Chapter Summaries

Lei Dong toured Black Mountain Marketplace with Cultivator Liu and set his sights on taking over a well-located pill shop whose owners had recently lost their strongest protector. He met Sun Yongxing, the Golden Core cultivator guarding the marketplace, and invoked his master’s status while discussing the visit.

• Lei Dong hired Cultivator Liu to show him around Black Mountain Marketplace and explain its shops, stalls, and local power players.
• Lei Dong inspected a stall, recognized a bottle of fake Lesser Misty Spirit Replenishing Pills, and heard Liu warn him about marketplace swindlers.
• Lei Dong decided to pursue a corner pill shop after learning its owner’s peak Foundation Establishment protector had died and rival forces were pressuring the family to sell.
• Lei Dong visited Sun Yongxing, the marketplace’s current guardian, who greeted him warmly and asked about his master.
• Lei Dong told Sun Yongxing that his master was well and preparing to break through to the seventh level of the Golden Core Stage.

Lei Dong secured the Wang Clan’s pill shop in Black Mountain Marketplace with Sun Yongxing’s help and began planning its overhaul. He left the chapter preparing to reshape the shop into the first of what he hoped would become a larger business.

• Lei Dong asked Sun Yongxing for advice on opening a pill shop and expressed interest in the Wang Clan’s business.
• Sun Yongxing agreed to arrange the transfer and set the fee at 2.7 million Spirit Stones, but Lei Dong offered 3.5 million to ensure the Wang Clan was treated fairly.
• Three days later, Sun Yongxing witnessed two Wang Clan cultivators transfer the shop’s documents and accounts to Lei Dong, who paid the agreed fee.
• Lei Dong accepted the shop’s annual rent and tax obligations and began planning a distinctive redesign to support his future business ambitions.
• Lei Dong summoned the shop manager and attendants to begin reorganizing the business.

Lei Dong took over a pill shop and questioned Shopkeeper Qian about how to improve its profits. He proposed drawing in Qi Refining Stage Cultivators with limited, cost-priced pills and other promotions, then left Shopkeeper Qian hopeful about the shop’s future.

• Lei Dong reviewed the shop’s accounts and considered the value of its location and the income it could provide.
• Shopkeeper Qian nervously met Lei Dong, aware of his fearsome reputation as a Yin Sha Sect core disciple.
• Lei Dong asked Shopkeeper Qian for ways to improve the business, and Qian suggested broadening suppliers and building customer loyalty.
• Lei Dong proposed selling popular pills at cost with purchase limits to attract Qi Refining Stage Cultivators and increase sales of other goods.
• Lei Dong warned that he would deal with rival shops if they used underhanded tactics, reassuring Shopkeeper Qian with his confidence.
• Lei Dong suggested shop events and a drawing for Foundation Establishment Pills on opening day.

Lei Dong organized plans for his pill shop and brought Ouyang Rong'er from Little Green Valley to join him and Ding Wanyan at their new home. After Ding Wanyan welcomed Rong'er and went to help her transplant the Bodhi Heart-Cleansing Tea, a faint voice addressed the newlyweds.

• Lei Dong decided to postpone his lottery idea for the pill shop, while Old Qian left to prepare a marketing plan.
• Lei Dong hired mortal artists to develop market designs and reflected on the importance of Spirit Stones.
• Lei Dong traveled to Little Green Valley and brought Ouyang Rong'er back to the Great Ding Kingdom.
• Lei Dong introduced Ouyang Rong'er to Ding Wanyan and shared Bodhi Heart-Cleansing Tea with her.
• Ding Wanyan went to help Ouyang Rong'er transplant the tea, and a faint voice remarked on how loving the newlyweds were.

The Heavenly Devil visited Lei Dong and gave him rare books and two powerful formations for his home with Ding Wanyan. She planned to spend two years installing them, leaving Warm Fragrance Small Abode set to become both a Spirit Gathering Cave and a heavily protected refuge.

• The Heavenly Devil arrived at Lei Dong’s home, drank Bodhi Heart-Cleansing Tea, and praised the tea grown by Ding Wanyan.
• The Heavenly Devil explained that Green Screen Ridge blocked seasonal winds and weakened the valley’s Spirit Vein, then gave Lei Dong Jade Slips to read.
• The Heavenly Devil offered Lei Dong the Great Five Elements Gathering Spirit Array and the Heavenly Devil Bewitching Formation as wedding gifts.
• The Heavenly Devil said she would take about two years to install the formations, which would gather spiritual energy and protect the valley from powerful intruders.
• The Heavenly Devil assured Lei Dong that Ding Wanyan would not suspect their connection, explaining that she had already befriended her and given her cultivation guidance.

Lei Dong planned to develop the valley’s spirit fields and calculated that improved spirit energy could make the investment profitable within fifty years. When Chen Ge, Wei Hua, and Zuo Chao arrived to take over his business preparations, Lei Dong left them a million spirit stones and returned to Myriad Ghost Cave at his master’s request.

• Lei Dong planned to recruit and train Qi Refining Stage Cultivators to maintain several hundred mu of spirit fields, whose first harvest could mature within fifty years.
• Ding Wanyan told Lei Dong she had bought their valley because it looked pretty, not because she foresaw its investment potential.
• Chen Ge, Wei Hua, and Zuo Chao arrived on their master’s orders to manage Lei Dong’s businesses and told him to return to Myriad Ghost Cave.
• Lei Dong assigned the three men the pill shop and spirit-field preparations, left them a million spirit stones, and set off after bidding farewell to Ding Wanyan.
• Lei Dong reached Myriad Ghost Cave in less than ten days, where the Ghost Slave welcomed him and sent for the Ancestor.

Lei Dong reunited with Myriad Ghost Ancestor, received guidance on his spells, and was taught the offensive technique Black Dragon Chant. The chapter left him barely able to perform a weak version of the move after several days of practice.

• Lei Dong comforted Ghost Slave and then greeted Myriad Ghost Ancestor, insisting that he would always honor him as his master.
• Lei Dong offered Myriad Ghost Ancestor Bodhi Heart-Cleansing Tea and explained that Ouyang Rong'er had found and transplanted the plant.
• Myriad Ghost Ancestor discussed Lei Dong's cultivation, then watched him demonstrate his spells and urged him to practice them more diligently.
• Myriad Ghost Ancestor demonstrated Black Dragon Chant, blasting a deep crater into a cliff, and explained how the technique combined Netherworld Ghost Qi with Profound Yin True Qi.
• Myriad Ghost Ancestor patiently taught Lei Dong Black Dragon Chant, and after several days Lei Dong produced a misshapen black Qi strike that barely dislodged rocks.

Myriad Ghost Ancestor taught Lei Dong that Netherworld Ghost Qi was a form of life qi and explained how that principle powered the Black Dragon Chant. Lei Dong discovered how to combine Netherworld Ghost Qi with Profound Yin True Qi to unleash a powerful blast, though he injured his arm, and learned that shaping the blast into a dragon was merely for appearance.

• Myriad Ghost Ancestor demonstrated how Netherworld Ghost Qi strengthened Nether Fire and vengeful ghosts, then explained that ghost qi and souls were forms of life.
• Lei Dong connected his own experience as a soul with his master's explanation and realized Netherworld Ghost Qi could be made to burn.
• Lei Dong experimented by making Netherworld Ghost Qi and Profound Yin True Qi collide and whirl together in his palm.
• Lei Dong fired the combined qi into a cliff, blasting a huge crater but injuring the meridians in his right arm.
• Myriad Ghost Ancestor praised Lei Dong for grasping the Black Dragon Chant and explained that turning its black column into a dragon was only for show.

Myriad Ghost Ancestor urged Lei Dong to join the Yin Sha Sect’s Battle Hall, explaining its dangers and rewards. Lei Dong accepted and reported to the sect headquarters, where he was brought before Commander Ouyang for the Battle Hall’s recruitment test.

• Myriad Ghost Ancestor explained the Eight Great Sects’ use of indirectly controlled territories and introduced the Battle Hall’s role in fighting for resources.
• Myriad Ghost Ancestor told Lei Dong that he and Wang Kang had been invited to join the Battle Hall, but he had declined on Wan Yan’s behalf.
• Myriad Ghost Ancestor described the Battle Hall’s rewards, including a greater share of sect rewards for Myriad Ghost Cave, a discount on resources, and access to rare items through Contribution Value.
• Lei Dong accepted Myriad Ghost Ancestor’s offer, took a Battle Hall token, and traveled to Yin Sha Sect headquarters.
• Two armored disciples recognized Lei Dong and escorted him to Commander Ouyang for the required recruitment test.
• Lei Dong entered a Side Hall with Battle Soldier Thirty-seven and greeted Commander Ouyang.

Lei Dong met Commander Ouyang and learned the rules for ranking Battle Hall members. He challenged Number One first and gained the upper hand in their opening clash, leaving the result undecided.

• Commander Ouyang questioned Lei Dong about his powerful soul, then mourned a former senior brother who had died in the Inner Devil Hall a century earlier.
• Commander Ouyang assigned Lei Dong to his command and ordered Number Thirty-seven to explain the ranking test.
• Lei Dong chose to challenge Number One first, surprising the gathered Battle Hall members.
• Lei Dong and Number One began fighting with their Ghost Guards, and Lei Dong's Critical Hit Ghost Guard and Ice Ghost Guard overwhelmed Number One's level-nine Ghost Guard.
• Lei Dong struck the battered Ghost Guard with Redflame, shattering its soul shield and sending it flying as a small black orb.

Lei Dong overwhelmed Number One in a summoning contest with his Ghost Guards, vicious ghosts, Soul Devouring Shadow Tiger, Flood Dragon, and War Puppet. After the Shadow Tiger devoured one of Number One’s Ghost Guards, Number One’s sword and Netherflame Bullet cornered Lei Dong, leaving his shield to face one attack and the sword closing on his neck.

• Lei Dong summoned three Level Eight Ghost Guards and sent his elite vicious ghosts against Number One’s larger ghost horde.
• The Soul Devouring Shadow Tiger joined the fight, swallowed an enemy ghost, and held off a Level Eight Ghost Guard until Lei Dong summoned the black Flood Dragon to turn the battle.
• Number One summoned his blue Puppet, but Lei Dong countered with a stronger golden War Puppet and clashed swords with him using Redflame.
• Number One attacked Lei Dong with a Netherflame Bullet and blue sword, while Lei Dong wounded a Level Eight Ghost Guard and the Shadow Tiger devoured it, causing Number One to spit blood.
• Number One’s attacks pursued Lei Dong, who blocked the Netherflame Bullet with a shield as the blue sword curved toward his neck.

Lei Dong defeated Number One in the Battle Hall trials and was registered as its Number One Battle Soldier under Ouyang Mi. Zhang Heng introduced the Battle Hall’s rules and the Third Commandery’s responsibilities, including its long-term effort to match Tianyin Palace’s influence in the southeast.

• Lei Dong’s Blood-colored Cloak blocked Number One’s attack, and Number One surrendered after Lei Dong’s Soul Devouring Shadow Tiger defeated his Ghost Guards.
• Number One acknowledged Lei Dong’s victory, and Commander Ouyang praised him but accepted his decision not to challenge for a captain’s position.
• Ouyang Mi registered Lei Dong in the Battle Hall and gave him a token and rules to study.
• Ouyang Mi introduced Lei Dong to Zhang Heng, who explained that Battle Hall members had to treat one another as brothers and settle personal grudges without death duels while serving.
• Zhang Heng explained that the Third Commandery oversaw scattered southeastern territories and that the Yin Sha Sect aimed to match Tianyin Palace’s regional influence within thirty years.

Lei Dong joined Zhang Heng’s patrol assignment to the East Sea Star Islands and learned about the region’s dangers. Aboard a Yin Sha Sect warship, he studied its spell-firing weapons and learned how the Mechanisms Art had spread through the Cultivation World, leaving the squad prepared to venture into the East Sea.

• Lei Dong agreed to follow Captain Zhang Heng’s orders, and Zhang Heng assigned him to an upcoming patrol of the East Sea Star Islands.
• Zhang Heng explained the Star Islands’ dangers and gave Lei Dong a Jade Slip map marking hazardous locations for his month of preparation.
• Two months later, Lei Dong boarded a medium-sized warship with the eight other members of the Third Commandery’s First Squad.
• Lei Dong examined the warship’s Nether Incense Wood hull, defenses, and Netherflame cannons, learning how they used Spirit Stones to fire spells.
• Lei Dong reviewed the different methods of casting spells through talismans, spirit artifacts, and ship-mounted weapons.
• Lei Dong learned that Elder Heavenly Mechanism founded the Heavenly Mechanism Sect after discovering an ancient ruin, and that the Eight Great Sects forced it to share its inventions.

Lei Dong learned about the costly Netherworld Nine warship and joined Zhang Heng’s crew on a deep-sea detour to hunt Sea Overlords. After explaining the valuable Golden Core beasts and their prey, Zhang Heng ordered the First Team to prepare for the hunt.

• Lei Dong learned that Netherworld Nine required 140 million Contribution Value, putting the warship beyond his reach for decades.
• Zhang Heng lowered Netherworld Nine near the deep-sea boundary during the seasonal tides and caught a Horned Scale Fish with his Netherflame Ghost Claw.
• The First Team gathered, and Zhang Heng revealed that they planned to hunt Sea Overlords attracted by the Horned Scale Fish.
• Number Two told Lei Dong that Sea Overlords were near the strength of Golden Core Early Stage cultivators and that their valuable parts could fetch around 1.5 million Spirit Stones.
• Zhang Heng assured Lei Dong that the crew had a way to handle the beasts and ordered the First Team to get ready.

Lei Dong joined the Battle Hall’s Horned Scale Fish hunt, learned to catch the fish from Number Four, and successfully filled his sack. On his way back to the warship, he was intercepted by three cultivators whose leader recognized his Yin Sha Sect Battle Hall token and panicked.

• Lei Dong tried to catch a fish with his Netherflame Ghost Claw but failed, and Number Four explained how to identify Horned Scale Fish and hunt them underwater.
• Number Four demonstrated the technique, then split off from Lei Dong to compete for the most fish.
• Lei Dong used Number Four’s advice to catch two Horned Scale Fish and considered bringing friends to fish for Spirit Stones in the future.
• A patched Flying Boat approached Lei Dong as he returned toward the warship, and three Foundation Establishment cultivators came out to confront him.
• Lei Dong identified himself as a member of the Yin Sha Sect’s Battle Hall, causing the white-haired leader to panic.

Lei Dong fought a family of cultivators who had planned to rob him, overpowering their attacks and destroying their Flying Boat when the younger pair tried to escape. The man and woman fled in separate directions while Lei Dong’s Ghost Guards pursued them, and he turned back toward their father.

• The old man claimed his family wanted to buy Lei Dong’s Horned Scale Fish, but Lei Dong recognized their hostile intentions and attacked him with the Crimson Refining Flying Sword.
• The old man’s son and daughter-in-law attacked Lei Dong, but he blocked their weapons with the Indestructible Spirit Shield and Blood-colored Cloak while the Critical Hit Ghost Guard assaulted the old man.
• The old man held Lei Dong back with a powerful fireball, allowing the man and woman to reach their Flying Boat and begin escaping.
• Lei Dong used Black Dragon Chant to shatter the Flying Boat with a blast of Netherworld Ghost Qi.
• The man and woman fled in opposite directions on their spirit weapons as Lei Dong sent the Ice Ghost Guard and Ghost Guard after them, then faced the old man again.

Lei Dong defeated a Lineage that tried to rob him, collected its spoils and Living Souls, and returned to the Netherworld Nine with a large haul of Horned Scale Fish. Zhang Heng warned him that the Eastern Sea’s dangers made its cultivators unusually experienced and well-equipped.

• Lei Dong summoned the Silver Puppet to help the Critical Hit Ghost Guard kill the old man, then took his Storage Bracelet, Living Soul, and Upper Grade Spirit Items.
• Lei Dong spotted leather sacks of Horned Scale Fish in the wreckage of the destroyed Flying Boat and seized them as the old man's son and daughter-in-law fled.
• Lei Dong's Ghost Guard and Ice Ghost Guard caught and killed the fleeing couple, then returned with their Living Souls and spoils.
• Lei Dong refined the three Foundation Establishment-level Living Souls into the Evil Ghost Banner and carried his fish haul back to the Netherworld Nine.
• Zhang Heng questioned Lei Dong about his many sacks, and Lei Dong explained that he had taken them from the robbers he killed.
• Zhang Heng explained that Eastern Sea cultivators had more combat experience and better gear, and urged Lei Dong to call for help if danger arose.

Zhang Heng led Lei Dong and the First squad in fishing for a Golden Core-level Overlord Fish using Horned Scale Fish bait and costly silkworm line. After the crew weakened the beast with repeated attacks, Zhang Heng fired Netherworld Nine’s Netherflame Main Cannon, leaving the Overlord Fish belly-up in the water.

• Lei Dong caught ninety Horned Scale Fish, and Zhang Heng explained the strength and value of the hooks and silkworm line they used as bait.
• Zhang Heng fastened the baited line to Netherworld Nine and drew an Overlord Fish to the surface, where it swallowed the hooks and dragged the ship toward the sea.
• Netherworld Nine rose into the air, and the Overlord Fish attacked with water columns as Zhang Heng ordered the First squad to strike from the ship.
• Lei Dong, the other cultivators, and their puppets battered the Overlord Fish until they broke through its Golden Core-level defenses.
• Zhang Heng fired the Netherflame Main Cannon, blasting the Overlord Fish into the air and leaving it floating belly-up.

Lei Dong joined Zhang Heng’s crew in hunting Golden Core sea beasts, acquired Beast Souls, and strengthened his Evil Ghost Banner. After the five-year fish run ended, the group had killed thirteen Overlord Fish, and Lei Dong’s banner had reached Top Grade Spirit Item speed.

• Lei Dong caught the Overlord Fish’s Beast Soul, then bought it from Zhang Heng for two hundred and fifty thousand Spirit Stones after receiving credit for his share.
• Lei Dong refined the Beast Soul into his Evil Ghost Banner, greatly increasing its speed, while Number Two showed off a banner strengthened by five Golden Core Beast Souls.
• Zhang Heng told the group that Number Two had received an Upper Grade Spirit Ghost, and Lei Dong decided to stop selling Upper Grade Spirit Ghosts because their sudden increase might attract suspicion.
• Zhang Heng restarted the hunt, and the crew killed thirteen Overlord Fish over the half-month fish run, which occurred once every five years.
• Lei Dong acquired four more Golden Core Beast Souls and refined his Evil Ghost Banner to Top Grade Spirit Item speed, but stopped competing for later Beast Souls.

Lei Dong and the Yin Sha Sect inspection squad arrived at Small Continent City, where Zhang Heng confronted the city officials over City Lord Ning's absence. When the city’s barrier blocked their departure, Zhang Heng attacked it and ordered the squad to break through as a Golden Core Cultivator rushed toward them.

• Lei Dong and the squad reached the Southern Seventy-Six Islands aboard Netherworld Nine and drew a crowd when they landed in Small Continent City.
• Vice City Lord Han Wu welcomed Zhang Heng, but Zhang demanded to know why City Lord Ning had not appeared.
• Han Wu revealed that Ning had been growing closer to Tianyin Palace, while Zhang refused to visit the city lord's manor and returned with his squad to the Flying Boat.
• Small Continent City's barrier remained closed as Zhang tried to leave, so he fired the Netherflame Main Cannon and blasted a hole that quickly sealed.
• Zhang ordered the squad to combine their strongest attacks with the Netherflame Cannons as a Golden Core Cultivator accused Han Wu of provoking the Yin Sha Sect.