Chapter Summaries

Chen Lin and the others endured the monstrosity draining their vitality while Yu Yuehai used the Array Disk to sever their red lines and free them from its control. They escaped toward the city's outskirts, where Chen Lin saw that the unaware cultivators around them were withering and dying.

• A five-colored giant sword formed in the sky and struck the monstrosity's phantom, but the glowing red lines began draining Chen Lin and the others' vitality.
• Yu Yuehai activated the Array Disk with a Black Sphere and blood essence as the ground shook and the giant sword struck the phantom again.
• Yu Yuehai ordered Chen Lin and the others to channel their mana, then used the Array Disk's runes to create a Light Sword that severed their red lines.
• Yu Yuehai gave the exhausted group pills and led them toward the city's outskirts, while Ye Jingyun warned them not to fly or draw the monstrosity's attention.
• Chen Lin saw that cultivators throughout the city had grown gaunt as the red lines drained them, though they remained unaware of what was happening.

Chen Lin and the others fled Kaiyuan City as the monstrosity formed, but Yu Yuehai stopped and activated the Array Disk again. Zhao Zhengyuan attacked Yu Yuehai, revealing his true cultivation, and Ye Jingyun intervened as the axe descended.

• Yu Yuehai handed out Wind-Riving Talismans and led Chen Lin, Ye Jingyun, and the Xia Sisters away from the forming monstrosity.
• Han Yuhe flew past on his Fire Cloud Sword, warned them that the monstrosity had taken form, and urged them to escape its territory.
• Yu Yuehai brought the group aboard his Flying Boat, then stopped as the red lines disappeared and the monstrosity fell silent.
• Yu Yuehai activated the Array Disk with five Large Spirit Stones and the sphere, without using blood or asking the others for mana.
• Zhao Zhengyuan shouted for the others to stop Yu Yuehai, revealed his Qi Condensation late stage cultivation, and struck with an azure-lit axe as Ye Jingyun met it with her Azure Flying Sword.

Yu Yuehai subdued Zhao Zhengyuan, then used a Light Sword to provoke the Monstrosity and defend his group from its red lines. He stopped to prepare for a chance to seize a different spirit, while the Lan Family’s Flying Boat unleashed a larger Light Sword against the creature’s attacks.

• Zhao Zhengyuan knocked away Ye Jingyun’s flying sword, but Yu Yuehai seized his axe and rendered him helpless with an unseen attack.
• Yu Yuehai sent a Light Sword into the Monstrosity’s Phantom Image, enraging it and causing red lines to drain cultivators across the sky.
• Yu Yuehai cut through six red lines targeting his group, took Zhao Zhengyuan aboard the Flying Boat, and led them onward.
• Yu Yuehai stopped and revealed he intended to seize a different spirit, prompting alarm from Ye Jingyun and the Xia Sisters.
• The Lan Family’s Flying Boat formed a larger Light Sword and severed red lines attacking the boat and nearby cultivators.

Chen Lin watched Yu Yuehai help the Five Major Families strike down the monstrosity’s Phantom Image, but the creature quickly reassembled and attacked the patriarchs. The patriarchs were left trapped and withering as their clansmen’s rescue attempts failed.

• The Five Major Families formed a Five-Colored Light Sword that wounded the monstrosity’s Phantom Image, and Yu Yuehai used a night demon to turn his Array Disk sword black and send it after the creature.
• The Black Light Sword struck the Phantom Image, which shattered, prompting five Foundation Establishment cultivators to rush toward the city to seize the treasure.
• Snow began to fall, and the Phantom Image reassembled before the five Foundation Establishment cultivators could claim anything.
• The monstrosity attacked the five patriarchs as they tried to retreat, and its red lines attached to them and began draining their bodies.
• The Five Major Families’ cultivators rushed to rescue their patriarchs, but the monstrosity drained them into husks before they could reach them.

Yu Yuehai released a powerful night demon to recover the five family patriarchs and the monstrosity’s different spirit, then betrayed the demon and sealed it again. After the patriarchs thanked Yu Yuehai and Pavilion Master Ye, Yu Yuehai suddenly attacked them.

• The five family patriarchs ordered their families to flee as the monstrosity devoured their people, and the families retreated.
• Yu Yuehai released a demonic shadow from a black bottle and forced it to agree to retrieve the monstrosity’s different spirit and the five patriarchs.
• The night demon emerged from the monstrosity, seized its different spirit, and brought the five patriarchs back to Yu Yuehai.
• Yu Yuehai handed over the night demon’s Origin Demonic Orb, then violated his Inner Demon Oath and sealed the demon inside the bottle again.
• The five patriarchs thanked Yu Yuehai and Pavilion Master Ye, but Yu Yuehai suddenly attacked them.

Yu Yuehai abducted the five clan heads and Zhao Zhengyuan, then revealed that he planned to refine the clan heads into a Five Sons Connected Heart Pill using the Inverted Five Elements Blood Refining Great Art. Ye Jingyun exposed his crimes, including murdering her father and framing Lu Qingfeng, while Chen Lin prepared for a fight.

• Yu Yuehai subdued the five clan heads and Zhao Zhengyuan, then flew with them and Ye Jingyun to a mountain hollow.
• Ye Jingyun identified Yu Yuehai’s plan to refine the clan heads into a Five Sons Connected Heart Pill, and Yu Yuehai admitted he had a modified formula.
• Ye Jingyun accused Yu Yuehai of intending to use the Inverted Five Elements Blood Refining Great Art, and Yu Yuehai revealed that he had killed her father, taken the Tianyuan Token, and killed Lu Qingfeng.
• Yu Yuehai said Ye Jingyun’s family had driven him to take the inheritance, while Chen Lin watched and prepared to resist.
• The Zhang Family head warned Yu Yuehai that using the Five Sons Connected Heart Pill would bring Heaven’s punishment and amount to suicide.

Yu Yuehai immobilized Chen Lin and the five Lineage heads, revealing his plan to refine them into pills, while the Xia Sisters betrayed Ye Jingyun. As Yu Yuehai faced Zhao Zhengyuan’s surprise attack, Ye Jingyun transformed and unleashed Foundation Establishment-level power.

• Yu Yuehai revealed that he had released the fake Five Elements Immortal Refining Pill formula to manipulate the five Lineage heads, then used talismans to immobilize them and Chen Lin.
• Chen Lin sensed that he could still control the Sword Qi in his dantian and began looking for a chance to escape.
• The Xia Sisters struck Ye Jingyun from behind, but she warned them that Yu Yuehai intended to use them as ingredients too.
• Zhao Zhengyuan broke free of Yu Yuehai’s seal and attacked him with a flying sword, which Yu Yuehai caught.
• Ye Jingyun transformed, growing dark green scales and releasing an aura at the Foundation Establishment level.

Chen Lin used his stacked Thunderbolt No. 4 to blast Yu Yuehai and fled, believing the cultivator was dead. Yu Yuehai later rose from the crater but was killed by a golden light, while Ye Jingyun survived and learned Chen Lin had escaped.

• Yu Yuehai suppressed Ye Jingyun with a sigil and attacked, but her transformation broke its hold and sent him flying toward Chen Lin.
• Chen Lin broke free, hurled Thunderbolt No. 4 at Yu Yuehai, and escaped underground with talismans protecting him from the blast.
• Chen Lin saw the enormous crater, resisted the urge to search for treasures, and ran away.
• Yu Yuehai emerged gravely wounded, furious that his plan and the five clan leaders had been destroyed, then a golden light pierced his shield and killed him.
• Ye Jingyun survived the blast but remained disfigured by the Monster Transformation Talisman, and she found that Chen Lin had disappeared.

After the explosion, Ye Jingyun rescued Han Yuhe and left, while Zhao Zhengyuan also survived and fled. Chen Lin hid in the Barrens, fought a black-spotted tiger, and continued searching for a way out and medicinal herbs.

• Ye Jingyun cut up Yu Yuehai's corpse, took his storage bag, and burned the remains to ashes.
• Ye Jingyun found Han Yuhe alive and gave him a pill, then collected the dead patriarchs' storage bags, confirmed the Xia Sisters were dead, and fled with Han Yuhe.
• Zhao Zhengyuan crawled out of the earth near the crater and scrambled away.
• Chen Lin hid for three days and nights, then killed a black-spotted tiger with his flying sword and buried most of its remains.
• Chen Lin gathered medicinal herbs while wandering the Barrens, where he was lost but found few dangerous beasts.

After escaping the bizarre place, Chen Lin resumed cultivating and found a glowing red fruit guarded by a powerful snake. He killed the snake with Thunderbolt Beads and returned to the pool, where the fruit remained within reach.

• Chen Lin confirmed his talent ability still worked, took a pill, and cultivated while searching for a way out of the forest.
• After half a month of traveling and fighting monster beasts, Chen Lin found a glowing fruit hanging over a pool inside a cave.
• Chen Lin used an ordinary Thunderbolt Bead to draw a powerful Dark Green Large Snake out of the pool.
• Chen Lin lured the snake into the narrow passage and killed it with a Thunderbolt No. 2 and a barrage of ordinary Thunderbolt Beads.
• Chen Lin stored the snake's nourishing flesh, cleared the rubble, and returned to the pool.

Chen Lin escaped a powerful flood dragon after taking a fruit and strange roots from its pool, then traveled until he met herb gatherers near Yellow Earth Town. As he prepared to leave with directions to town, Bai Lingshan asked him about red vein ginseng needed for her father's illness.

• Chen Lin took the fruit and two potato-like objects from the pool, then fled when a huge Cyan Monster emerged and revealed itself as a flood dragon.
• Chen Lin escaped through the cave and forest, exhausted his mana, and continued traveling after resting.
• After more than twenty days, Chen Lin encountered a group of herb gatherers and disguised himself as Lin Dali to ask how to reach town.
• Bai Yunyue told Chen Lin that Yellow Earth Town was a day's journey away and gave him directions.
• Bai Lingshan stopped Chen Lin and asked whether he had seen red vein ginseng; Chen Lin recognized the herb by name.

Chen Lin sold red vein ginseng to Bai Yunyue and joined his group on the way to Yellow Earth Town, learning about the surrounding cultivation world. The group reached town safely, where a haughty young cultivator confronted Bai Yunyue.

• Chen Lin showed Bai Lingshan and Bai Yunyue red vein ginseng and agreed to sell it for fifty low-grade spirit stones, then accepted Bai Yunyue's invitation to return with them to collect payment.
• Chen Lin killed an armored boar monster beast with one sword stroke, earning the group's respect as they traveled toward Yellow Earth Town.
• Bai Yunyue explained that Yellow Earth Town lay in Yan Country near Guyuan City, where the weak Qingyun Sect held influence.
• Chen Lin reached Yellow Earth Town with the group and learned that the surrounding region had few spiritual resources and mostly low-level monster beasts.
• A flashy young cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refining mocked Bai Yunyue for returning from the mountains so soon.

Chen Lin intervened when Li Ziqing tried to force Bai Yunyue to surrender the Bai Family’s God-Nourishing Pill formula. As they traveled toward Guyuan City, Bai Yunyue explained his family’s situation, and Chen Lin asked whether the Li Family had an alchemist.

• Li Ziqing confronted Bai Yunyue in Yellow Earth Town and threatened to cripple him unless he handed over his sister, but Bai Yunyue’s Fireball Talismans were stopped by Li Ziqing’s Vajra Talismans.
• Bai Yunyue revealed that the Bai Family had already contributed the God-Nourishing Pill formula to the Qingyun Sect, and Chen Lin stepped forward, displaying his mid Qi refinement cultivation.
• Li Ziqing tried to recruit Chen Lin, but Chen Lin refused to engage and left with Bai Yunyue and his group.
• Bai Yunyue thanked Chen Lin as they traveled by carriage toward Guyuan City and explained that Li Ziqing wanted the formula and that his injured father had lost his cultivation.
• Chen Lin asked Bai Yunyue whether the Li Family had an alchemist capable of refining the God-Nourishing Pill.

Chen Lin learned that the Bai Family’s God-Nourishing Pill formula had drawn the Mount-Relying Sect’s attention, then traveled with Bai Yunyue to Guyuan City and received payment for the Red Vein Ginseng. He visited Guyuan Market and was approached by an unfamiliar young cultivator.

• Bai Lingshan told Chen Lin that the Li Family sought the Bai Family’s pill formula for the Mount-Relying Sect’s alchemist, while Bai Yunyue explained that his grandfather had never truly improved the ancient formula.
• Bai Yunyue brought Chen Lin to Guyuan City, where he paid him fifty low-grade spirit stones for the Red Vein Ginseng.
• Bai Yunyue invited Chen Lin to stay for the Zhao Family Firm’s trading convention, but Chen Lin chose an inn to avoid getting involved in the Bai Family’s troubles.
• Chen Lin disguised himself and searched the city for cultivator shops, then learned that Guyuan Market lay three li south of the city.
• Chen Lin reached the market’s mist-filled gatehouse and took out Mingqing Spiritual Water to inspect its formation, but a white-robed young man arrived and asked whether he was from another city.

Chen Lin explored Guyuan Market before the Trading Convention, bought materials and spell manuals, and learned that regional prices differed sharply. As he left, he spotted a young cultivator who appeared to be Han Lingyue entering the market with a group.

• Chen Lin entered Guyuan Market with He Xiaoxiao of the Mount-Relying Sect, who explained how the Sense Stone opened the gate and then left to visit the Zhao Family Firm.
• Chen Lin found the market stalls and shop goods disappointing, then bought materials for Thunderbolt Beads and talismans, along with Scrying Technique and Water Arrow Technique manuals.
• Chen Lin discovered that spiritual herbs were expensive while other materials, Spirit Rice, and Spirit Wine were cheap compared with Kaiyuan City, and he failed to gather all the ingredients for Chuyuan and Enlightenment Pills.
• Chen Lin decided to seek pills or treasures to restore pure spiritual power so he could condense Nameless Sword Qi and deal with the Melanin Insect.
• Chen Lin left the market and recognized one of the arriving cultivators as possibly Han Lingyue of the Han Family.

After returning to Guyuan City, Chen Lin accepted Bai Yunyue’s invitation and discovered that Bai Yunyue’s father was suffering from possession caused by the Li Family. The father revealed that his family had a successfully modified God-Nourishing Pill formula, then asked Chen Lin what he thought of his daughter, Bai Lingshan.

• Chen Lin decided to remain in Guyuan City and returned to the inn, where Bai Yunyue asked him to visit his recovering father.
• Bai Yunyue brought Chen Lin to the Bai Mansion, where Bai Lingshan greeted him shyly and Bai Yunyue’s mother thanked him for selling the red vein ginseng.
• Chen Lin recognized that Bai Yunyue’s father’s condition was possession, and the father blamed Li Ziqing’s uncle, Li Chongshan, for ambushing him with sinister arts.
• Bai Yunyue’s father offered to discuss the God-Nourishing Pill formula, explaining that his own father had modified it and successfully refined the pill.
• Bai Yunyue’s father asked Chen Lin whether he was married, then asked what he thought of Bai Lingshan.

Chen Lin rejected the Bai Family’s marriage proposal but considered Father Bai’s offer of a pill formula in exchange for True Yang Precious Jade. He rented a secluded courtyard to craft in, then attended the trading convention and set up a stall after spending most of his spirit stones.

• Chen Lin refused to marry Bai Lingshan, and Father Bai offered him the improved God-Nourishing Pill formula and a sword technique if he obtained True Yang Precious Jade from Baoguang Pavilion.
• Chen Lin suspected the jade was bait in the Mountain-Backing Sect’s scheme and decided to wait before helping the Bai Family.
• Chen Lin rented a remote courtyard, refined Thunderbolt Beads and Chuyuan Pills there, and stopped returning to the inn.
• Chen Lin went to the trading convention, bought materials for Thunderbolt Beads and Chuyuan Pills, and spent most of his spirit stones.
• Chen Lin paid ten low-grade spirit stones to rent a secluded stall at the back of the market.

Chen Lin set up a stall at the trading convention and sold the damaged Green Flame Python hide to Luo Ziqing, a Qingyun Sect cultivator seeking information about the person who had traded it to him. After selling the rest of his wares, Chen Lin left the convention, still wary of drawing attention.

• Chen Lin laid out talismans, herbs, and monster materials at his stall, including the badly damaged Green Flame Python hide.
• Chen Lin argued with an elderly cultivator over the hide’s price and asked the old man to move when he blocked the stall.
• Luo Ziqing asked whether Chen Lin had killed the python, and Chen Lin claimed he had bought the hide in Yellow Earth Town from a late-stage qi condensation cultivator accompanied by a woman.
• Luo Ziqing bought the hide for ten medium-grade spirit stones, gave Chen Lin a Transmission Talisman, and asked him to report any further sightings of the seller.
• Chen Lin sold the rest of his goods, packed up his stall, and left the trading convention.

Chen Lin received an invitation from He Xiaoxiao to attend the Zhao Family Firm’s small exchange meeting and learned how it worked. While shopping, he discovered Mechanism Puppets and decided to seek their crafting method, hoping to make one powerful enough for combat.

• He Xiaoxiao warned Chen Lin to be careful of Luo Ziqing and gave him an Invitation Talisman to the Zhao Family Firm’s small exchange meeting.
• An attendant explained that the meeting included auctions, private trades, and a cultivation discourse, and Chen Lin decided it was worth attending.
• Chen Lin browsed the market stalls and asked a Fat Cultivator about his Mechanism Puppets.
• The Fat Cultivator demonstrated a tiger puppet that only raised its forepaws, disappointing Chen Lin.
• Chen Lin left without buying a puppet, but planned to return and ask the Fat Cultivator about buying its crafting method.

Chen Lin attended the Zhao Family Firm's auction, where he observed several powerful cultivators and saw Han Lingyue arrive. The auction began with a magical sword and cultivation pills, leaving Chen Lin eager to improve his pill-refining skills for profit.

• Chen Lin returned to the Zhao Family Firm, received a mask that blocked Qi Condensation probes, and entered the auction hall.
• Chen Lin noticed a Burly Man, an alluring female cultivator, and a sinister Hunchback; the Hunchback chilled Chen Lin with a warning glance.
• Han Lingyue arrived, intimidated most of the attendees with her Qi Condensation Level 9 aura, and sat beside the Hunchback.
• The Zhao Family Firm auctioned a Blazing Fire Sword, which a black-robed cultivator bought for twenty medium-grade spirit stones.
• The firm auctioned two bottles of Ninghua Pills for sixty-five and seventy medium-grade spirit stones, and Chen Lin resolved to work harder at refining pills.