Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: A Big Shot’s Side Job

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun and his companions have spent three months clearing Mirage Qi from the Huiyuan Domain, but less than thirty percent has been removed because the total amount is enormous.
• The group’s strongest experts—two True Lords, Vast Sea Venerable, the Mirror Spirit, and the Yin Soul big shot—mainly protect Feng Jun and stabilize his soul while his lamp refines the Mirage Bodies’ essence.
• Feng Jun’s lamp has produced five million drops of Soul-Nourishing Liquid, nearly ninety percent of the group’s supply from the Voidmist Realm. Vast Sea Venerable, initially dissatisfied with his share, becomes content after receiving over a hundred thousand drops with little effort.
• After leaving Soul-Maze Ridge, Xuanyuan Buqi proposes a two-day rest because Feng Jun is becoming fatigued. Feng Jun worries that absorbing too much Mirage Qi could anger the Huiyuan Domain Consciousness and cause him to incur Domain Causality.
• Vast Sea Venerable offers to help shoulder the causality, while Qian Zhong performs a Deduction. She concludes that Feng Jun currently has no entanglement with the Huiyuan Domain.
• Inside Feng Jun’s Spirit-Beast Bag, the Yin Soul big shot pressures a strand of Kongmeng Domain Consciousness to contact the Huiyuan Domain Consciousness and determine whether Feng Jun’s actions will trigger consequences. Their exchange is argumentative but familiar and humorous.
• The group decides to rest near White Birch Town while Vast Sea Venerable visits a branch of the Profound Water Sect for information. Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan Buqi refuse to accompany him, wary of provoking another incident like the one in the Voidmist Realm.
• Before the rest is complete, Xuanyuan Buqi learns that the Myriad Illusions Sect is trying to seize the coordinates leading to the Asura. He prepares to return to the Small Realm to respond.
• Xuanyuan Buqi asks Feng Jun for Spirit Severing Soul-Nourishing Liquid, but Feng Jun refuses, explaining that it is extraordinarily rare, difficult to refine, and dangerous to reveal because it could attract powerful Integration Stage cultivators. Xuanyuan instead asks for a Spirit Severing Soul-Stabilizing Pill.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun remains cautious and practical. Although he is willing to work hard, he is increasingly concerned about the hidden consequences of absorbing so much Mirage Qi and about exposing his rare resources.
• Vast Sea Venerable shifts from dissatisfaction over his three-percent share to genuine contentment after receiving a substantial amount of Soul-Nourishing Liquid. He also shows initiative by trying to gather intelligence for the group.
• Xuanyuan Buqi demonstrates his sense of responsibility as the Xuanyuan Family’s only openly active True Lord. He is willing to return to defend his family despite his exhaustion and jokingly pressures Feng Jun for valuable resources.
• Qian Zhong displays confidence in her Deduction abilities and is offended when Feng Jun questions her conclusion. Her later remark about Feng Jun trusting Yi Jue more reveals a degree of personal competitiveness or insecurity.
• The Yin Soul big shot continues acting as a powerful but quarrelsome protector of Feng Jun. His concern about being outperformed by Qian Zhong’s Deduction exposes his pride, while his banter with the Kongmeng Domain Consciousness shows their longstanding familiarity.
• The Kongmeng Domain Consciousness remains immature and limited because it is only a strand of Divine Thought in a foreign Domain. It is intimidated by the Yin Soul big shot but is also comfortable enough to tease him.

Significant Themes

• Power and restraint: The group possesses overwhelming strength but must limit itself to avoid disturbing the Domain or violating greater rules.
• Causality and consequence: Feng Jun’s resource-gathering may have wider effects than simple cultivation gains, and the characters repeatedly weigh immediate benefits against Domain Causality.
• Scarcity of advanced resources: Spirit Severing-level medicines are portrayed as nearly priceless because of their difficulty, rarity, and ability to attract dangerous attention.
• Responsibility and burden: Xuanyuan Buqi’s position as the Xuanyuan Family’s lone active True Lord forces him to respond whenever major threats arise.
• Trust and rivalry: Feng Jun relies on Qian Zhong’s expertise but instinctively questions results he cannot understand. Qian Zhong’s comparison with Yi Jue suggests rivalry over Feng Jun’s trust.
• Humor amid danger: The sarcastic exchanges between the Yin Soul big shot and the Kongmeng Domain Consciousness lighten an otherwise serious discussion of causality, domain laws, and powerful enemies.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Vast Sea Venerable discuss whether the Huiyuan Domain Consciousness will react to the Mirage Qi being absorbed. Vast Sea offers to share the possible causality.
• Qian Zhong performs a Deduction for Feng Jun but becomes irritated when he doubts her result. She later pointedly remarks that Feng Jun would have believed Yi Jue instead.
• The Yin Soul big shot and the Kongmeng Domain Consciousness argue over the latter’s failure to contact the local Domain Consciousness. Their quarrel includes threats, teasing, and an eventual apology.
• Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong keep the others from repeating the Voidmist Realm incident, showing their protective concern for Feng Jun and their distrust of unnecessary risks.
• Xuanyuan Buqi appeals to Feng Jun’s resources and the Xuanyuan Family’s precarious situation, while Feng Jun refuses to provide the nearly unobtainable Spirit Severing Soul-Nourishing Liquid and warns him about the dangers of revealing it.

Chapter Summary: “Traveling Alone?”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Xuanyuan Buqi offers to guard the Xuanyuan Family in exchange for a Soul Emergence Soul-Nurturing Pill. Qian Zhong similarly volunteers to protect the Yao Family and requests the same kind of reward.
• The two True Lords argue over whose family has more Venerables with damaged Divine Souls. Their rivalry is longstanding, but their exchange also reveals that both families urgently need soul-nourishing treasures.
• Feng Jun explains that he has only one Soul Emergence Soul-Nurturing Pill, which he already gave to Fairy Yi Jue. Xuanyuan Buqi has instead exchanged for Nascent Soul Soul-Nourishing Liquid, and Qian Zhong appears to have obtained some as well.
• Feng Jun transports Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong near the Qiongan Block, close to an Asura coordinate but far enough away to avoid immediately clashing with the Myriad Illusions Sect.
• After Feng Jun leaves, the two realize with alarm that he has returned alone to the Huiyuan Realm. They worry that he may encounter danger while pursuing opportunities without their protection.
• Xuanyuan Buqi prepares to return to his family through an anchor point, asking Qian Zhong to guard the area. Qian Zhong initially wants to follow Feng Jun but ultimately remains behind, while Xuanyuan Buqi departs.
• Back in the Huiyuan Realm, Feng Jun enjoys the temporary quiet and follows the Yin Soul big shot’s directions to locate its hidden cache.
• Feng Jun travels to the cache’s location near Iron Mountain Market, crossing a remote area with Mirage Qi. The route is mostly safe, and the big shot’s Nascent Soul Peak pressure frightens away two Gold Core demonic beasts.
• The hidden cache is found, but it has been badly damaged. A battered underground vault rises from the earth, though its protective formations remain intact enough for Feng Jun to retrieve it.
• The Mirror Spirit mocks the ruined cache, provoking the Yin Soul big shot. Feng Jun then activates a Yin Soul Stone, causing space to distort and releasing an immense, ancient aura.

2. Character Developments

• Xuanyuan Buqi shows unusual vulnerability and urgency regarding his family’s damaged Divine Soul situation. Though normally proud and calculating, he becomes anxious about Feng Jun’s safety and secretly worries about losing access to valuable opportunities.
• Qian Zhong remains composed and sharp-tongued, especially when sparring verbally with Xuanyuan Buqi. Despite her claims that she may break her promise and leave, she ultimately stays to guard the Xuanyuan Family’s position, revealing her loyalty beneath her domineering attitude.
• Feng Jun continues to act as a crucial provider and mediator for the powerful families. He also demonstrates independence and confidence by returning alone to the Huiyuan Realm and undertaking the dangerous search for the hidden cache.
• The Yin Soul big shot gains confidence as its Divine Thought improves through the Soul-Nourishing Liquid and wood-element treasures. Its pride and sensitivity become apparent when the Mirror Spirit ridicules its damaged cache.
• The Mirror Spirit maintains its sarcastic, dismissive personality, especially toward the Yin Soul big shot, though its mockery also conceals insecurity about its own limited resources and abilities.

3. Significant Themes

• Reliance versus independence: The chapter questions whether Feng Jun should travel alone, as his allies fear that his growing opportunities also expose him to greater danger.
• Family responsibility: Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong seek resources not merely for personal advancement but to preserve their families’ strength and support damaged Venerables.
• Pride and rivalry: The Xuanyuan and Yao families’ competition is expressed through exaggerated claims and verbal sparring, yet their rivalry exists alongside mutual concern.
• Hidden power and decline: The ruined cache symbolizes the loss and deterioration of the Yin Soul big shot’s former glory, while the aura released from the Yin Soul Stone hints that its past power may still be formidable.
• Resource scarcity: Soul-nourishing treasures, hidden caches, and ancient artifacts are precious commodities that shape alliances, negotiations, and conflicts.

4. Character Interactions

• Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong engage in a hostile but familiar argument over Soul-Stabilizing Pills and their families’ Venerables. Their exchanges reveal a long history of rivalry and personal familiarity.
• Qian Zhong unintentionally wounds Xuanyuan Buqi by implying that the Yao Family does not need to compete for Feng Jun’s resources, though she later offers practical advice about using Soul-Nourishing Liquid.
• After Feng Jun departs, Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong briefly set aside their rivalry to discuss his safety. Their concern shows that both have come to value and depend on him.
• The Mirror Spirit and the Yin Soul big shot continue their antagonistic relationship, trading insults over the quality of the hidden cache. Feng Jun acts as the intermediary, trying to prevent their quarrel from escalating.
• The chapter ends with the discovery of the damaged cache and the awakening—or emergence—of an ancient power connected to the Yin Soul Stone.

Chapter Summary: Huiyuan Domain Consciousness

Key Plot Points and Events

• The senior Yin Soul releases an immense ancient aura in anger, rapidly dissolving and absorbing the surrounding Mirage Qi. The outburst extends over two hundred li in less than ten minutes but costs the senior tens of thousands—possibly over one hundred thousand—High-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Huiyuan Domain experiences a strange disturbance: a faint ripple, breeze, and sorrowful sobbing spread across the entire area. The effect resembles a vast illusion technique and briefly causes Feng Jun to feel overwhelming grief.
• The senior suppresses the phenomenon with its Divine Thought and summons the culprit. Huiyuan Domain Consciousness manifests as a blurred, indistinct shadow and denies responsibility for destroying the senior’s hidden trove.
• The senior threatens to erase Huiyuan Domain Consciousness within one year. Huiyuan explains that three thousand years earlier, the Void Cold Flame entered the Domain and burned through the hidden trove.
• Huiyuan admits that it used the trove as part of its efforts to resist the Void Cold Flame and preserve the Domain. It argues that the destruction was a necessary act of survival rather than theft, though the senior remains furious that its property was requisitioned without consent.
• The discussion reveals that Huiyuan suffered major damage and nearly faced dissipation while resisting the Void Cold Flame. It also claims that without using the hidden trove—and other protective measures—the treasure and perhaps the entire Domain would have been lost.
• Huiyuan notices Feng Jun’s Domain Favor and Domain Joy, as well as the presence of Kongmeng Domain Consciousness within the group. Kongmeng appears as a small white infant and becomes excited to meet another Domain Consciousness.
• Kongmeng initially defends Huiyuan, but Huiyuan points out that Kongmeng entered its Domain without permission. Kongmeng reflects on this criticism and realizes it would also view an unannounced intrusion into its own Domain as a threat.
• The senior scolds Kongmeng for siding with Huiyuan and reveals that it brought Kongmeng outside its home Domain to travel and experience unfamiliar places. Kongmeng explains that it wants to explore while still young, before possibly becoming muddled in the future.
• The chapter ends with Huiyuan attempting to justify the senior’s losses by arguing that the Domain’s changes produced abundant Mirage Qi, which aided the senior’s recovery.

Character Developments

• The senior Yin Soul: Reveals a fierce temper and willingness to expend enormous resources in pursuit of revenge, but also demonstrates restraint because it currently lacks the power to destroy Huiyuan. Its anger remains rooted in feeling wronged and dispossessed.
• Huiyuan Domain Consciousness: Presents itself as calm, rational, and burdened by the responsibility of preserving its Domain. It is willing to defend its actions firmly but also tries to negotiate by acknowledging the senior’s strength and offering to hear its demands.
• Kongmeng Domain Consciousness: Shows innocence, impulsiveness, and limited experience with relations between Domains. Through Huiyuan’s criticism, it begins learning empathy and the importance of respecting boundaries.
• Feng Jun: Remains largely an observer, but his sensitivity to the grief-inducing illusion highlights the scale of Huiyuan’s power and the unusual nature of the disturbance.
• Mirror Spirit: Acts as an informed observer, recognizing the cost of the senior’s aura and criticizing its reckless decision to take Kongmeng outside its Domain.

Significant Themes

• Responsibility versus personal rights: Huiyuan views the destruction of the hidden trove as a necessary sacrifice for the survival of the entire Domain, while the senior insists that its property cannot be taken merely because Huiyuan had a responsibility to fulfill.
• Sacrifice and survival: The Void Cold Flame forced Huiyuan to choose between preserving the Domain and protecting individual possessions. The chapter questions who should bear the cost of collective survival.
• Boundaries between powerful beings: Domain Consciousnesses follow implicit rules regarding intrusion and contact. Kongmeng’s unannounced arrival exposes the importance of permission and mutual respect.
• Perspective and empathy: Kongmeng learns to “put itself in another’s shoes,” recognizing that Huiyuan’s reaction to an uninvited consciousness is comparable to how Kongmeng itself would respond.
• Recovery through hardship: Though the calamity destroyed valuable resources, the resulting Mirage Qi also aided the senior’s recovery, suggesting that destruction and benefit can arise from the same event.

Important Character Interactions

• The senior confronts Huiyuan over the destroyed hidden trove, demanding accountability and threatening future retaliation.
• Huiyuan calmly explains its actions, while the senior repeatedly rejects attempts to frame the loss as justified or beneficial.
• Kongmeng supports Huiyuan out of sympathy, prompting the senior to accuse it of siding with outsiders.
• Huiyuan and Kongmeng discuss the etiquette of Domain Consciousnesses, leading Kongmeng to recognize its own lack of consideration.
• The Mirror Spirit challenges the senior’s decision to take Kongmeng traveling, while the senior dismisses the concern and Kongmeng confirms that the journey was voluntary.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Yin Soul “big shot” confronts Huiyuan Domain Consciousness about the loss of treasures from its hidden cache and demands compensation.
• The big shot first asks Huiyuan to gather all mirage entities so the group can absorb the Mirage Qi at once. Huiyuan refuses, explaining that directly interfering would disrupt the Domain’s natural development and incur punishment from Heaven’s Way.
• Huiyuan clarifies that the mirage entities are an abnormal, temporary consequence of the Void Cold Flame. Absorbing their Mirage Qi will not create serious Domain Causality because the Domain can naturally correct the imbalance.
• Huiyuan explains the distinctions between Domain Favor and the much rarer Domain Joy, revealing that Feng Jun possesses the recognition and favor of multiple Domains.
• With permission granted, the Mirror Spirit eagerly prepares to absorb all the Mirage Qi in order to restore its strength.
• The conversation turns toward the big shot’s destroyed hidden cache. Huiyuan admits that almost everything was lost, though two extremely valuable Soul Emergence Pills survived.
• The Mirror Spirit and the big shot argue over ownership of the pills and the value of lost treasures such as High-Grade and Ultimate Spirit Stones. The Mirror Spirit is shocked by their worth but pretends not to care.
• Huiyuan explains that it preserved the Soul Emergence Pills because they were nearly impossible to obtain after the Void Cold Flame disaster and carried significant causality.
• The chapter ends with the big shot demanding that Huiyuan lead them to the site where the Void Cold Flame appeared. If useful traces remain, the big shot may forgive Huiyuan for the losses.

Character Developments

• The Yin Soul big shot shows both his domineering personality and his attachment to his former treasures. Though he threatens Huiyuan, he is ultimately pragmatic and willing to negotiate. His anger reveals how seriously he values his hidden cache and lost Ultimate Spirit Stones.
• Huiyuan Domain Consciousness is established as cautious, respectful, and constrained by Heaven’s Way. It wants to avoid angering the big shot but prioritizes avoiding divine punishment. It also demonstrates unexpected consideration by preserving the two Soul Emergence Pills.
• The Mirror Spirit remains self-centered, blunt, and opportunistic. Since it personally benefits from absorbing the Mirage Qi, it readily dismisses the big shot’s losses and sides with Huiyuan. Its surprise at the pills’ price also reveals that its current weakened state contrasts sharply with its former wealth and power.
• Feng Jun gains important knowledge about Domain-related rules and is implicitly confirmed to possess extraordinary recognition across multiple Domains. He also interrupts the argument by emphasizing that he can afford the Soul Emergence Pills.
• The chubby white infant briefly defends Huiyuan, arguing that a Domain Consciousness cannot easily use treasures and that preserving the pills should count as compensation.

Significant Themes

• Power versus obligation: Huiyuan’s actions are limited by Heaven’s Way and Domain laws, showing that even powerful Domain Consciousnesses cannot act freely.
• Natural order and causality: The chapter explores how Domains distinguish between temporary anomalies and permanent changes, and why some interventions are acceptable while others violate the Domain’s development.
• Greed, loss, and value: The characters’ argument over pills, Wood Essence, and Ultimate Spirit Stones provides comic relief while emphasizing the immense value of cultivation resources.
• Negotiation and compromise: The big shot’s strategy of making an excessive demand before lowering it demonstrates calculated bargaining rather than blind intimidation.
• Past glory versus present weakness: The Mirror Spirit and the big shot both recall former wealth and power, but their current circumstances force them to argue over scarce resources.

Character Interactions

• The big shot and Huiyuan engage in a tense but ultimately cooperative negotiation, with mutual fear and respect beneath their threats.
• The big shot and Mirror Spirit bicker over the lost treasures and the division of the Soul Emergence Pills. Their disagreement highlights the contrast between the big shot’s possessiveness and the Mirror Spirit’s carefree opportunism.
• Huiyuan respectfully explains Domain laws to Feng Jun, who responds with gratitude and gains a better understanding of his unusual status.
• The Mirror Spirit treats Huiyuan generously because it benefits from the arrangement, while the big shot criticizes it for siding with an outsider.
• The chapter concludes with the group agreeing to absorb the Mirage Qi first and then investigate the Void Cold Flame’s former location.

Chapter Summary: “Longevity Spring”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun uses the Jade Stone Lamp to absorb all the Mirage Qi within a million-li radius. The process is unusually quick because much of the Qi had already been removed by the “big shot,” with assistance from the Huiyuan Domain Consciousness.
• The group investigates the location where the Void Cold Flame appeared two thousand years earlier. Although Feng Jun cannot trace the event, the big shot confirms that the flame had indeed existed there.
• The big shot, Huiyuan Domain Consciousness, Kongmeng Domain Consciousness, and the Mirror Spirit argue over the big shot’s origins. The Mirror Spirit agrees to stop revealing information that could expose the big shot’s weaknesses or background.
• Huiyuan Domain Consciousness directs them to the Longevity Spring, offering them ten thousand drops of its water in exchange for not damaging the spring’s source. The spring water can extend a mortal’s lifespan by one hundred years per drop.
• The group travels to a hidden cavern beneath a desert, where more than ten thousand Celestial Demons guard the spring. The big shot uses the Jade Stone Lamp to absorb all of them effortlessly.
• Feng Jun discovers that the spring’s source is an azure stone. The big shot claims it as its own property and orders Feng Jun to collect the water and remove the stone.
• Feng Jun successfully stores the spring water in a sealing gourd. Removing the stone nearly drains all his spiritual energy, forcing Huiyuan Domain Consciousness to supply additional power.
• The source rises from the ground as a massive, heart-shaped Heart of Life. Feng Jun stores it at the big shot’s command.
• Huiyuan Domain Consciousness accepts that the artifact truly belongs to the big shot after realizing Heaven’s Way gave no warning, though it regrets that the Domain’s inhabitants have lost access to the treasure.
• Vast Sea Venerable arrives after sensing the powerful Life Force. He asks about it, but the Mirror Spirit dismisses his question. Though initially surprised, Vast Sea accepts the rebuff and agrees to meet them later in White Birch Town.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates increasing competence and decisiveness. He supports the big shot during the dispute with the Mirror Spirit, collects the Longevity Spring water, performs the complex hand seals, and successfully retrieves the Heart of Life despite the danger.
• The big shot becomes more assertive about its past and possessions. It strongly defends its privacy, claims ownership of the Heart of Life, and reveals that it originally refined the artifact and prepared it to transform into its current form.
• The Mirror Spirit shows its blunt and irreverent personality but ultimately backs down after Feng Jun points out that revealing the big shot’s origins could make it vulnerable. It also remains protective of the group when Vast Sea arrives.
• Huiyuan Domain Consciousness continues to prioritize the long-term interests of the Huiyuan Domain and its inhabitants. It is reluctant to surrender the Longevity Spring and Heart of Life because doing so creates a lost opportunity for future native beings, but eventually acknowledges the big shot’s rightful claim.
• Vast Sea Venerable displays unusual restraint. Although curious about the treasure and powerful enough to challenge the group verbally, he accepts that the matter does not concern him and leaves without pressing further.

Significant Themes

• Ownership and hidden history: The dispute over the Heart of Life raises questions about who truly owns treasures that have been hidden, transformed, or altered over vast periods of time.
• Privacy and vulnerability: The big shot’s anger at the Mirror Spirit emphasizes that revealing someone’s origins can expose weaknesses and invite targeted attacks.
• Conflict between individual rights and collective benefit: Huiyuan Domain Consciousness believes the Heart of Life should remain available to future inhabitants of the Domain, while the big shot insists that personal ownership overrides the Domain’s potential benefit.
• The vastness of time: Huiyuan treats tens or hundreds of thousands of years as insignificant, highlighting the radically different perspectives of Domain Consciousnesses and ordinary cultivators.
• Power and restraint: The group easily defeats the Celestial Demons, while Vast Sea demonstrates that strength is also shown through knowing when not to interfere.
• Life and transformation: The Longevity Spring and Heart of Life symbolize vitality, longevity, and the mysterious process by which spiritual treasures evolve into more powerful forms.

Important Character Interactions

• The big shot and Mirror Spirit clash over the disclosure of the big shot’s origins, with Feng Jun siding with the big shot and persuading the Mirror Spirit to stop.
• The big shot repeatedly pressures Huiyuan Domain Consciousness, dismissing its objections and forcing it to recognize the big shot’s ownership of the Heart of Life.
• Huiyuan Domain Consciousness and the big shot debate whether the treasure should belong to the Domain’s future inhabitants or its original creator.
• Feng Jun cooperates closely with the big shot, carrying out the collection and removal of the treasure despite the spiritual strain.
• Vast Sea Venerable’s brief encounter with the group establishes his curiosity but also his willingness to respect boundaries once told that the treasure is not his concern.

Chapter Summary: The Surprise of Two Domains

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun returns to White Birch Town with Vast Sea Venerable after their work in Huiyuan Domain. Vast Sea briefly calculates the nature of Feng Jun’s unusually powerful Heart of Life, but stops to avoid appearing interested in it.
• Feng Jun reports that the two Great Lords have gone to the main plane and asks whether they should wait or continue absorbing Mirage Qi. Vast Sea decides they should wait.
• Vast Sea explains that the Profound Water Lower Branch learned Feng Jun was in Huiyuan and wanted to participate in eliminating the Mirage Bodies. He refused their request to prevent them from disturbing Feng Jun and jeopardizing the operation.
• The reason for the Lower Branch’s interest is traced to the violent incident at Iron Mountain Market. Feng Jun’s group’s ruthlessness attracted attention, causing others to investigate their identities and infer that Feng Jun had come to Huiyuan for the valuable Soul-Nourishing Liquid.
• Feng Jun asks Vast Sea to warn the Lower Realm that anyone who approaches him again will gain nothing and be placed on his blacklist.
• Vast Sea questions how Feng Jun discovered the hidden Celestial Demon gathering. Feng Jun explains that he and his companions consulted the Domain Consciousness through their understanding of Domain Causality.
• Curious about Feng Jun’s methods, Vast Sea asks about the God-Binding Technique. After consulting the mysterious “big shot,” Feng Jun agrees to demonstrate only a limited portion of it, warning Vast Sea not to pass it on.
• Feng Jun sets up the formation and performs half the hand seals without explanation. Vast Sea studies the technique intensely, while the two Domain Consciousnesses secretly observe and realize how dangerous the technique is.
• Huiyuan Domain Consciousness recognizes the technique as a genuine soul-binding art capable of affecting Domains. It recalls having once been bound by a True Lord and fears the consequences if such a technique becomes widely known.
• Vast Sea ultimately asks whether Feng Jun can bind the Domain Consciousness immediately. Feng Jun says he could, but sees no need because communication is possible. Vast Sea instead proposes asking the Domain Consciousness how much Mirage Qi can ultimately be eliminated.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates increased confidence and influence. He is willing to confront outside interference and establish firm boundaries, while still showing restraint by limiting his explanation of the God-Binding Technique.
• Vast Sea Venerable becomes more openly curious and conversational. Though normally reserved, he asks Feng Jun about the Heart of Life, the Celestial Demons, Domain Causality, and God Binding. His straightforward request reflects both his sincerity and his eagerness to improve his abilities.
• Huiyuan Domain Consciousness is shown to be experienced, cautious, and fearful of the God-Binding Technique because of its past suffering. It acts as the more mature and knowledgeable of the two Domain Consciousnesses.
• Kongmeng Domain Consciousness appears younger, more anxious, and more inquisitive. It worries that even low-level cultivators might one day gain the ability to control or summon Domain Consciousnesses.
• Feng Jun’s unseen big shot continues to guide him while allowing considerable freedom, permitting him to share a limited form of the technique so long as he discourages further transmission.

Significant Themes

• Power and restraint: Feng Jun possesses dangerous knowledge but deliberately limits what he teaches, emphasizing responsibility over unrestricted advancement.
• Fear of uncontrolled power: The Domain Consciousnesses recognize that God Binding could fundamentally threaten their autonomy, especially if it spreads to weaker cultivators.
• Different moral philosophies: The chapter contrasts civilizations that tolerate limited violence to preserve population and stability with Feng Jun’s group, whose brutal actions make them appear dangerous even when they are pursuing justified goals.
• Political and sectarian interests: Vast Sea prioritizes the Profound Water Sect’s interests while protecting Feng Jun from interference, illustrating the tension between personal alliances and institutional obligations.
• Communication versus domination: Although Feng Jun can bind a Domain Consciousness, he prefers negotiation and cooperation, while Vast Sea is more willing to consider direct control if it serves a practical purpose.
• The vulnerability of young Domains: The discussion reveals that newly formed Domains fear interference from powerful cultivators and may lack protection against soul-binding techniques.

Important Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Vast Sea Venerable: Their relationship becomes more cooperative and trusting. Vast Sea protects Feng Jun from the Profound Water Lower Branch, while Feng Jun shares valuable information and a partial technique demonstration.
• Feng Jun and the Domain Consciousnesses: Feng Jun unknowingly unsettles both Domains by discussing and demonstrating God Binding. His casual confidence contrasts sharply with their fear.
• Vast Sea and the Domain Consciousnesses: Vast Sea’s questions indirectly force the hidden consciousnesses to confront the threat posed by God Binding and their own vulnerability.
• Huiyuan and Kongmeng Domain Consciousnesses: Their dialogue contrasts experience with youth. Huiyuan offers historical perspective and caution, while Kongmeng reacts with alarm to the possibility of widespread Domain-binding.
• Feng Jun and the Lower Realm cultivators: Feng Jun establishes a hostile boundary, making clear that further unsolicited approaches will result in exclusion rather than reward.

Chapter Summary: Hanhai’s Challenge

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun and Vast Sea Venerable discuss whether all the Mirage Qi should be removed. Feng Jun argues that a small amount—perhaps half a percent—should remain so things are not pushed to an extreme. Vast Sea Venerable agrees, invoking the principle that Heaven leaves room for imperfection.
• Feng Jun proposes beginning the cleansing immediately, but the two Great Lords have not returned. Vast Sea Venerable initially remains, then abruptly leaves to test a technique or method he learned from Feng Jun in another Domain.
• Before leaving, Vast Sea Venerable brings Three-Origin True Immortal, a respected Nascent Soul Peak elder from the Profound Water Lower Branch, to guide and protect Feng Jun.
• Three-Origin True Immortal leads Feng Jun toward Mirage Qi concentrations, prioritizing areas near his own sect. Feng Jun accepts this practical bias and trusts that his Yin Soul can detect any deception.
• Feng Jun, the Mirror Spirit, and Three-Origin True Immortal begin clearing Mirage Qi. They can handle the task, but their defensive strength is much weaker without the two Great Lords and Vast Sea Venerable.
• During an encounter with a large group of Celestial Demons, Three-Origin True Immortal nearly has his body possessed. The Yin Soul takes control of the Jade Stone Lamp and increases its power, saving them.
• Over roughly fifteen days, Feng Jun and Three-Origin True Immortal clear two smaller Mirage Qi sources near the Profound Water Lower Branch. They leave two minor sources untouched so the sect’s disciples can use them for training.
• Vast Sea Venerable returns just as they are about to clear another source. Feng Jun senses that he has visited multiple Domains and suffered backlash from Domain Causality.
• Feng Jun identifies that Vast Sea Venerable carries causality from two Domains and advises him to recover with Soul-Nourishing Liquid. Vast Sea Venerable admits he punished those Domains because of their strained relationship with the Profound Water Sect, though he downplays the resulting injury.
• Three-Origin True Immortal urges Vast Sea Venerable not to neglect his recovery. At that moment, two Nascent Soul True Immortals arrive and recognize Feng Jun.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates increasing confidence and maturity. He is now powerful enough to notice subtle traces of Domain Causality and no longer feels intimidated by Nascent Soul Peak cultivators. However, he also reflects on whether his growing strength has made him arrogant.
• Vast Sea Venerable reveals a proud and aggressive side. He leaves to test Feng Jun’s method and visits two Domains connected to the Profound Water Sect, imposing punishment despite the resulting backlash. His concern for reputation causes him to conceal the seriousness of his condition.
• Three-Origin True Immortal is introduced as experienced, humble, and politically cautious. Though only at Nascent Soul Peak, he is respected for his seniority and knowledge. He sincerely attempts to protect Feng Jun, even nearly sacrificing himself during the battle with the Celestial Demons.
• The Yin Soul and Mirror Spirit continue to serve as essential support. The Mirror Spirit is reliable but lacks offensive power, while the Yin Soul shows greater autonomy and emergency judgment by controlling the Jade Stone Lamp.
• Feng Jun’s absence of the two Great Lords and Vast Sea Venerable exposes the limits of his current support team, forcing him to recognize that Mirage-cleansing operations are much more dangerous without top-tier protection.

Significant Themes

• Moderation and leaving room for change: Feng Jun’s insistence on retaining a small amount of Mirage Qi reflects the broader principle that absolute control and excess can create new problems.
• Power and changing perspective: Feng Jun realizes how dramatically he has grown. A level of cultivation that once seemed overwhelmingly impressive now appears ordinary to him, prompting him to question whether he has become conceited.
• Responsibility versus personal gain: The absent experts still expect to share the rewards, while Feng Jun and Three-Origin True Immortal do the dangerous work. This creates a subtle tension over fairness and contribution.
• Pride and hidden weakness: Vast Sea Venerable’s willingness to risk Domain Causality—and his reluctance to admit its effects—shows how pride can lead powerful figures to conceal vulnerability.
• Institutional self-interest: Three-Origin True Immortal naturally prioritizes the areas surrounding his own sect, while Vast Sea Venerable punishes Domains connected to the Profound Water Sect. Both actions reflect the tendency of individuals and organizations to protect their own interests.
• Cooperation across unequal positions: Despite differences in cultivation and status, Feng Jun and Three-Origin True Immortal work effectively together, relying on mutual respect and complementary abilities.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Vast Sea Venerable share a relationship based on mutual respect, strategic testing, and guarded frankness. Feng Jun challenges Vast Sea Venerable’s decisions, while Vast Sea Venerable recognizes Feng Jun’s growing insight.
• Feng Jun and Three-Origin True Immortal begin cautiously but develop a cooperative partnership. Feng Jun lets the elder guide their route, while Three-Origin True Immortal treats him as an honored guest and prioritizes his protection.
• Three-Origin True Immortal’s concern for Vast Sea Venerable contrasts with the latter’s dismissive attitude toward his own injuries.
• The arrival of the two Nascent Soul True Immortals at the end suggests that Feng Jun’s reputation has spread widely and sets up further interactions with the Profound Water Lower Branch.

Chapter Summary: “A Visitor from the Zither Dao”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Ji Family arrives in the Lower Realm, claiming they want to guide Feng Jun while he gathers Mirage Qi to refine Soul-Nourishing Liquid. Elder Sanyuan rejects their involvement, insisting that Feng Jun came with the Profound Water Sect.
• Feng Jun diplomatically but firmly confirms that he did not invite the Ji Family. He offers them only one possible future opportunity to cooperate, provided they demonstrate sufficient strength and sincerity.
• The Ji Family withdraws. Later, Soul Emergence Venerable Ji Shengtian attempts to arrange another meeting, but Feng Jun refuses to give a definite timetable, forcing the Ji Family to wait if they want his cooperation.
• Feng Jun and his allies spend nearly five months clearing most of the Mirage Qi from the Huiyuan Domain, leaving a small portion for local cultivators. Their efforts yield approximately twenty million drops of Gold Core Soul-Nourishing Liquid.
• Because the Profound Yellow and Primal Steel Two Sects still have not decided whether family cultivators may enter the Insectoid World in large numbers, Feng Jun stops selling the Soul-Nourishing Liquid.
• The “big shot” gives Feng Jun two Soul Emergence Pills and the Heart of Life, which can be transformed into a Longevity Spring. The Kongmeng Domain Consciousness also expresses interest in helping establish such a spring in the Voidmist Realm.
• Feng Jun decides to build the Longevity Spring at Libo Shoal rather than on Blue Star, since Libo Shoal has stronger spiritual energy and can better sustain the spring.
• News of the planned Longevity Spring spreads rapidly, attracting widespread interest. The chapter ends with an Earth Cultivation True Immortal from the Zither Dao visiting Feng Jun and asking about the spring’s primary material.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun becomes increasingly influential and selective. He handles the Ji Family with controlled politeness, offering limited cooperation without allowing them to pressure or exploit him.
• His growing reputation is emphasized by the fact that powerful figures, including True Lords and Soul Emergence Venerables, are willing to wait for his attention.
• Vast Sea Venerable and Elder Sanyuan display confidence in the Profound Water Sect’s position, dismissing the Ji Family’s attempt to intervene.
• Ji Shenghong recognizes that he cannot challenge a Venerable directly and retreats when Feng Jun refuses to fully support the Ji Family.
• Ji Shengtian is intrigued and somewhat irritated by Feng Jun’s dismissive attitude, but he also realizes that Feng Jun’s abilities must be far greater than commonly understood.
• The big shot demonstrates increasing generosity and trust toward Feng Jun, giving him valuable treasures because Feng Jun’s previous gifts have been more useful and compatible than the Heart of Life.
• Qu Jianlei serves as an example of how longevity treasures could transform a cultivator’s chances of advancing to Core Formation or Nascent Soul.

Significant Themes

• Power and negotiation: Feng Jun’s position allows him to set the terms of cooperation even when dealing with major families and high-level Venerables.
• Strategic generosity: Feng Jun helps others, but only when doing so benefits his broader plans. His promise to the Ji Family is deliberately limited to one opportunity.
• Longevity and cultivation: The Longevity Spring represents the enormous value of extending a cultivator’s effective lifespan and increasing the time available for breakthroughs.
• Resources and territorial interests: The Soul-Nourishing Liquid and Longevity Spring are not merely treasures; they affect the balance of power among Domains, sects, and families.
• Reputation and influence: Information about Feng Jun’s plans spreads quickly, demonstrating how his actions increasingly attract attention across multiple realms.
• Cooperation versus competition: Kunhao cultivators unite around the idea of establishing their own Longevity Spring, while outsiders and rival powers seek access to the same opportunity.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and the Ji Family engage in a restrained political exchange: he refuses their immediate involvement but leaves open a narrowly defined future partnership.
• Elder Sanyuan confronts Ji Shenghong, asserting the Profound Water Sect’s claim to Feng Jun’s cooperation and warning the Ji Family not to overstep.
• Ji Shengtian’s followers attempt to explain Feng Jun’s behavior, while Ji Shengtian concludes that Feng Jun’s exceptional abilities must account for the loyalty of Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong.
• Feng Jun consults the big shot about converting the Heart of Life into a Longevity Spring and considers the Kongmeng Domain Consciousness’s request to establish one elsewhere.
• The chapter concludes with Feng Jun meeting the proud Earth Cultivation True Immortal from the Zither Dao, whose question signals a new faction’s interest in the Longevity Spring.

Chapter Summary: Everyone Was a Schemer

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun refuses the Zither Dao’s request to reveal the main ingredient of his planned artificial Longevity Spring. Although the Zither Dao offers access to its exceptionally durable natural Longevity Spring, Feng Jun insists on building one he can personally control.
• The Zither Dao’s offer becomes increasingly generous: an equal volume of Geomagnetic Essence and one percent of the output from its Lower Realm’s Longevity Spring for the next ten thousand years. Feng Jun still refuses.
• The main ingredient is revealed to be the extremely rare Heart of Life, causing rumors to spread throughout the Heavenly Zither Main Plane. Numerous cultivators approach Feng Jun, hoping to buy even tiny portions of it.
• Feng Jun rejects all requests, knowing that the Heart of Life is too valuable and limited to distribute without jeopardizing his own plans.
• Angry that the Zither Dao Earth Cultivation True Immortal publicized his possession of the Heart of Life, Feng Jun places a bounty on her head: fifty drops of Nascent Soul Soul-Nourishing Liquid.
• The bounty shocks the surrounding cultivators because the target is affiliated with the prestigious Zither Dao. Xia Nichang and Vast Sea Venerable attempt to calm or mediate the situation, but Feng Jun maintains that this is a personal retaliation, not an attack on the Zither Dao.
• Family cultivators, especially Wei Sancai, react with interest rather than concern. Feng Jun offers a Soul Emergence Pill if a Wei Family disciple completes the bounty, prompting Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong to show immediate interest.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun becomes increasingly firm, suspicious, and defensive. He values autonomy over convenience and refuses even highly profitable offers because he fears losing control of the Heart of Life and the Longevity Spring. His willingness to retaliate shows that he will not tolerate others exposing his secrets.
• The Zither Dao Earth Cultivation True Immortal shifts from making a formal exchange proposal to aggressively publicizing the Heart of Life’s existence and offering a bounty for its acquisition. Her actions escalate a private disagreement into a widespread conflict.
• Xia Nichang initially urges Feng Jun to remain cautious because of the Zither Dao’s influence, but she ultimately understands and accepts his reasoning once she learns that the cultivator exposed his secret.
• Vast Sea Venerable acts as a potential mediator but withdraws after confirming the dispute’s cause. He also takes care to deny responsibility for spreading the rumor.
• Wei Sancai tries to exploit the situation while pretending to be concerned, testing whether Feng Jun’s bounty can benefit the Wei Family.
• Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong eagerly pursue the possibility of earning a Soul Emergence Pill, revealing their opportunistic and competitive sides.

Significant Themes

• Control versus convenience: Feng Jun rejects long-term access to a superior natural Longevity Spring because dependence on the Zither Dao would leave him vulnerable.
• Privacy and retaliation: The Heart of Life represents Feng Jun’s private advantage. Once the Zither Dao exposes it, Feng Jun considers retaliation justified.
• Political power and reputation: The Zither Dao’s prestige makes Feng Jun’s bounty dangerous, while the rumors demonstrate how quickly information becomes a weapon among cultivators.
• Scarcity and greed: The Heart of Life’s many uses create overwhelming demand, showing how rare resources generate opportunism and resentment.
• Mutual scheming: Almost every faction attempts to benefit from the conflict—through offers, rumors, mediation, or bounty hunting—supporting the chapter’s title.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and the Zither Dao cultivator clash over the Heart of Life, with Feng Jun repeatedly rejecting her increasingly valuable offers.
• The Zither Dao cultivator’s disclosure triggers pressure from cultivators across the region, forcing Feng Jun to refuse many desperate requests.
• Xia Nichang confronts Feng Jun about provoking the Zither Dao, but accepts his position after hearing that his secret was deliberately publicized.
• Vast Sea Venerable offers mediation but leaves once he understands that the dispute is personal.
• Wei Sancai probes Feng Jun about the bounty, leading Feng Jun to offer a Soul Emergence Pill to the Wei Family rather than ordinary Soul-Nourishing Liquid.
• Xuanyuan Buqi reminds Feng Jun of a previous promise, while Qian Zhong demands equal eligibility for the reward. Feng Jun denies her request, and Xuanyuan Buqi cleverly suggests that any Wei Family disciple could complete the task.

Chapter Summary: The One Who Should Be Killed

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun and Xuanyuan Buqi discuss exploiting the Wei Family’s connection to Feng Jun’s bounty. Since Feng Jun will only exchange Soul Emergence Pills for the heads of Wei Family descendants, Xuanyuan Buqi suggests pressuring the Wei Family into acting as intermediaries.
• Wei Sancai protests, arguing that the Wei Family needs the pills for itself and should not help outsiders obtain them. However, Ji Shengtian soon corners him and shamelessly asks whether Wei Sancai will exchange a bounty target’s head for a Soul Emergence Pill.
• News of Feng Jun’s bounty spreads throughout the Heavenly Zither Plane. Because the bounty comes through Libo Shoal, cultivators believe it is legitimate and rush to participate, knowing the Wei Family will likely be forced to cooperate.
• Numerous Advanced Stage cultivators gather near the Zither Dao, hoping to claim the reward. The Zither Dao becomes enraged that one of its disciples has been targeted.
• After investigating, the Zither Dao discovers that the targeted Earth Cultivation woman merely leaked information about Libo Shoal’s unusual treasure, the Heart of Life. Although her actions were improper, the Zither Dao believes Feng Jun’s Soul Emergence Pill bounty is excessive and insulting.
• To protect her, the Zither Dao orders the woman to remain inside its Mountain Gate and seeks influential figures to mediate with Feng Jun.
• Moon Vine Elder of the Spirit Plant Dao approaches Feng Jun on the Zither Dao’s behalf. She suggests that he withdraw the bounty or accept fifty drops of Nascent Soul Soul-Nourishing Liquid instead.
• Feng Jun refuses. He insists that the woman must be punished because allowing the matter to go unanswered would establish a dangerous precedent: others might imitate her and expose Libo Shoal’s secrets without fear.
• One month later, despite the Zither Dao’s protection, the woman is killed and her head is taken from inside the Zither Dao’s Secondary Mountain Gate.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates both strategic calculation and firm resolve. He recognizes the political pressure his bounty creates but refuses to compromise, believing that protecting Libo Shoal’s interests requires making an unmistakable example of the offender.
• Xuanyuan Buqi shows his opportunistic and coercive side by seeking to use the Wei Family’s restricted access to the bounty for his own benefit.
• Wei Sancai becomes increasingly frustrated as powerful figures attempt to force the Wei Family into acting as an intermediary. Although he resists, he understands that openly opposing the Ji Family or other major powers would be dangerous.
• Ji Shengtian reveals his willingness to act shamelessly when necessary. He openly admits that he cannot provoke Feng Jun directly and therefore chooses to pressure Wei Sancai instead.
• Moon Vine Elder acts as a diplomatic mediator despite understanding that Feng Jun is unlikely to change his mind. Her conversation with him shows her political awareness and her commitment to protecting the Spirit Plant Dao’s interests.
• The Zither Dao is portrayed as proud and self-righteous. Though it claims to follow the “art of gentlemen,” it ultimately protects its own disciple and searches for moral and political justifications to excuse her conduct.

Significant Themes

• Promises and political maneuvering: Cultivators value promises, but they also reinterpret and exploit them whenever advantageous. The Soul Emergence Pill bounty becomes a tool for pressuring the Wei Family and challenging the Zither Dao.
• Power and deterrence: Feng Jun’s harsh reward is intended not merely as revenge but as a warning. He believes leniency would encourage future violations.
• Pride versus reality: The Zither Dao considers itself above ordinary conflicts, yet its reaction reveals that it is still deeply concerned with prestige, influence, and protecting its own.
• The limits of freedom: Moon Vine Elder recognizes that Feng Jun cannot simply “be reasonable.” Because Libo Shoal contains valuable secrets and interests, retreating would expose him to further exploitation.
• Moral justifications for self-interest: Both sides frame their actions as principled. The Zither Dao invokes propriety and justice, while Feng Jun invokes the need to prevent a dangerous precedent.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Xuanyuan Buqi casually conspire around the Wei Family’s predicament, with Feng Jun subtly encouraging pressure without openly endorsing it.
• Wei Sancai clashes with both Xuanyuan Buqi and Ji Shengtian, attempting to protect the Wei Family’s interests while avoiding confrontation with stronger powers.
• Ji Shengtian uses humor and shameless honesty to pressure Wei Sancai, admitting that he lacks the strength to challenge Feng Jun directly.
• The Zither Dao relies on its connections rather than confronting Feng Jun itself, sending Moon Vine Elder as an intermediary.
• Feng Jun and Moon Vine Elder have a frank, respectful disagreement. She criticizes the severity of the bounty, while he explains that deterrence and survival prevent him from withdrawing it.
• The final killing confirms that Feng Jun’s threat was genuine and that even the Zither Dao could not permanently protect the targeted woman.

Summary: “Demanding Accountability”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A direct disciple of the Zither Dao is murdered at the Secondary Mountain Gate, where both Zither Dao disciples and unaffiliated enthusiasts gather. The death is especially difficult to investigate because searching the community of zither enthusiasts would damage the Zither Dao’s reputation and alienate its supporters.
• The Zither Dao and its wider “fan circle” blame each other. Zither Dao disciples suspect an outsider or enthusiast committed the murder, while the enthusiasts argue that an internal traitor cannot be ruled out.
• The factions agree to trace Feng Jun’s bounty on an Earth Cultivation woman, assuming that the person who claimed the bounty may reveal the murderer. Some even suggest capturing Feng Jun and seizing his opportunities as compensation.
• The Zither Dao ultimately decides against directly confronting Feng Jun because he has powerful allies, major importance in the war against the Insectoid World, protection from True Lords, and the backing of the Kunhao Domain.
• Venerable Wenzhuo approaches Wei Sancai, believing the Wei Family acted as an intermediary in exchanging Feng Jun’s Soul Emergence Pill. Wei Sancai denies that anyone obtained the pill through the Wei Family and refuses to swear to his claim.
• Wenzhuo and Wei Sancai exchange threats. Wenzhuo warns that Zither Dao juniors may target Wei Family members, while Wei Sancai threatens to protect the younger generation and ridicules the Zither Dao for avoiding Feng Jun.
• A Chess Dao Venerable attempts a Heavenly Secrets Deduction at the Secondary Mountain Gate but finds all clues completely obscured, likely by a True Lord. This makes the investigation even more difficult.
• Wenzhuo asks Vast Sea Venerable of the Profound Water Sect to accompany him to the Lower Realm and question Feng Jun. Vast Sea agrees but makes clear that Libo Shoal is a partner of the Profound Water Sect and that he will not support excessive action against it.
• The two Venerables arrive at Libo Shoal and meet Feng Jun. Feng Jun remains formally respectful but makes clear that he responds to others according to how they treat him.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun is portrayed as increasingly influential and difficult to threaten. Despite being the target of the Zither Dao’s suspicion, he is protected by powerful relationships and remains calm, controlled, and confident. His statement that he returns the treatment he receives reflects his willingness to retaliate against those who attack him.
• Venerable Wenzhuo represents the Zither Dao’s desire for accountability but is constrained by the political danger of confronting Feng Jun. He appears aggressive toward weaker or more accessible targets, yet becomes cautious when dealing with Feng Jun’s allies.
• Wei Sancai displays strong confidence and defiance. He refuses to submit to Wenzhuo’s demands, mocks the Zither Dao’s authority, and openly places the Wei Family beneath Feng Jun rather than risk a confrontation it cannot win.
• Vast Sea Venerable acts as a moderating force. Though he respects the Zither Dao, he prioritizes the Profound Water Sect’s relationship with Libo Shoal and warns Wenzhuo against abusing the visit.
• The Zither Dao is shown to be powerful but politically vulnerable. Its prestige prevents it from investigating too openly, while its inability to act decisively risks making it appear weak.

Significant Themes

• Accountability versus political power: The Zither Dao wants justice for its murdered disciple but cannot pursue it freely because of Feng Jun’s connections and importance.
• Reputation and public perception: The investigation is shaped as much by fear of alienating enthusiasts and becoming a laughingstock as by the need to find the murderer.
• Interests beneath moral claims: Although the Zither Dao speaks of justice, some members also hope to seize Feng Jun’s resources and opportunities.
• Limits of authority: Even a major power cannot simply impose its will on every opponent, especially when confronting figures protected by equally powerful alliances.
• Personal grievance and cultivation principles: Feng Jun’s bounty is framed as an openly declared response to hostility. Within the cultivation world’s belief in “unimpeded thoughts,” retaliation for obstructing one’s path is considered understandable, even when it causes political embarrassment.
• The danger of indirect action: The Zither Dao suspects the Wei Family because it may have served as an intermediary, illustrating how hidden networks and unclear responsibility complicate justice.

Character Interactions

• Wenzhuo and Wei Sancai engage in a hostile exchange of demands and threats. Neither accepts the other’s authority, and both warn that escalation will have consequences.
• Wei Sancai and Feng Jun are indirectly compared when Wei tells Wenzhuo to ask Feng Jun instead, effectively admitting that Feng Jun is more formidable and more central to the matter than the Wei Family.
• Wenzhuo and Vast Sea Venerable cooperate uneasily. Vast Sea agrees to accompany him but establishes firm limits to protect the Profound Water Sect’s partner, Libo Shoal.
• Wenzhuo and Feng Jun meet with clear tension. Wenzhuo criticizes Feng Jun’s attitude toward the Zither Dao, while Feng Jun responds with restrained courtesy and a veiled warning that his conduct depends on how the Zither Dao treated him.

Chapter Summary: “This Is a Soul Emergence Pill”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wen Zhuo Venerable confronts Feng Jun over the bounty placed on a Zither Dao disciple. He accuses Feng Jun of arrogance and of interfering in the Zither Dao’s affairs.
• Feng Jun calmly argues that cultivators who make mistakes must pay a price, regardless of their sect affiliation. He also blames the Zither Dao disciple for exposing his private matters and placing a bounty on his “Heart of Life.”
• Wen Zhuo reveals that the targeted disciple has died and questions whether anyone claimed the bounty. Feng Jun confirms that no one has, refusing to provide proof of his statement.
• Wen Zhuo threatens to take Feng Jun back to the Zither Dao for interrogation. Feng Jun responds defiantly, warning him that bullying a weaker cultivator will carry consequences.
• Vast Sea Venerable intervenes and asks Feng Jun to prove the bounty is genuine. Feng Jun produces a Soul Emergence Pill, the promised reward.
• Wen Zhuo attempts to inspect the pill personally, but Vast Sea stops him, pointing out that the pill’s authenticity can be verified through Deduction without risking deception or tampering.
• Wen Zhuo confirms that the pill is genuine but remains suspicious that Feng Jun possesses more than one. Feng Jun mocks the implication, comparing it to claiming he had offered fifty drops of Nascent Soul Soul-Nourishing Liquid.
• Wen Zhuo admits that the matter cannot easily be resolved through Deduction because the heavenly secrets have been obscured and the issue is considered too minor to justify seeking out a powerful deducer.
• Before leaving, Wen Zhuo warns Feng Jun that the matter is not over. Feng Jun boldly challenges him to a life-and-death duel, offering to settle everything through combat.
• Wen Zhuo refuses to bully a weaker cultivator and leaves, though he clearly suspects Feng Jun’s involvement in the disciple’s death.
• Vast Sea explains that Wen Zhuo forced him to act as a witness and then departs, privately wondering whether the bounty truly remains unclaimed.
• Wei Sancai arrives afterward, complaining that the bounty has brought unwanted attention and suspicion to the Wei Family. He formally denies that the family killed the disciple or intends to claim the pill.
• Feng Jun remarks that the reward may now need to be exchanged for Nascent Soul Soul-Nourishing Liquid instead. Other observing cultivators immediately become interested, realizing that the Soul Emergence Pill still has no confirmed claimant.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun: Demonstrates extreme composure, confidence, and verbal sharpness even when confronted by a Soul Emergence Venerable. He refuses to be intimidated, openly admits his hostility toward the deceased disciple, and hints that he possesses powerful backing or protective treasures.
• Wen Zhuo Venerable: Begins in anger and indignation but becomes increasingly frustrated by Feng Jun’s calm defiance. Although tempted to seize the pill or force Feng Jun into submission, he restrains himself because of Feng Jun’s mysterious resources and connections.
• Vast Sea Venerable: Acts as a mediator and witness. He prevents the confrontation from escalating and favors practical verification through Deduction rather than physical inspection or coercion.
• Wei Sancai: Reveals the pressure created by the bounty, emphasizing how valuable and dangerous the Soul Emergence Pill has become. He distances the Wei Family from the killing and from any attempt to claim the reward.

Significant Themes

• Power versus legitimacy: Feng Jun challenges the assumption that a major sect has the automatic right to punish outsiders or protect its members from consequences.
• Composure as strength: Feng Jun’s calmness functions as a form of power, making even a Venerable hesitate to act against him.
• Sect privilege and accountability: The Zither Dao insists on handling its own disciples, while Feng Jun argues that sect affiliation should not excuse wrongdoing.
• Suspicion and hidden motives: No one knows whether the bounty has truly gone unclaimed, and Feng Jun’s possession of the pill raises questions about the identity of the killer and his true intentions.
• The danger of valuable resources: The Soul Emergence Pill attracts suspicion, opportunists, and political pressure, becoming both evidence and a source of conflict.
• Information and reputation: The original dispute stems from the disciple exposing Feng Jun’s private matters, showing how damaging secrets and public rumors can be in the cultivation world.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Wen Zhuo: Their exchange is a tense battle of words. Wen Zhuo relies on sect authority and intimidation, while Feng Jun counters with sarcasm, refusal to submit, and an audacious challenge.
• Feng Jun and Vast Sea: Their interaction is comparatively cooperative. Vast Sea asks Feng Jun to provide evidence, and Feng Jun complies, apparently trusting him as an impartial intermediary.
• Vast Sea and Wen Zhuo: Vast Sea restrains Wen Zhuo from escalating the situation, reminding him to verify the pill rather than risk creating further complications.
• Feng Jun and Wei Sancai: Their conversation is lighter but still edged with accusation. Wei complains about the consequences of the bounty, while Feng Jun humorously turns the complaint back on him and suggests an alternative reward.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• The cultivators of Heavenly Zither become eager to obtain Feng Jun’s ownerless Soul Emergence Pill after a Zither Dao Earth Cultivation cultivator is killed.
• Qian Zhong reveals that she secretly infiltrated the Zither Dao’s Secondary Mountain Gate and assassinated the target herself. She had originally planned to wait decades for the right opportunity but acted immediately when the target appeared.
• Feng Jun agrees to reward Qian Zhong with the Soul Emergence Pill, though he delays payment to prevent others from tracing the karmic connection between them.
• The Zither Dao investigates the assassination and eventually comes to Libo Shoal, but Feng Jun’s precautions prevent them from discovering any connection to Qian Zhong.
• Once Feng Jun publicly displays the Soul Emergence Pill, powerful families begin competing for it. Xuanyuan Buqi offers five Ultimate Spirit Stones, while Ji Shengtian offers seven.
• Feng Jun refuses to lower his price despite bargaining attempts, maintaining Libo Shoal’s reputation and treating the pill as a rare, premium resource.
• Feng Jun visits Zhige Mountain and observes dramatic industrial development in the Mortal World, including increased iron and power production, oil discovery, and the launch of several factories based on Blue Star technology.
• He improves Life Potion production efficiency by supplying Energy Stones, then returns to Libo Shoal.
• Huasheng the True Immortal begs Feng Jun to provide Soul-Nourishing Liquid for the Insectoid World, but Feng Jun refuses because the necessary political conditions for family cultivators entering the region have not been met.
• Feng Jun travels to the Insectoid World, gathers Energy Stones, checks on new equipment at the Border Star, and extends the lives of three wealthy individuals. Their desperation has led to the preparation of three Life Potion production lines for transport.

2. Character Developments

• Qian Zhong demonstrates exceptional patience, stealth, and decisiveness. Her ability to infiltrate the Zither Dao unnoticed establishes her as a highly capable assassin. She also shows growing trust and familiarity with Feng Jun, accepting delayed payment because of their relationship.
• Feng Jun becomes increasingly cautious and strategic. He protects Qian Zhong’s identity, anticipates karmic investigations, and refuses to let pressure from powerful cultivators dictate his prices or policies. His confidence and commercial influence continue to grow.
• Xuanyuan Buqi remains eager to obtain additional Soul Emergence Pills because the Xuanyuan Family lacks high-level Venerables, but he avoids bidding too early.
• Ji Shengtian shows the Ji Family’s greater financial strength by offering seven Ultimate Spirit Stones, though the family’s need for more Venerables is less urgent.
• Huasheng becomes visibly anxious and submissive when Feng Jun refuses to supply Soul-Nourishing Liquid, revealing how dependent the Insectoid World has become on Feng Jun’s resources.
• The wealthy clients at the Border Star grow more serious and organized after witnessing that one individual died before Feng Jun could extend his life.

3. Significant Themes

• Value and scarcity: The Soul Emergence Pill becomes a symbol of immense power and economic value, attracting bids from major families and exposing the desperation of those seeking advancement.
• Trust and reciprocity: Feng Jun’s relationship with Qian Zhong is based on mutual reliability rather than rigid transactions. He is willing to honor his promise even if the original pill is lost.
• Caution and concealment: Feng Jun and Qian Zhong both rely on secrecy, misdirection, and careful planning to avoid retaliation or karmic deduction.
• Power and leverage: Feng Jun’s resources—Soul Emergence Pills, Soul-Nourishing Liquid, Life Potions, and technological knowledge—give him leverage over sects, families, and entire worlds.
• Industrial transformation: The Mortal World is rapidly entering an industrial age through Feng Jun’s technological influence, with factories, electricity, fuel production, and modern medicine reshaping society.
• Political constraints: Huasheng’s inability to guarantee cooperation from other sects shows that even powerful organizations are limited by internal disagreement and competing interests.

4. Character Interactions

• Qian Zhong and Feng Jun: Qian Zhong privately asks whether she must fulfill the original arrangement through the Wei Family after killing the target herself. Feng Jun responds generously, delaying but guaranteeing her reward. Their exchange reflects mutual respect, friendship, and shared caution.
• Qian Zhong and Feng Jun regarding the pill: Qian Zhong worries that displaying the Soul Emergence Pill may prevent her from receiving it. Feng Jun reassures her that he will honor his promise regardless, while jokingly warning her not to steal the pill.
• Feng Jun and the major families: Xuanyuan Buqi and Ji Shengtian compete indirectly through offers for the pill, while Feng Jun maintains control by refusing to negotiate downward.
• Feng Jun and Huasheng: Huasheng pleads for Soul-Nourishing Liquid, but Feng Jun angrily rejects the request because the Insectoid World has failed to meet his conditions. Their interaction emphasizes Feng Jun’s unwillingness to compromise.
• Feng Jun and the Mortal World’s factory owners: The new industrial entrepreneurs approach Feng Jun for more Life Potions, showing their growing confidence and dependence on his approval and supplies.
• Feng Jun and the Human Federation’s wealthy elites: By extending the lives of three clients, Feng Jun reinforces his value while the elites prepare Life Potion production lines in anticipation of future dealings.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun returns to the Human Federation after more than nine months and learns that three Life Potion Production Lines have been prepared for him. A fourth could not be assembled because its original owner died and the necessary materials remain difficult to obtain.
• Xuan Gao explains that the Federation has stockpiled relevant materials and suggests that wealthy individuals seeking treatment could compensate Feng Jun with additional production lines. Feng Jun agrees to prioritize patients who can provide useful equipment.
• Five Evergreen Elixir Production Lines are also available, but the Commercial Alliance warns that it will oppose any attempt by Feng Jun’s civilization to sell Evergreen Elixir within Federation territory.
• Feng Jun dismisses the warning as overly aggressive but confirms that he has no intention of violating the existing agreement or competing in the Federation.
• A Nanorobots production line is offered as well. Because its raw materials are difficult to produce and have a limited shelf life, Feng Jun instructs them to prepare as many as possible and accepts responsibility for expired supplies.
• The Federation asks Feng Jun to help identify Insectoid believers, but he refuses, believing the compensation would not advance the interests of the people under his rule.
• Xuan Gao then asks whether Feng Jun can sell the technology behind his highly precise meteor strikes. The conversation reveals a major difference between the two civilizations’ understanding of Artificial Intelligence.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun remains pragmatic and profit-conscious, focusing on acquiring production lines and securing benefits for his civilization rather than pursuing every available deal.
• He displays confidence in his own power, dismissing the Commercial Alliance’s threat, though he is willing to avoid unnecessary conflict by honoring agreements.
• Feng Jun’s attitude toward Artificial Intelligence is notably relaxed: he considers independent machine personalities useful and does not believe they would naturally rebel against humanity.
• Xuan Gao continues acting as an intermediary and negotiator, skillfully connecting Feng Jun with wealthy patients and technology suppliers. He is also cautious about the Mysterious Civilization’s growing strength and privately worries about its access to industrial resources.
• Xuan Gao strongly believes in the danger of self-aware Artificial Intelligence, based on his grandfather’s experience with a Robot Uprising. However, Feng Jun’s questioning forces him to recognize that some of his assumptions may be based more on inherited fear than logical examination.

Significant Themes

• Resource scarcity and industrial limitations: Even advanced civilizations remain constrained by production capacity, raw materials, and supply bottlenecks.
• Power, profit, and territorial control: The Commercial Alliance’s reaction shows how strongly economic interests shape political behavior and can lead to threats even between otherwise cooperative parties.
• Pragmatism versus ideology: Feng Jun evaluates arrangements according to practical benefit, while others rely on established fears, traditions, or strategic assumptions.
• Different civilizational development paths: The chapter emphasizes that civilizations may confront completely different technological and social problems.
• Artificial Intelligence and consciousness: The central discussion questions whether intelligence, personality, and independent judgment inevitably lead to rebellion or domination.
• Fear of the unknown: Xuan Gao’s civilization treats conscious AI as inherently dangerous, whereas Feng Jun’s civilization regards personality-equipped AI as a useful tool.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Xuan Gao negotiate over production lines, treatment arrangements, and compensation, with Xuan Gao repeatedly trying to turn Feng Jun’s medical capabilities into commercial opportunities.
• Their exchange about the Commercial Alliance reveals their differing interpretations of threats: Feng Jun sees the warning as provocative, while Xuan Gao views it as a conventional declaration of resolve.
• Their discussion of meteor-strike technology leads to confusion over algorithms and Artificial Intelligence. Feng Jun assumes advanced AI should be welcomed, while Xuan Gao fears that conscious machines would enslave or overthrow humanity.
• Feng Jun challenges Xuan Gao’s belief that superior intelligence automatically produces rebellion. Xuan Gao defends his position through historical experience, but he struggles to explain why rebellion should be inevitable beyond the assumption that smarter beings would seek control.

Chapter Summary: Personality and Soul

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun and Xuan Gao discuss the difference between an artificial intelligence with an independent personality and one with a complete personality. Feng Jun explains that a complete personality is essentially equivalent to that of an ordinary human.
• Xuan Gao is shocked to learn that Feng Jun’s civilization can control such intelligences, even claiming that beings with complete personalities are easier to control than uncontrolled artificial intelligence.
• Feng Jun reveals that this control is connected to the soul, but refuses to disclose the specific methods or principles behind it.
• The discussion leads Xuan Gao to mention the Human Federation’s forbidden research into transferring human souls into artificial intelligence or objects to achieve immortality. Feng Jun confirms that the concept is theoretically possible but extremely dangerous without the ability to control souls.
• Feng Jun cites the Insect God Sect as proof that souls can indeed be controlled, since some followers have had their thoughts or souls manipulated by insects.
• Xuan Gao accepts Feng Jun’s refusal to explain further and thanks him for the information. The Human Federation later sends an envoy to question Xuan Gao again about everything he learned.
• For a month, Feng Jun remains in his territory, treating injuries and extending lifespans in exchange for valuable resources. Many wealthy and influential people seek him out, but most fail to gather his requested payment in time.
• Feng Jun eventually disappears, leaving one wealthy client angry after failing to secure treatment. A Federation envoy arrives too late and mocks the man, but gains no useful information.
• Seeking a quieter place, Feng Jun travels with two True Lords to the Riverwatch Secondary Plane, where the Thief Lineage is believed to maintain an important stronghold.
• Feng Jun does not intend to attack the Thief Lineage immediately. He merely wants to confirm their presence and potentially expose them so other enemies can deal with them.
• Xuanyuan Buqi, however, enthusiastically proposes wiping out the Thief Lineage because they once stole from the Xuanyuan Family, amusingly exaggerating Feng Jun’s more limited objective.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun remains cautious and guarded, especially regarding the secrets of his civilization. He is willing to offer hints but firmly maintains information barriers around soul control and cultivation-related knowledge.
• He also demonstrates confidence and detachment, dismissing the Federation’s shortcomings while refusing to underestimate the danger of uncontrolled soul-related experiments.
• Xuan Gao becomes increasingly fascinated by the differences between the two civilizations. Although disappointed by Feng Jun’s evasiveness, he shows tact and restraint, accepting the limits of their conversation.
• The Human Federation is revealed to possess advanced theoretical ideas about artificial intelligence and soul transfer but lacks the practical means to control or implement them safely.
• Xuanyuan Buqi displays his aggressive and vengeful personality, eagerly seeking a chance to retaliate against the Thief Lineage even when Feng Jun’s intentions are more restrained.

Significant Themes

• The relationship between artificial intelligence and the soul: The chapter questions whether a true personality can emerge without a soul and suggests that artificial intelligence, human consciousness, and spiritual existence may overlap.
• Knowledge as power: Feng Jun repeatedly withholds crucial information, emphasizing the importance of protecting civilization-level secrets.
• The dangers of immortality research: The Federation’s forbidden experiments reveal how the pursuit of eternal life can lead to horrifying ethical violations.
• Civilizational differences: The Federation approaches consciousness through technology and brainwave theory, while Feng Jun’s civilization understands and manipulates the soul directly.
• Caution versus ambition: Feng Jun advocates restraint and controlled action, while Federation researchers and Xuanyuan Buqi represent more reckless attempts to achieve power, immortality, or revenge.

Character Interactions

• Feng Jun and Xuan Gao engage in a cautious but intellectually intense exchange. Xuan Gao asks increasingly probing questions, while Feng Jun answers selectively, maintaining control of the conversation.
• Their dialogue establishes mutual respect: Xuan Gao recognizes Feng Jun’s superior knowledge, while Feng Jun acknowledges that the Federation has capable thinkers despite its limitations.
• The wealthy client’s confrontation with the Federation envoy highlights the tension between private power holders and Federation authority.
• The chapter ends with a contrast between Feng Jun’s practical investigation of the Thief Lineage and Xuanyuan Buqi’s eagerness to launch a full-scale vendetta.

Chapter Summary: Riverwatch

Key Plot Points and Events

• Feng Jun travels to the Wangchuan Plane with Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan Buqi to verify information about the Thief Lineage. He has no intention of confronting the lineage directly, preferring a quiet investigation that will not damage his reputation.
• The group discusses Wangchuan’s unusually violent atmosphere. Xuanyuan Buqi believes it reflects the Thief Lineage’s influence, while Qian Zhong argues that the plane’s culture and training practices may be responsible.
• Xuanyuan proposes using Feng Jun as bait to provoke an attack and then capture the assailants for interrogation. Qian Zhong rejects the idea, warning that a conspicuous attack could expose their identities and origins, as happened in the Huiyuan Domain.
• Feng Jun and Qian Zhong disguise themselves as low-level Gold Core cultivators and investigate discreetly. Xuanyuan Buqi conceals himself nearby, agreeing to intervene only if necessary.
• During five days of travel, they observe that Wangchuan’s towns are regulated by sects, families, and Life-and-Death Platforms, but spontaneous violence remains extremely common. Locals frequently fight over minor insults, and many outsiders come to the plane specifically to temper their fighting spirit.
• On the sixth day, Feng Jun and Qian Zhong encounter several ongoing street and wilderness battles. They are repeatedly forced to change direction to avoid being dragged into the conflicts.
• Outside a town, a group of cultivators—including Nascent Soul and Gold Core experts—stops them and demands a toll for crossing their “territory.” Feng Jun initially offers Spirit Stones and attempts to negotiate, but the group demands half of their possessions and threatens them.
• Qian Zhong detects two additional hidden cultivators and realizes the group is more dangerous than it first appeared. She launches a powerful Divine Sense attack, instantly incapacitating the concealed Nascent Soul and Gold Core cultivators.
• Xuanyuan Buqi then reveals himself, immobilizes the remaining robbers, and prepares to punish them after they foolishly provoke the group. One attacker begins to identify himself as being from the Xu—likely the Xuanyuan Family—before the scene ends.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun remains cautious and politically aware. He avoids unnecessary violence, adapts his behavior to Wangchuan’s aggressive culture, and tries to resolve the toll dispute without exposing his true strength.
• Qian Zhong demonstrates strong strategic judgment and mastery of concealment and Divine Sense. She consistently advocates a quiet investigation and ultimately acts decisively when the robbers reveal hidden reinforcements.
• Xuanyuan Buqi is shown to be far more eager for direct confrontation. He wants to retaliate against the Thief Lineage for provoking the Xuanyuan Family, but agrees to remain concealed until the situation provides a legitimate reason to strike.
• The chapter emphasizes the contrast between Qian Zhong’s restraint, Feng Jun’s pragmatism, and Xuanyuan Buqi’s aggressive desire for retribution.

Significant Themes

• Violence as social culture: Wangchuan’s inhabitants treat fighting as normal, and even minor disagreements can escalate into deadly conflicts.
• Prudence versus retaliation: The characters debate whether it is better to investigate quietly or make a forceful example of their enemies.
• Adaptation and disguise: Feng Jun and Qian Zhong suppress their cultivation and imitate local behavior to avoid revealing that they are outsiders.
• Strength and rules: Wangchuan has formal systems—such as Life-and-Death Platforms—to contain violence, but powerful cultivators can still bend or ignore those rules.
• The danger of hidden power: The apparent toll collectors underestimate Feng Jun’s group because of their disguises, only to discover that the travelers possess overwhelming strength.

Character Interactions

• Xuanyuan and Qian Zhong argue over whether to bait and capture members of the Thief Lineage; Qian Zhong warns that Xuanyuan’s impulsiveness could expose them.
• Feng Jun mediates between them by pursuing a low-profile investigation while allowing Xuanyuan to remain concealed.
• During the robbery attempt, Feng Jun tries to negotiate, but the robbers’ greed and threats push Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan into action.
• Qian Zhong incapacitates the hidden reinforcements, while Xuanyuan freezes the main group and reprimands them for provoking opponents far beyond their ability to resist.

Chapter Summary: “Careless”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Qian Zhong, Xuanyuan Buqi, and Feng Jun capture a group of cultivators who had been hiding in a concealment formation and robbing travelers.
• Xuanyuan Buqi identifies the formation as a combination of a Medieval Sight-Obscuring Array and a Deceive-Heaven Formation, both associated with the Thief Lineage.
• Qian Zhong interrogates the captives. One Gold Core cultivator falsely claims to be a descendant of the Gongyang Family, but Feng Jun reveals that he is actually an Azure Lotus Sect disciple cultivating the Slaughter Dao.
• Qian Zhong uses Soul Seizing on the Gold Core cultivator, seals his soul, destroys his body, and threatens to refine his soul for a hundred thousand years because he insulted her by impersonating a powerful family descendant.
• A Nascent Soul cultivator admits to being from the Xu Family and explains that he joined the robbery group without knowing its members’ backgrounds. He offers information about the Thief Lineage in exchange for his life, but Qian Zhong refuses to bargain.
• The Xu Family cultivator reveals that the concealment formation came from the two hidden cultivators nearby. Believing the group no longer has useful information, Qian Zhong kills the remaining robbers. Xuanyuan Buqi disperses their Nascent Souls.
• Xuanyuan Buqi captures the two hidden cultivators, intending initially to send them to work in his family’s mines. Qian Zhong explains that this would create complications because living cultivators can be tracked by relatives and because robbery on the Wangchuan Plane is often treated as a legitimate form of trial.
• After conducting Soul Searches, they discover that the two hidden cultivators are outsiders: a young Gold Core master and his Nascent Soul protector. They had only supplied the formation and were loosely connected to the robbery group.
• The formation had actually been purchased from an Early Gold Core cultivator, whom Qian Zhong had already killed. Realizing she acted without knowing the full circumstances, Qian Zhong admits that she had been careless.

Character Developments

• Qian Zhong displays overwhelming power, ruthlessness, and sensitivity to insult. Her harsh treatment of the false Gongyang descendant reflects her pride and unwillingness to tolerate deception. However, the final discovery reveals that her quick judgment led her to kill someone who was not truly responsible for the robbery.
• Xuanyuan Buqi remains powerful and pragmatic but shows a more measured attitude toward punishment. He considers using the captives as mine laborers rather than killing them, though he accepts Qian Zhong’s reasoning.
• Feng Jun provides crucial information about the captives’ identities and motives. He rejects the idea of refining a Gold Core soul, emphasizing that he does not want to resemble a demonic cultivator.
• The Xu Family cultivator undergoes a moment of humility. His belief that revealing his family identity might protect him collapses when Qian Zhong bluntly tells him that the Xu Family is too insignificant to concern her.
• The Azure Lotus cultivator is exposed as both deceptive and arrogant. His cultivation of the Slaughter Dao and attempt to exploit his supposed identity lead to his brutal punishment.

Significant Themes

• The danger of arrogance and misjudgment: The chapter’s title refers especially to Qian Zhong’s realization that she killed the wrong person before learning the full story.
• Status and insignificance: Family or sect affiliation does not guarantee safety. The Xu Family cultivator learns that his lineage carries little weight against truly powerful figures.
• Moral ambiguity in the cultivation world: Robbery on Wangchuan is not necessarily considered an unforgivable crime; it may be part of a sanctioned trial to temper killing intent.
• Consequences of living versus dying: Living prisoners can be traced through their qi mechanisms, making imprisonment more troublesome than execution.
• Restraint and responsibility: Even powerful cultivators must sometimes avoid excessive use of techniques such as Soul Search and must consider the wider consequences of their actions.
• Appearance versus reality: The captives’ claimed identities, group affiliations, and apparent guilt differ substantially from the truth revealed through investigation.

Character Interactions

• Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan Buqi work together to identify and subdue the robbers, though they differ over whether the captives should be killed or enslaved.
• Feng Jun acts as an information source, correcting the Gold Core cultivator’s false claim and influencing Qian Zhong’s judgment.
• Qian Zhong intimidates the captives through threats, interrogation, and displays of soul-manipulating power.
• Xuanyuan Buqi challenges the Xu Family cultivator’s attempt to justify his actions, while Qian Zhong dismisses his family’s importance.
• The final Soul Searches force Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan Buqi to reassess the situation, ending the chapter with Qian Zhong recognizing that her impulsive actions created an avoidable mistake.

Chapter Summary: “Apprehension”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After a Gold Core cultivator is killed by a formation, Qian Zhong questions Feng Jun about the victim’s connection to the Thief Lineage. Feng Jun believes the cultivator was likely only an intermediary.
• Feng Jun admits he cannot currently trace the formation’s origin, while Qian Zhong attempts a heavenly-secrets deduction and discovers that the formation’s origins have been deliberately concealed.
• The group investigates the dead Gold Core’s network for nearly two days and discovers a Thief Lineage hideout in a busy district controlled by a Lower Sect of the Formation Dao.
• Xuanyuan Buqi and Qian Zhong consider attacking the hideout, but Feng Jun rejects a direct assault. He believes it would provide only temporary satisfaction, might fail to expose the real culprit, and would create further complications.
• Instead, Feng Jun proposes spreading information about the hideout and placing a bounty on it, allowing others who already oppose the Thief Lineage to pursue it.
• The group debates whether to use the family cultivators’ Bounty Hunting Alliance or the sect cultivators’ Demon-Suppression Society. Because the hideout lies on Formation Dao territory, Xuanyuan Buqi favors using the sect organization, while Qian Zhong prefers the family side.
• Since Feng Jun risks being detained or overwhelmed by attention if he appears publicly, the group decides to seek help from Procrastinating Venerable, whom Xuanyuan Buqi has worked with before, rather than Vast Sea Venerable.
• Feng Jun reluctantly prepares to return to the Insectoid passage entrance, remarking that trouble seems to follow him everywhere.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates restraint, strategic thinking, and awareness of political consequences. Rather than pursuing revenge directly, he chooses an indirect approach that may expose the Thief Lineage without tying him personally to the operation.
• Qian Zhong remains angry and impatient after the formation incident. Her willingness to disguise herself and attack the hideout reveals that, despite her status and usual composure, she is eager to retaliate. She also shows pride and sensitivity when Xuanyuan Buqi mocks her inability to deduce the formation’s origin.
• Xuanyuan Buqi continues to tease Qian Zhong but quickly backs down when she becomes serious. He reveals a more responsible side by explaining that he often acts as the Xuanyuan Family’s troubleshooter, despite his reputation for arrogance and recklessness.
• Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan Buqi both defer to Feng Jun’s judgment, acknowledging that his fame and the attention surrounding him make his decisions especially consequential.
• Xuanyuan Buqi’s familiarity with Procrastinating Venerable reveals his extensive experience handling complex affairs and his tendency to exploit others’ indecisiveness.

Significant Themes

• Strategic restraint versus immediate revenge: The characters must choose between attacking the hideout and pursuing a more calculated plan. Feng Jun emphasizes long-term results over emotional satisfaction.
• Political and institutional constraints: The hideout’s location on Formation Dao territory complicates direct action, showing how alliances, sect boundaries, and public perception restrict even powerful cultivators.
• Information as a weapon: Rather than personally destroying the Thief Lineage, Feng Jun intends to use its enemies and bounty hunters against it.
• Hidden identities and obscured truth: The formation’s concealed origins reflect the difficulty of uncovering past actions when heavenly secrets have been deliberately masked.
• The burden of capability: Xuanyuan Buqi compares himself to Feng Jun, suggesting that powerful individuals are expected to handle disproportionate amounts of trouble, regardless of whether they want to.

Character Interactions

• Xuanyuan Buqi mocks Qian Zhong over her failed deduction, provoking her anger, but retreats into humor and self-pity rather than escalating the conflict.
• Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan Buqi both pressure Feng Jun to decide how to deal with the hideout, ultimately accepting his refusal to attack.
• Qian Zhong offers to take responsibility for placing a bounty through the families, while Xuanyuan Buqi argues that the sects may be more effective because of the hideout’s location.
• Feng Jun asks the two True Lords to approach Vast Sea Venerable on his behalf, but Xuanyuan Buqi recommends Procrastinating Venerable instead, citing their previous cooperation.
• Xuanyuan Buqi sympathizes with Feng Jun’s constant troubles and acknowledges that both of them are burdened by their status and abilities.

Chapter Summary: “When Things Reach an Extreme, They Reverse”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xuanyuan Buqi stops far from the passage entrance to spare Feng Jun the difficulty of seeing him off, then visits Procrastinating Venerable—Venerable Jiu Si—to commission a bounty on Feng Jun’s enemies.
• Jiu Si is surprised that a family True Lord is asking a sect cultivator to handle the matter, but accepts after Buqi reminds him that the targets fall under Formation Dao’s jurisdiction. He also promises strict confidentiality.
• Their discussion turns into an argument over the Insectoid World and the shortage of Soul-Nourishing Liquid. The sects refuse to let family cultivators enter freely, while the family factions accuse the sects of monopolizing the best resources.
• Neither side convinces the other. Jiu Si reports the matter to Venerable Xiao Dong, who agrees that Feng Jun and the Xuanyuan Family have offended too many sects to expect cooperation.
• Xuanyuan Buqi, Feng Jun, and Qian Zhong meet up and travel with Ji Shengtian to the Clear Nether Lower Realm, a world inhabited almost entirely by Soul Bodies.
• The group arrives at the Ji Family’s market town, which serves as a base for exploration, training, trade, farming, and forging. Ji Shengtian publicly declares Feng Jun and the accompanying Great Lords honored guests and orders everyone to keep their presence secret.
• The chapter ends with the cultivators recognizing Xuanyuan Buqi’s reputation, ensuring that the gathered family descendants and outsiders understand the seriousness of the situation.

Character Developments

• Xuanyuan Buqi displays his usual bluntness and confidence. He firmly defends family cultivators’ right to participate in the Insectoid World and refuses to be intimidated by Jiu Si’s complaints.
• Procrastinating Venerable/Jiu Si remains sharp-tongued but cautious. Although he resents the Xuanyuan Family, he accepts the bounty because opposing Buqi could create dangerous causality with Formation Dao.
• Venerable Xiao Dong recognizes the political complexity of the dispute and sees how Feng Jun’s and the Xuanyuan Family’s enemies have contributed to the breakdown in cooperation.
• Feng Jun continues to act carefully, questioning whether provoking the Clear Nether Domain Consciousness is wise. He is also suspicious of the great power’s encouragement to exploit the realm’s Soul Bodies.
• The great power reveals a pragmatic philosophy: cultivation requires knowing what to pursue and what to abandon, and a person should possess both Domain Favor and Domain Causality rather than seek universal approval.
• The Mistveil Realm Domain Consciousness learns from the great power’s explanation and comes to understand why strength and restraint must coexist.
• Ji Shengtian acts as a responsible host and representative of the Ji Family, protecting Feng Jun’s group while reinforcing the family’s leadership role.

Significant Themes

• Family-versus-sect rivalry: Both factions justify their positions regarding access to the Insectoid World, revealing a deeper struggle over resources, authority, and trust.
• Causality and political consequences: Even a casual act can create dangerous consequences. Jiu Si fears Formation Dao’s retaliation, while the Domain Consciousnesses warn that excessive causality can hinder cultivation.
• The balance between favor and hostility: The great power argues that a complete and respected individual cannot please everyone. Cultivators should cultivate both goodwill and fear, rather than appearing weak or universally agreeable.
• Knowing when to compromise: The chapter’s title reflects the way extreme positions begin to reverse: excessive kindness invites exploitation, while relentless hostility can also become a burden.
• Resource exploitation versus respect for Domains: Feng Jun worries about draining the Clear Nether Domain of Soul Bodies, while the great power insists that practical cultivation sometimes requires offending or exploiting a Domain.

Character Interactions

• Xuanyuan Buqi and Jiu Si: Their tense exchange mixes hostility, political bargaining, and reluctant cooperation. Buqi mocks the sects’ hypocrisy, while Jiu Si defends their fear of family cultivators and resource competition.
• Jiu Si and Xiao Dong: They jointly criticize the Xuanyuan Family and Feng Jun for provoking sects, while acknowledging that the resulting conflict has damaged Soul-Nourishing Liquid supplies.
• Feng Jun and the great power: Feng Jun questions the senior figure’s motives and suspects it wants to manipulate him into provoking the Clear Nether Domain. The great power dismisses his doubts and explains the strategic value of controlled hostility.
• The great power and the Mistveil Realm Domain Consciousness: Their conversation serves as a philosophical lesson on Domain Favor, Domain Causality, respect, and maintaining distance from dangerous individuals.
• Ji Shengtian and Feng Jun’s group: Ji Shengtian openly protects them as honored guests, using the Ji Family’s authority and Xuanyuan Buqi’s reputation to ensure the group’s secrecy and safety.

Chapter Summary: “Lending It Out”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After resting, Feng Jun, Xuanyuan Buqi, Qian Zhong, Ji Shengtian, and several Ji Family cultivators begin systematically clearing Soul Bodies from the area around the marketplace in Clear Nether Domain.
• The operation proceeds with overwhelming efficiency. Over the course of a month, they sweep across more than twenty million li without suffering meaningful losses.
• Their harvest exceeds twelve million drops of Gold Core Soul-Nourishing Liquid. Ji Shengtian initially feels that the Ji Family’s three-percent share is too small, but after receiving roughly 360,000 drops with little personal effort, he realizes the arrangement is highly profitable.
• The group debates the Ji Family’s share and privileges. Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan Buqi argue that the Ji Family’s local base does not justify a larger percentage, since Feng Jun’s group provides nearly all the actual strength.
• Ji Shengtian asks Feng Jun to increase the Ji Family’s Void entry slots from five to ten, offering to pay the usual price. Feng Jun refuses because Ji Family disciples previously caused trouble with Talisman Dao cultivators during a Void expedition.
• The earlier dispute involved Ji Family disciples seizing a Broken True Treasure from two Talisman Dao cultivators. The Talisman Dao cultivators later demanded a life-and-death battle after returning to Heavenly Zither, but Feng Jun confiscated the treasure, removing the reason for the conflict and preventing the fight.
• Ji Shengtian tries to negotiate again, but Feng Jun firmly maintains the five-slot limit and even threatens to reduce it if Ji Shengtian continues pressing the matter.
• Ji Shengtian then asks whether Feng Jun intends to eradicate all Soul Bodies in Clear Nether Domain or leave some behind, as Feng Jun did in other Domains. Feng Jun decides that, if possible, he will clear them all, ensuring the Domain remains peaceful for about sixty years despite the resulting Domain Causality.
• Admiring Feng Jun’s determination and aware of the burden of causality, Ji Shengtian proposes borrowing Feng Jun’s extraordinary Soul-Refining Lamp to help with the purge.
• Five days later, Ji Shengtian returns in a disheveled state, urgently reporting that they have discovered a nest of Celestial Demons.

Character Developments

• Feng Jun demonstrates strong leadership, efficiency, and firmness in negotiations. He rewards contributions fairly but refuses to grant privileges to factions he considers arrogant or troublesome. His willingness to accept Domain Causality shows increasing resolve to protect and stabilize the region.
• Ji Shengtian shifts from dissatisfaction to appreciation after seeing how effective Feng Jun’s operation is. He recognizes Feng Jun’s influence and power, accepts the limits placed on the Ji Family, and begins thinking of ways to reduce Feng Jun’s burden.
• Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan Buqi remain fiercely protective of Feng Jun’s interests, openly challenging Ji Shengtian’s claims and emphasizing that the Ji Family contributes little compared with Feng Jun’s group.
• The Ji Family cultivators behave unusually obediently toward Feng Jun despite their normal arrogance, reflecting his high status and the influence of figures such as Xuanyuan Buqi.
• The Talisman Dao cultivators, though not directly present, are portrayed as proud and unwilling to tolerate humiliation, even attempting to risk a deadly confrontation to defend their sect’s honor.

Significant Themes

• Power and contribution determine rewards: Feng Jun’s group receives the largest share because it supplies the overwhelming majority of the combat strength, while merely possessing a local base grants the Ji Family limited benefits.
• Authority and diplomacy: Feng Jun balances cooperation with strict control, preventing disputes from escalating while making clear that access to his resources depends on good behavior.
• Causality and responsibility: Clearing the Soul Bodies completely will create a significant causal burden, but Feng Jun chooses long-term peace over personal convenience.
• Greed, pride, and honor: The Ji Family’s entitlement and the Talisman Dao cultivators’ wounded pride both show how factional arrogance can create unnecessary conflict.
• The value of extraordinary resources: Feng Jun’s Soul-Refining Lamp is powerful enough to transform the scale of the purge, making it an object of strategic importance.

Character Interactions

• Ji Shengtian repeatedly negotiates with Feng Jun over Soul Fluid shares and Void entry slots, but Feng Jun rejects his requests and reminds him of the Ji Family’s previous misconduct.
• Qian Zhong and Xuanyuan Buqi support Feng Jun, criticizing Ji Shengtian’s expectations and defending the fairness of the current arrangement.
• Feng Jun’s intervention in the Broken True Treasure dispute prevents the Ji Family and Talisman Dao from engaging in a pointless death match by confiscating the treasure.
• Ji Shengtian ultimately moves from bargaining with Feng Jun to offering assistance, suggesting that the Soul-Refining Lamp be lent out to help shoulder the burden of eliminating the Soul Bodies.
• The discovery of a Celestial Demon nest abruptly transforms the purge from a routine, highly profitable operation into a potentially dangerous crisis.