Chapter Summaries

After the Soul-Severing Blade’s attack failed, Fan Chengyue fled while the Ji Family sought cooperation with the Yang Family to distribute its Spirit Wine. With the deal supplying the Spirit Source Land with Spirit Stones, Yang Zhengshan focused on refining its origin core so he could eventually let others enter and leave freely.

• Fan Chengyue concluded that the Yang Family had defeated the Soul-Severing Blade, then abandoned his family and fled into the Yunxiao Mountain Range.
• Ji Linfeng learned that Fan Chengyue and the Soul-Severing Blade had disappeared, and ordered Ji De'an to build ties with the Yang Family instead of pursuing his previous plans.
• Ji De'an offered to sell the Yang Family’s Spirit Wine through Ji Family shops, and Yang Zhengshan agreed to cooperate, exchanging Spirit Wine for nearly twenty thousand Spirit Stones.
• Yang Zhengshan used the new supply of Spirit Stones to support the Spirit Source Land’s development and devoted himself to studying the Void-Refining Scripture.
• Yang Zhengshan learned that the Spirit Source Land’s first spirit spring was its origin core and began probing it with his divine soul and Spiritual Sense.

Yang Zhengshan discovered that his divine soul was fused with the Spirit Source Land’s Origin Core and learned to create portals between it and the outside world. After establishing the portals and considering their spiritual-energy costs, he arranged a safer voyage to Shenmu Island so he could bring his relatives into the Spirit Source Land.

• Yang Zhengshan used his Spiritual Sense to perceive the entire Spirit Source Land and realized his divine soul had been fused with its Origin Core from the beginning.
• Yang Zhengshan found that he could not fully control the Spirit Source Land, but he could establish two portals, and he tested one with Yu Qingyi.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi worked out how portal use, cultivation, and Spirit Plants and Strange Beasts consumed spiritual energy, so Yang Zhengshan decided to replenish the land with Spirit Stones and regulate costs.
• Yang Zhengshan decided it was time to bring Yang Mingzhi, Jiang He, Yang Chengye, and the others into the Spirit Source Land, where they could access better cultivation conditions and techniques.
• Yang Zhengshan dispatched Yang Minghao and Luo Jinsong with a Dharma Protector Squad aboard a ship toward Shenmu Island, planning to establish a portal on board and avoid crossing the Storm Sea Region himself.

Yang Zhengshan spent years cultivating in the Spirit Source Land while Shenmu Island prospered without him. After ten years, Yang Minghao returned to the island and announced that he would bring Yang Zhengshan to meet the family.

• Yang Zhengshan established Cave Heaven Portals on Shenmu Island and at the Yang Family Winery, then planned to recruit people with Spirit Apertures from the Great An Dynasty and Wanli Sea Region.
• Yang Zhengshan cultivated the Azure Flower Thunder Bead and advanced the Void-Refining Scripture, expanding his Spiritual Sense as he studied the cave heaven’s incomplete laws.
• Ten years after Yang Zhengshan left, Shenmu Island had grown prosperous, but Yang Mingzhi lamented his family’s long absence while discussing Yang Qinyuan’s breakthrough and the Martial God Hall’s interference with Jiang He.
• Yang Mingzhi and Jiang He learned that Yang Minghao had returned with Commander Luo, and Yang Mingzhi greeted his brother at the harbor.
• Yang Minghao reunited with the Yang family, hinted at his increased cultivation, and asked everyone else to leave so he could bring Yang Zhengshan to them.

Yang Zhengshan returned to Shenmu Island and arranged the Spirit Hall, portal defenses, and systems for managing advancement into the Spirit Source Land. After leaving the new portal in place, he resumed cultivation while Jiang He arrived in Longevity City and marveled at its changes.

• Yang Zhengshan reunited with Yang Mingzhi, Yang Chengye, and the other descendants who had come to greet him.
• Yang Zhengshan chose a courtyard overlooking Shenmu City as the site for a Spirit Hall and instructed Yang Chengze to establish protective formations around the Cave Heaven Portal.
• Yang Zhengshan tasked Yang Mingzhi with organizing the External Affairs Hall and told Jiang He to hand Shenmu Island over to Yang Jide before returning home to rest.
• Yang Zhengshan explained that the Clan Council was preparing merit-based rules for entering and advancing within the Spirit Source Land, then returned to cultivation to prepare for a breakthrough.
• Jiang He arrived in Longevity City, where Yang Chengyi described the coming use of Spirit Stones and showed him a Red Cloud Horse carriage that could fly across the Spirit River.

Jiang He reunited with Yang Yunyan and learned how their children and grandchildren were serving across the Spirit Source Land. After reaching the eighth layer of Qi Refining, Yang Zhengshan sought faster cultivation and began searching for a Fire Vein to support Immortal Dao alchemy, but had only identified a Water Vein and a low-quality Black Iron mine.

• Jiang He returned to the family courtyard and reunited with Yang Yunyan after ten years apart.
• Yang Yunyan told Jiang He where their children were working, and the couple later reunited with their children, grandchildren, nephews, and nieces.
• Jiang He and Yang Mingzhi began taking on Spirit Source Land affairs, while Yang Mingzhi and other returning figures focused on catching up in cultivation.
• Yang Zhengshan broke through to the eighth layer of Qi Refining and estimated that Foundation Establishment was still many years away.
• Yang Zhengshan reviewed the Jade Marrow Pill recipe and decided he needed a new alchemy furnace and earth fire to refine it.
• Yang Zhengshan searched the Spirit Source Land for a Fire Vein but found a major Water Vein and a low-quality Black Iron mine instead.

Yang Zhengshan drew out an underground fire, then spent more than two months with Wang Mingzhe trying to refine Jade Marrow Pills. After their first successful batch, Yang Zhengshan tested a pill and Wang Mingzhe tried one too, while they considered adapting the recipe for martial artists.

• Yang Zhengshan drove a Green Dragon Vine deep underground until it reached a Fire Vein and released a steady tongue of flame.
• Yang Zhengshan acquired the missing ingredients and adapted an Alchemy Furnace, then worked with Wang Mingzhe to refine Jade Marrow Pills.
• After more than a hundred failed furnaces, Yang Zhengshan and Wang Mingzhe successfully produced twelve low-grade Jade Marrow Pills.
• Yang Zhengshan tested a pill and found it potent, gentle, and less toxic than the Martial Dao pills he had taken.
• Wang Mingzhe took a pill, absorbed part of its medicinal power, and marveled at the cultivation boost.
• Yang Zhengshan suggested that Wang Mingzhe simplify the Jade Marrow Pill recipe to create a version for martial artists.

After years of pill refinement and cultivation, Yang Zhengshan reached great accomplishment in the Wood Transformation Body-Nurturing Method and discovered he could merge with trees as an escape technique. He and Yu Qingyi then discussed their shortage of cultivation resources, and Yang Zhengshan decided to search widely for Spirit Aperture talents by distributing the Azure Wood Longevity Scripture.

• Yang Zhengshan stabilized his Jade Marrow Pill success rate at about twenty percent and studied Foundation Establishment Pills in preparation for the future.
• Yang Zhengshan spent three years cultivating until his Azure Flower Thunder Bead was nearly tangible and his Wood Transformation Body-Nurturing Method reached great accomplishment.
• Yang Zhengshan merged with the grasses and trees and emerged from a Three-Yellow Plum, realizing that his ability was likely an escape art linked to both his body-nurturing method and the Azure Wood Longevity Scripture.
• Yu Qingyi noted that the Jade Spirit Peaches could not support both of their body-nurturing cultivation, and Yang Zhengshan lamented the Spirit Source Land’s limited resources.
• Yang Zhengshan proposed searching for Spirit Aperture talents by giving people the first volume of the Azure Wood Longevity Scripture and identifying those who could reach entry level within three months.

Yang Zhengshan spread the Azure Wood Technique, and Yang Jizhen and Ma Qiuyan were discovered to have spirit apertures and became his disciples. As they began cultivating on Spiritual Spring Mountain Plateau, Yang Jijue continued ruling a prosperous Great An Dynasty.

• Yang Zhengshan had the Clan Grand Hall distribute copies of the Azure Wood Technique throughout the Spirit Source Land and beyond, prompting widespread cultivation attempts.
• Yang Jizhen successfully cultivated the technique, and his parents brought him to Yang Zhengshan, who confirmed his spirit aperture and began teaching him.
• Yang Jizhen reached the first layer of Qi Refining after a month of cultivation under Yang Zhengshan.
• Ma Yan brought his granddaughter Ma Qiuyan to Yang Zhengshan, who confirmed her spirit aperture and accepted her as his disciple.
• Yang Jizhen and Ma Qiuyan settled on Spiritual Spring Mountain Plateau, where Yang Zhengshan and his household guided their cultivation and studies.
• In the Great An Capital, Yang Jijue reviewed memorials and governed a prosperous dynasty with room for further expansion.

Yang Chengxu persuaded Yang Jijue to promote the Azure Wood Technique so people with Spirit Apertures could be found for the Shenmu Sect. Meanwhile, Yang Zhengshan learned that the war between the Lingxiu Three Sects and Youyu Gate was escalating and feared it could disrupt the Ancient Relic Formation’s opening.

• Yang Chengxu gave Yang Jijue the Azure Wood Technique and explained that the family wanted to find people with Spirit Apertures to cultivate Immortal Dao.
• Yang Jijue ordered the Azure Wood Technique distributed throughout Great An and offered sect discipleship and noble titles to successful cultivators.
• Yang Zhengshan continued cultivating in the Spirit Source Land and neared the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
• Yang Zhengshan read a Secret Martial Guard report detailing the Three Sects and Twelve Families’ growing war with Youyu Gate and the deaths of three Martial God Realm powerhouses.
• Yang Zhengshan learned that Soul-Severing Blade had attacked Anhu City and suspected Youyu Gate might be joining forces with Strange Beasts.
• Yang Zhengshan worried the conflict might prevent the Lingxiu Three Sects from opening the Ancient Relic Formation, forcing him to wait another ten years.

Yang Zhengshan tested the Bronze Mirror and Mysterious Black Shield, discovering their offensive and defensive powers and practicing their use with Yu Qingyi. After naming them the Sunset Glow Treasure Mirror and Black-Faced Shield, he began testing the Jade Small Sword.

• Yang Zhengshan activated the Bronze Mirror, and its sudden beam wounded his shoulder before he healed himself with the Wood Transformation Body-Nurturing Method.
• Yang Zhengshan tested the Bronze Mirror against rocks and found that it fired powerful Sunset Glow beams, then had Red Cloud embed it in his armor as a Heart Protector Mirror.
• Yang Zhengshan expanded the Mysterious Black Shield and had Yu Qingyi attack it, finding that it withstood her full-strength Sword Qi.
• Yang Zhengshan practiced controlling the shield with Yu Qingyi over several days, then named it the Black-Faced Shield and named the mirror the Sunset Glow Treasure Mirror.
• Yang Zhengshan cautiously infused the Jade Small Sword with Spiritual Sense and magic power, and it flew into the mountain rock at great speed.

Yang Zhengshan tested and named the Azure Gleam Sword, then visited the Green Wolf King and learned it expected to break through in two years without needing a spiritual item. He later brought Yu Qingyi to Xuegu Town, where the Yang family’s businesses were thriving, and learned that the Acquisition Firm had obtained three Cloud Tiger Colt foals.

• Yang Zhengshan tested the fast, armor-piercing little sword and named it the Azure Gleam Sword, while keeping the Sunset Glow Treasure Mirror as a backup.
• Yang Zhengshan visited Azure Wolf Mountain, where the Green Wolf King indicated it would break through in two years and did not need a spiritual item.
• Yang Zhengshan brought Yu Qingyi to Xuegu Town, where the Yang family’s winery and Acquisition Firm had prospered through cooperation with the Ji Family.
• Luo Zhen reported the businesses’ earnings and said the Acquisition Firm had bought three young Cloud Tiger Colts through Qu Chengliu.
• Yang Zhengshan praised Luo Zhen and Qu Chengliu and promised to record merit for both of them.

Yang Zhengshan left Xuegu Town with Yu Qingyi, surveyed the war-diminished market in Nanxia County, and returned to Lingxi Mountain. His arrival reunited him with the Lingxi Yang Family, whose members welcomed Yu Qingyi as their matriarch while Yang Xiangheng learned that Yang Zhengshan had a family elsewhere.

• Yang Zhengshan told Luo Zhen to offer the Ji Family help dealing with resentment from the Hanxiao Sect, then left Xuegu Town with Yu Qingyi.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi found Nanxia County's market quiet because the war had drawn many martial artists away, and learned Qiu Jin had been conscripted to the front for four years.
• Yang Zhengshan noticed disguised high-level martial artists outside the city but continued with Yu Qingyi to Lingxi Mountain.
• Yang Zhengshan reunited with Yang Xiangheng, Yang Xiangdong, and Yang Xiangxi, introduced Yu Qingyi as their grandaunt, and settled into his old courtyard.
• Yang Xiangheng asked Wang Lei whether the family should arrange a wedding for Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi, and Wang Lei explained that Yu Qingyi was the matriarch and Yang Zhengshan had many children and grandchildren.
• Yang Xiangheng arranged for his wife, Lady Zhang, to serve Yu Qingyi.

Masked martial artists attacked Nanxia County’s Martial Cultivator Market, and the Crimson Flame Army was ambushed and routed while trying to respond. Yang Zhengshan kept the Lingxi Yang Family out of the fighting, called for intelligence support, and left the family watching to see whether the unrest spread beyond the county.

• Masked martial artists stormed Nanxia County’s Martial Cultivator Market, looting shops and killing people as fires broke out.
• Lu Jianghua learned the market was under attack and sent for the Crimson Flame Army while weighing whether to conscript Yang Zhengshan and the Lingxi Yang Family.
• Yang Zhengshan recalled the family members from their businesses and told his relatives not to risk the clan’s interests to aid the Lu Family.
• Yang Zhengshan explained that the attackers might have prepared to ambush the Crimson Flame Army and said the family should wait for more information.
• At dawn, Yang Xiangheng’s scouts reported that the Crimson Flame Army had been ambushed north of the county city and routed.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered the family to monitor the county city and considered which western dynasty might have backed the attackers.

After the Lu Family's markets were attacked across three counties, Lu Jianghua brought the surviving Crimson Flame Army to Lingxi Mountain, where Yang Zhengshan agreed to shelter them to preserve his ties with the Lu Family. The attackers were revealed to be forces from three dynasties, working with Youyu Gate's support, as Mo Changbin and his allies divided the stolen wealth.

• The Crimson Flame Army suffered heavy losses, and Lu Jianghua learned that Tianbao County and Suihua County had also been attacked.
• Lan Xuanyu suggested seeking refuge with Yang Zhengshan, and Lu Jianghua sent someone to ask whether Yang Zhengshan would shelter them.
• Yang Zhengshan agreed to receive Lu Jianghua and the surviving soldiers, then learned that the attacks involved a dozen Heavenly Dipper Stage martial artists.
• Yang Zhengshan told Lu Jianghua to withdraw east if Lingxi Mountain came under attack and arranged for Wang Lei to investigate who had approached the Hanxiao Sect.
• Mo Changbin and his allies counted the spoils from Nanxia County and agreed to divide them among the Mo Family, their fighters, and their subordinates.

Mo Changbin sent Zhou Yuntao and Wu Dashan to kill Lu Jianghua and the Crimson Flame Army, while the Secret Martial Guard traced the attackers to Big Locust Tree Village. After learning that a group was heading toward Lingxi Mountain, Yang Zhengshan decided to ambush them and use the rescue to earn the Lu Family’s favor.

• Mo Changbin ordered Zhou Yuntao and Wu Dashan to lead a squad against Lu Jianghua and the Crimson Flame Army at Nanqing Mountain.
• Yang Chengxian’s attendant linked Wu Dashan, Lu Zhong, and Chen Zhaohui to the Great Yun Mo Clan, and Lü Hua reported that the attackers were hiding in Big Locust Tree Village.
• Lü Hua brought the Secret Martial Guard’s findings to Yang Zhengshan, who ordered his people to watch the attackers without informing Lu Jianghua.
• A secret scout reported that more than ten attackers had left Big Locust Tree Village and appeared to be heading for Lingxi Mountain.
• Yang Zhengshan decided to help Lu Jianghua defeat the approaching enemies without warning him, hoping to earn the Lu Family’s favor, and waited in his courtyard with his Spiritual Sense spread across Lingxi Mountain.

Yang Zhengshan defeated the Great Yun Dynasty attackers who came to capture Lu Jianghua, killing Wu Dashan and the other invaders while taking Zhou Yuntao prisoner. Zhou revealed that Mo Changbin had ordered the attack on the Lu Family at Youyu Gate’s urging.

• Zhou Yuntao and Wu Dashan led Innate Martial Artists to Lingxi Mountain to attack the Crimson Flame Army and capture Lu Jianghua.
• Yang Zhengshan killed Wu Dashan with a spear strike and wounded Zhou Yuntao as he tried to flee, then captured him.
• Yang Zhengshan killed the remaining attackers, though several Crimson Flame Army soldiers died in the fighting.
• Yang Zhengshan questioned Zhou Yuntao, who identified himself as the Marquis of Dingnan of the Great Yun Dynasty and named Mo Changbin as the one who ordered Lu Jianghua’s capture.
• Zhou Yuntao said Youyu Gate steward Duan Qiaofeng had persuaded the Mo Clan to target the Lu Family with promises of benefits.

Yang Zhengshan learned where Mo Changbin’s group was hiding, while Lu You'an called Lu Fusheng out of seclusion to handle attacks from three dynasties. Lu Fusheng destroyed the hideout at Big Locust Tree Village and headed for Lingxi Mountain, where Yang Zhengshan heard that the Three Great Sects were seeking help from Hidden Sword Mountain.

• Zhou Yuntao told Yang Zhengshan that Mo Changbin was hiding in Big Locust Tree Village, and Yang Zhengshan urged Lu Jianghua to have the Lu Family deal with the threat.
• Lu You'an reported the simultaneous market attacks and the Three Sects’ heavy losses to Lu Fusheng, who emerged from seclusion and set out to deal with the attackers.
• Yang Zhengshan refused Wang Lei’s suggestion to secretly take the stolen goods, sent the recovered storage bags to the Clan Grand Hall, and ordered the Crimson Flame Army to strengthen its guard.
• Mo Changbin tried to flee Big Locust Tree Village after Zhou Yuntao and Wu Dashan failed to return, but Lu Fusheng killed him and burned the village.
• Li Chang told Yang Zhengshan that the Three Great Sects were seeking support from Hidden Sword Mountain, which an informant described as a true Immortal Cultivator sect.

Yang Zhengshan learned from Lu Fusheng that Hidden Sword Mountain was the true power behind the Lingxiu Three Sects, while Youyu Gate was seeking to take their territory and the Ancient Relic Formation. He also received guidance on Immortal Dao cultivation and the Martial God Realm, leaving him with a clearer understanding of the forces around the Lingxiu Sea.

• Yang Zhengshan welcomed Lu Fusheng, who had come to thank him for sheltering Lu Jianghua.
• Lu Fusheng recognized Yang Zhengshan as an Immortal Cultivator after sensing his divine soul, and Yang Zhengshan explained that he had obtained a cultivation method in the Ancient Relic Formation.
• Lu Fusheng told Yang Zhengshan that Hidden Sword Mountain took the Immortal Dao as primary and that the Lingxiu Three Sects were its subordinate sects.
• Lu Fusheng explained that Hidden Sword Mountain had lost its last Golden Core cultivator three hundred years earlier, weakening its hold over the Three Sects.
• Yang Zhengshan learned that Youyu Gate was approaching the strength of an Immortal Dao sect and was challenging Hidden Sword Mountain’s position by targeting the Lingxiu Sea and the Ancient Relic Formation.
• Yang Zhengshan asked Lu Fusheng about cultivation, gaining knowledge of the Immortal Dao and the Martial God Realm.

Yang Zhengshan reconsidered the Spirit Source Land’s plans for establishing an external base after learning that the Lingxiu Three Sects served Hidden Sword Mountain, then discussed the Xuanqing Sect’s accelerated recruitment with his family. He decided to send Yang Qinting to try to join the sect and left open the possibility of Yang Chengan opening a weapon workshop outside.

• Yang Zhengshan realized that Hidden Sword Mountain controlled the Lingxiu Sea and western Yunxiao Mountain Range, complicating his plan to establish an external base for the Spirit Source Land.
• Yang Xiangheng told Yang Zhengshan that the Xuanqing Sect, Wuxiang Sect, and Huanyue Sect had moved up their disciple recruitment, and Yang Zhengshan asked him to verify the news.
• Yang Zhengshan wondered what had become of old Daoist Xuan Zhen and Li Shangyuan but decided not to seek them out.
• Yang Chengan showed Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi a mid-grade Spirit Weapon he had forged and asked to open a Weapon Casting Workshop outside; Yang Zhengshan said he would consider the arrangements.
• Yang Zhengshan discussed the Xuanqing Sect with Yang Chengan and Yang Qinting, and decided that Yang Qinting would go and try to join it.

Yang Zhengshan brought four youths from the Lingxi Yang Family to Qingyu City for the Xuanqing Sect’s entrance assessment, hoping they would gain a path to cultivation. Yang Qinting qualified as an outer disciple, while the other three were eliminated, and Yang Zhengshan reassured them before a richly dressed man challenged his promise.

• Yang Zhengshan and Yang Xiangheng arrived in Qingyu City with Yang Qinting, Yang Yanzhe, Yang Yanping, and Yang Yanbo for the Xuanqing Sect’s recruitment assessment.
• Yang Zhengshan and the youths watched the Xuanqing Sect’s Golden Fire Flood Dragon fly over the city, and Yang Qinting vowed to reach the Martial Immortal Realm.
• The Xuanqing Sect tested applicants’ aptitude and spirituality, accepting only those who met its standards.
• Yang Qinting passed with superior aptitude and superior spirituality and qualified as an outer disciple.
• Yang Yanzhe, Yang Yanping, and Yang Yanbo failed the assessment, so Yang Zhengshan encouraged them by promising they could still become Heavenly Dipper Stage martial artists.
• A middle-aged man in lavish robes heard Yang Zhengshan’s promise and called it shameless boasting.