Chapter Summaries

Wang Daoyuan met Shi Zhenbang to arrange trade between the Military Governor’s Mansion and Green Willow Continent, and deduced that the Shi Clan was hiding a Golden Core ancestor in a secret realm. They agreed that Green Willow Continent would buy the Mansion’s goods through a new shop, leaving Wang Daoyuan to handle pressure from the Netherworld Sect.

• Wang Daoyuan agreed to meet Shi Zhenbang at Mirror Iron Mountain to discuss business.
• Wang Daoyuan welcomed Shi Zhenbang as a peer, and Shi Zhenbang explained that his ancestor had sent him to propose cooperation.
• Wang Daoyuan deduced that Green Willow Continent concealed a Golden Core Cultivator in a secret realm and revealed that he had long suspected the secret.
• Shi Zhenbang offered to buy the Military Governor’s Mansion’s pills, talismans, and other goods at fifty percent above market price.
• Wang Daoyuan required that Green Willow Continent buy only Wang Clan and Military Governor’s Mansion goods through a new Mansion shop, and Shi Zhenbang agreed.

Wang Daoyuan reorganized trade and garrison forces, then ordered Wang Daoxing to punish four lineages that defied the Military Governor’s Mansion. Wang Daoxing destroyed the Kong Clan at Rocky Peak, but the three lineages of Returning Wind Valley prepared strong defenses before his forces arrived.

• Wang Daoyuan established a Trade Division under the Finance Hall and assigned it the Wang Clan’s purchases, market expansion, and Green Willow Continent trade.
• Wang Daoyuan formed a twenty-person Warfare Division and ordered the Kong, Guan, Tong, and Wang Clans to send cultivators to garrison Returning Goose Market; after they refused, he decided to suppress them.
• Wang Daoyuan sent Wang Daoxing and the Warfare Division to attack the four lineages, and Wang Daoxing chose to strike the isolated Kong Clan at Rocky Peak first.
• Wang Daoxing’s forces stormed Rocky Peak, broke the Kong Clan’s defensive formation, and killed its resisting cultivators before leaving Wang Clan members to guard the property.
• Wang Daoxing joined Liang Zipeng’s forces at Returning Wind Valley, where the Guan, Tong, and Wang Clans had prepared defensive formations that would be difficult to break.

Wang Daoyuan forced the three families of Returning Wind Valley to surrender their territory, while Luo Hongming negotiated permission to evacuate their cultivators. The Wang Clan took over the families’ industries, and the Luo Family gained goodwill among the Outsider Faction.

• Wang Daoxing summoned Formation Masters led by Wang Shouze to help break the formations protecting Returning Wind Valley, while Wang Daoxing practiced the Heaven Severing Sword against them.
• Luo Jiuyou and Luo Hongming agreed that Luo Hongming would rescue the three families’ cultivators and relocate them near the Netherworld Sect’s gate.
• Luo Hongming asked Wang Daoyuan to spare the three families, and Wang Daoyuan agreed to let them leave within ten days if they did not damage Returning Wind Valley’s properties.
• Wang Daoyuan ordered his second brother to stop attacking the valley, and Luo Hongming evacuated the three families’ cultivators by flying ship.
• Wang Daoyuan sent the Finance Hall to take over the four families’ industries, with the three Returning Wind Valley families’ income going to the Military Governor’s Mansion.

Wang Daoyuan organized the Military Governor's Mansion, recruited Rogue Cultivators, and refined Third-Order High-Grade Bloodline Pills from Golden-eyed Jade Tiger essence blood. He left for Returning Goose Market after Lu Yuan reported that a Fourth-order Demon Beast and a Golden Core half-demon wished to meet him.

• Wang Daoyuan offered spirit veins, shops, and mines as rewards, prompting hundreds of Rogue Cultivators to register with the mansion's four halls and Warfare Division.
• Wang Daoyuan established the four halls under Wang Clan Vice Hall Masters and set compensation and sales rules for their cultivators.
• Wang Daoyuan sent Kui Jian's two Golden-eyed Jade Tiger corpses to Tu Youming and considered how their blood could help Cloud Winged Tiger advance.
• Wang Daoyuan refined four Third-Order High-Grade Bloodline Pills after burning the Killing Intent from the tigers' essence blood.
• Lu Yuan reported that a Fourth-order Demon Beast and a Golden Core half-demon sought an audience, so Wang Daoyuan gave the pills to his third brother for Cloud Winged Tiger and headed to Returning Goose Market.

Wang Daoyuan negotiated trade terms with Hu Ling and the Bloodfang Wolf King, then learned that a secret realm near Mirror Lake had awakened more than ten Fourth-order Corpses. He left the meeting concerned that the Corpses might threaten Yannan Commandery and resolved to prepare for them.

• Wang Daoyuan met Hu Ling, the Bloodfang Wolf King, and their companions at Returning Goose Tower to discuss trade.
• Wang Daoyuan explained that he represented Yannan Commandery rather than the Netherworld Sect and agreed to trade with the half-demons and Demon Race.
• Wang Daoyuan negotiated limits allowing Yannan Commandery to sell pills of any grade but only first- and second-order magical artifacts, Talismans, and array disks.
• Hu Ling told Wang Daoyuan that the Demon Race and half-demons had awakened more than ten Fourth-order Corpses in a secret realm near Mirror Lake.
• Wang Daoyuan realized the Corpses could threaten Yannan Commandery and decided he needed to prepare for them.

Wang Daoyuan and Zhou Luan completed their wedding rites despite the Xu Family’s threat to the Wang Clan, then learned that Blood Shadow had promoted Zhou Luan and elevated the Northern Mountain Branch. The chapter left Wang Daoyuan questioning how Blood Shadow learned of Zhou Luan’s Core Formation.

• Wang Daoyuan advised the Demon Race and half-demons to avoid Mirror Lake Oasis because the corpses could grow stronger by killing them, and both sides agreed to keep their plans in place for now.
• Wang Daoyuan visited Zhou Luan, who explained that the Xu Family’s influence in Blood Shadow made a public marriage to him dangerous for the Wang Clan.
• Wang Daoyuan and Zhou Luan performed the Same Pot, Shared Cup and Hair Binding rites and spent the night together.
• A month later, Elder Xu questioned Wang Daoyuan about failing to suppress Zhou Luan, and Zhou Luan suggested Blood Shadow had heard of her Core Formation from a Demon Race contact.
• Blood Shadow appointed Zhou Luan an Elder, raised the Northern Mountain Branch to first-class status, and kept Wang Daoyuan as its Deputy Hall Master.

Wang Daoyuan helped Zhou Luan consolidate her authority over Northern Mountain and planned to remove obstacles in Qingli Market. A year later, he confronted Netherworld Sect Vice Sect Master Gu Wangzong, who demanded a share of the Military Governor’s Mansion’s Green Willow Continent trade, and rejected the demand.

• Zhou Luan received authority over Qingli Branch and the power to appoint second-level hall masters, then discussed how to handle Chen Zhonggang and Qian Feng with Wang Daoyuan.
• Wang Daoyuan proposed sending Chen Zhonggang to establish a dangerous desert branch and placing Qian Feng under his control with Cui Ming as deputy hall master.
• A year later, Wang Daoyuan returned to Qingli Market after learning that Gu Wangzong was questioning the Military Governor’s Mansion about its Green Willow Continent trade.
• Gu Wangzong used the Qin Family’s dealings with Green Willow Continent as a pretext to demand half the trade profits for the Netherworld Sect.
• Wang Daoyuan refused, threatened to stop the trade, and rejected Gu Wangzong’s successive offers to lower the sect’s share from thirty percent to ten percent.

Wang Daoyuan negotiated to buy the Netherworld Sect’s resources and control its shops, securing a profitable trade route to Green Willow Continent. After disciplining the lineages under his command, he turned his attention to strengthening the Wang Clan and Jade Spring Peak.

• Wang Daoyuan tested Gu Wangzong’s relations with the Luo Family and proposed reselling Netherworld Sect resources to Green Willow Continent.
• Gu Wangzong negotiated shop transfers and a purchase price twenty percent above market value, then left to seek approval from the Sect Master and Supreme Elders.
• Wang Daoyuan summoned the lineage heads, fined the Qin Family fifty thousand Spirit Stones, and warned them not to compete with his trade.
• The lineage heads accepted Wang Daoyuan’s terms, leaving his Military Governor’s Mansion in control of the Green Willow Continent trade.
• Wang Daoyuan planned to raise Jade Spring Peak’s spiritual vein to the fourth rank and restore the Myriad Waters Return to Source Array.

Wang Daoyuan helped the Wang Clan refine its first Flying Warships while improving his own formation mastery. When the Netherworld Sect challenged him, he argued that his new craft were merely modified combat flying boats, exploiting Luo Jiuyou’s promise to lift restrictions on flying boats.

• The Netherworld Sect approved Wang Daoyuan’s agreement with Gu Wangzong and arranged to hand over its market shops, which Wang Daoyuan then opened for rent or rewards.
• At Qingyun Peak, Wang Daoyuan demonstrated keel-refining techniques and guided Zhao Liang and Wang Shouze as they made a keel for a Low-grade Third-order Flying Warship.
• Wang Daoyuan refined a Mid-grade Third-order Flying Warship over more than a year, raising his formation mastery to Mid-grade Third-order as Zhao Liang and Wang Shouze completed a Low-grade Third-order Flying Warship.
• After the Wang Clan’s Flying Warships were tested, Luo Jiuyou sent Gu Wangzong to question Wang Daoyuan about violating the Netherworld Sect’s ban.
• Wang Daoyuan claimed that Luo Jiuyou’s promise to lift restrictions on flying boats allowed him to modify one into what he called a combat flying boat, leaving Gu Wangzong unable to rebut him.

Wang Daoyuan negotiated with Gu Wangzong over the Wang Clan’s combat Flying Boat production, then advanced his artifact-refining and formation skills while building a Third-grade High-rank flying warship. He left with a new Spirit Nurturing Formation that could potentially raise a spiritual vein’s grade.

• Gu Wangzong asked Wang Daoyuan to limit the Wang Clan’s combat Flying Boat production, and Wang Daoyuan offered to sell the sect one for every two made at cost once the family had more than ten.
• Gu Wangzong accepted the proposed price and production threshold but said he needed the Sect Master and Supreme Elders to decide whether the sect could provide Third-grade refining materials.
• Wang Daoyuan returned to Qingyun Peak and practiced refining with Silver Light Profound Iron and other materials until he reached Third-grade High-rank artifact-refining skill.
• Wang Daoyuan spent two years refining and testing a one-hundred-foot Third-grade High-rank flying warship capable of confronting peak Purple Mansion cultivators.
• Wang Daoyuan reached Third-grade High-rank formation attainment and learned to establish the Spirit Nurturing Formation, which could potentially advance a spiritual vein’s grade.

Wang Daoyuan considered how to restore Jade Spring Peak's spirit vein and observed the rapid growth of the Spirit Pearl Space and its inhabitants. After preparing Dragon Locking Formation and Spirit Nurturing Formation plates, he went to Jade Butterfly Spring to test fusing in a small amount of Water Attribute Spirit Vein origin source.

• Wang Daoyuan concluded that the nearby Fourth-order Water Attribute spirit veins were either dangerous to reach, already owned, or burdened with Yin Energy, while the small Water Attribute Spirit Vein in the Spirit Pearl Space could not yet supply enough origin source.
• Wang Daoyuan observed that the five spirit veins, child flames, Spirit Fields, and several spiritual plants in the Spirit Pearl Space had grown, while the space's time flow had increased to a little over forty times faster than outside.
• Wang Daoyuan noted that the Crimson Feather Crow had reached the limit of the Third-order and fallen asleep, possibly preparing to break through and face a heavenly tribulation.
• Wang Daoyuan took formation plates from the Spirit Pearl Space and prepared them for the Five Elements Dragon Locking Formation and Spirit Nurturing Formation.
• Wang Daoyuan secretly went to the Spirit Spring Cave Mansion beneath Mirror Iron Mountain to test fusing Water Attribute Spirit Vein origin source into Jade Butterfly Spring.

Wang Daoyuan strengthened the Jade Butterfly Spring minor spirit vein and prepared formations to advance the Jade Spring Peak spirit vein. After extracting and refining essence from the Gui Water Nether Spring, he injected it into Jade Spring Peak’s spirit vein, leaving the vein’s damaged breach sealed and its spiritual energy stabilized.

• Wang Daoyuan used spirit vein essence from the Spirit Pearl Space to advance the Jade Butterfly Spring minor spirit vein to Low-grade Third-order.
• Wang Daoyuan spent half a year setting up a Spirit Nurturing Formation across Jade Spring Peak, keeping the work secret with help from Second Brother and Twelfth Uncle.
• Wang Daoyuan visited Zhou Luan, then entered the Gui Water Nether Spring and extracted a large quantity of yin-saturated spirit vein essence.
• Wang Daoyuan refined the extracted essence with Crimson Sun True Fire, losing one quarter of it to remove the yin energy.
• Wang Daoyuan opened a breach in the Jade Spring Peak spirit vein and injected the refined essence, causing Jade Dragon Spring’s spiritual energy to weaken temporarily.
• Wang Daoyuan sealed the breach after three days, and the spiritual energy concentration outside stopped declining.

Wang Daoyuan oversaw Jade Spring Peak’s spirit vein recovering to the fourth order, then learned that the Netherworld Sect’s Yin Energy remained depleted. Later, he went to Qingli Market and met his grandnephew Wang Dezhao, who had arrived with ten fellow cultivators seeking refuge.

• Wang Daoyuan watched Jade Spring Peak’s spirit vein absorb its essence and advance to low-grade fourth order, and Third Brother Wang Daochang celebrated by rewarding the clan.
• Luo Jiuyou, Gu Wangzong, and the five Supreme Elders discussed the Netherwater River’s Yin Energy, which had fallen by twenty percent and had not recovered.
• Wang Daoyuan studied formations and refined Bloodline Pills, while Yun Yi returned to Jade Spring Peak and began cultivating to earn roasted meat.
• After Fifth Uncle-Grandfather summoned him to Qingli Market, Wang Daoyuan met eleven late-stage or peak Foundation Establishment cultivators who had come seeking refuge.
• Wang Dezhao introduced himself as the grandson of Wang Daoyuan’s fourth brother, Daocheng, and explained that the ten cultivators with him were partners in hunting third-order Demon Beasts.

Wang Daoyuan recruited Wang Dezhao and ten experienced Rogue Cultivators into a new Demon Slaying Division to hunt Demon Beasts and train the Garrison Hall. Wang Dezhao also sold him an ancient Purple Gold Jade Marrow Fruit and a Golden Core Dual Cultivation secret art, and Wang Daoyuan learned that his talented grandnephew might be given a chance to open a Purple Mansion.

• Wang Dezhao explained that hunting Third-order Demon Beasts was profitable but dangerous, and said he and his companions wanted to join the Military Governor's Mansion.
• Wang Daoyuan established the Demon Slaying Division, offering the Rogue Cultivators equipment and protection in exchange for hunting Demon Beasts and training Garrison Hall cultivators.
• Wang Dezhao revealed that the group had found an Ancient Cultivator's Cave Mansion and brought items to sell to the Lineage.
• Wang Daoyuan bought more than forty Animal Hide Book pages and paid Wang Dezhao for a Purple Gold Jade Marrow Fruit and the complete Cloud Rain Heart Sutra.
• Wang Daoyuan learned that Wang Dezhao had Dual Spiritual Roots and decided he could be given an opportunity to open a Purple Mansion.

Wang Daoyuan and Zhou Luan arranged to remove Chen Zhonggang from the Qingli Branch, but Blood Shadow Headquarters transferred him back instead. With Chen gone, Wang Daoyuan secretly entered the Qingli Branch disguised as Nether Tiger to confront Deputy Hall Master Qian Feng.

• Wang Daoyuan and Zhou Luan planned to send Chen Zhonggang to Falling Star Plain Market and take control of the Qingli Branch.
• Zhou Luan ordered Chen Zhonggang to establish a branch at Falling Star Plain, but Blood Shadow Headquarters transferred him back and gave Zhou authority to appoint the new Qingli Branch Hall Master.
• After Chen Zhonggang reported his removal, Wang Daoyuan left Jade Spring Peak and reached Qingli Market disguised as Nether Tiger.
• Fang Qing recognized Wang Daoyuan's Deputy Hall Master token and guided him through a concealed entrance into the Qingli Branch base.
• Wang Daoyuan asked Fang Qing to take him to Qian Feng's cave abode rather than the main discussion hall.

Wang Daoyuan took control of Qian Feng’s Qingli Branch post and recovered its Yin Yang Violet Jade for the Wang Clan. He then visited Zhou Luan at Returning Goose Market and proposed practicing the Cloud Rain Heart Sutra together.

• Wang Daoyuan used the Soul Splitting Blade to take over Qian Feng’s body temporarily, learned his memories, and found that he was loyal to Chen Zhonggang and Elder Xu’s faction.
• Wang Daoyuan discovered the Qingli Branch’s last piece of Yin Yang Violet Jade, released Qian Feng to continue managing the branch, and planned to send Cui Ming’s avatar there later.
• Wang Daoyuan returned to Jade Spring Peak and gave the Yin Yang Violet Jade to Wang Daochang for the Wang Clan to assign to a promising cultivator.
• Wang Daoyuan went to Returning Goose Market, where Zhou Luan asked him to bring her a thousand jars of century-old Spirit Peach Dew to supplement her cultivation.
• Wang Daoyuan showed Zhou Luan the Cloud Rain Heart Sutra and carried her to the room to put the cultivation method into practice.

After more than a year focused on cultivation, Wang Daoyuan learned that a major auction in the Zhou Kingdom would offer Yin Yang Violet Jade and other rare treasures. He prepared to travel there while leaving Zhou Luan and Spirit Devourer to safeguard the Wang Clan’s territory.

• Wang Daoyuan and Zhou Luan cultivated with the Cloud Rain Heart Sutra’s secret arts, while the Military Governor’s Mansion prospered and its Demon Slaying Division killed more than twenty Low-grade Third-order Demon Beasts.
• Zhou Luan appointed Qian Feng as Qingli Branch Hall Master and Cui Ming as Deputy Hall Master after Blood Shadow declined to send new leadership.
• Wang Daoyuan received an invitation to the century’s highest-standard auction in Chengzhou Commandery, where he hoped to obtain Yin Yang Violet Jade and Fourth-order Spirit Plants.
• Wang Daoyuan invited Zhou Luan to accompany him, but she declined and promised to watch over the lineage.
• Wang Daoyuan entrusted Zhou Luan with the Black Demon Robe and left Spirit Devourer in the Deputy Hall Master’s cave residence to protect her and Jade Spring Peak.
• Wang Daoyuan left Returning Goose Market and headed for Jade Spring Peak before his journey to the auction.

Wang Daoyuan gathered funds and prepared safeguards before leaving for Zhou to bid on Yin Yang Violet Jade and Fourth-order Spirit Plants. He arrived in the capital with Zhou Jinggui and Zhong Zhenyang, where many Golden Core Cultivators had gathered ahead of the auction.

• Wang Daoyuan learned that the Wang Clan had over 1.6 million Spirit Stones and told Wang Daochang and Twelfth Uncle how to defend Jade Spring Peak while he was away.
• Wang Daoyuan withdrew four million Spirit Stones from the Military Governor's Mansion, bringing his funds to more than six million, and chose items to offer at the post-auction exchange meeting.
• Zhou Jinggui arrived at Qingli Market in a Fourth-order flying warship to escort Wang Daoyuan to the auction in Zhou.
• Zhong Zhenyang boarded the warship at Sanhe Market and traveled with Wang Daoyuan and Zhou Jinggui to Zhou's capital.
• Wang Daoyuan and Zhong Zhenyang entered the capital with Zhou Jinggui and arrived at Green Bronze Pavilion, where more than twenty Golden Core Cultivators had gathered.

Wang Daoyuan attended the Northern Abyss auction, reunited with Flying Sand Hermit, and received advice and a spirit-fire secret art from his master, True Man Lei Yan. The auction began with Yin Yang Violet Jades and Purple Cloud Wood Hearts, and Wang joined Flying Sand Hermit to bid on a group of five.

• Wang Daoyuan surveyed Green Bronze Pavilion, visited Flying Sand Hermit, and learned that he had formed the Narsha Sect after unifying Narsha Plain.
• True Man Lei Yan welcomed Wang Daoyuan, learned that he had found a partner with a flame Lesser Divine Ability, and gave him a Jade Slip containing the secret art for condensing Violet Lightning Divine Flame.
• Wang Daoyuan sought advice from his master and visited cultivators from Taiyi Sword Sect and Heavenly Secret Sect before the auction began at Phoenix Platform.
• A Zhou family cultivator announced that two hundred Yin Yang Violet Jades and Purple Cloud Wood Hearts would be auctioned individually and in groups of five.
• Wang Daoyuan agreed to bid jointly with Flying Sand Hermit and avoided the high-priced individual lots; Flying Sand Hermit won a group of five for four million three hundred thousand Spirit Stones.
• The Three Great Sects of the Zhao Kingdom each secured a group of five Yin Yang Violet Jades.

Wang Daoyuan negotiated for Yin Yang Violet Jade, then watched the auction of magic tools and treasures from the major powers. The Song Emperor, Song Yan, bought a flying warship as he prepared to challenge the Zhao Kingdom again.

• Wang Daoyuan persuaded Flying Sand Hermit to accept two pieces of Yin Yang Violet Jade and a Purple Cloud Wood Heart in exchange for a share of the jade and a promise of future Divine Weapon Pavilion discounts.
• Wang Daoyuan stopped bidding on the Blazing Sun Divine Fire Gourd after True Man Lei Yan told him that a stronger magic tool was being made for him, and he later bought sixty jin of Deep Sea Black Gold.
• The Zhou Kingdom royal family bought the Wind Snow Divine Palace's Extreme Cold Mysterious Ice Talisman for five million Spirit Stones, while the Crimson Sun Palace and Qin Kingdom royal family purchased the Taiyi Divine Sword Diagram and defensive formation plates.
• Song Yan bought a low-grade Fourth-order flying warship for sixteen million Spirit Stones to strengthen the Song Kingdom ahead of a possible renewed war with the Zhao Kingdom.