Chapter Summaries

Wu Tao used the Earth Silver Profound Crystal Milk to heal his injuries, then hid among the Yellow Apes as Zheng Tonghai attacked them. After the Second Tier Yellow Ape and Green Falcon killed each other, Wu Tao killed the mortally wounded Zheng Tonghai and survived.

• Wu Tao collected the Earth Silver Profound Crystal Milk and absorbed the remaining pool, healing his injuries and strengthening his body.
• Wu Tao rejoined the Yellow Apes in disguise, and Zheng Tonghai failed to detect him among them.
• Zheng Tonghai attacked the Tier 1 Yellow Apes, prompting the enraged Second Tier Yellow Ape to fight him and the Green Falcon.
• The Second Tier Yellow Ape killed the Green Falcon but died from its injuries, leaving Zheng Tonghai gravely wounded.
• Zheng Tonghai attacked the surviving Yellow Apes, forcing Wu Tao to reveal himself and block the Sword Radiance with his tools and Blazing Flame Spear.
• Wu Tao released the Nether Souls and struck Zheng Tonghai with Wind and Thunder, killing the Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Wu Zhongxing escaped after collecting the spoils from the battle between Zheng Tonghai and two Tier 2 demonic beasts, including a mysterious second-rank spell sword. He hid in the wilderness to recover from his injury and planned to return to Beast Taming Cultivation City after the danger passed.

• Wu Zhongxing collected the corpses of the Yellow Ape and Green Falcon, took Zheng Tonghai's storage bag, and cremated Zheng Tonghai's body.
• He discovered a second-rank spell sword among Zheng Tonghai's ashes and fled as another Tier 2 demonic beast approached.
• Wu Zhongxing escaped to a distant area, changed his clothes and aura, and flew onward in a green leaf boat.
• He decided to wait in the wilderness before returning to Beast Taming Cultivation City and taking a Flying Void Boat to Ethereal Void Cultivation City.
• Wu Zhongxing dug a hidden cave and began treating the wound across his waist.

After recovering from his wounds underground, Wu Tao examined the Foundation Establishment Pill and considered the challenges of advancing with his common cultivation technique. He began counting the spoils from the cultivators he had killed and planned to seek a way back to Ethereal Void Cultivation City.

• Wu Tao used Earth Silver Profound Crystal Milk to heal his injuries and restore his spiritual power to its peak.
• Wu Tao inspected the Foundation Establishment Pill and reflected on how his limited knowledge as a rogue cultivator had exposed him to danger.
• Wu Tao considered whether one Foundation Establishment Pill would be enough and resolved to wait until he had strong confidence before attempting advancement.
• Wu Tao put the pill away, took out the Storage Bags of seven Qi Refining Layer 9 rogue cultivators, and began checking their contents.
• Wu Tao found fifteen High-Grade Spirit Stones in the first Storage Bag and reasoned that the rogue cultivators had hoped to seize the pill during the final stage.

Wu Tao inventoried the belongings of the cultivators he had killed and discovered manuals, notes, and pills among them. While searching Zheng Tonghai’s Storage Bag, he found a giant Demonic Beast egg and realized it might grow into a powerful companion.

• Wu Tao counted the loot from seven Rogue Cultivators, kept useful items, and burned the rest.
• Wu Tao found Five Qi Pills in the Storage Bags of Five Spring Mountain disciples Dong Qiang and Liang Yi.
• Wu Tao discovered Cao Guang’s Strange Insect Treasure Codex and Soul-Devouring Insect notes, along with beast-taming notes and pills from Yan Hua.
• Wu Tao set aside Zheng Tonghai’s Second-Rank Palm Spell Sword because he could not refine its Restriction with Spiritual Power.
• Wu Tao opened Zheng Tonghai’s Storage Bag, found a giant egg, and felt a heartbeat inside it.

Wu Tao read Elder Zheng’s jade slips and learned that the giant egg was a Golden Winged Eagle with the potential to reach the third tier. He also found a Foundation Establishment sword technique and three wisps of pure magic power, leaving him to wonder whether they could be used for cultivation.

• Wu Tao examined Elder Zheng’s three jade slips and read his beast-raising notes about the Golden Winged Eagle egg.
• Wu Tao learned that a Golden Winged Eagle could reach the third tier, but he lacked the Beast Taming Technique needed to command it.
• Wu Tao found a compendium of demonic beasts in the second jade slip, then discovered the One Law Heart-Connecting Sword Technique in the last one.
• Wu Tao stored the Heart-Connecting Spell Sword and its technique for use after Foundation Establishment.
• Wu Tao found three wisps of attribute-less pure magic power in a jade bottle and wondered if Foundation Establishment cultivators used them to cultivate.

After recovering in the wilderness, Wu Tao ate the meat of a Tier 2 demonic beast and headed for Beast Taming Cultivation City. He passed its tightened inspections using a dead rogue cultivator’s identity and boarded a Flying Void Boat to leave the city.

• Wu Tao emerged from his cave, roasted a leg from the green falcon demonic beast, and absorbed its vital essence while eating.
• Wu Tao killed a Tier 1 advanced flying demonic beast that had attacked a rogue cultivator, then cremated and buried the dead man.
• Wu Tao used the rogue cultivator’s appearance and identity credentials to enter Beast Taming Cultivation City despite its strict martial law.
• Wu Tao paid two hundred mid-grade spirit stones for passage and boarded a Flying Void Boat bound for a cultivation city under Purple Gold Grotto.

Wu Tao boarded a Flying Void Boat for Purple Gold Cultivation City after passing a Patrol Squad inspection, then spent the ten-day journey cultivating and assessing his progress toward Foundation Establishment. In Purple Gold, he learned that the next boat to Ethereal Void Cultivation City would not depart for five days, so he set out to find an inn.

• The Scalper Cultivator brought Patrol Squad Officer Liu to Wu Tao’s cabin, where Officer Liu checked Wu Tao’s identification and allowed him to travel.
• After the Flying Void Boat departed, Wu Tao relaxed and thought of Chen Yao as he began the journey back toward Ethereal Void Cultivation City.
• Wu Tao cultivated with Five Qi Pills during the ten-day trip, raising his Three Yang Technique to thirty percent and estimating that he needed about eight months to reach perfected Qi Refining.
• Wu Tao reviewed his cultivation progress and planned to refine another Golden Gilded Robe in Purple Gold Cultivation City because he lacked a defensive magic tool.
• Wu Tao arrived in Purple Gold Cultivation City and learned that a Flying Void Boat to Ethereal Void Cultivation City would depart in five days.
• Wu Tao declined the Scalper Cultivator’s offer of a guide and chose to find an inn rather than contact Zhou Yicheng.

Wu Tao returned home after nearly two months away and reunited with Chen Yao, who had survived a thief cultivator’s attack by using their formations. He showed her the Foundation Establishment Pill and helped her use a Vermilion Fruit to advance, but she could not sense the breakthrough bottleneck.

• Wu Tao stayed in Purple Gold Cultivation City for five days, refined the Golden Gilded Robe, and then traveled back to Ethereal Void Cultivation City.
• Wu Tao restored his original appearance and hurried home, where Chen Yao’s formations briefly attacked him before she recognized his voice and welcomed him back.
• Chen Yao told Wu Tao that she had killed a thief cultivator who broke into their home, and Wu Tao worried about what she had endured.
• Wu Tao showed Chen Yao the Foundation Establishment Pill and told her he expected to reach Qi Refining Perfection within a year.
• Wu Tao gave Chen Yao the last Vermilion Fruit and helped her refine its Spiritual Power, but Chen Yao could not sense the bottleneck for breaking through to Qi Refining Layer 7.

Wu Tao helped Chen Yao cope with a failed attempt to break through to Qi Refining Layer 7, then prepared an incubation space for the Golden Winged Eagle egg and studied how Soul-Devouring Insects advanced. The chapter ended with Wu Tao and Chen Yao spending the night together during her cultivation break.

• Chen Yao failed to sense the bottleneck of late-stage Qi Refining after refining the Vermilion Fruit, and Wu Tao comforted her and urged her to build up her cultivation further.
• Wu Tao practiced the Body Tempering Art and reflected that he might establish his foundation before condensing a spirit body.
• Wu Tao bought a Spirit-Converting Array and a Breath-Concealing Array, set them up in the artifact refining room, and placed the Golden Winged Eagle egg in a specially made nest.
• Wu Tao read the Strange Insect Treasure Codex and Cao Guang's notes, learning that nine Soul-Devouring Insects had to compete for one to advance to the Second Rank.
• Chen Yao invited Wu Tao to spend the evening with her, and they continued together until late at night.

After returning to Ethereal Void Cultivation City, Wu Tao settled back into a steady cultivation routine and spent three months practicing the Invisibility and Wall-Passing Techniques. He planned to reach perfected Qi Refining in roughly half a year and would pursue Foundation Establishment if the opportunity arrived, even if no more Foundation Establishment Pills became available.

• Wu Tao made breakfast while Chen Yao recovered, then resumed practicing spells after they ate.
• Over three months, Chen Yao broke through to Qi Refining Layer 7, and Wu Tao equipped her with a Green Leaf Boat, a spell sword, and a Golden Gilded Robe.
• Wu Tao successfully passed through a wall while invisible, but Chen Yao sensed him and attacked before he revealed himself.
• Wu Tao reviewed his cultivation progress and estimated that he would reach perfected Qi Refining in about half a year, depending on his remaining pills.
• Wu Tao decided he would attempt Foundation Establishment when the opportunity came and planned to ask Zhang Ming for advice beforehand.

Wu Tao reviewed his cultivation progress and prepared to strengthen his abilities before venturing into the wilderness. He bought a First-Rank Level 9 magic array and continued building his relationship with Zhou Zhongguan, whom he hoped might possess a Second-Rank refinement manual.

• Wu Tao planned to refine the Azure Profound Sword and Mystic Silver Shield, then take the examination for a First-Rank Level 9 Artifact Refiner Certificate under the identity Han Fan.
• Wu Tao assessed his spell and body-cultivation progress, noting that brain marrow tempering was improving his divine sense but required caution.
• Wu Tao confirmed that the Coffin Nail had converted Cao Guang’s seven Soul-Devouring Insects to his control, and he let all nine insects return to his sea of consciousness instead of forcing them into a beast pouch.
• Wu Tao went to a formation shop and bought a First-Rank Level 9 magic array combining trapping and killing.
• Wu Tao headed to Zhou Zhongguan’s spirit material shop, hoping to grow closer to him and eventually ask about a Second-Rank Magic Tool Refinement Secret Manual.

Wu Tao refined two level 9 magic tools and passed the examination to become a first-rank level 9 loose cultivator artifact refiner. Zhang Ming congratulated him and began discussing whether he would join the Cultivation City Artifact Refining Hall.

• Wu Tao visited Zhou Zhongguan's shop, where Zhou shared that his seventh son had shown artifact refining talent.
• Wu Tao bought materials from Zhou Zhongguan and smoothly refined an Azure Profound Sword and a Mystic Silver Shield.
• Wu Tao went to the Artifact Refining Hall of Ethereal Void Cultivation City to take the first-rank level 9 loose cultivator artifact refiner examination.
• Zhang Ming arrived and personally oversaw Wu Tao's examination, which Wu Tao passed with an upper-tier Azure Profound Sword.
• Zhang Ming took Wu Tao to the tea room and asked whether he wanted to join the Cultivation City Artifact Refining Hall.

Wu Tao joined Ethereal Void Cultivation City's Artifact Refining Hall after learning that its duties were flexible and could provide access to knowledge and Merit Points. Months later, he used the Coffin Nail to break through the Qi Refining Stage's ten-li Divine Sense limit.

• Zhang Ming explained the Artifact Refining Hall's duties and how accumulating Merit Points could help Wu Tao pursue Tier 2 artifact refinement.
• Wu Tao joined the Artifact Refining Hall, and Zhou Shen proudly told others that he had once taken an assessment alongside Han Fan.
• Wu Tao worked at the hall two days each week and ran the Mystic Spirit Magic Tool Shop, selling the Azure Profound Sword and Mystic Silver Shield.
• Four months later, Wu Tao sensed that he was ready to surpass the Qi Refining Stage's Divine Sense limit.
• Wu Tao used the Coffin Nail's pressure to transform his Divine Sense and break through its ten-li limit.

Wu Tao broke through his Qi Refining divine sense limit, extending it to fifteen li with an aura that made others mistake him for a Foundation Establishment cultivator. In the wilderness, he tested its reach and used the Azure Profound Sword to kill a demonic beast from afar, leaving the adventurer team convinced a Foundation Establishment senior had helped them.

• Wu Tao’s divine sense expanded to fifteen li, gaining a Foundation Establishment aura but lacking the full power of a true Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• Wu Tao reviewed his cultivation progress and planned to test his new divine sense and Tier 2 Low-Level talisman treasure in the wilderness.
• Wu Tao released his divine sense in the wilderness and discovered it could clearly sense creatures across a fifteen-li radius.
• Wu Tao’s divine sense startled a team of loose cultivators hunting a tier-1 advanced demonic beast, causing them to believe a Foundation Establishment senior was watching them.
• Wu Tao controlled the Azure Profound Sword from fifteen li away and killed the escaping demonic beast, while the loose cultivators thanked the unseen senior.

Wu Tao tested the Azure Sky Golden Sea Talisman against a Tier 1 Advanced Demonic Beast, then returned to Ethereal Void Cultivation City and cultivated until the Sanyang Technique reached perfection. He still lacked a Foundation Establishment Opportunity, but planned to trade with Zhou Zhongguan for a Foundation Establishment cultivation technique after breaking through.

• Wu Tao used the Azure Sky Golden Sea Talisman to destroy a Tier 1 Advanced Demonic Beast, then survived a brief clash with a Tier 2 flying Demonic Beast.
• Wu Tao returned to Ethereal Void Cultivation City, hunted more Demonic Beasts for the Soul-Devouring Insect, and began cultivating to close the final eight percent gap to Qi Refining Perfection.
• At the Artifact Refining Hall, Wu Tao advised Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiners and Zhou Shen, while Zhang Ming urged him to earn more Merit Points.
• Two months later, Wu Tao perfected the Sanyang Technique at Qi Refining Layer 9, but had not sensed a Foundation Establishment Opportunity.
• Wu Tao planned to trade with Zhou Zhongguan for a Foundation Establishment cultivation technique after he achieved Foundation Establishment.

Wu Tao continued preparing for Foundation Establishment while refining array-breaking beads and tempering his brain marrow. After completing perfected marrow refining, his divine sense reached twenty-one miles and his perception, reactions, and spellcasting improved, though he still had not sensed a Foundation Establishment opportunity.

• Wu Tao planned to join the Ethereal Void Sect's Artifact Refining Hall as a Tier 2 artifact refiner and decided to buy materials to make seventy-two array-breaking beads.
• Wu Tao purchased the materials from Zhou Zhongguan and saw Zhou Jinquan learning to carve restrictions, then returned home to refine beads while Chen Yao focused on cultivation.
• Wu Tao spent two months refining array-breaking beads and waiting for a Foundation Establishment opportunity, but none came.
• Wu Tao completed the final tempering of his brain marrow, reaching perfected marrow refining and extending his divine sense to twenty-one miles.
• Wu Tao noticed that the world appeared clearer, his reactions and comprehension were faster, and his spellcasting and physical functions had improved.

After completing marrow refining, Wu Tao gained thirty years of lifespan and learned from Zhang Ming that a foundation establishment opportunity depended on state of mind and hope. When he heard that Purple Gold Cultivation City would auction a Foundation Establishment Pill, he set out to pursue it.

• Wu Tao discovered that perfect marrow refining had increased his lifespan to 159 years.
• Zhang Ming told Wu Tao that an artifact refiner's hope of advancing could help them sense a foundation establishment opportunity, and explained the dangers and preparations involved.
• Wu Tao realized his excessive caution about foundation establishment might be preventing him from sensing the opportunity, but he still did not sense it over the next two months.
• Wu Tao heard that Purple Gold Cultivation City would auction a Foundation Establishment Pill in half a month and decided his opportunity had arrived.
• Wu Tao asked Chen Yao to stay home while he traveled to Purple Gold Cultivation City, then boarded the Flying Void Boat.

Wu Tao won the Foundation Establishment Pill auction in Purple Gold Cultivation City, then discovered that a dying Purple Gold Grotto cultivator had marked the pill and planned to take it. Wu Tao defeated and killed Yan Hai with his Foundation Establishment-level Divine Sense, Talisman Treasure, and Second-Rank Spell Sword, leaving with the pill and Yan Hai’s belongings.

• Wu Tao traveled to Purple Gold Cultivation City and prepared to bid for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• Yan Hai told his son Yan Shi that the sect would not give him the pill, so he secretly marked it and planned to take it from the winning rogue cultivator.
• Wu Tao won the auction and was escorted with the other bidders outside the city, where the cultivators fought over their pills.
• After Wu Tao escaped the ensuing struggle, Yan Hai confronted him in the wilderness and demanded the pill.
• Wu Tao discovered Yan Hai’s Divine Sense was weaker than his own, smashed it with his Foundation Establishment-level Divine Sense, and struck him with the Talisman Treasure.
• Wu Tao pierced Yan Hai’s head with the Heart-Connecting Spell Sword, burned his body with the Azure Sky Golden Sea Bird, and took the Foundation Establishment Pill.

After securing two Foundation Establishment Pills and returning to the Ethereal Void Cultivation City, Wu Tao prepared in the wilderness and successfully broke through to Foundation Establishment Layer One. He left the cave with a greatly expanded divine sense, a longer lifespan, and the confidence to pursue further cultivation.

• Wu Tao killed Yan Hai, took his spell sword and storage bag, and escaped to Purple Gold Cultivation City under a disguise.
• Wu Tao boarded the Flying Void Boat after failing to find Zhou Yicheng, then returned to the Ethereal Void Cultivation City and reunited with Chen Yao.
• Wu Tao requested half a year of leave, bought two Spirit-Turning Formations and pills, and prepared to establish his foundation in the wilderness.
• Wu Tao entered the wilderness, built a hidden cave, and waited until a rainbow and new shoots brought the Foundation Establishment Opportunity to him.
• Wu Tao swallowed both Foundation Establishment Pills and cultivated through a painful transformation, using the Sanyang Technique and Dragon Spear Body Tempering Art.
• After two months, Wu Tao awakened as a Foundation Establishment Layer One cultivator with a divine sense range of thirty-three miles and a lifespan of 309 years.

After spending 110 days reaching Foundation Establishment, Wu Tao returned to Ethereal Void Cultivation City and reunited with Chen Yao. The next day, he began studying a Foundation Establishment spell while planning to trade with Zhou Zhongguan for a Tier 2 Magic Tool Refinement Secret Manual.

• Wu Tao packed up his underground breakthrough site, collapsed the cave, and flew back toward Ethereal Void Cultivation City without using his Green Leaf Boat.
• Wu Tao concealed his Foundation Establishment aura, entered the city as usual, and hurried home to Chen Yao.
• Wu Tao told Chen Yao that he had succeeded at Foundation Establishment, and they celebrated his return together.
• The next day, Wu Tao studied the One Law Heart-Connecting Sword Scripture and planned to trade with Zhou Zhongguan for the Tier 2 Magic Tool Refinement Secret Manual.