Chapter Summaries

Wu Tao delivered the first batch of Magic Tools from Ethereal Void Cultivation City and returned to Ethereal Void Sect, while Qin Yi secretly met with a Black-Robed Envoy and revealed plans to target a Tier 2 Intermediate Artifact Refiner. Qin Yi offered to deal with the refiner himself when he next came to the city.

• Meng Haoting reported that the Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiners were progressing toward finishing the first batch, and Wu Tao estimated he could assemble a Tier 2 Warship in two months.
• Wu Tao collected the completed first batch of Magic Tools from Yang Qixiu, rewarded his work, and learned that no Devilish Cultivators had attacked the city.
• Wu Tao visited Yu Hai, Gu Mingsheng, Lin Xinquan, and Qin Yi before returning to Ethereal Void Sect.
• Qin Yi received a secret message, disguised himself, and met the Black-Robed Envoy in a deserted house.
• Qin Yi told the Black-Robed Envoy that a Tier 2 Intermediate Artifact Refiner would soon visit the city and offered to handle him.

Wu Tao returned to the Ethereal Void Sect with the components for a Tier 2 Warship and reported to Gao Xing that he was ready to begin assembly. After spending a happy afternoon strolling through the disciples’ marketplace with Chen Yao, he set out the next day to refine the warship.

• Wu Tao returned to the Ethereal Void Sect and told Gao Xing he had prepared components for two Tier 2 Warships, though they could likely assemble only one.
• Gao Xing told Wu Tao to rest for a day before starting the warship’s assembly and refinement.
• Chen Yao suggested that she and Wu Tao visit the marketplace, and Wu Tao agreed to go with her that afternoon.
• Wu Tao and Chen Yao strolled through the marketplace, bought food, and returned to prepare dinner together.
• The next day, Wu Tao flew to the Artifact Refining Hall to begin assembling and refining the Tier 2 Warship.

Wu Tao assembled and refined a Tier 2 Warship in one long session at the Artifact Refining Hall. The next day, Gao Xing learned it was finished and proposed testing its power.

• Wu Tao greeted Zhao Zhen and Fan Zhifeng at the Earth Fire Hall before returning to his artifact refining room to work on a Tier 2 Warship.
• Wu Tao reviewed the warship’s refining method, then spent three shichen assembling its components into a vessel more than ten meters long.
• Wu Tao inscribed the final Magic Restriction and refined the assembled warship into a single whole, despite the heavy cost to his Magic Power and Divine Sense.
• Wu Tao inspected the finished warship’s Mystic Crystal Protective Shield, cockpit, and Source Qi and Spirit Stone slots, then left it in the artifact refining room.
• The next day, Gao Xing asked Wu Tao about his progress, and Wu Tao told him he had finished one warship.
• Gao Xing invited Wu Tao to test the Tier 2 Warship’s power.

Wu Tao and Gao Xing tested the newly refined Tier 2 Warship with Ji Lingxu serving as its target, confirming its Foundation Establishment-level firepower but immense resource costs. Gao Xing urged Wu Tao to steadily refine four more warships before the Righteous-Demonic War required them.

• Gao Xing explained that the sect had obtained the Tier 2 Warship’s refining manual from Five Spring Mountain but had materials for only six warships.
• Gao Xing summoned Ji Lingxu to test the warship, explaining that Wu Tao would control it and Ji Lingxu would withstand its attacks.
• Wu Tao refined the Central Control Magic Restriction, and Gao Xing supplied the Source Qi of Spells and spirit stones needed to power the warship.
• Wu Tao unleashed the warship’s full barrage at Ji Lingxu, who blocked every beam without difficulty while the warship’s energy was depleted in thirty breaths.
• Gao Xing said the warship would be deployed when late Foundation Establishment cultivators entered the battle and asked Wu Tao to refine four more.

Wu Tao completed a second Tier 2 Warship, advanced to a Tier 2 Intermediate Artifact Refiner, and traveled to Ethereal Void Cultivation City to collect another batch of components. There, Qin Yi and a Black-Clad Envoy prepared to kill him and massacre the city, but Wu Tao unknowingly accepted Qin Yi’s invitation to visit.

• Wu Tao secretly kept the second Tier 2 Warship for his own protection and stored it in a newly acquired Storage Bag.
• Over the next three months, Wu Tao refined more warship components and advanced his artifact-refining skills to Tier 2 Intermediate.
• Wu Tao traveled to Ethereal Void Cultivation City and inspected the second batch of components that Yang Qixiu had prepared.
• A disciple reported Wu Tao’s arrival to Qin Yi, who contacted the Black-Clad Envoy and agreed to help kill Wu Tao before the Envoy turned the city’s inhabitants into Nether Souls.
• Wu Tao left the Artifact Refining Hall and accepted Qin Yi’s invitation to visit the Foundation Establishment Guard Station.

Wu Tao met Qin Yi at the Foundation Establishment Guard Station, unaware that Qin Yi had joined forces with the Nether Soul Sect to kill him. Qin Yi launched a surprise attack and trapped Wu Tao inside a prepared magic array, leaving their fight underway.

• Wu Tao and Qin Yi met at the guard station and discussed the devilish cultivator who had attacked Ethereal Void Cultivation City.
• Qin Yi questioned Wu Tao about the mysterious cultivator who slew the attacker, then concluded he had no reason to suspect anyone else was hiding in the city.
• Qin Yi waited for the appointed time to act with the Nether Soul Sect envoy and prepared to kill Wu Tao for a reward.
• Qin Yi attacked Wu Tao, but Wu Tao's Azure Cloud Magic Robe blocked the first blow.
• Qin Yi retreated from the hall and activated a formation disk, raising five pillars of light that trapped Wu Tao inside a magic array.

Wu Tao was trapped by Qin Yi in the Small Five Elements Inversion Formation as the Nether Soul Sect attacked Ethereal Void Cultivation City. He destroyed the formation with a Formation-Breaking Devil Talisman, then killed Qin Yi with a Tier 2 Warship.

• Qin Yi trapped Wu Tao in the Small Five Elements Inversion Formation and revealed his alliance with the Nether Soul Sect as the Envoy attacked the city.
• Qin Yi killed an Ethereal Void Sect disciple who discovered his betrayal, while Wu Tao challenged Qin Yi’s plan to kill him.
• Zhang Shenghong arrived and accused Qin Yi of colluding with the Nether Soul Sect, then fought a Foundation Establishment devilish cultivator.
• Qin Yi activated the formation at full power, but Wu Tao used a Formation-Breaking Devil Talisman to destroy it and injure Qin Yi through the backlash.
• Wu Tao piloted a Tier 2 Warship and blasted Qin Yi to ashes, then collected his Storage Bag.

Wu Tao used the Tier 2 Warship to kill Qin Yi and help defend Ethereal Void Cultivation City from the Nether Soul Sect’s attack. He pursued the Foundation Establishment Layer 8 Envoy, whose escape failed when Wu Tao’s Divine Sense struck him and the Warship’s attack arrived.

• Wu Tao shattered Qin Yi’s formation with the Tier 2 Warship and killed him in one strike.
• Wu Tao killed the Foundation Establishment Layer 3 devilish cultivator with Yin Spirit Tremor, then sent Zhang Shenghong to help fight the Qi Refining Stage attackers.
• Zhang Shenghong fought through the city, killing Nether Soul Sect cultivators as Ethereal Void Sect disciples and Rogue Cultivators rallied around him.
• Wu Tao released the Second-Rank Soul-Devouring Insect to devour the Nether Souls and flew toward the Envoy.
• The Envoy recognized the Tier 2 Warship, abandoned the attack, and tried to escape with the news of the Ethereal Void Sect’s warships.
• Wu Tao intercepted the Envoy and damaged his Divine Sense with Yin Spirit Tremor just as the Tier 2 Warship’s attack arrived.

Wu Tao killed the Nether Soul Sect cultivator with the Tier 2 Warship, then discovered Qin Yi had poisoned him. After recovering, he took charge of Ethereal Void Cultivation City and ordered it sealed while Zhang Shenghong went to report Qin Yi’s betrayal to the sect.

• Wu Tao destroyed the Foundation Establishment Layer 8 Nether Soul Sect cultivator with the Tier 2 Warship and used the Soul-Devouring Insect to devour the loose Nether Souls.
• Wu Tao learned that Qin Yi had poisoned his tea, and Zhang Shenghong helped him return to the Foundation Establishment Guard Station.
• Wu Tao warned Zhang Shenghong to conceal the Tier 2 Warship and ordered him to secure the city while Wu Tao suppressed the poison.
• Zhang Shenghong sealed Ethereal Void Cultivation City and patrolled it as Wu Tao spent a day expelling the poison.
• Wu Tao sent Zhang Shenghong back to the Ethereal Void Sect to report Qin Yi’s collusion and request stronger guards, then ordered the city to remain sealed and began patrolling it himself.

Wu Tao returned to the Flying Void Boat after Yang Qi took over the garrison of Ethereal Void Cultivation City and Yu Zhenming accompanied him back to the sect. While inspecting Qin Yi’s storage bag during the journey, Wu Tao found the Foundation Establishment Pill meant for Ming Song and two tokens, one of which was not a Nether Soul Sect token.

• Yang Qi arrived to garrison Ethereal Void Cultivation City, while Yu Zhenming accompanied Wu Tao back to the sect.
• Wu Tao warned Yang Qi to keep the Tier 2 warship’s existence secret, then departed with Yu Zhenming and Zhang Shenghong.
• Wu Tao rested aboard the Flying Void Boat and restored his magic power and divine sense.
• Wu Tao opened Qin Yi’s storage bag and found the Foundation Establishment Pill originally entrusted to Qin Yi for Ming Song.
• Wu Tao decided to keep the pill for now and examined two tokens from Qin Yi’s storage bag, discovering that one was not a Nether Soul Sect token.

Wu Tao returned to the Ethereal Void Sect after defeating Qin Yi and reported the conspiracy to the Demon-Slaying Hall. Just as he was preparing to meet Hall Master Wen, Yao Guangsheng told him that Sect Master Ning Qiudao wished to see him.

• Wu Tao found a mysterious token and two identical communication mirrors among Qin Yi's and the Nether Soul Sect cultivator's belongings, then cultivated during the return trip.
• Yu Zhenming told Wu Tao they had arrived, and Wu Tao went to the Artifact Refining Hall to report to Gao Xing.
• Wu Tao told Gao Xing how Qin Yi had trapped him and how he used the Tier 2 Warship to survive; Gao Xing praised him and said Hall Master Wen wanted to see him.
• Wu Tao reported Qin Yi's collusion to the Demon-Slaying Elder and Yao Guangsheng, then handed over the two treasure mirrors for examination.
• Yao Guangsheng told Wu Tao that Sect Master Ning Qiudao wished to see him.

Yao Guangsheng brought Han Fan to meet Ning Qiudao, who revealed that he knew Han Fan’s true identity as Wu Tao. Ning Qiudao reassured him that the Ethereal Void Sect trusted him, leaving Wu Tao feeling safer and more valued within the sect.

• Yao Guangsheng escorted Han Fan to Ethereal Void Immortal Peak after Ning Qiudao urgently summoned him.
• Ning Qiudao asked Han Fan about his feelings toward the Ethereal Void Sect and dismissed his attempt to discuss Ethereal Void Cultivation City.
• Ning Qiudao revealed that he knew Han Fan’s real name was Wu Tao and said his actions had proved his loyalty to the sect.
• Wu Tao apologized for entering the sect under an alias, and Ning Qiudao explained that the sect had investigated his background.
• Wu Tao recalled that Ning Qiudao might have seen through his concealed cultivation before and felt reassured by the Sect Leader’s trust.

Ning Qiudao revealed that he knew Wu Tao’s true cultivation and dual cultivation, but agreed to keep it secret and rewarded him for his service. Wu Tao left with a cultivation-concealing Magic Tool, permission to claim a Golden Core cultivation technique later, and access to the Library’s third floor.

• Ning Qiudao assured Wu Tao that the Ethereal Void Sect would protect him and agreed not to reveal that he cultivated both magic and body.
• Ning Qiudao explained that he, Junior Brother Wen, and the Demon-Slaying Elder already knew Wu Tao’s true cultivation, then gave him a Magic Tool that concealed his realm from all but Nascent Soul True Lords.
• Ning Qiudao offered Wu Tao a Foundation Establishment Pill as a reward, but Wu Tao declined it, so Ning Qiudao promised him a free Golden Core cultivation technique once he reached Ninth Level Foundation Establishment.
• Wu Tao asked to visit the Library’s third floor, and Ning Qiudao gave him a Magic Talisman granting free access.
• Wu Tao left the Main Hall pleased with his rewards and flew toward the Artifact Refining Hall on his Purple Wing Boat.

Wu Tao returned to the Artifact Refining Hall, received permission to study Tier 2 Advanced artifact refining knowledge, and began refining Ning Qiudao’s jade pendant to conceal his cultivation. He returned to his cave abode, where Chen Yao eagerly prepared to spend their limited time together.

• Wu Tao met Wen Xingrui, who praised his work in Ethereal Void Cultivation City and offered him a reward related to artifact refining.
• Wu Tao asked for Tier 2 Advanced artifact refining knowledge, and Wen Xingrui gave him a magic talisman granting access to it in the Secret Manual Pavilion.
• Wen Xingrui told Wu Tao that Gao Xing’s hopes of reaching the Golden Core realm depended on Wu Tao or Zhao becoming a Tier 2 Advanced Artifact Refiner.
• Wu Tao returned to his cave abode and refined Ning Qiudao’s jade pendant, which concealed his cultivation from anyone below the Nascent Soul realm.
• Chen Yao urged Wu Tao to hurry through dinner so they could spend time together, and Wu Tao resolved to improve his spirit body cultivation.

Wu Tao refined a Tier 2 Warship and used Ning Qiudao’s Magic Talisman to search the Library’s third floor for information about the Nameless Token. After half a month of reading, he found a book that identified it as an Ancient Restriction Token.

• Wu Tao secretly took Root-Consolidating and Essence-Nourishing Pills before leaving, and Chen Yao nearly caught him by smelling them.
• At the Earth Fire Hall, Zhao Zhen told Wu Tao and Fan Zhifeng that Han Fan had comprehended the Tier 2 Mid-Grade Magic Restriction and might surpass Zhao Zhen in artifact refining.
• Wu Tao assembled and refined a Tier 2 Warship, planning to keep one for himself after making five for the Ethereal Void Sect.
• Wu Tao used Ning Qiudao’s Magic Talisman to enter the Library’s third floor and searched its artifact-refining books for information about the Nameless Token.
• After half a month of reading, Wu Tao found a reference identifying the token as an Ancient Restriction Token.

Wu Tao discovered that the nameless token might be an Ancient Restriction Token and learned that the Immortal Palace had abolished ancient restrictions and destroyed the World-Breaking Formations. He left the library determined to investigate the token’s possible connection to a World-Breaking Token.

• Wu Tao searched books by Gu Daoyuan and He Suoxi for information about the Ancient Restriction Token.
• Wu Tao found He Suoxi’s journal, which said the Immortal Palace had abolished the Ancient Restriction Token and destroyed the World-Breaking Formations twelve myriads of years ago.
• Wu Tao speculated that his nameless token might activate a World-Breaking Formation and let someone leave the Immortal Origin Realm.
• Wu Tao searched for more information about the Immortal Palace and World-Breaking Formations but found nothing before leaving the library.
• The old library attendant asked Wu Tao what he was seeking, and Wu Tao declined his offer of help.
• Wu Tao greeted Yao Guangsheng at the takeoff and landing plaza and flew away on his Purple Wing Boat.

Wu Tao searched the Library for information about the World-Breaking Formation and Ancient Restriction Token but found nothing, then began studying Tier 2 Advanced Artifact Refining Knowledge as Gao Xing urged him to progress. When Wen Xingrui summoned him to the third floor, Wu Tao decided to ask the Tier 3 Artifact Refiner about ancient artifact restrictions.

• Wu Tao spent a month searching formation books, Cultivation Records, and the Geographical Compendium, learning about the Immortal Origin Realm and the Spirit-Severing Sea but finding no account of the civilization from 120,000 years ago.
• Wu Tao finished the remaining artifact refining books but found no information about the Ancient Restriction Token or World-Breaking Array.
• Meng Haoting told Wu Tao that Gao Xing wanted to know when he would study Tier 2 Advanced Artifact Refining Knowledge, and Wu Tao promised to visit the Magic Tool Secret Manual Building after his daily work.
• Wu Tao arrived at the Secret Manual Pavilion, where Zhou Chongwen gave him a token for No. 6 Comprehension Room.
• Wen Xingrui summoned Wu Tao to the third floor, and Wu Tao decided to ask him about artifact restrictions from 120,000 years ago.

Wu Tao spoke with Wen Xingrui about Ancient Restrictions and was promised access to the Artifact Refining Hall’s collection if he became a Tier 2 Advanced Artifact Refiner. He then studied Golden Core cultivation and learned how Foundation Establishment cultivators refined a Golden Core, leaving him with new knowledge about the requirements for advancement.

• Wen Xingrui advised Wu Tao to focus on Tier 2 Advanced Artifact Refining Knowledge and revealed that he knew Wu Tao’s cultivation level.
• Wu Tao asked Wen Xingrui about Ancient Restrictions, and Wen Xingrui explained their history and offered access to the surviving runes if Wu Tao advanced to Tier 2 Advanced Artifact Refiner.
• Wu Tao began studying the Tier 2 Advanced materials prepared by Zhou Chongwen and then went to the Library’s third floor to read about Golden Core cultivation.
• Wu Tao encountered Ji Lingxu in the Library and chose Basic Principles of Golden Core Cultivation from the Golden Core shelves.
• Wu Tao learned that cultivators at complete Ninth Level Foundation Establishment used water and fire spiritual treasures to refine a Golden Core and needed to comprehend and integrate a True Art.

Wu Tao learned from Ji Lingxu that cultivating a True Art before forming a Golden Core was not required, but could create a much stronger Natal True Art. He continued studying Golden Core texts and found the advanced cultivation notes beyond his current understanding.

• Wu Tao asked Ji Lingxu what a True Art was after reading that it was a prerequisite for Golden Core advancement.
• Ji Lingxu explained that ordinary cultivators could form a Golden Core without a True Art, while those who cultivated one at Ninth Level Foundation Establishment could integrate it into their core as a powerful Natal True Art.
• Wu Tao decided to aim for a Natal True Art and considered whether his dual cultivation of magic and body might let him reach Hundred-Mile Divine Sense earlier than usual.
• After Ji Lingxu left, Wu Tao read Essentials of Golden Core and returned to the Library over the following days while maintaining his artifact-refining and cultivation routine.
• Wu Tao found that Golden Core cultivation notes were far beyond his comprehension, so he stopped reading them and chose to spend that time cultivating spells instead.

Wu Tao completed the Tier 2 Warships and returned to refining Tier 2 Intermediate Immortal Boat Components as the sect deployed the warships to the Foundation Establishment battlefield. News of their victory brought Wu Tao recognition and exposed Qin Yi’s betrayal and punishment.

• Wu Tao finished refining the remaining Tier 2 Warship materials, and Gao Xing arranged for Ji Lingxu to escort him to Ethereal Void Cultivation City to collect the final batch of components.
• Wu Tao and Ji Lingxu traveled safely to Ethereal Void Cultivation City, where Wu Tao inspected the components before returning to the Ethereal Void Sect.
• Wu Tao completed four more Tier 2 Warships, bringing his total to five, and Gao Xing transferred them for deployment to the battlefield.
• The five warships caught the Celestial Yin Sect off guard, costing it four Ninth Level Foundation Establishment cultivators and earning Wu Tao commendation from the sect.
• The sect revealed that Qin Yi had colluded with the Nether Soul Sect and sent his remaining descendants into the Black Mine; others learned that Wu Tao had used a Tier 2 Warship to execute Qin Yi.