Chapter Summaries

Shen Xuan rescued Wu Yuting from Silver Hook Gambling House and used his fortune-related abilities to win several rounds without exposing how they worked. He left the gambling house with the Wu Sisters and returned toward Little Solitary Peak, while Xu Shaopeng decided to avoid provoking him.

• Xu Shaopeng's men confronted Shen Xuan, but Shen said he had come to gamble, so Xu let him play at Silver Hook Gambling House.
• Shen directed Wu Xueting to bet on big twice, winning spirit stones each time as Xu Shaopeng watched suspiciously.
• After Xu replaced the croupier with Second Brother, Shen bet all twelve thousand spirit stones on triple, and Second Brother delayed opening the Dice Tower.
• Xu Shaopeng freed Wu Yuting and acknowledged Shen as a fellow sect senior; Shen retrieved the stones and left before the Dice Tower revealed triple.
• Xu Shaopeng told Second Brother to pay the winning bets and warned him to avoid provoking Shen, while Shen explained to the Wu Sisters why he had not bankrupted the gambling house.
• Shen used concealment and invisibility techniques to leave the sisters and flew toward Little Solitary Peak on his Golden Claw Divine Eagle corpse beast.

Shen Xuan and Li Ruyi launched Great Furnace Alchemy on Little Solitary Peak, and their first batches proved increasingly profitable as the team improved. By the seventh batch, pill formation had reached eighty percent, leaving the peak facing a flood of wealth and the question of whether it could handle it.

• Shen Xuan and Li Ruyi inspected the new furnace and oversaw the installation of formations, Earth Fire nozzles, and the alchemy workshop.
• Shen Xuan directed the first Great Furnace Alchemy attempt, which produced ninety-eight ordinary-grade pills, seven good-grade pills, and two superior-grade pills.
• Lone Peak True Person offered Li Ruyi a recommendation as a Qingyun Sect Guest Elder, and Shen Xuan arranged for the workers to switch positions after a slow response during Pill Condensation.
• Shen Xuan assisted Li Ruyi in directing the next batch, which earned more than eight thousand spirit stones in net profit.
• By the seventh batch, the team produced 152 ordinary-grade pills, twenty-eight good-grade pills, and seven superior-grade pills, achieving an eighty-percent pill formation rate and more than thirteen thousand spirit stones in net profit.

Little Solitary Peak’s Great Furnace Alchemy impressed Qingyun Sect’s leaders, prompting Mizong True Person to visit and inspect its results. As Lone Peak True Person wondered what awaited her at the Elders’ Council, Shen Xuan completed refining the Jianghai Myriad Waters Map and prepared to hunt powerful water demons.

• Longevity True Person received 1,200 Spirit Gathering Pills from Little Solitary Peak, ordered more ingredients purchased, and recognized Great Furnace Alchemy’s potential to transform Spirit Pill Hall’s business.
• Mizong True Person learned of Little Solitary Peak’s alchemy success and crossed its Wind-Thunder Killing Formation to visit Lone Peak True Person.
• Mizong True Person observed Little Solitary Peak’s thirteenth batch, saw its pill formation rate was close to ninety percent, and asked to meet Shen Xuan, but Lone Peak True Person said he was in seclusion.
• Mizong True Person reminded Lone Peak True Person to prepare for the Council Meeting of Elders, leaving her puzzled and prompting her to seek advice from True Person Lingxiao.
• Shen Xuan completed refining the Jianghai Myriad Waters Map and used it to create weapons from water spiritual power, gaining confidence to hunt Second Rank High-grade water demons.

Shen Xuan prepared to leave Qingyun Sect to hunt powerful water demons and improve his cultivation, while arranging two shops to gather resources and intelligence. After receiving a life-saving talisman from Lone Peak True Person, he set off alone for Shadow Forest to hunt the Deep Water Hook Snake.

• Shen Xuan reached Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, refined the Jianghai Myriad Waters Map, and exchanged sect contribution points for the Illusionary Form Art.
• Shen Xuan decided to hunt Second-Order Upper-Grade water demons, then asked Lone Peak True Person for permission to leave the sect.
• Lone Peak True Person agreed to Shen Xuan's plans, arranged for Little Solitary Peak to buy his Spirit Gathering Pill ingredients at a markup, and gave him a Ten Thousand Mile Golden Light Talisman.
• Shen Xuan sold his stockpiled medicinal herbs and arranged for Little Solitary Peak to open shops in Liuyun Market Town and Qingyun Immortal City to trade pills, supplies, and monster-hunting intelligence.
• Shen Xuan said goodbye to Qin Yuehan and left alone for Shadow Forest to hunt the Deep Water Hook Snake.

Shen Xuan disguised himself as the Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator Shen Fei and entered Liuguang Market Town to buy ingredients and prepare for hunting in the Shadow Forest. Chiyangzi introduced him to a training party led by his old friend Wen Zijian, and Shen Xuan agreed to accompany them before realizing Wen Wanyu was Wen Zijian’s daughter.

• Shen Xuan spent heavily on Spirit Pill ingredients in Liuguang Market Town, attracting trackers until Chiyangzi warned them away.
• Chiyangzi visited Shen Xuan again and introduced him to Wen Zijian, Yuan Huaixin, and their disciples, who were preparing to train in the Shadow Forest.
• Shen Xuan recognized that Wen Zijian’s unstable Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation had likely resulted from a forced breakthrough.
• Shen Xuan negotiated a fee of two thousand spirit stones to accompany the group for half a month.
• Wen Zijian introduced Wen Wanyu and Mo Qianshan to Shen Xuan, who recognized Wen Wanyu as Wen Zijian’s daughter and saw that she carried his former Sun Moon Twin Blade Wheels.

Shen Xuan accompanied Wen Zijian’s disciples into the Shadow Forest, then discovered that Bai Meiniang and Yuan Huaixin were plotting against Wen Zijian and his daughter. As Wen Wanyu explored the forest, Bai Meiniang confronted her and revealed a false familial connection, prompting Wen Wanyu to send an SOS and flee.

• Yuan Huaixin introduced Bai Meiniang to the group, and everyone traveled to the Shadow Forest to begin the disciples’ tempering exercise.
• Wen Zijian left Shen Xuan to watch over Mo Qianshan, while he followed Wen Wanyu into the forest.
• Shen Xuan overheard Yuan Huaixin and Bai Meiniang discussing their plot against Wen Zijian and his daughter, and learned Bai Meiniang had poisoned Yuan Huaixin with White Bone Heart-Corroding Poison.
• Wen Wanyu killed an ambushing Forest Yao Leopard, escaped the predators drawn by its blood, and collected several low-grade Spirit Plants.
• Bai Meiniang approached Wen Wanyu and called her niece; Wen Wanyu crushed her SOS Talisman, launched her Sun Blade Wheel at Bai Meiniang, and fled.

Bai Meiniang and Yuan Huaixin attacked Wen Zijian, who killed Yuan Huaixin despite the poison weakening him. Bai Hanmeng arrived, stopped Wen Zijian’s sword, and tried to take Wen Wanyu home, but Shen Xuan appeared and confronted her about her Corpse Qi.

• Bai Meiniang subdued Wen Wanyu while Yuan Huaixin held Wen Zijian back with a fiery attack.
• Yuan Huaixin admitted he had betrayed Wen Zijian for fifty thousand spirit stones, and Bai Meiniang revealed that Wen Zijian had been poisoned.
• The poison also weakened Yuan Huaixin and Bai Meiniang, allowing Wen Zijian to destroy Yuan Huaixin’s weapon and kill him with his Dark Gold Flying Sword.
• Bai Meiniang used Wen Wanyu as a hostage and wounded Wen Zijian, but he launched a surprise sword attack at her.
• Bai Hanmeng appeared, caught Wen Zijian’s flying sword, and asked Wen Wanyu to return home with her.
• Shen Xuan emerged from the Corpse Qi and challenged Bai Hanmeng, calling her the White Bone Holy Maiden.

Shen Xuan revealed himself as Profound Heaven Sect cultivator Chizhenzi, drove off Bai Hanmeng, and healed Wen Zijian, who rewarded him with a rare Water Law treasure. Wen Zijian then trained Wen Wanyu to kill her fellow trialists, while Bai Hanmeng fed on a monster-hunting team and turned her attention toward Bai Meiniang.

• Shen Xuan identified himself as Chizhenzi and forced Bai Hanmeng to retreat after their spiritual powers clashed.
• Shen Xuan cured Wen Zijian of the poison and accepted the Purple Gold True Water Treasure Seal, a Quasi-Third-Rank Spirit Artifact embryo.
• Wen Zijian instructed Wen Wanyu to kill Xu Qian'er and Wang Anchen, and she carried out the killings without hesitation.
• Wen Zijian and Wen Wanyu returned to Liuguang Market Town with Mo Qianshan, while Shen Xuan watched over them before returning to the Shadow Forest.
• Bai Hanmeng killed seven monster hunters with her Nine Nether Corpse Qi and then eyed Bai Meiniang as a possible source of stronger blood.

Bai Hanmeng killed Bai Meiniang, and Shen Xuan discovered a method for refining Positive Yang Heavenly Thunder Pearls among her remains. After refining the Purple Gold True Water Seal and traveling deeper into the Shadow Forest, Shen Xuan confronted a Lu Family couple who attacked him while hunting an Ironback Earth Bear.

• Bai Meiniang tried to flee Bai Hanmeng, but Bai Hanmeng trapped and pursued her until Bai Meiniang detonated two Positive Yang Heavenly Thunder Pearls and died in the blast.
• Shen Xuan found Bai Meiniang's handkerchief among the ashes, uncovered a method for refining Positive Yang Heavenly Thunder Pearls, and took the silk cloth.
• Shen Xuan tested the Purple Gold True Water Seal, then continued deeper into the Shadow Forest while gathering Spirit Plants and avoiding groups of beasts.
• Near Falling Rosy Clouds Lake, Shen Xuan encountered Lu Wenshang and his wife fighting an Ironback Earth Bear, but their Patrolling Spirit Hound attacked him as he passed.
• Shen Xuan retaliated against the couple and their hound with dark ice fish, allowing the wounded Bear Demon to escape; Lu Wenshang identified himself as a member of the Lu Family of the Beast Sovereign Pavilion.

Shen Xuan fought Lu Wenshang and Zhuang Ninglu after their Patrolling Spirit Hound attacked him and they refused to make amends. He defeated them, killed the hound, and left the couple helpless as Lu offered compensation.

• Lu Wenshang offered Shen Xuan a thousand spirit stones for the Patrolling Spirit Hound's attack, but Zhuang Ninglu blamed him for their lost Bear Demon and refused further compensation.
• Lu Wenshang, Zhuang Ninglu, and the Patrolling Spirit Hound attacked Shen Xuan, who summoned the Golden Claw Divine Eagle Corpse Beast and Shadow Octopus Corpse Beast and defended himself with Dark Ice Fish.
• The Shadow Octopus Corpse Beast destroyed Zhuang Ninglu's White Silk Dharma Treasure, while Shen Xuan overpowered Lu Wenshang and the Golden Claw Divine Eagle Corpse Beast wounded the hound.
• Lu Wenshang tried to flee with Zhuang Ninglu, but Shen Xuan used Thunder Escape and the Roar of the Four Directions to knock them from the air, then killed the Patrolling Spirit Hound.
• Shen Xuan refused to consider the matter settled after the couple attacked him, and Lu Wenshang offered compensation, including two more Patrolling Spirit Hounds.

Shen Xuan forced Lu Wenshang and Zhuang Ninglu to turn against each other, then let Zhuang Ninglu kill her husband and leave. At Falling Sunset Lake, he agreed to escort Fan Siwen and Wei Siya to an island in exchange for Thunder Sound Bamboo and entered the lake to deal with the water demon.

• Shen Xuan gave Lu Wenshang and Zhuang Ninglu a choice: one had to kill the other, or both would die; Lu Wenshang tried to murder Zhuang Ninglu, so Shen Xuan blocked him and gave her a Spirit Replenishing Pill.
• Zhuang Ninglu killed Lu Wenshang, burned his corpse at Shen Xuan's suggestion, and departed while Shen Xuan took Lu Wenshang's belongings and left the scene.
• Shen Xuan reached Falling Sunset Lake and met Xuanzhu Sect disciples Fan Siwen and Wei Siya, who asked for help crossing to the island to solidify Wei Siya's Mysterious Bamboo Spirit Body.
• Fan Siwen and Wei Siya signed a Spirit Contract promising Shen Xuan three pieces of Thunder Sound Bamboo in exchange for a safe return journey.
• Shen Xuan summoned the Shadow Octopus Corpse Beast, parted the lake water, and followed it underwater toward the island.

Shen Xuan killed the Deep Water Hook Snake in Falling Rosy Clouds Lake and escorted Fan Siwen and Wei Siya to the Purple Yun Divine Wood so Wei Siya could cultivate. As Shen Xuan tested whether he could absorb the tree’s purple radiance and considered eating one of its branches, the tree spoke up and rebuked him.

• Shen Xuan used the Shadow Octopus, the Bishui Sword, and his Body Skills to wear down and kill the Deep Water Hook Snake, then stored its enormous body in Beast Bags.
• Shen Xuan returned to the surface, and Fan Siwen and Wei Siya joined him on the Golden Claw Divine Eagle as he led them to the Purple Yun Divine Wood on Lake Island.
• Wei Siya began absorbing the tree’s violet light to solidify her Mysterious Bamboo Spirit Body while Fan Siwen and Shen Xuan guarded her.
• Shen Xuan tried absorbing the purple radiance but could not refine it into spiritual power, so he expelled it from his body.
• Shen Xuan considered cutting off and eating a branch of the Purple Yun Divine Wood, and the tree spoke to him, calling him greedy.

Shen Xuan discovered that the Purple Yun Divine Wood was a powerful Yao King and traded refined Spirit Water for rare branches, then returned to Qingyun Sect. His master summoned him as soon as he arrived.

• Shen Xuan recognized the Purple Yun Divine Wood's spiritual intelligence, begged forgiveness, and learned it knew his master, Yang Caiyi.
• Shen Xuan gave the Purple Yun Divine Wood Spirit Water and spirit stones, and it returned eighteen Third-Order Spirit Wood branches in an equal trade.
• The Purple Yun Divine Wood asked Shen Xuan to bring it fully refined Spirit Water in ten years, while keeping their exchange secret from others.
• Wei Siya completed her cultivation at Lake Island and thanked Shen Xuan, but he left without accepting her offer of friendship.
• Shen Xuan rode his Golden Claw Divine Eagle Corpse Beast through Shadow Forest, drove off flocks of Yao Birds with Roar of the Four Directions, and returned to Qingyun Sect.
• Shen Xuan found Little Solitary Peak transformed and received an immediate summons from his master.

Shen Xuan returned to Little Solitary Peak, reported to his Master, and met Eldest Senior Sister Yun Chixin before going into seclusion. He discovered the wealth in Lu Wenshang’s Storage Bag and began refining monster essence blood, gaining a major boost to Sharp Fangs and Teeth but only twenty Dao Charm Points.

• Qin Yuehan told Shen Xuan that Lone Peak True Person was still negotiating with the sect over Great Furnace Alchemy, and urged him to visit Yun Chixin after paying respects to his Master.
• Shen Xuan reported his travels to Lone Peak True Person, concealed his killing of Lu Wenshang and his deal with Purple Yun Divine Wood, and learned that Little Solitary Peak needed him to buy medicinal ingredients.
• Shen Xuan gave Yun Chixin Thunder Sound Bamboo, agreed to ask his Xuanzhu Sect friend about older bamboo, and told her about his conflict with Lei Yaoyang; she promised to make Lei apologize.
• Shen Xuan returned to Water Moon Residence, posted a sign announcing his seclusion, and found over sixty thousand spirit stones and valuable items in Lu Wenshang’s Storage Bag.
• Shen Xuan plundered the Patrolling Spirit Hound’s essence blood, raised Sharp Fangs and Teeth by ten skill points, and gained only twenty Dao Charm Points.

Shen Xuan declined sect invitations and focused on cultivating while arranging to buy Thunder Sound Bamboo through Hermit Qianzhu. After refining the Patrolling Spirit Hounds’ Essence Blood, he acquired more bamboo and revealed that he intended to learn the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Talisman.

• Shen Xuan sold medicinal ingredients to Gu Jinqin, who asked him to include her in future opportunities to earn spirit stones, and he agreed.
• Shen Xuan declined visiting cards from Foundation Establishment cultivators and decided to stay at Little Solitary Peak until Giant Furnace Alchemy became more widely known.
• Shen Xuan wrote to Hermit Qianzhu to request Thunder Sound Bamboo and help contacting someone with authority in Xuanzhu Sect.
• After three months, Shen Xuan finished refining the Patrolling Spirit Hounds’ Essence Blood, raising his Sharp Fangs and Teeth talent and Earth Spirit Root aptitude.
• Hermit Qianzhu visited Shen Xuan and gave him three pieces of two-hundred-year-old Thunder Sound Bamboo owed by Wei Siya, then sold him a four-hundred-and-fifty-year-old piece for twenty thousand spirit stones.
• Shen Xuan asked Hermit Qianzhu to procure hundreds of stalks of hundred-year-old Thunder Sound Bamboo annually and said he planned to practice making Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Talismans, startling her.

Shen Xuan partnered with Hermit Qianzhu to produce Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Talismans, then obtained the talisman inheritance from the Law Transmission Pavilion. There, he watched Wu Yuting’s attempt to get Chen Xuanming to buy her cultivation manuals unravel, and Chen Xuanming demanded them back.

• Shen Xuan and Hermit Qianzhu agreed to keep their Thunder Talisman partnership secret, with her supplying materials and receiving a quarter of the talismans he made.
• Shen Xuan visited the Law Transmission Pavilion and exchanged eighteen thousand Sect Contribution Points for the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Talisman inheritance.
• Shen Xuan told Deng Xiangdong how the Feiyun Su Family had tried to claim thirty percent of his Thunder Talisman profits, and Deng warned him that obtaining materials from Sky Thunder Peak might be difficult.
• Shen Xuan followed Deng Xiangdong to a disturbance and saw Wu Yuting refuse to return three cultivation manuals Chen Xuanming had bought for her with thirty thousand Sect Contribution Points.
• After Jiang Wanli confronted them, Chen Xuanming realized Wu Yuting had misled him and firmly demanded that she return the manuals.

Shen Xuan helped Wu Yuting fend off Chen Xuanming’s demand for the Contribution Points she had obtained from him, then strengthened his Immense Strength talent with Deep Water Hook Snake Essence Blood. Months later, amid worsening tensions between Qingyun Sect and Medicine God Valley, Shen Xuan refused to join Gu Jinqin’s dispute with Yuyang Peak, only to hear that she had been injured by one of its disciples.

• Wu Yuting refused to return Chen Xuanming’s Contribution Points, and Shen Xuan argued that Chen had willingly given them to her as a gift.
• Wu Yuting and Wu Xueting admitted they had taken turns keeping Chen Xuanming company to persuade him to pay for the cultivation techniques.
• Shen Xuan used Deep Water Hook Snake Essence Blood to raise his Immense Strength proficiency and gain Dao Rhyme Points, then secluded himself to cultivate.
• As Spirit Pill ingredients became scarce and relations between Qingyun Sect and Medicine God Valley deteriorated, Wu Yuting told Shen Xuan that Yuyang Peak had mistreated Gu Jinqin.
• Shen Xuan declined to accompany Gu Jinqin to confront Yuyang Peak, and several days later he heard that a Yuyang Peak disciple had injured her.

After Gu Jinqin lost to Jiang Wanli, Shen Xuan focused on strengthening his cultivation and mastering the rare Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Talisman. He left the chapter having reached Proficient with the talisman, though his first attempt to make a batch exhausted him and yielded only two completed talismans.

• Gu Jinqin won two arena matches and boasted until Jiang Wanli challenged her, then Jiang Wanli defeated her with his Primordial Black Gold Hammer and left her injured.
• Wu Xueting and Wu Yuting urged Shen Xuan to avenge Gu Jinqin, but he refused to challenge the powerful Yuyang Peak disciples.
• Yun Chixin fought Yuyang Peak's Senior Disciple Brother for a day and night without a winner, while Gu Jinqin recovered at Little Solitary Peak.
• Shen Xuan finished refining the Deep Water Hook Snake's Essence Blood, improved his Water Spirit Root, and assessed his cultivation and combat strength.
• Shen Xuan began practicing the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Talisman, spent over five thousand Dao Rhyme Points to raise it to Proficient, and then completed only two talismans after exhausting himself.

Shen Xuan asked Lone Peak True Person for a better Thunder Talisman Brush and learned that a Medicine God Valley Golden Core True Person was coming to Qingyun Sect amid tensions over Great Furnace Alchemy. After staying in seclusion for more than ten days, Shen Xuan saw Medicine God Valley’s imposing flying ship roar over the sect without landing, signaling a hostile visit.

• Shen Xuan realized his Thunder Talisman Brush was too low-grade for making [Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Talisman] and went to Lone Peak True Person for help obtaining a better one.
• Shen Xuan showed Lone Peak True Person the two [Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Talisman] he had made, and she agreed to arrange a Second-Order High-grade Thunder Talisman Brush.
• Lone Peak True Person warned Shen Xuan to remain at Water Moon Residence because a Medicine God Valley Golden Core True Person was coming and a suspected Medicine God Valley agent had gone missing.
• Shen Xuan considered how Great Furnace Alchemy had hurt Medicine God Valley’s profits and decided against promoting industrialization until he had enough power to manage its consequences.
• After more than ten days in seclusion, Shen Xuan watched a huge Medicine God Valley flying ship pass over Qingyun Sect without landing and recognized the display as a show of force.

Qingyun Sect’s negotiations with Medicine God Valley over Giant Furnace Alchemy collapsed, and Shen Xuan advised his sect on how to withstand the coming restrictions. After receiving a Thunder Talisman Brush, he used the Mysterious Jade Talisman to choose the Size Manipulation bloodline talent from Deep Sea Octopus Essence Blood.

• Medicine God Valley demanded that Qingyun Sect hand over and stop using Giant Furnace Alchemy, but the sect rejected its terms and the negotiations failed.
• Lone Peak True Person asked Shen Xuan how Medicine God Valley might retaliate, and Shen Xuan proposed restricting resources to its territory while expanding Qingyun Sect’s pill and herb production.
• Lone Peak True Person told Shen Xuan that Medicine God Valley’s Golden Core True Persons had requested a meeting because a hidden agent had leaked news of him, but the sect leader refused them.
• Lone Peak True Person gave Shen Xuan a Thunder Talisman Brush on behalf of Qingyun Sect’s leaders.
• Shen Xuan examined Deep Sea Octopus Essence Blood and selected Size Manipulation as the bloodline talent to plunder.