Shanhai recalled that Xu Yi had borrowed from Guanglong Trading Company against his ingredients and had until October fifth to repay the loan.
• Tang Shanhai wondered whether Xu Yi's prices were part of a scheme or proof that he had mistaken a fool for a genius.

Xu Yi’s staged pill demonstration drove up the value of alchemy materials and let him profit while Guanglong Trading Company waited to settle its loan. After Tang Shanhai handed over the storage ring and debt certificate, Xu Yi offered him a chance to lead a future cooperation agreement and had already arranged backup financing to redeem the pledged materials.

• Xu Yi showed Tang Shanhai a Ruyi Pearl image of a cultivator demonstrating pill arts at South Plaza, and Tang realized Xu Yi had orchestrated the day’s events.
• Xu Yi refused Tang Shanhai’s offer to settle the loan early, leaving Guanglong Trading Company to wait as alchemy-material prices continued to soar.
• On the agreed settlement date, Tang Shanhai gave Xu Yi a storage ring and received the debt certificate after the pledged materials’ value had sharply increased.
• Xu Yi urged the haggard Tang Shanhai to pursue a cooperation agreement that could help him lose the deputy title.
• Xu Yi revealed he had arranged favorable backup financing with several trade associations so he could redeem his pledged alchemy materials.

Xu Yi thanked Tang Shanhai and later hosted Kong Qi to celebrate their successful plan to manipulate the pill-material market. The Golden Core Society had acquired the merchants’ stranded stock, and Xu Yi’s new connections and alliance left him poised to expand his influence in Qingxing City.

• Xu Yi promised Tang Shanhai future support, and Tang recorded the promise with a Ruyi Pearl.
• Tang Shanhai explained that he hoped Xu Yi’s cooperation would help him become president of Guanglong Trading Company’s southwest branch.
• Xu Yi spent the day meeting Qingxing City’s new helmsmen and merchant association leaders before inviting Kong Qi to dinner in his pill-refining room.
• Xu Yi recalled that he had recruited the Golden Core Society by offering it the fourth round of pill-material stock in exchange for a public demonstration of Pill Arts.
• Xu Yi and Kong Qi celebrated as the Golden Core Society bought the merchants’ holdings after Xu Yi’s acquisitions, staged sell-off, and bad news drove prices down.
• Kong Qi tasted Xu Yi’s wine and asked what it was.

Xu Yi learned that his proposal had helped the Golden Core Society acquire valuable pill materials, and Kong Qi revealed that Xu Yi had been approved for a place in the future Golden Core Academy if he reached the Spiritual Root stage. Xu Yi celebrated the opportunity, checked on Qiu Wa, and the chapter ended with Lei Qianxiao lamenting the losses he had suffered from selling pill materials before their prices soared.

• Kong Qi praised Xu Yi for helping the Golden Core Society profit from the spread of the new alchemy technique and explained how the Elder Council had approved the plan.
• Kong Qi told Xu Yi that his contribution had earned him approval to enter the Golden Core Academy, provided he reached the Spiritual Root stage before its first class began.
• Xu Yi gave Kong Qi his last gourd of Spirit Wine and was delighted by the chance to become one of the Academy's first students.
• Xu Yi returned to the alchemy room, found Qiu Wa asleep in the transformed Starry Sky Ring, and reflected on protecting those he cared about.
• Lei Qianxiao recalled struggling for two months after selling pill materials cheaply before prices surged.

Lei Qianxiao hosted a banquet to seek Xu Yi’s help with his financial crisis, while Zuo Feng and Wang Qijue joined him to pursue their own interests. Xu Yi challenged the two uninvited men to provide their own banquets before he would entertain them.

• Lei Qianxiao paced anxiously as he prepared a banquet to ask a distinguished guest for help.
• Zuo Feng arrived, revealed he knew Lei Qianxiao’s purpose, and asked to share the banquet.
• Wang Qijue joined them, and Zuo Feng and Lei Qianxiao discussed their strained relations with him.
• Lei Qianxiao, Zuo Feng, and Wang Qijue welcomed Xu Yi and escorted him to the seat of honor.
• Lei Qianxiao apologized and drank to Xu Yi, who asked why Wang Qijue and Zuo Feng were attending his banquet.
• Xu Yi said he would not let Wang Qijue and Zuo Feng freeload and demanded that they provide their own banquets.

Xu Yi staged a poisoning at the banquet, provoking Lei Qianxiao and Zuo Feng to attack Wang Qijue before revealing that he was unharmed. Wang Qijue exposed Xu Yi’s ruse, and Xu Yi invited him to explain himself while holding the three hall masters at his mercy.

• Wang Qijue and Zuo Feng arranged an elaborate banquet after Xu Yi demanded it.
• Xu Yi pretended to be poisoned, spat out black blood, and accused Lei Qianxiao as the hall masters turned on one another.
• Lei Qianxiao and Zuo Feng attacked Wang Qijue, then paused to search for the supposed poisoner downstairs.
• Xu Yi drank an antidote and revealed that he had staged the poisoning.
• Wang Qijue recognized the trick and accused Xu Yi of manipulating them, and Xu Yi admitted it before asking Wang to speak.

Xu Yi questioned the three hall masters about Qing Xiu’s death, and Wang Qijue confessed that the Witch Ghost Sect had killed him while insisting he had no part in it. Wang revealed that Witch Ghost Sect members had infiltrated his entourage, leaving his connections exposed and his fate uncertain.

• Wang Qijue explained that the Witch Ghost Sect killed Qing Xiu after trying to use his gambling debt to gain influence in Guanglong Hall.
• Wang admitted that he had considered helping the Witch Ghost Sect enter Qingxing City and had encouraged the alliance against Xu Yi’s hall for profit.
• Xu Yi asked why Lei Qianxiao and Zuo Feng had attacked Wang Qijue after Xu Yi appeared to be injured, and Wang explained that his panic had exposed his scheme.
• Zuo Feng challenged Wang over Witch Ghost Sect members found among his people, and Wang questioned how Xu Yi had identified them first.
• Xu Yi refused to reveal how he had overheard the impostors, while Wang insisted he had not been involved in Qing Xiu’s death and hoped to avoid that accusation.