Chapter Summaries

Yang Zhengshan sorted through the Lian Family’s treasury, finding valuable inheritances that could aid his talisman study, spear intent, and use of divine soul techniques. He sent ten Innate Martial Artists to Anhu City under Yang Minghao’s lead, while Lu You'an and Lan Peng suspected he was behind the Gale Gray Wolf attack on the Lian Family.

• Yang Zhengshan counted the Lian Family’s spirit stones and set aside its Dharma Artifacts, cultivation techniques, and other belongings for his family and disciples.
• Yang Zhengshan found Hundred-Talisman Daoist’s talisman inheritance, the Heart Sword Scripture, and the Soul Crow Split Spirit Technique, recognizing uses for each.
• Yang Zhengshan judged Hidden Sword Mountain’s foundation too dangerous to provoke and left Xuegu Town to answer the Lingxiu Three Sects’ conscription order.
• Yang Zhengshan sent Ding Qiu, Yang Minghao, and eight Dharma Protector Army soldiers toward Anhu City, giving Yang Minghao the Jade Token of the Divine Soul Spirit Seed and warning them to retreat if danger arose.
• Lu You'an told Lan Peng that a Gale Gray Wolf had injured the Lian Family ancestor, and the two suspected Yang Zhengshan was connected to the attack.

Yang Zhengshan refused partial help with the conscription and sent Yang Minghao and Ding Qiu with their group to Anhu City, while he returned to the Spirit Source Land to cultivate and practice alchemy. In Anhu City, Li Wenyu recruited the ten newcomers into her City Defense Army camp, where they waited for orders.

• Lu You'an and Lan Peng discussed the Lian Family’s burned Ancestral Hall and agreed that Lan Peng would visit Lingxi Mountain to offer help with the conscription.
• Lan Peng questioned Yang Zhengshan about the Lian Family incident and the Gale Gray Wolf, then offered to replace part of the Yang Family’s conscription quota; Yang Zhengshan declined and introduced Yang Minghao as his son.
• Yang Zhengshan returned to the Spirit Source Land and focused on cultivating, practicing alchemy with the Youth-Preserving Pill, and studying talismans.
• Yang Minghao, Ding Qiu, and their eight companions reached Anhu City, where the guards allowed entry but prevented people from leaving amid reports of strange beasts nearby.
• Li Wenyu, a Huanyue Sect disciple and City Defense Army colonel, recruited the ten members of the Lingxi Yang Family into her command and assigned them to Duan He’s barracks.
• Duan He told Yang Minghao and Ding Qiu to stay in camp and await orders, and the group began serving in Anhu City’s defenses.

After reaching full perfection in Qi Refining, Yang Zhengshan began refining a Foundation Establishment Pill while Zhou Tianci, An Yuxing, and Yu Qingyi started their breakthroughs to the Golden Body Realm. Yang Zhengshan’s third attempt produced one intact pill, but its grade and usefulness remained unclear.

• Yang Zhengshan reached full perfection in Qi Refining and learned that Yu Qingyi still needed more time to complete her cultivation.
• Zhou Tianci began his breakthrough in a metal-rich mountain hollow, while An Yuxing and Yu Qingyi entered seclusion in places suited to their cultivation.
• Yang Zhengshan prepared to establish his foundation within five years and began refining Foundation Establishment Pills with the Golden Crow Eight Trigrams Furnace.
• Yang Zhengshan’s first two attempts failed, and he paused to check on Yu Qingyi, An Yuxing, and Zhou Tianci.
• Half a month later, Yang Zhengshan completed his third attempt, producing one intact pill with three faint cloud patterns while the other two crumbled into ash.

Yang Zhengshan completed his Foundation Establishment Pill preparations while mourning Zhou Tianci, who died after failing to break through. Yu Qingyi successfully reached the Golden Body Realm, and Yang Zhengshan began his own foundation establishment, leaving his fate uncertain as he endured the first painful stage.

• Yang Zhengshan refined one low-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, then later produced one high-grade and one mid-grade pill in his final furnace.
• Zhou Tianci died after failing at the first stage of his breakthrough, and Yang Zhengshan attended his funeral on Anxi Mountain.
• Yu Qingyi absorbed the power of a ten-thousand-year-old Ancient Wutong Tree and successfully forged her Spirit Foundation.
• Four months later, Yu Qingyi completed her breakthrough to the Golden Body Realm, and Yang Zhengshan waited until she had stabilized before preparing to establish his own foundation.
• Yang Zhengshan swallowed a high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill and began forcing his magic power to break through the restraints of his dantian.

Yang Zhengshan completed Foundation Establishment, strengthening his body and soul and expanding the Spirit Source Land to a thousand-li radius. After he and Yu Qingyi celebrated their breakthroughs, they planned to visit Lianxin Valley while the Clan Grand Hall began greening the newly expanded territory.

• Yang Zhengshan's dantian shattered and reformed as a Qi Sea, completing his Foundation Establishment and giving him thirty-six drops of liquid magic power.
• Yang Zhengshan discovered that advancing through the Foundation Establishment Realm would take far longer without cultivation resources, then used his connection to the Origin Core to survey the expanded Spirit Source Land and its spirit veins and mineral deposits.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi strolled together after stabilizing their breakthroughs, and they agreed to travel to Lianxin Valley to explore the Immortal Cultivator world.
• Yang Zhengshan told Yu Qingyi that the Lingxiu Three Sects and Youyu Gate had ended their war through an agreement that let Youyu Gate explore the Ancient Relic Formation, though he expected hostilities to resume.
• The Spirit Source Land held a three-day celebration for Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi, after which the Clan Grand Hall began planting seeds across the expanded territory.
• Yang Zhengshan recognized that his strengthened soul had fused with the Spirit Source Land's Origin Core and caused the land to expand.

Yang Zhengshan mastered the Soul Crow Split Spirit Technique and learned more about the forces in the Yunxiao Mountain Range. After consulting Yang Minghao in Anhu City, he and Yu Qingyi began a leisurely journey toward Lianxin Valley.

• Yang Zhengshan used his new spatial insight to move between nearby locations and decided that refining Cave Heaven Portals was beyond his current abilities.
• Yang Zhengshan cultivated the Soul Crow Split Spirit Technique, creating a concealed soul crow that could carry his awareness over long distances.
• Yang Zhengshan prepared to travel to Lianxin Valley, leaving a Jade Token with Jiang Ning and the soul crow at Lingxi Mountain.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi visited Yang Minghao in Anhu City, where he learned that Ding Qiu had earned the title Number One Saber of Anhu City.
• Yang Minghao told Yang Zhengshan about Cangyu Mountain, a rumored land of Demon Cultivators in the depths of the Yunxiao Mountain Range.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi set out on foot for Lianxin Valley, taking a winding route through the mountains.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi arrived at Lianxin Valley, where Yang Zhengshan explored the immortal cultivation market and learned about its shops, auctions, and the wider Myriad Flower Domain. After buying a map, he discovered that the Yunxiao Mountain Range was ruled by powerful Cloud Sparrow demons, forcing him to reconsider plans to establish a resource base there.

• Yang Zhengshan hired Luo San to guide him through Lianxin Valley and rented a Cave Abode with Yu Qingyi.
• Luo San brought Yang Zhengshan to Danxuan Pavilion, where he learned about pill prices and the rarity of Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Yang Zhengshan learned that the White Cloud Chamber of Commerce held an auction every three years and bought a Jade Slip map of the Myriad Flower Domain at Wanshan Tower.
• Yang Zhengshan discovered that the Yunxiao Mountain Range was the Cloud Sparrow Clan's territory, ruled by three Demon Kings, and reconsidered entering its depths to establish a resource base.

Yang Zhengshan studied the powers surrounding the Yunxiao Mountain Range and decided to seek an opportunity in Lingxiu Sea by approaching Huanyue Sect as the Lian Family Old Ancestor neared death. He stayed in Lianxin Valley to prepare for the White Cloud Chamber of Commerce auction and bought many spirit beasts to raise in the Spirit Source Land.

• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi discussed the strengths of the regional forces, the Lingxiu Three Sects’ hostility toward immortal cultivation, and the risks of establishing themselves as outsiders.
• Yang Zhengshan decided to exploit the coming death of the Lian Family Old Ancestor and consider seeking Huanyue Sect’s support, while Yu Qingyi warned that involvement in the sects’ conflicts was dangerous.
• Yang Zhengshan used a Soul Crow to tell Li Chang to have the Secret Martial Guard watch the Lian family and report immediately if the Lian Family Old Ancestor died.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi stayed in Lianxin Valley to attend the White Cloud Chamber of Commerce auction the following spring, and Yang Zhengshan visited Lingyu Pavilion to obtain an invitation.
• Yang Zhengshan declined to buy a costly Golden Fire Flood Dragon but purchased more than thirty first-rank spirit beasts, along with Spirit Beast Bags, Beast Blood Pills, and Mixed Grain Pellets.

Yang Zhengshan secured an invitation to the White Cloud Chamber of Commerce auction, expanded the Spirit Source Land’s collection of Strange Beasts, and met his neighbor Yao Fu. He learned that Yao Fu had befriended him in hopes that someone would protect his grandson and the Yao Family after Yao Fu died.

• Yang Zhengshan spent twenty thousand Spirit Stones at Lingyu Pavilion and received an invitation to the White Cloud Chamber of Commerce auction from Yang Qi.
• Two lackeys followed Yang Zhengshan after he left the shop, and their sinister-faced boss ordered them to watch him as a potential target for after the auction.
• Yang Zhengshan delivered the newly purchased Strange Beasts to the Beast Taming Department and told Luo Feiyu to raise the Cloud Tiger Colts and aquatic beasts carefully.
• Yang Zhengshan met his neighbor Yao Fu, who visited often and brought small gifts while sharing knowledge about Lianxin Valley.
• After New Year, Yao Fu introduced his grandson Yao Cheng and explained that he hoped neighbors would look after the young cultivator and preserve the Yao Family after his death.

Yang Zhengshan accepted Yao Fu’s talisman-master inheritance without promising to look after Yao Cheng, then attended the White Cloud Chamber of Commerce auction with Yu Qingyi. He won a Jade Cloud Boat but failed to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill or a mid-grade Magic Treasure, and the auction continued.

• Yao Fu offered Yang Zhengshan his family’s talisman-master inheritance in exchange for looking after Yao Cheng, but Yang Zhengshan explained he would soon leave Lianxin Valley and made no such promise.
• Yang Zhengshan accepted the inheritance as a goodwill bond with Yao Cheng and later found that its Golden Light Talisman and Godly Movement Talisman added to the Spirit Source Land’s collection.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi attended the White Cloud Chamber of Commerce auction, where True Person Yunguo opened the bidding with a Jade Cloud Boat.
• Yang Zhengshan outbid the other guests at seven thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones and bought the Jade Cloud Boat.
• Yang Zhengshan bid thirty thousand for a Mid-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, but the three pills sold for at least forty-five thousand five hundred each.
• Yang Zhengshan bid fifty thousand for the Red Sun Sword, but another guest won the mid-grade Magic Treasure for eighty-eight thousand.

Yang Zhengshan won the Golden Thunder Bamboo at the auction, then discovered that three Foundation Establishment cultivator robbers were following him and Yu Qingyi. He ambushed one of them, and after his attack left her unable to control her magic power, he killed her with the Azure Gleam Sword.

• Yang Zhengshan bid 180,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones for the Golden Thunder Bamboo and secured it at the auction.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi left Lianxin Valley, but he sensed three Foundation Establishment cultivators following them and took Yu Qingyi into the Spirit Source Land.
• Yang Zhengshan identified the pursuers as cultivator robbers and decided to confront them while they searched the forest.
• Yang Zhengshan appeared behind the seductive woman and attacked her with the Azure Gleam Sword and Explosion Talismans.
• The woman's golden barrier stopped the sword, but Yang Zhengshan's gaze left her bleeding and unable to control her magic power.
• Yang Zhengshan pierced the woman's throat with the Azure Gleam Sword as the other two robbers approached.

Yang Zhengshan fought three Foundation Establishment cultivators, killed An Qing, and forced the two surviving men to retreat using his teleportation ability. He then salvaged An Qing’s belongings and discovered her soul spells and soul-focused treasures, learning that her failed Soul Absorbing Technique had left her vulnerable to his attack.

• Yang Zhengshan used the Spirit Source Land to evade the sinister man’s Blood Qi Dharma Image and reappeared beside An Qing to stab her through the head.
• Yang Zhengshan had Green Wolf King destroy An Qing’s lingering soul and eat her body, then continued battling the two men without being able to break their defenses.
• Yang Zhengshan hid in the Spirit Source Land, and the sinister man ordered the burly man to retreat after they failed to locate him.
• Yang Zhengshan collected An Qing’s storage bag and magic treasures, then spent half a month refining them and inventorying her belongings.
• Yang Zhengshan found an Artifact Casting inheritance and three soul spells, and realized An Qing had suffered backlash when she used Soul Absorbing Technique against his powerful soul.
• Yang Zhengshan identified An Qing’s Soul Swaying Bell, Golden Cloud Silk Ribbon, and Soul Piercing Awl, and recognized how dangerous her soul-focused arsenal had been.

Yang Zhengshan continued cultivating his spells and treasures while guiding his disciples and considering the Yang Family’s bid to become one of the Twelve Great Clans. After learning that three families were competing for the Lian Family’s position, he decided to ask the Huanyue Sect for support through Lu Fusheng.

• Yang Zhengshan stored the feminine Golden Cloud Silk Ribbon for a disciple and began cultivating his soul spells and attuning his new treasures.
• Yang Jizhen and Ma Qiuyan’s relationship came to light, and Yang Zhengshan approved their marriage; he also encouraged Ning Yun to choose a husband for herself.
• Yang Zhengshan read reports about the Clan Grand Hall’s excavation of the Ancient Relic Formation and the Secret Martial Guard’s intelligence on the Lian Family.
• Yang Zhengshan learned that the Anhu City Luo Family, Wuxiang Sect Chen Family, and Qingyu City Ming Clan were eyeing the Lian Family’s place among the Twelve Great Clans.
• Yang Zhengshan decided to explore the Huanyue Sect’s support for the Lingxi Yang Family and wrote to Lu Fusheng to request an introduction.

Lu Fusheng asked Huanyue Sect to support Yang Zhengshan’s bid for great-clan status, but Sect Master Yue Qing instead invited Yang to join the sect. Elsewhere, Mo Xuanyu revealed that the Wuchang Ghost Sect had helped fuel the war and led the dying Lian Family Old Ancestor to a blood formation, where he agreed to become a Blood Corpse.

• Li Chang delivered Yang Zhengshan’s letter to Lu Fusheng, who learned Yang had achieved Foundation Establishment and agreed to seek Huanyue Sect’s help.
• Lu Fusheng told Yue Qing that Yang wanted great-clan status, and Yue Qing asked him to bring Yang to her so she could personally offer him a place in Huanyue Sect.
• Mo Xuanyu revealed to the Lian Family Old Ancestor that he was from the Wuchang Ghost Sect and threatened the Lian Family unless the old man cooperated.
• Mo Xuanyu took the Lian Family Old Ancestor to a hidden cavern at Black Mountain Ridge and showed him the Yin-Baleful Blood-Baleful Great Formation.
• The Lian Family Old Ancestor learned the Wuchang Ghost Sect had helped provoke the war and entered the blood pool to become a Blood Corpse.

Yang Zhengshan refused to join the Huanyue Sect outright but proposed cooperating with it through the Lingxi Yang Family, offering resources from the Spirit Source Land. He claimed to be an attendant of White Jade Capital, a grotto-heaven, and left Yueqing considering the proposal with her sect.

• Yang Zhengshan met Yueqing at Jingyuan Pavilion after Lu Fusheng told him the Huanyue Sect wanted to recruit him.
• Yueqing offered Yang Zhengshan a generous annual salary, Wangyue Mountain as a cultivation ground, access to the sect’s techniques, and a Magic Treasure, but he declined to join.
• Yang Zhengshan proposed becoming a Guest Elder while the Huanyue Sect helped the Lingxi Yang Family secure Great Clan status and both sides exchanged resources.
• Yang Zhengshan displayed pills, spirit tea, wine, medicinal goods, Spirit Weapons, and Red Cloud Horses, surprising Yueqing and Lu Fusheng with the Yang Family’s apparent abundance.
• Yang Zhengshan claimed he had returned from White Jade Capital in the Great Void, and Yueqing connected the claim to the grotto-heaven secret realm known from Huanyue Sect records.
• Yueqing said she could not decide on cooperation alone, and Yang Zhengshan agreed to let the Huanyue Sect discuss the proposal.

Yang Zhengshan secured cooperation with the Huanyue Sect while presenting the Spirit Source Land as a mysterious power called White Jade Capital. Back at Lingxi Mountain, he prepared rare goods to strengthen the alliance and left the Huanyue Sect with a guest elder agreement and plans for further trade.

• Yang Zhengshan told Lu Fusheng that the Lu Family could cooperate with White Jade Capital, despite the uncertainty surrounding its existence.
• Yue E advised Yue Qing to cooperate with Yang Zhengshan if it benefited the Huanyue Sect, but not to pursue occupying his Grotto-Heaven and Blessed Land.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yue Qing agreed that he would become a guest elder of the Huanyue Sect, which would support the Lingxi Yang Family's bid for great-clan status without guaranteeing success.
• Yang Chengmou presented Yang Zhengshan with a list of goods produced by the Spirit Source Land, including pills, Spirit Weapons, and formations.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered Dao Intent Lotus Seeds, Qingling Water, and Foundation Establishment Pills added to the trade list at set prices.

Yang Zhengshan expanded the Spirit Source Land’s trade plans and learned that the Ji Family was testing his willingness to lower Spirit Wine prices. He ordered the Ji Family warned but kept the partnership, while Yang Mingzhi began an unsettling meeting with Ji Linfeng and Ji De'an at the Yang Family Winery.

• The Huanyue Sect bought Yang Zhengshan’s Foundation Establishment Pills, Dao Intent Lotus Seeds, Qingling Water, and other goods, including one thousand bolts of Snow Silkworm Silk Satin.
• Yang Zhengshan decided to lower prices and broaden foreign trade to address the Spirit Source Land’s overproduction and create more work for its people.
• Yang Chengmou reported that the Ji Family had four Heavenly Dipper Stage martial artists, preliminary control of the Hanxiao Sect, and voices demanding cheaper Spirit Wine.
• Yang Zhengshan suspected Ji Linfeng was behind the Ji Family’s pressure and ordered that the family be warned while trade continued.
• At the Yang Family Winery, Yang Mingzhi greeted Ji Linfeng and Ji De'an, offered Ji Linfeng a Red Cloud Horse, and called for Luo Jinsong to fetch the Supply List.

Ji Linfeng accepted the Yang Family’s expanded trade offer after realizing its warning and power, while Spirit Source Land’s growing business stalled over the Lian Family Old Ancestor’s unexpected survival. At Huanyue Sect, Yang Zhengshan learned from True Person Jingshui how ordinary spells could become formidable when mastered.

• Yang Mingzhi offered Ji Linfeng access to a wider list of goods, including Red Gold Geng Essence, and Ji Linfeng eagerly agreed to buy it and deepen the Ji Family’s reliance on the Yang Family.
• Ji Linfeng warned Ji De'an that the Yang Family had issued a warning and ordered the Ji Family to stop its schemes and avoid offending them.
• Spirit Source Land completed major trades with the Huanyue Sect and the Lu Family, but plans to contest the Lian Family’s great-clan position stalled because the Lian Family Old Ancestor remained hale and alive.
• Yang Zhengshan discussed the Lian Family Old Ancestor with True Person Jingshui, who said he knew of no life-extension method that could explain the old man’s survival.
• True Person Jingshui demonstrated the perfected Dust Removal Art’s ability to calm the mind and repel harmful forces, then showed Yang Zhengshan the Grass-Wood Geng Metal Sword Art releasing a barrage of Sword Qi.

Yang Zhengshan accepted True Person Jingshui’s spell insights and used them to organize a cultivation plan, then spent three years improving his spells, alchemy, and talisman crafting. By the 54th Year of Lingyuan, he had grown much stronger, but the Lian Family Old Ancestor was still alive and well.

• True Person Jingshui demonstrated how his perfected Grass-Wood Geng Metal Sword Art, Geng Metal Sword Qi, and Golden Light Art could transform into one another, then gave Yang Zhengshan a jade slip of his spell insights.
• Yang Zhengshan studied the jade slip and planned to focus on the Soul Crow Split Spirit Technique, Soul Absorbing Technique, and Vine Art while continuing his core cultivation methods.
• Over three years, Yang Zhengshan advanced the Vine Art and Soul Absorbing Technique to great accomplishment and the Soul Crow Split Spirit Technique to minor accomplishment, while making six Jade Tokens and six soul crows.
• Yang Zhengshan refined eighteen Foundation Establishment Pills, learned to make Spirit Gathering Pills, and became able to craft the second-tier Cloud Soaring Talisman.
• By the 54th Year of Lingyuan, Yang Zhengshan had greatly increased his strength, but he remained vexed because the Lian Family Old Ancestor still showed no sign of dying.

Yang Zhengshan learned that his old acquaintance Xuan Zhen had appeared at a Soul-Severing Blade stronghold in Yushan Town and sent his Soul Crow to investigate. The crow reached the town and watched the stronghold, but Yang Zhengshan had not yet found Xuan Zhen.

• Yang Zhengshan practiced a Vine Art technique that combined green vines with Self-Only Spear Intent, piercing a stone wall with twelve vine spears.
• Green Mist brought Yang Zhengshan an urgent report that Xuan Zhen was at a Soul-Severing Blade stronghold in Yushan Town.
• Yang Zhengshan decided to contact Xuan Zhen and told the Secret Martial Guard to keep watching the stronghold.
• Yang Zhengshan sent his Soul Crow from outside Lian Family Town toward Yushan Town while continuing his cultivation and talisman practice.
• Yang Zhengshan controlled the Soul Crow into the stronghold’s courtyard and searched for Xuan Zhen from a banyan tree.