Chapter Summaries

Shi Yue won the Talisman-drawing contest for the Taixu Sect, securing Luofu Hai’s agreement to join them. Luofu Hai then challenged Shi Yue to a personal contest before returning to the sect.

• Shi Yue waited before drawing, then rapidly produced Fireball Talismans while the other contestants slowed and made mistakes.
• Chen Gang counted the results: Shi Yue drew 108 Fireball Talismans, more than any rival, so Luofu Hai was to join the Taixu Sect.
• Chen Xiangdong praised Shi Yue and promised him twenty thousand bundles of blank Talisman Paper.
• Luofu Hai revealed himself and agreed to return with Chen Xiangdong, but challenged Shi Yue to compete at drawing Fireball Talismans first.
• Shi Yue raised his eyebrows and looked to Chen Xiangdong after Luofu Hai urged him to show his full skill.

Shi Yue defeated Luofu Hai in a Fireball Talisman contest and returned to Taixu Sect after the Disciple Recruitment Ceremony ended. He disguised himself and visited Treasure Gathering Building to discuss selling his Hundred Fragrance Spirit Wine.

• Chen Xiangdong arranged a Fireball Talisman contest between Shi Yue and Luofu Hai, promising Shi Yue forty thousand blank talisman papers if he won.
• Shi Yue drew 123 Fireball Talismans, beating Luofu Hai's 119, and Luofu Hai asked to learn about Shi Yue's drawing method.
• Chen Xiangdong ended the contest and told the disciples to pack and gather again in an hour.
• Shi Yue declined Chen Xing'er's invitation to shop because he planned to sell the five hundred catties of Hundred Fragrance Spirit Wine in Palm Heaven Space.
• Shi Yue made sure he was not followed, disguised himself as a middle-aged man from Northern Yan Country, and went to Treasure Gathering Building.
• Shi Yue introduced himself as Li and told manager Chu Tianhe that he had a business proposition.

Shi Yue sold Hundred Fragrance Spirit Wine, bought herbs for Foundation Strengthening Liquid, and returned to Taixu Sect with the new disciples. Li Yan entered the sect, while Luofu Hai disappeared from the gathering after the new disciples paid their respects.

• Shi Yue sold five hundred pounds of Hundred Fragrance Spirit Wine to Chu Tianhe for seventy-five thousand Spirit Stones.
• Shi Yue bought over three-hundred-year-old auxiliary herbs for Foundation Strengthening Liquid and then returned to the Taixu Sect residence.
• Chen Xiangdong led Shi Yue and the other disciples from Xianyuan City to Taixu Sect on a Yellow Scroll.
• Chen Xiangdong revealed the sect through its formation, and Zhou Tongtian welcomed the returning disciples at Ancestral Master Hall.
• The new disciples paid their respects to the founding ancestor, while Shi Yue waited outside for Li Yan.
• Zhou Ming and Zhou Tong thanked Shi Yue for recommending them, and he invited them to visit him on Green Cloud Peak.

The Taixu Sect leaders debated Luofu Hai’s placement and agreed to prepare for a possible war in the Great Tang Cultivation World. Shi Yue brought Li Yan to his modest home, where she asked when he would teach her to cultivate so she could visit her grandfather.

• The six peak masters argued over which peak should take Luofu Hai, but Zhou Tongtian temporarily took him under his care and assigned him to Green Cloud Peak because of his interest in talismans.
• Chen Xiangdong reported an unusual number of gifted recruits and warned that turmoil might be coming to the Great Tang Cultivation World.
• The sect leaders agreed to train more disciples and professional practitioners, stockpile resources, and prepare for war while protecting the sect’s people.
• Shi Yue brought Li Yan to his underground chamber and told her to call him Senior Brother Shi when others were present.
• Li Yan asked Shi Yue when he would teach her to cultivate so she could return to see her grandfather.

Shi Yue gave Li Yan a cultivation method and began teaching him to read before taking him to Deacon Hall. There, Shi Yue received blank Talisman Paper and arranged to have a three-story pavilion built at his residence.

• Shi Yue offered Li Yan an advanced cultivation method, but Li Yan asked for an ordinary one to avoid putting Shi Yue at risk, so Shi Yue gave him a Jade Slip and warned him to keep it secret.
• Shi Yue realized Li Yan could not read the Jade Slip or use spiritual sense, so he taught him characters from the Thousand Character Classic and the Hundred Family Surnames through the night.
• The next morning, Ma Liang arrived on a white crane and delivered Shi Yue more than forty thousand bundles of blank Talisman Paper from Chen Xiangdong.
• Shi Yue asked about the reward for defeating the other sects' talisman-making representatives, and Ma Liang told him to collect it at the Law Enforcement Hall.
• Shi Yue brought Li Yan to Deacon Hall, where Wang Fugui registered Li Yan and gave him a Tenfold Storage Bag.
• Shi Yue chose a three-story Zitong Wood pavilion with Fireproof Array Patterns, which Wang Fugui said would take three days and cost five thousand Contribution Points.

Shi Yue received access to Ascension Cave as a reward for his service during the Disciple Recruitment Ceremony and asked Zhou Zhenyu about the cultivation site. Zhou explained its benefits and dangers, leaving Shi Yue poised to seek a breakthrough there when it opens in five days.

• Wang Fugui credited Shi Yue with ten thousand Contribution Points, and Shi Yue spent five thousand on a Green Token.
• Hall Master Li gave Shi Yue a token to enter Ascension Cave and explained that it would open in five days.
• Shi Yue told Li Yan to watch over the house, then went to the Law Enforcement Hall to report to Zhou Zhenyu.
• Shi Yue described the demonic cultivator attack and explained that he had used his talisman-making skills during the recruitment ceremony.
• Zhou Zhenyu explained Ascension Cave's history, rules, concentrated spiritual energy, and restrictions, advising Shi Yue to cultivate near the edge.
• Shi Yue asked whether cultivating at the cave's center would make breaking through his bottleneck easier.

Zhou Zhenyu advised Shi Yue to prepare for cultivating in Ascension Cave and reminded him not to underestimate others. Meanwhile, Chen Xing'er admitted she liked Shi Yue, and disciples discussed Luofu Hai's Heavenly Spiritual Root and the threat he posed to their rankings.

• Zhou Zhenyu answered Shi Yue's questions about the Taixu Sword Art, explained how he had prompted Xue to give Shi Yue two spirit artifacts, and told Shi Yue to cultivate near Ascension Cave's edge when he entered in five days.
• Murong Xiaoxiao teased Chen Xing'er about her feelings for Shi Yue, and Chen Xing'er blushed and admitted she liked him.
• Chen Xing'er and Murong Xiaoxiao discussed how Luofu Hai's talent might affect the Taixu Ranking, while Murong Xiaoxiao said his talent would not matter without hard work.
• A Blue-skirted Woman warned Junior Sister Wu that Luofu Hai's Heavenly Spiritual Root could outpace her Fire Spirit Body, and Junior Sister Wu vowed to cultivate harder in Ascension Cave.

Taixu Sect disciples learned that the new Heavenly Spiritual Root disciple, Luofu Hai, could soon enter the top ten of the Taixu Ranking. Several current ranking representatives decided they needed to improve their positions during the upcoming trip to Ascension Cave.

• A blue-robed man, Junior Brother Li, and Senior Brother Zheng discussed Luofu Hai's aptitude and warned that Junior Brother Wu might be pushed out of the top ten.
• Senior Brother Qian received a message about Luofu Hai and resolved to claim a better position during the upcoming trip to Ascension Cave.
• A gray-robed man warned Junior Brother Zhou that Luofu Hai might threaten his ranking position, and Zhou said he would try to climb higher.
• Song Haoran mastered the Kuishui Skill and declared that he would return to the top ten of the Taixu Ranking.
• Huang Tianxing delivered Senior Brother Ma's warning about Luofu Hai, and Song Haoran resolved to climb higher during the trip to Ascension Cave.

Shi Yue oversaw the construction of a new house while keeping the basement secret, then accepted Lan Kexin’s invitation to meet Sun Desheng. Sun welcomed him to a gathering of Green Cloud Peak disciples, where Luofu Hai immediately asked him about the Art of Talismans.

• Shi Yue approved Li Xiaodong’s blueprints and told the Steward Hall disciples to build a house without entering the basement.
• Shi Yue served the workers spirit tea and pastries to encourage them as they worked.
• Lan Kexin invited Shi Yue to meet Sun Desheng, and Shi Yue left Li Yan to guard the basement.
• Sun Desheng welcomed Shi Yue and Lan Kexin to a lakeside pavilion where five other disciples were waiting.
• Luofu Hai greeted Shi Yue and said he had been about to ask him about the Art of Talismans.

Shi Yue attended Sun Desheng’s gathering, where he learned that his reward for helping recruit Luofu Hai was entry to Ascension Cave. Sun Desheng explained the origins of the Taixu Ranking and how its standings determined how resources were distributed among the sect’s peaks.

• Sun Desheng introduced Shi Yue to the other disciples and hosted them with a meal from Flying Immortal Tower.
• Qu Xiaoxiao congratulated Sun Desheng on his upcoming Ascension Cave cultivation, and Sun revealed that Shi Yue had also received entry for half a year.
• Shi Yue explained that Uncle-Master Chen had promised the entry token as a reward for defeating the other sects’ Talisman Masters and recruiting Luofu Hai.
• Sun Desheng said seven Green Cloud Peak disciples besides Luofu Hai would enter Ascension Cave, and that the peak had only ten disciples on the Taixu Ranking.
• Sun Desheng explained that the Taixu Ranking began as a competition among inner sect disciples, then became the basis for allocating resources among the six inner peaks.

Shi Yue learned how the Ascension Cave’s cultivation rings affected rankings and breakthroughs, and considered pushing inward to overcome his bottleneck. His companions then discussed soaring prices, which Sun Desheng linked to sects preparing for possible war after a surge of new geniuses.

• Sun Desheng explained the Ascension Cave’s ten rings, their gravity and spiritual energy, and how inner positions determined the Taixu Ranking.
• Shi Yue learned that Foundation Establishment cultivators had reached the central area and that Li Feiyu had broken through a bottleneck after cultivating there.
• Shi Yue considered using the Ascension Cave to overcome his own bottleneck, while Xiaoyaozi advised him to master the second layer of True Spirit Nine Transformations and buy more ape-type Monster Beast Blood.
• Li Tianxing, Lin Yi, and Luofu Hai noted that cultivation goods had become much more expensive, and Lan Kexin asked Sun Desheng why.
• Sun Desheng said the sects were preparing for war because this year’s recruitment had produced many geniuses, and Lin Yi worried that Foundation Establishment cultivators would be forced to fight.

As Cultivation Resources grew more expensive, Shi Yue urgently sought Spirit Stones before entering Ascension Cave in five days. After spending heavily on Spirit Recovery Pill materials and selling goods, he persuaded Xiaoyaozi to mature Spirit Herbs for one hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

• Qu Xiaoxiao, Lan Kexin, Sun Desheng, and the others discussed preparing for possible war by improving their cultivation.
• Shi Yue bought fifty bottles of ape-type monster beast blood for twenty-two thousand Spirit Stones, then worried about his dwindling funds and rising costs.
• Shi Yue decided to refine Spirit Recovery Pills, exchanged one thousand Contribution Points for the recipe, and spent fifty thousand Spirit Stones on ingredients.
• Shi Yue sold Spirit Honey and Golden Silk Silkworm silk for more than ten thousand Spirit Stones.
• Shi Yue offered Xiaoyaozi increasingly large sums to mature Spirit Herbs, and Xiaoyaozi finally agreed for one hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

Shi Yue had Xiaoyaozi mature two hundred Spirit Herbs and began considering how to use Palm Heaven Space to raise his spirit beasts. He decided to sell the herbs at Green Pill Pavilion and ask about Neon Grass, leaving him disguised and entering the shop.

• Shi Yue selected two hundred Spirit Herbs for Xiaoyaozi to mature, and Xiaoyaozi used a multicolored orb to age them.
• Shi Yue reconsidered how to use Palm Heaven Space and asked Xiaoyaozi about ways to help spirit beasts advance.
• Xiaoyaozi explained that Neon Grass could aid spirit beasts and that Spirit Feeding Powder was more effective, so Shi Yue planned to ask about the herb while selling his matured plants.
• Shi Yue disguised himself as an elegant young man and entered Green Pill Pavilion to sell the two hundred Spirit Herbs.

Shi Yue, using the false name Li Muxian, sold Spirit Herbs to the Green Pill Pavilion and bought Neon Grass and seeds. He left with forty thousand Spirit Stones, planning to raise more money and strengthen himself before entering Ascension Cave.

• Shi Yue introduced himself as Li Muxian and offered two hundred wooden boxes of Spirit Herbs to the Green Pill Pavilion.
• Lin Baogang welcomed Shi Yue and arranged for Bai Yiming and two other cultivators to count the herbs.
• Shi Yue bought three hundred stalks of eighty-year-old Neon Grass and twenty jin of Neon Grass seeds.
• Lin Baogang paid Shi Yue forty thousand Spirit Stones after calculating the sale and purchase costs.
• Shi Yue checked the goods and money, then left the Green Pill Pavilion.
• Bai Yiming asked whether they should follow Shi Yue, but Lin Baogang warned him against provoking a cultivator whose strength they could not judge.

Shi Yue sold Spirit Honey and Golden Silk, then used his resources and Palm Heaven Space to produce a large stock of Talismans. He traveled to Golden Cloud Valley in Northern Yan to find a buyer for them.

• Lin Baogang ordered Bai Yiming to keep the stranger's situation secret and returned to the sect to report to Uncle-Master Zhou.
• Shi Yue sold a large piece of Spirit Honey to Lan Jiao for fourteen thousand Spirit Stones and sold Golden Silk and other materials for six thousand more.
• Shi Yue cared for his spirit plants and beasts in the Palm Heaven Space, then spent more than forty days making over twenty thousand Fireball Talismans and thousands of other Talismans.
• Shi Yue traveled to Golden Cloud Valley, where he entered Hundred Treasures Tower to seek a buyer for his Talismans.

Shi Yue sold a large batch of low-grade Talismans and five four-hundred-year-old Spirit Herbs to Hundred Treasures Tower for 42,670 Spirit Stones. He returned to Taixu Sect, where Li Yan asked him to name their new pavilion, and he decided on Green Paulownia Pavilion.

• Shi Yue visited Hundred Treasures Tower and offered shopkeeper Wang Ningshuang more than twenty thousand low-grade Talismans for sale.
• Wang Ningshuang agreed to buy all the Talismans after Shi Yue offered five four-hundred-year-old Spirit Herbs, and her maids counted the goods.
• Hundred Treasures Tower paid Shi Yue 42,670 Spirit Stones for the Talismans and Spirit Herbs.
• Shi Yue changed his appearance after leaving Golden Cloud Valley and returned to Taixu Sect by dusk.
• Li Yan showed Shi Yue the new pavilion, and he named it Green Paulownia Pavilion.
• Shi Yue agreed to invite friends to celebrate the completed pavilion.

Shi Yue invited sect disciples to a meal at his new house and helped Zhou Tong find a way to earn Contribution Points. After spending a month refining ape demon beast Essence Blood in Palm Heaven Space, he approached a breakthrough and left to book the banquet.

• Shi Yue visited Sun Desheng and asked him to invite several inner sect disciples to a meal at noon the next day.
• Shi Yue invited Zhou Ming and Zhou Tong to the meal and directed Zhou Tong to Wang Fugui for advice about safe ways to earn Contribution Points.
• Shi Yue told Li Yan she could live on the third floor of his new house while he prepared to host more than ten guests.
• Shi Yue entered Palm Heaven Space and refined twenty bottles of ape demon beast Essence Blood, nearing a breakthrough in the second layer of the True Spirit Nine Transformations.
• Shi Yue returned at dawn, found Li Yan sweeping the courtyard, and set out for Great Void Valley to book the banquet.

Shi Yue took Li Yan to Great Void Valley, ordered a banquet at Flying Immortal Tower, and showed him around while buying supplies. The chapter ended with Shi Yue returning to the tower and finding Li Yan waiting for him.

• Shi Yue agreed to take Li Yan to Great Void Valley and brought him to Flying Immortal Tower.
• Shi Yue ordered a Class C banquet for four thousand Spirit Stones and ate breakfast there with Li Yan.
• Shi Yue bought five pots of Foundation Establishment spirit wine and gave Li Yan a thousand Spirit Stones to shop with.
• Shi Yue bought spirit cakes and ingredients for Foundation Strengthening Liquid, then asked at Thousand Talisman Hall about talisman prices and bestsellers.
• Shi Yue checked Spirit Recovery Pill and Spirit Herb prices at several stores, then returned to Flying Immortal Tower and found Li Yan waiting.

Shi Yue hosted a gathering at Green Paulownia Pavilion to celebrate his new home, welcoming sect friends and elders who brought gifts. As the guests discussed the upcoming opening of Ascension Cave, Lin Yi doubted Shi Yue could rank well there and suggested Wang Hu’s body cultivation might help him advance farther.

• Shi Yue returned to Taixu Sect with Li Yan, settled into Green Paulownia Pavilion, and obtained a plaque for his new residence.
• Murong Xiaoxiao and Chen Xing'er arrived with gifts, and Shi Yue showed them around the pavilion.
• Wang Hu, Li Feng, Yang Xue, Wang Fugui, Lu Tianzheng, Zhou Ming, Zhou Tong, and other guests arrived and socialized with Shi Yue.
• Sun Desheng and six others came with gifts, including a three-hundred-year-old Dark Cloud Ginseng from Sun Desheng and fine cinnabar from Luofu Hai.
• Shi Yue served food and wine, introduced the guests, and hosted a celebratory meal with rounds of toasts.
• Murong Xiaoxiao and Lu Tianzheng discussed the upcoming Ascension Cave opening, and Lin Yi argued that Shi Yue’s Qi Refining cultivation would limit his ranking while Wang Hu’s physique could help him advance.

At a banquet, Wang Hu declared that he aimed to enter the top ten of the Taixu Ranking, unsettling Sun Desheng. The disciples then discussed rising pill prices and how old formulas were replaced, leaving Shi Yue considering whether to learn Spirit Recovery Pills before making Spirit Recovery Powder.

• Wang Hu announced that he intended to break into the top ten of the Taixu Ranking, worrying Sun Desheng that he might lose his place.
• Shi Yue teased Sun Desheng about the banquet’s cost, and the conversation turned to the steeply rising prices of pills.
• Murong Xiaoxiao explained that Foundation Establishment Spirit Recovery Pills lacked substitutes, while Sun Desheng described how scarce ingredients led alchemists to improve old formulas.
• Shi Yue recalled Qing Yuanzi’s Spirit Recovery Powder formula and considered practicing with Spirit Recovery Pills to help repay Xiaoyaozi.
• Lu Tianzheng explained why alchemists abandoned old formulas and advised Zhou Ming and Luo to focus on cultivation.