Chapter Summaries

After the Black Tiger Gang was wiped out, Lin Taichu returned to Luofeng City and learned that Su Yao and Qingyang Sect had captured the wounded President of the Tianyuan Chamber of Commerce. He ordered the mastermind imprisoned, while Qingyang Sect’s unexpected support strengthened its ties with the city.

• Feng Tie killed Tie Hu, ending the Black Tiger Gang, and Lin Taichu judged that the escaped President would need at least half a year to recover his strength.
• Lin Taichu, Feng Tie, and Zhou Jin cleaned the Wild Mountain battlefield and returned to Luofeng City at dawn.
• Su Yao told Lin Taichu that Qingyang Sect disciples had captured the injured President in a western forest cave and brought him to the Zhao Family estate.
• Lin Taichu questioned the President, who refused to speak, then ordered Zhao Feng to imprison him in the city dungeon under constant guard.
• Su Yao confirmed that Qingyang Sect’s agreement to handle sales of Feng Tie’s Dharma Artifacts still stood, and Lin Taichu thanked her for helping Luofeng City.

Lin Taichu began interrogating the captured president of the Tianyuan Chamber of Commerce after warning that the man might have hidden forces and arrangements. The president finally disclosed several secret resources and a squad in Dragon King Underground City, leaving Lin Taichu to uncover the rest of his network.

• Feng Tie warned that the captured president might have hidden forces, while Zhou Jin and Feng Tie left to resume their own work.
• Lin Taichu ordered the president held without spiritual power for a day before interrogation, and Zhao Huai tightened the dungeon's security.
• Lin Taichu visited the dungeon at night and used the threat of his hidden arrangements collapsing to make the president reconsider staying silent.
• The president revealed three hidden Northern Region storehouses containing Spirit Stones, ores, and half-finished Dharma Artifacts.
• The president disclosed that a secret squad of twenty cultivators above the sixth level of Half-Saint was hidden on the eighth floor of Dragon King Underground City.

After interrogating the captured president of the Tianyuan Chamber of Commerce, Lin Taichu uncovered the locations of its warehouses and the identities of its remaining allies. When searches for those allies failed, he ordered Luofeng City to strengthen its defenses and wait for them to make a move.

• Lin Taichu interrogated the president, learning about three secret warehouses, a twenty-man covert squad, and three ninth-level Half-Saint Rogue Cultivators.
• Lin Taichu ordered Zhao Feng to seize the warehouses, search the Dragon King Underground City, and watch the border for the three Rogue Cultivators.
• Zhao Feng’s men recovered all the resources from the three warehouses, but found no trace of the covert squad or the Rogue Cultivators.
• After Zhao Feng reported the search results, Lin Taichu ordered the search teams to withdraw and said they should wait for the remaining forces to approach Luofeng City.
• Lin Taichu ordered stronger city defenses and closer monitoring of city entrances and exits while Zhou Jin and Feng Tie remained on guard.

Lin Taichu agreed to visit Qingyang Sect after Su Yao explained that its leaders wanted to thank him and prepare him for an upcoming council of Southern Region sects. He left Luofeng City in the care of Zhao Huai, Zhao Feng, Feng Tie, and Zhou Jin, then traveled with Su Yao toward Qingfeng Mountain.

• Lin Taichu decided to accept Su Yao's repeated invitation to Qingyang Sect after weighing their cooperation and the sect's help in securing Luofeng City.
• Su Yao explained that Qingyang Sect wanted to thank Lin Taichu, strengthen their cooperation, and prepare him to attend an upcoming council on trading rules and underground city resources.
• Lin Taichu agreed to leave the next morning and arranged for Zhao Huai to coordinate city affairs, Zhao Feng to oversee operations, and Feng Tie and Zhou Jin to maintain security.
• Su Yao met Lin Taichu at Luofeng City's gate with two Sect Disciples, and the four flew toward Qingfeng Mountain.
• Lin Taichu observed that the Southern Region was more stable than the Northern Region and Dragon King Underground City during the journey.

Lin Taichu visited the Qingyang Sect with Su Yao, where Elder Chen praised his role in expanding the sect’s Dharma Artifact business in the Northern Region. Elder Chen recognized Lin Taichu as a capable leader, and their meeting ended with him dismissing Lin’s modesty.

• Su Yao led Lin Taichu through the Qingyang Sect’s mountain gate and up to its main square.
• Su Yao introduced Lin Taichu to Elder Chen, who welcomed him and asked about his work in Luofeng City.
• Elder Chen credited Lin Taichu with helping the Qingyang Sect establish itself in the Northern Region’s Dharma Artifact market through Feng Tie’s goods.
• Lin Taichu shared credit with Feng Tie, Zhou Jin, the Zhao Family, and Su Yao, but Elder Chen said a leader’s ability showed in the people willing to follow him.

Lin Taichu stayed as an honored guest at the Qingyang Sect while considering Elder Chen's proposal to establish a branch in Luofeng City. The next morning, he explored the sect grounds.

• Elder Chen proposed that the Qingyang Sect establish a joint branch in Luofeng City, and Lin Taichu said he needed time to consider it.
• Su Yao showed Lin Taichu his guest room and explained that Elder Chen had told the sect to treat him as an honored guest.
• Lin Taichu weighed the security benefits of a Qingyang Sect branch against the risk that Luofeng City and the Trading Holy Land could lose their independence.
• Zhou Mingyuan introduced himself to Lin Taichu by the statue of True Person Qingyang and told him the founder's origins were unknown.
• The next morning, Lin Taichu watched disciples practice and followed a path past orderly beds of spiritual herbs.

Lin Taichu showed Su Yao that he knew pill refining and corrected her recipe and method for making Spirit Replenishing Pills. They went to the Alchemy Room to try his instructions, where Su Yao began refining a batch under his guidance.

• Lin Taichu explored the Spirit Herb Garden and found a quiet clearing with dense spiritual energy and wild herbs.
• Su Yao explained that only disciples who refined pills could enter the garden to gather its wild herbs, then invited Lin Taichu to help her collect supplies.
• Lin Taichu identified Su Yao's Dragon Saliva Grass as top-grade and corrected her Spirit Replenishing Pill recipe and ingredient order.
• Su Yao gathered Dragon Saliva Grass, Lingzhi, and Snow Lotus, then took Lin Taichu to the Alchemy Room to refine pills.
• Lin Taichu guided Su Yao in controlling the furnace heat, and she added the Dragon Saliva Grass as the first ingredient.

Su Yao refined twelve pills with Lin Taichu’s guidance, then told him about the coming Sect Exchange Meeting. At the meeting, Elder Chen proposed resolving the Northern Region’s Dharma Artifact shortage by supplying artifacts from Feng Tie through Qingyang Sect.

• Su Yao used Lin Taichu’s guidance to refine twelve pills and invited him to visit the Alchemy Room again.
• Su Yao told Lin Taichu that representatives from sects and Rogue Cultivator forces would attend the Sect Exchange Meeting, where some might cause trouble.
• Lin Taichu spent two days exploring Qingyang Sect before the exchange meeting began, and Elder Chen warned the arrivals against making trouble.
• Elder Chen opened the meeting by raising the lack of Dharma Artifacts in the Northern Region after the Tianyuan Chamber of Commerce’s headquarters was wiped out.
• The Profound Heaven Sect, Zixia Sect, and Red River Sect declined or lacked the means to manage the market, so Elder Chen offered Qingyang Sect’s supply from Feng Tie.
• An old man asked whether the blacksmith Elder Chen meant was Feng Tie, and Elder Chen confirmed it.

At the Southern Region sect meeting, Elder Chen revealed that Lin Taichu’s Luofeng City controlled the supply of Feng Tie’s Dharma Artifacts through an exclusive deal with Qingyang Sect. The discussion shifted to unified trade rules, while the sect representatives grew curious and suspicious about Zhou Jin’s presence in Luofeng City.

• Elder Chen announced that Feng Tie had opened a smithy in Luofeng City and that Qingyang Sect held exclusive sales rights to his Dharma Artifacts.
• Lin Taichu explained that buyers had to negotiate with Qingyang Sect, prompting Wang Hai of Zixia Sect to withdraw his request for a separate partnership.
• Elder Chen proposed creating unified trade rules for the Southern Region, and the sect representatives began discussing how to set them.
• Wang Hai asked Lin Taichu about Zhou Jin’s connection to Luofeng City, but Lin Taichu declined to explain.
• Elder Chen steered the meeting back to trade rules as the representatives continued watching Lin Taichu, who returned to his seat in the corner.

Lin Taichu promoted the Trading Holy Land at Qingyang Sect’s exchange meeting, drawing interest from Southern Region sects and Rogue Cultivators. After the meeting concluded, he told Elder Chen he planned to return to Luofeng City the next day, and Elder Chen asked him to stay longer.

• Elder Chen discussed trading rules and Underground City Obsidian, but the attendees reached no agreement on resource allocation.
• Lin Taichu told the old man in gray and Wang Hai about the Trading Holy Land, and Wang Hai said Zixia Sect might trade there.
• Elder Chen warned Lin Taichu that some attendees disapproved of him, but Lin Taichu said he was not worried about their opposition.
• Su Yao questioned Lin Taichu’s direct promotion and whether he had enough people to handle more visitors to Luofeng City.
• The exchange meeting resumed with more attendees and discussed the Northern Region’s Dharma Artifact market before concluding.
• Lin Taichu told Elder Chen he would return to Luofeng City the next day, and Elder Chen asked why he was leaving so soon.

Lin Taichu stayed at the Qingyang Sect rather than meet Southern Region representatives seeking cooperation over the Trading Holy Land. After they left, he visited Su Yao in the Spirit Herb Garden, where she was gathering Snake Saliva Grass.

• Elder Chen warned Lin Taichu that Wang Hai, Elder Li, and other Southern Region leaders wanted to gain benefits from him, and offered Qingyang Sect’s support.
• The next morning, Lin Taichu watched Elder Li, Wang Hai, and several others search the guest rooms for him, then waited until they left.
• Su Yao brought Lin Taichu breakfast and learned that he had delayed his departure to avoid discussing cooperation on Qingyang Sect’s grounds.
• After breakfast, Lin Taichu went to the Spirit Herb Garden and found Su Yao gathering Snake Saliva Grass.
• Lin Taichu examined the Snake Saliva Grass and pointed out how its leaves, roots, and scent differed from Dragon Saliva Grass.

Lin Taichu stayed at Qingyang Sect, helped Su Yao gather spirit herbs, and watched her refine a successful batch of pills. He received a materials list from Fang Ping before the visiting outsiders departed, leaving him still at the sect.

• Lin Taichu helped Su Yao dig up Snake Saliva Grass, and she taught him how to avoid breaking its roots.
• Su Yao refined ten pills using the order Lin Taichu had suggested, and she said the batch tasted better than her previous ones.
• Su Yao confirmed Elder Chen had kept Lin Taichu's guest room reserved, then mentioned that Disciples had gossiped about the two of them.
• Lin Taichu spent the afternoon alone in the Spirit Herb Garden, then met Fang Ping, who gave him a list of Red River Sect's available spirit herbs and materials.
• Lin Taichu returned to his guest room, and by the morning of the third day, the outsiders had left the square.

Lin Taichu spent another day with Su Yao at Qingyang Sect, where their closeness fueled rumors among the disciples. The next morning, he packed to leave and paused on the square, looking toward Su Yao’s building.

• Lin Taichu told Su Yao he was twenty-one, and she said she was twenty-three before inviting him to gather spirit herbs with her.
• Su Yao told Lin Taichu that disciples were gossiping about their relationship, and more Pill Hall disciples whispered about them after seeing them together.
• Su Yao refined Clear Heart Pills in the Alchemy Room while Lin Taichu watched, then asked whether he would return to Luofeng City; he said he would decide the next day.
• Lin Taichu reflected on how Su Yao had helped him and dismissed the rumors, deciding there was nothing between them to explain.
• Early the next morning, Lin Taichu packed his belongings and headed toward the mountain gate, pausing on the square to look at Su Yao’s building.

Lin Taichu returned from Qingyang Sect to Luofeng City and learned that someone had tried to break a prisoner out of the Zhao Family dungeon shortly after he left. He suspected the timing was connected to information shared by sect representatives and went to inspect the dungeon himself.

• Lin Taichu left Qingfeng Mountain and flew back to Luofeng City.
• Zhao Feng told Lin Taichu that an unidentified intruder had tried to break someone out of the dungeon and escaped Zhou Jin.
• Zhou Jin explained that the intruder was around the Half-Saint Seventh Layer, had opened the first dungeon door, and fled after their brief fight.
• Lin Taichu suspected that sect representatives had revealed his departure and decided the matter needed investigating later.
• Lin Taichu learned that Zhou Jin had reinforced the dungeon restrictions, then went to inspect the dungeon beneath the Zhao Family Mansion.

Lin Taichu learned that Liu Zicheng’s rescuers might attack again, while Feng Tie and Zhou Jin strengthened the dungeon’s defenses. Su Yao arrived in Luofeng City to hand over her duties and leave, and she began reviewing the accounts with Lin Taichu while they waited for Zhou Mingyuan.

• Lin Taichu questioned Liu Zicheng, who said he had heard the failed rescue attempt and explained that Zhou Jin had been too powerful for his subordinate to overcome.
• Feng Tie told Lin Taichu that Liu Zicheng’s Death Warriors would keep trying to rescue him, and described the new Killing Array and Zhou Jin’s strengthened night patrols.
• Su Yao arrived to hand over the Qingyang Sect’s liaison work to Zhou Mingyuan and said she would leave once the transfer was complete.
• Lin Taichu invited Su Yao to eat with him and asked where she was going next, but she said the sect had not decided her destination.
• Su Yao spread out her accounts and papers and began reviewing them with Lin Taichu while they waited for Zhou Mingyuan.

Su Yao completed the accounts and supply-agreement handover to Zhou Mingyuan before leaving Luofeng City. Zhou Jin then told Lin Taichu that the prison intruder likely had ties to a Southern Region sect seeking to reclaim the Tianyuan Chamber of Commerce’s Dharma Artifact trade, leaving Lin Taichu wary of further attacks.

• Su Yao reviewed the Qingyang Sect’s transactions and supply agreement with Feng Tie, then handed the accounts and documents to Zhou Mingyuan.
• Zhou Mingyuan examined the accounts, confirmed they were clear, and promised to monitor deliveries and inventory.
• Zhou Jin told Lin Taichu that the prison intruder smelled of herbs used for Disguise Pills and had a trained movement technique associated with sect members.
• Zhou Jin suggested a Southern Region sect might have sent the intruder to silence Liu Zicheng and regain its former Dharma Artifact trade with the Tianyuan Chamber of Commerce.
• Lin Taichu warned Zhou Jin to guard the dungeon carefully, and Zhou Jin promised to personally watch it during the second half of the night.

Lin Taichu traveled to the Southern Region to investigate the sects involved in Dharma Artifact trading and learned from Fang Ping about the industry on Immortal Soldier Island. He ended by asking whether Red River Sect had a Forging Workshop there.

• Lin Taichu studied Zhao Feng’s roster of Southern Region sects and chose Red River Sect as a possible lead.
• Lin Taichu told Zhou Jin he was going to the Southern Region to investigate the prison break, and Zhou Jin warned he would search for him if he did not return within three days.
• Lin Taichu secretly left Luofeng City and traveled to Red River Sect, where Fang Ping welcomed him.
• Lin Taichu asked Fang Ping which sects traded Dharma Artifacts and learned that many sourced them from Forging Workshops on Immortal Soldier Island.
• Fang Ping explained that the island had abundant Profound Iron and cheap production, but pollution and poor working conditions drove away skilled blacksmiths.
• Lin Taichu asked Fang Ping whether Red River Sect had built a Forging Workshop on Immortal Soldier Island.

Lin Taichu learned that several Southern Region sects supplied Dharma Artifacts to Tianyuan Chamber of Commerce through intermediaries and suspected they had orchestrated Liu Zicheng’s prison break. He traveled toward Immortal Soldier Island to investigate, and spotted the island through the sea mist.

• Fang Ping told Lin Taichu that Zixia Sect, Profound Heaven Sect, and Iron Sword Sect sold Dharma Artifacts to Tianyuan Chamber of Commerce through middlemen, and described Zixia Sect’s workshop on Immortal Soldier Island.
• Fang Ping warned Lin Taichu that Immortal Soldier Island was dangerous and drew him a map to the island.
• Lin Taichu reasoned that the sects had lost a major buyer after Tianyuan Chamber of Commerce fell and might have targeted Luofeng City to regain the Northern Region market.
• Lin Taichu concluded that investigating Immortal Soldier Island could lead him to the intermediaries and Tianyuan Chamber of Commerce’s remnants.
• The next day, Lin Taichu flew northeast from the seaside and saw a blurry black dot ahead through the mist.

Lin Taichu explored a polluted island where several sects operated Forging Workshops and learned about the Zixia Sect’s workshop and its steward, Wang Tieshan. He surveyed the island’s workshops but avoided approaching the Zixia Sect’s compound.

• Lin Taichu landed on the barren island and saw its mine shafts, crude houses, and smoke-filled air.
• An old blacksmith took ten Spirit Stones from Lin Taichu and told him where the Zixia Sect’s workshop was, warning him about steward Wang Tieshan.
• The old man also identified the Profound Heaven Sect’s and Iron Sword Sect’s workshops and their stewards.
• Lin Taichu watched Wang Tieshan speak with two Zixia Sect Disciples outside the large workshop, then chose not to approach.
• Lin Taichu circled the island and estimated that the Zixia Sect employed nearly half of its roughly one or two hundred blacksmiths.

Lin Taichu inspected Immortal Soldier Island’s polluted workshops and approached Zixia Sect to buy a thousand sets of battle-ready Dharma Artifacts. Wang Tieshan welcomed him inside, but said Zixia Sect could not fulfill the order within Lin Taichu’s requested half a month.

• Lin Taichu judged the island’s Dharma Artifacts and blacksmiths to be mediocre, then surveyed the locations and security of the workshops.
• Lin Taichu approached Zixia Sect’s guarded workshop and said he wanted to buy Dharma Artifacts in bulk for Luofeng City.
• Wang Tieshan learned Lin Taichu wanted one thousand sets and invited him into the workshop to discuss the order.
• Lin Taichu requested five hundred sabers and five hundred swords within half a month.
• Wang Tieshan said Zixia Sect had fewer than six hundred sets in stock and could produce at most two hundred more in half a month.