Chapter Summaries

Cheng Buzheng returned to Cheng Family Village, spent time caring for his aging parents, and arranged a lavish birthday celebration for them with his family. The nine-day festivities ended with his parents enjoying what seemed to be the happiest days of their lives, though their vitality continued to fade.

• Cheng Buzheng cultivated atop a mountain, then returned home and prepared spiritual porridge for his parents.
• Cheng Buzheng shared meals and daily life with Cheng Jiang Shi and Cheng Hanzi, noticing that their vitality was steadily declining.
• Cheng Buzheng persuaded his parents to celebrate their birthdays grandly, and he and Cheng Nian organized the preparations.
• Cheng Nian kept the celebration discreet while Cheng Family Village filled with returning family members, villagers, food, and festivities.
• Cheng Jiang Shi and Cheng Hanzi attended a play and banquet that continued for nine days, enjoying the celebration throughout.

Cheng Buzheng watched his father Cheng Hanzi die and, despite his efforts, soon lost his grieving mother Cheng Jiang Shi as well. He remained kneeling at their grave for half a month, imagining whether he could have saved them by letting them possess cultivators, but accepting that the risks had been too great.

• Cheng Hanzi asked Cheng Buzheng to help the family and ease Cheng Nian's burden, and Cheng Buzheng promised before his father died.
• Cheng Jiang Shi collapsed from grief, and Cheng Buzheng used his spiritual energy to protect and sustain her.
• Cheng Hanzi was buried, and Cheng Jiang Shi died seven days later despite Cheng Buzheng's care.
• At his parents' grave, Cheng Buzheng considered whether possession could have let them cultivate immortality, then reflected on its dangers and poor prospects.
• Cheng Buzheng remained kneeling before the grave for half a month.

Cheng Liu told Cheng Buzheng about the suspicious circumstances of his father’s death and Gao He’s invitation, and Cheng Buzheng agreed to accompany him in three days. Cheng Buzheng remained at the graves, comforted Little Roar, and refined Great Sun Purple Qi as village life resumed.

• Cheng Dagou’s wife urged him to talk Cheng Buzheng into eating, but Cheng Dagou said his younger brother needed time to grieve.
• Cheng Liu approached Cheng Buzheng at the grave and explained his suspicions about his father’s death and Gao He’s invitation.
• Cheng Buzheng agreed to leave with Cheng Liu when their meeting with Gao He came around in three days.
• That night, Little Roar arrived with a Puppet on its back, comforted Cheng Buzheng, and then hid at his request.
• At sunrise, Cheng Buzheng cultivated the Purple Qi Pure Yang Technique and refined Great Sun Purple Qi while the village woke.

Cheng Buzheng brought Cheng Liu to Green Spirit Market on Little Roar to meet Gao He. After identifying Gao He as a late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator who concealed his cultivation, Cheng Buzheng warned Cheng Liu to be careful as the meeting approached.

• Cheng Buzheng visited his parents' graves with Cheng Liu, then took him to Green Spirit Market on Little Roar.
• Little Roar initially objected to Cheng Liu riding on its back but accepted him after Cheng Buzheng explained that he was their descendant.
• Cheng Buzheng and Cheng Liu reached Green Spirit Market and went to the teahouse where they had arranged to meet.
• Cheng Buzheng used the Spirit Firmament Green Lotus Eye to identify the approaching Gao He and saw through his concealed late-stage Qi Refining cultivation.
• Cheng Buzheng warned Cheng Liu about Gao He's true cultivation, and Cheng Liu composed himself before Gao arrived.

Cheng Liu traveled with Gao He and three other cultivators toward Yue Kingdom, surviving repeated attacks by evil cultivators and earning the group’s trust. The others invited him to join their regular expedition team, but he left the decision open because he could rely on his clan’s ancestor.

• Cheng Liu met Gao He at Green Spirit Market, asked whether the other expedition members could be trusted, and set out with him for Maple Leaf Market.
• Gao He introduced Cheng Liu to three mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, and the five traveled toward Yue Kingdom on a Flying Shuttle.
• The group defeated evil cultivators on the road, divided their spoils, and recovered from their injuries in a secluded canyon.
• The five survived several more ambushes near the kingdoms’ border, including a dangerous encounter with a Late Qi Refining evil cultivator.
• After reaching Yue Kingdom, the other cultivators accepted Cheng Liu as a potential teammate and invited him on future expeditions, but he said he needed time to consider.

Gao He led Cheng Liu and three other cultivators to a hidden Cave Mansion in the Yue Kingdom, where they passed through a concealed mountain mechanism and explored an empty hall. He pointed out a Formation Light Screen beyond the hall, leaving the group ready to try to break through it.

• Gao He and four other cultivators arrived in a mountain gorge, and a Tiger King fled from their powerful presence.
• Gao He opened a concealed passage by turning a massive section of rock wall, revealing a mechanism that Cheng Liu recognized as a mortal-style construction.
• Gao He led the group down the passage, while the others followed with defensive techniques and Magic Tools ready.
• The five entered a brightly lit hall containing forty-nine Stone Pillars and a dry Stone Pool, but found no treasures.
• Gao He pointed out a Formation Light Screen beyond a corridor and led the group toward it.

Gao He used an Array Breaking Talisman to help the group attack the red Light Screen, but they failed to break the formation. As they left, Gao He revealed his Late Qi Refining Stage strength and attacked Meng Han and Cheng Liu while the others fled.

• Gao He used a first-grade Array Breaking Talisman to weaken the red Light Screen, and the five cultivators attacked it together.
• Cheng Liu ran out of magical power, restored it, and rejoined the assault, but the formation remained intact.
• The other cultivators stopped attacking and agreed to return when their cultivation was higher, after Gao He warned them not to break the formation without him.
• As the group headed back, Gao He attacked Meng Han, killing him and sending his ruler-shaped Magic Tool toward the others.
• Two cultivators used Meng Han's corpse to deflect the attack and hurled Cheng Liu into its path before fleeing from Gao He.
• The ruler-shaped Magic Tool struck Cheng Liu, and Gao He formed a Spell Technique as he pursued the fleeing cultivators.

Cheng Buzheng broke into the hall and rescued the gravely wounded Cheng Liu just as Gao He was about to kill him. After learning that the newcomer was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Gao He tried to flee, but Cheng Buzheng killed him.

• Gao He killed the two Qi Refining Mid-stage cultivators after they failed to break through the red Light Screen and tried to fight him.
• Cheng Liu asked Gao He whether he had killed Cheng Liu’s father, and Gao He admitted it, revealing that his former rival had been a Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator.
• Gao He moved to kill Cheng Liu, but the red Light Screen shattered and an invisible force pulled Cheng Liu into the hall.
• Cheng Buzheng gave Cheng Liu a Spirit Pill, and Cheng Liu’s injuries rapidly improved as he addressed him as Ancestor.
• Gao He tried to escape, but Cheng Buzheng seized and shattered his streak of light, killing him.

Cheng Liu and Cheng Buzheng discovered that Gao He had practiced an evil technique that used the blood essence of living beings to advance his cultivation. Gao He's dying claim that Cheng Liu's father had been a powerful cultivator left Cheng Liu wondering whether his father had also used the technique, while Cheng Buzheng began planning how to prevent his lineage from harming mortals.

• Cheng Liu searched the storage bags and found bottles filled with blood, then asked Cheng Buzheng what they were for.
• Cheng Buzheng recognized the blood as evidence of Gao He's evil cultivation and confirmed that Gao He's storage bag held a matching Jade Slip.
• Cheng Liu read the technique and realized that Gao He had grown stronger by nourishing himself with the vital essence of blood.
• Cheng Liu remembered Gao He's claim that his father had been a Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator and struggled to believe his father had practiced the same evil technique.
• Cheng Buzheng reflected that his junior might have used the technique to support the lineage, then resolved to stop his descendants from using mortal blood to cultivate.

Cheng Buzheng revealed that the hall concealed the Blood Refining Sect’s inheritance and explained Gao He’s plan to use Cheng Liu to break its formation. After destroying the sect’s brutal records and collecting the Blood Jade Pillars, Cheng Buzheng left Cheng Liu to decide whether to cultivate the inheritance’s method.

• Cheng Buzheng shattered the hall’s stone disguise, revealing forty-nine Blood Jade Pillars and a Blood Jade pool.
• Cheng Buzheng told Cheng Liu that his father and Gao He had inherited the Blood Refining Sect’s legacy, and that Gao He had brought him along to reduce his risks, use his spirit blood, and have him break the formation.
• Cheng Buzheng explained that Gao He sought the Blood Construction Formation, which could help a cultivator achieve Foundation Establishment, and Cheng Liu considered the possibility of using it himself.
• Cheng Buzheng melted away the scriptures describing the Blood Refining Sect’s horrifying techniques and formulas, then broke up and stored the Spirit Blood Crystal pillars.
• Cheng Buzheng urged Cheng Liu to consider whether he wanted to cultivate the blood-based method, then headed into the corridor.

Cheng Liu destroyed the Blood Refining Sect technique Jade Slip after deciding to reject its dangerous shortcut, pleasing Cheng Buzheng. They broke through a blood-red barrier and entered the sect’s inner hall, where they discovered a vast Blood Pool and examined the inheritance carved on nine Blood Jade Pillars.

• Cheng Liu weighed the risks of the Blood Refining Sect technique and crushed its Jade Slip, choosing not to cultivate it.
• Cheng Buzheng approved Cheng Liu’s decision and told him to leave the Jade Collection Bottles untouched until they finished searching.
• Cheng Buzheng summoned a Three-legged Golden Crow that shattered the blood-red Light Screen blocking their way.
• Cheng Buzheng and Cheng Liu entered the inner hall and found a vast Blood Pool with an octagonal crystal filtering its spirit blood.
• Cheng Buzheng inspected the nine Blood Jade Pillars and found three Minor Divine Abilities, a formation, a secret technique, and the sect’s cultivation inheritance.
• Cheng Buzheng read about the Ten Thousand Soul Gathering Method, which required the souls of thousands of mortals and cultivators and the Golden Cores of twelve Golden Core cultivators.

Cheng Buzheng examined the Blood Refining Sect’s inheritance, copied two useful arts, and destroyed the sect’s remaining scriptures. He discovered that the object above the Blood Crystal Pool was a high-grade Magic Treasure, though he could not yet refine it or identify its function.

• Cheng Buzheng learned that the sect’s three Minor Divine Abilities drew on souls, bones, and blood, and that its Blood Construction Formation could use Demonic Beast or Desolate Beast blood.
• Cheng Buzheng studied the Spirit Blood Nascent Soul Transformation secret art and the Blood Refining Scripture, including its chapters up to the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Cheng Buzheng copied the Blood Construction Formation and Spirit Blood Nascent Soul Transformation onto Jade Slips, deciding to destroy the cruel Minor Divine Abilities and Blood Refining Scripture.
• Cheng Buzheng burned the scriptures from the six blood-red pillars, broke the pillars apart, and put the pieces away.
• Cheng Buzheng took the octagonal crystal from above the Blood Crystal Pool and determined that its ninety-eight Spirit Restrictions made it a high-grade Magic Treasure that he could not yet refine.

Cheng Buzheng discovered that the Blood Pool processed spirit blood using Spirit Stones and decided to make it an inheritance ground for the Cheng Family. He agreed to take Cheng Liu to the Endless Sea to cultivate, then sealed the hidden passage and flew with him toward Jin Kingdom.

• Cheng Buzheng examined the Blood Pool and inferred that its treasure had refined blood while consuming Spirit Stones.
• Cheng Buzheng told Cheng Liu that he had destroyed the inheritances requiring mortal blood and that blood from Demonic Beasts or Desolate Beasts could be used instead.
• Cheng Liu poured the spirit blood from his Jade Collection Bottles into the Blood Pool, and Cheng Buzheng declared the site an inheritance ground for the Cheng Family.
• Cheng Buzheng invited Cheng Liu to cultivate with him in the Endless Sea, and Cheng Liu accepted.
• Cheng Buzheng and Cheng Liu sealed the hidden passage and flew toward Jin Kingdom.

Cheng Buzheng brought Cheng Liu from Green Spirit Market to a hidden teleportation array leading into a Secret Realm. He warned Cheng Liu that the realm’s dangerous array made the chamber their only safe place to enter and leave.

• Cheng Buzheng gave Cheng Liu Bone-Shedding Pills for Cheng Nian and arranged to meet him in Green Spirit Market half a month later.
• Cheng Liu returned after arranging his family’s affairs, and Cheng Buzheng took him toward the Endless Sea on Little Roar.
• Cheng Buzheng led Cheng Liu through a concealed passage and used a Teleportation Array to reach the Secret Realm.
• Cheng Buzheng explained that the Secret Realm’s back door was unsafe beyond the Teleportation Chamber and warned that its Great Array could kill even a Golden Core True Person.
• Cheng Buzheng showed Cheng Liu the remains of cultivators and their broken tools as proof of the danger.

Cheng Buzheng took Cheng Liu from the Secret Realm to the Endless Sea and tested his understanding of its powers and dangers. He began assessing Cheng Liu’s talents and guiding his cultivation as they traveled toward a nearby island.

• Cheng Buzheng replaced the Spirit Stones in the Teleportation Array, then teleported with Cheng Liu from the Secret Realm to a barren island in the Profound Wind Sea Region.
• Cheng Liu discussed the Endless Sea’s alliances and power balance, and Cheng Buzheng added that the Demon Race was another force preserving the uneasy peace.
• Cheng Liu admitted that he had tried and failed to learn talisman-making, and Cheng Buzheng considered how to support his future cultivation.
• During the next eight days, Cheng Buzheng guided Cheng Liu through his cultivation difficulties as they traveled toward a medium-sized island.

Cheng Buzheng brought Cheng Liu to Xuanfeng Immortal City and rented a middle-grade D-Grade Cave Mansion for three years. He planned to use the time to refine pills and manage other affairs before his next mission, while keeping expenses low and guiding his junior.

• Cheng Buzheng slowed his pace so Cheng Liu could look around the first Immortal City they visited before they took a Teleportation Array to Xuanfeng Immortal City.
• Cheng Buzheng led Cheng Liu across Xuanfeng Immortal City to the Cave Mansion Rental Pavilion.
• Cheng Buzheng rented a middle-grade D-Grade Cave Mansion for three years, paying 1,960 Spirit Stones for the rent and deposit.
• Cheng Buzheng chose the cheaper Cave Mansion because he expected little time for cultivation and wanted to save Spirit Stones for future cultivation and deductions.
• Cheng Buzheng planned to spend the next few years refining pills and handling affairs before he had to undertake his next mission.

Cheng Buzheng brought Cheng Liu to their rented Cave Mansion in Xuanfeng Immortal City and promised to help him choose cultivation arts. He prepared four cultivation-art options for Cheng Liu and then began cultivating.

• Cheng Buzheng and Cheng Liu climbed to the seventeenth level of the spirit mountain and reached Cave Mansion No. 367.
• Cheng Buzheng gave Cheng Liu the Identity Token, showed him the separate secret chambers, and told him to rest before discussing cultivation arts the next day.
• Cheng Liu thanked Cheng Buzheng for his care and went to rest in No. 2 Secret Chamber while Cheng Buzheng entered No. 1 Secret Chamber.
• Cheng Buzheng spent a thousand Spirit Stones using the Small Plate to derive four cultivation arts suited to a cultivator with Five Spiritual Roots.
• Cheng Buzheng stored the four cultivation arts, inscribed Jade Slips, and began cultivating.

Cheng Buzheng advised Cheng Liu that caution mattered more than rapid cultivation and promised to teach him a cultivation art he had created. He presented four Five Elements cultivation arts for Cheng Liu to choose from, each with different power and resource demands.

• Cheng Liu spent the night cultivating in No. 2 Secret Chamber, amazed by its rich spiritual energy.
• Cheng Buzheng tested Cheng Liu on the most important principle of cultivation and taught him to prioritize caution to avoid deadly risks.
• Cheng Buzheng explained that Immortal Arts could help reduce the need for dangerous pursuits and said he had created a cultivation art for Cheng Liu.
• Cheng Buzheng presented four related Five Elements cultivation arts and left Cheng Liu to choose after recording their benefits and resource costs on the Jade Slips.

Cheng Liu chose the Five Elements Self-Only Art and decided to pursue alchemy and crafting to support his cultivation. Cheng Buzheng offered to teach him the family’s secret Soul Puppetry Art and mind technique under strict safeguards, and Cheng Liu agreed to them.

• Cheng Liu weighed the four cultivation techniques and chose the Five Elements Self-Only Art to build a stronger foundation for his Immortal Path.
• Cheng Liu told Cheng Buzheng he wanted to try alchemy and crafting to discover his talent for an Immortal Art.
• Cheng Buzheng gave Cheng Liu a Storage Bag and explained that his Soul Puppetry Art and mind technique were exclusive family inheritances.
• Cheng Buzheng required Cheng Liu to accept a Soul Seed of Mind Thought Restriction and said anyone Cheng Liu taught would need one too.
• Cheng Liu agreed to both conditions and asked Cheng Buzheng to teach him the techniques.

Cheng Buzheng gave Cheng Liu the Soul Puppet inheritance and sealed it with a Mind Thought Restriction, then warned him about the dangers of exposing his puppet. Cheng Liu left to begin cultivating the new method, while Cheng Buzheng prepared to leave for the Alchemy Chamber and planned to return every three months.

• Cheng Buzheng placed a Mind Thought Restriction on Cheng Liu and gave him a Jade Slip whose contents could only be inspected by someone carrying the Soul Seed.
• Cheng Liu studied the Soul Puppet technique and learned about its six levels, its capabilities, and the Heart-Mind Dharma Eye and Heart Spirit Treasure Eye.
• Cheng Buzheng warned Cheng Liu to keep his Soul Puppet away from marketplaces and Immortal Cities and to detonate it if a high-ranking cultivator discovered its secret.
• Cheng Buzheng told Cheng Liu he would leave for the Alchemy Chamber the next day, return every three months, and reward him when he reached the Late Qi Refining Stage.
• Cheng Liu left the Secret Chamber to switch to the new cultivation method, and Cheng Buzheng reflected on his trust in the younger relative and his reasons for leaving the family an inheritance and the Teleportation Array secret.