Recaps

Aaron experimented with demonic arts and refined a dangerous battle pill before learning that the Far West Alliance’s war had ended through pressure from the Book Mountain Sword Pavilion. The Li Family received rewards for its service, and its disciples were finally allowed to return home.

• Aaron practiced the Blood-Burning Escape Art and concluded that replenishing pills could offset its heavy cost to blood essence and vital energy.
• Aaron refined six Mad Demon Pills, whose boosted power came at the price of severe weakness and lost lifespan.
• Li Yaotian informed Aaron that the Black Demon Sect had retreated to Yuanchen and the Far West Alliance’s war was over.
• Aaron learned that the Book Mountain Sword Pavilion had pressured the weakened Black Demon Sect to surrender its occupied Far Western territories, while keeping Yuanchen.
• Li Yaotian reported that the Li Family had earned alliance rewards and that Elder Yao Huo had impressed the Vast Righteous Sect; Aaron ordered a grand celebration.

After Li Yaohuo returned from the war with the ashes of fallen clansmen, he and Li Yaotian led a demand for Li Qingjing to surrender power. Li Qingjing revealed his hidden Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation and unleashed a powerful attack on Li Yaohuo.

• Li Yaohuo returned to Little Moon Mountain in mourning clothes, carrying an urn and reporting that 138 of the 271 Li Family cultivators sent to the war had died.
• Li Yaohuo condemned Li Qingjing for sending Qi Refining clansmen into danger and misusing family resources, then demanded that he relinquish his position.
• Li Yaotian and the returning cultivators joined Li Yaohuo in calling for Li Qingjing to step down.
• Li Qingjing rose into the air and challenged Li Yaohuo, who wielded top-grade artifacts and relied on his peak Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation.
• Li Qingjing revealed Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation, secretly swallowed a Mad Demon Pill, and attacked with a storm of crimson sword light.

Aaron defeated Li Yaohuo and left the Li Family, handing him the Supreme Elder token as he departed. Li Yaohuo took control as clan patriarch but discovered the treasury and the family’s second-rank alchemy inheritance had gone with Li Qingjing.

• Aaron defeated Li Yaohuo and killed several Li Family cultivators who had switched sides to praise him.
• Li Yaotian blamed himself for the clan conflict and killed himself, while Li Yaohuo admitted his ambition and offered to die.
• Aaron gave Li Yaohuo the Supreme Elder token, announced he was leaving the Li Family, and flew away.
• Li Yaohuo declared that Li Qingjing remained the family’s only Supreme Elder and took the position of clan patriarch.
• Li Feng reported that the treasury was nearly empty and that Li Qingjing had taken the high-grade supplies and the second-rank alchemy inheritance.
• Li Yaohuo decided to use the battle rewards to support the clan, then spat blood when he learned its alchemists could only make first-rank pills.

Aaron left Xiaoqing to guard Spirit Herb Island, then traveled to Eastern Wu disguised as a Foundation Establishment cultivator named Shen Fei. He learned that a Vast Righteous Sect sea route to Great Qian would next depart in four years and decided to stay nearby while gathering information.

• Aaron harvested and replanted spirit herbs on Spirit Herb Island, improved the Lost Trail Formation, and ordered Xiaoqing to protect the island without drawing attention.
• Aaron traveled east to Eastern Wu in disguise and entered Lin Family Market, openly displaying Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivation.
• At Wind Listening Pavilion, Aaron introduced himself as Shen Fei and asked Old Man Lin about routes to Great Qian.
• Old Man Lin explained that the Vast Righteous Sect operated a commercial sea route, with the next giant flying vessel scheduled in four years, and invited Aaron to join the Lin Family.
• Aaron declined the invitation and chose to settle nearby for several years while checking the route's safety and gathering intelligence.

Fourteen years after settling at Lin Family Market, Aaron prepared to leave the Forest Kingdom for Great Qian to seek resources for forming his core. He boarded a giant flying ship under the alias Shen Fei, and the expedition set out across the boundless desert with a Golden Core escort.

• Aaron used his second-order talisman skills to support his cultivation at Lin Family Market and refused the Lin Family's recruitment.
• Aaron decided to travel to Great Qian, hoping to find resources that would help him safely form his core and wondering whether Azure Pill had prolonged his life.
• Aaron bought a ticket, boarded the giant flying ship as Shen Fei, and met Vast Righteous Sect cultivator Su Cao and fellow passenger Hua Sanniang.
• After three days, the ship departed and later joined four other vessels at the border of Eastern Wu.
• Aaron learned that Crimson Fire Old Monster was escorting the five ships across the boundless desert, and regretted that Azure Pill was not traveling with them.

Aaron traveled across the Boundless Desert aboard a protected flying vessel and heard that a Golden Core patriarch was fighting off a sand beast horde. The vessel continued safely onward, but Aaron learned that Wu Sanqi had died after falling from the deck during the battle.

• Aaron joined Hua Sanniang and other Foundation Establishment cultivators, where Wu Sanqi told a story about the Vast Righteous Sect meddling in the Li Family’s affairs.
• The flying vessel shuddered as Crimson Fire announced that a third-rank sand beast and its horde blocked their route.
• Su Cao stopped Aaron from going onto the deck, then escorted Hua Sanniang, Wu Sanqi, and several others to watch the battle.
• The vessel continued onward after the cultivators cheered for Crimson Fire, and Aaron returned to his cabin disappointed that the vessel had not been wrecked.
• Aaron heard that Wu Sanqi had fallen from the deck during the battle and died among the sand beast horde.

Aaron arrived in Qianyang City after a long journey and explored its thriving cultivator-only streets. He sold a rare herb at Heavenly Pill Tower and learned that advanced cultivation inheritances were closely guarded in Great Qian.

• Aaron decided not to seek justice for Wu Sanqi after learning the truth about his death, and became more wary of Su Cao and Hua Sanniang.
• The convoy traveled around Black Demon Sect territory and, after years of flight, reached Qianyang City.
• Aaron declined Hua Sanniang's invitation to travel with her group and entered the city alone by paying a one-spirit-stone entrance fee.
• Aaron surveyed Qianyang City's vast population, shops, and abundant spiritual qi.
• Aaron sold a three-hundred-year Black Marrow Ganoderma at Heavenly Pill Tower and learned that third-tier cultivation inheritances were guarded closely by factions.

Aaron studied Great Qian’s pill market and planned how to safely attempt Gold Core formation, realizing he needed far more spirit stones than he had. He decided to earn money in Qianyang City rather than risk dangerous schemes while he spent the next decades advancing toward Foundation Establishment Perfection.

• Aaron read Pill Dao Appraisal and learned about pills available in Great Qian, including the costly Five Elements Gold Core Pills.
• Aaron found the Calamity-Crossing Pill, which could keep a cultivator alive after failed Gold Core formation but could not prevent severe injuries or lost cultivation.
• Aaron planned to buy at least three Calamity-Crossing Pills, healing pills, and a long-term high-grade cave dwelling, estimating he would need three or four hundred thousand spirit stones.
• Aaron rejected risky ways of acquiring wealth and decided to work and save in Qianyang City until he was ready to attempt Gold Core formation.

Aaron struggled to make a living as a talisman master in Qianyang City, then identified a more profitable opportunity in demon-luring bait. After nine years of cautious observation, he began making Fish-Luring Pills and planned to sell a service to demon hunters rather than hunt beasts himself.

• Aaron found that talisman prices in Qianyang City were low and undercut other sellers to secure business.
• At a gathering, Su Cao invited Aaron to join bounty missions, but Aaron refused and searched the Cosmic Jade Wall for safer ways to earn spirit stones.
• Aaron discovered a reward for capturing Burrowing Rats and noticed other missions involving demon fish, then asked Shopkeeper Hao about demon-luring pills.
• Aaron spent nine years selling talismans cheaply and refused Su Cao and Hua Sanniang's invitations as their fellow townsmen suffered heavy casualties on missions.
• Aaron refined a batch of Fish-Luring Pills based on the Demon-Luring Manual and decided to profit by supplying demon hunters instead of hunting himself.

Aaron sold the Fish-Luring Pill formula to Heavenly Pill Tower in exchange for spirit stones and valuable pills to support his Core Formation. Manager Hao and Elder Huang considered seizing the formula but decided the risk was too great, and the chapter ended with them realizing how profitable the pills could be.

• Aaron entered Heavenly Pill Tower disguised as a black-faced Foundation Establishment cultivator and offered to sell Fish-Luring Pills.
• Manager Hao asked Elder Huang to inspect a pill, and Elder Huang confirmed that its effect rivaled the tower's Hundred-Fragrance Fish Bait.
• Aaron offered the pill formula for thirty thousand spirit stones and demanded a quick decision, promising not to sell it to anyone else.
• Aaron accepted a Calamity-Crossing Pill, fifteen bottles of Purple Cloud Pills, and a storage pouch of spirit stones in exchange for the formula.
• Elder Huang confirmed that the formula was genuine and cheap to produce, while Manager Hao and Elder Huang decided not to pursue Aaron by force.

Aaron safely left the Heavenly Pill Tower deal behind, continued building his resources and identities, and prepared for a future Core Formation attempt. On his five-hundredth birthday, he celebrated quietly in his cave before deciding to visit the pleasure quarter.

• Aaron burned his disguises and storage pouches after leaving the Heavenly Pill Tower, waited in the wilderness, then returned to Qianyang City as Shen Fei.
• Years later, Aaron planned to stock up on pills through several identities before auctioning Calamity-Crossing Pills and entering seclusion.
• At a pill shop, Aaron bought five bottles of True Essence Pills and encountered Su Cao and Hua Sanniang, whose relationship had soured.
• Aaron returned to his cave abode and noted that Fang Yu was five hundred years old while still at Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
• After eating longevity noodles, Aaron decided to celebrate his birthday by visiting the pleasure quarter to listen to music.

Aaron prepared for Core Formation after accumulating five Calamity-Crossing Pills, but two attempts failed and severely damaged his cultivation. Noticing that repeated cultivation made his true essence increasingly pure, he deliberately dispersed his cultivation and rebuilt it, reaching Foundation Establishment Late Stage Perfection with semi-solidified true essence.

• Aaron bought two Calamity-Crossing Pills at the Qianyang City auction and rented a new cave abode to begin secluded cultivation.
• Aaron reached Foundation Establishment Perfection and attempted Core Formation, but failed and fell back to Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.
• After healing and rebuilding his cultivation, Aaron made a second Core Formation attempt, failed again, and fell all the way to the Qi Refinement Realm.
• Aaron used a Foundation Establishment Pill to restore his cultivation, then spent sixty or seventy years returning to Foundation Establishment Perfection and noticed his true essence had grown more viscous.
• Aaron deliberately dispersed his cultivation and rebuilt it from the mortal stage, reaching Foundation Establishment Late Stage Perfection with exceptionally pure, semi-solidified true essence.

Aaron successfully formed his core after more than a century of preparation and decided to continue using Shen Fei’s identity while seeking ways to strengthen his Core Formation cultivation. The Book Mountain Sword Pavilion investigated Shen Fei’s background, and the White Phoenix Fairy ordered a letter of congratulations to test whether he might join their faction.

• Aaron swallowed a third Calamity-Crossing Pill and entered seclusion, then formed an Early Core Formation after three years.
• Aaron stabilized his new cultivation and noted that the process had cost him nearly a hundred and fifty years of his lifespan.
• Aaron planned to continue living as Shen Fei and considered seeking recruitment by a major power for cultivation resources and stronger abilities.
• Aaron brought out the Black Jade Seal and judged that its long years of nurturing had made it a suitable half-magic treasure for his current needs.
• The Book Mountain Sword Pavilion investigated Shen Fei’s history, and the White Phoenix Fairy decided to send him a congratulatory letter and probe his intentions.

After forming his core, Aaron received recruitment offers from several factions and accepted the Book Mountain Sword Pavilion’s invitation to become a guest steward. He was told to visit Thousand Sword Mountain in three days to complete the formalities.

• Steward Qiao congratulated Aaron on forming his core and invited him to join the Vast Righteous Sect, and Aaron asked after Su Cao and Hua Sanniang.
• Aaron considered the recruitment offers he had received, including one from the Black Demon Sect, but remained wary of joining demonic cultivators.
• Fairy Bai Feng of the Book Mountain Sword Pavilion invited Aaron to become a guest steward and explained the sect’s benefits and requirements.
• Aaron accepted the invitation and used the Thousand Illusions Mask to conceal the mana aura he infused into the sect’s command token.
• Fairy Bai Feng told Aaron to visit Thousand Sword Mountain in Shu Province in three days, then departed by sword light.

Aaron arrived at the Book Mountain Sword Pavilion to serve as a guest elder and deacon, where he discovered that Shen Langtao was a descendant of his old acquaintance Shen Qingchen. After the sect master declined to meet him and sent a writ instead, Aaron accepted it and learned about the sect’s favored Core Formation sword disciples.

• Aaron arrived at Thousand Sword Mountain and introduced himself as Shen Fei, invited to serve the Book Mountain Sword Pavilion as a guest elder and deacon.
• Shen Langtao escorted Aaron through the sect and revealed that his maternal grandmother was Shen Qingchen, who had reached False Core but died without forming her core.
• Aaron confirmed Shen Qingchen’s bloodline talisman had reacted and gave Shen Langtao a top-grade magic artifact.
• The sect master refused to receive Aaron and sent him a writ allowing him to exchange for a cultivation method or secret art on the Scripture Pavilion’s third floor.
• As Shen Langtao described the grand welcome given to a true disciple who had formed his core, his enthusiasm faded at the contrast with Aaron’s treatment.

Aaron exchanged for the seventeenth layer of the Bright Jade Art, then sensed contact from his main body while flying to Qianyang City. After learning that a vast ancient ruin had appeared in Myriad Demon Lake, he decided against exploring it himself and went to White Phoenix Fairy to profit from the rush for relics.

• Aaron chose the seventeenth layer of the Bright Jade Art over the Fire Sacrifice Art and the third-rank four cultivation arts, then learned he could earn merit by taking sect missions.
• Aaron visited the Merit Hall to copy down missions, then left Thousand Sword Mountain for Qianyang City.
• A surge of information from Aaron's main body interrupted his flight, and Aaron inferred that the connection between their realms might open once he reached the late Gold Core stage or condensed a Nascent Soul.
• In Qianyang City, Aaron learned that cultivators had discovered a colossal, ancient ruin in Myriad Demon Lake, but decided not to explore it himself.
• Aaron went to White Phoenix Fairy's cave abode, planning to profit from demand for ruin-exploration supplies and later buy relics from the market.

Three years after forming his core, Aaron learned that the Myriad Demon Lake ruins belonged to the ancient Profound Heaven Sect, but refused White Phoenix Fairy’s invitation to explore them. After discovering the sect’s true stature, he left Qianyang City for Thousand Sword Mountain, where he learned that Shen Fei had died and met his granddaughter, Shen Qingmei.

• Aaron reflected on the slow progress of Core Formation cultivation and received White Phoenix Fairy’s summons about the Myriad Demon Lake ruins.
• White Phoenix Fairy told Aaron that the ruins belonged to the Profound Heaven Sect and invited him to join an expedition, but he declined and asked about earning contributions for secret arts.
• Aaron read An Examination of Primordial Sects and learned that the Profound Heaven Sect had once ruled the cultivation world, then decided to avoid the ruins.
• Aaron left Qianyang City for Thousand Sword Mountain and visited the Book Mountain Sword Pavilion Merit Hall.
• Shen Qingmei told Aaron that her grandfather, Shen Fei, had died and thanked him for gifting Shen Fei a dharma sword.

Aaron chose a safe, low-reward garrison post at Autumn Lake and settled into an easygoing life while studying formations and following reports about the dangerous Profound Heaven Sect ruins. As he traveled back toward the Book Mountain Sword Pavilion, he sensed Shen Qingmei fleeing Long Linger over a Fire Essence Ganoderma.

• Aaron took Shen Qingmei's advice and accepted a twenty-year garrison mission at the Autumn Lake spirit fish farm for one hundred merit points.
• Aaron inspected the fish farm, then cultivated in seclusion and let his guards handle minor matters as they pleased.
• Aaron grew comfortable at Autumn Lake, occasionally eating spirit fish and allowing the guards to take some so long as they did not harm the farm's assessment.
• Aaron read reports that White Phoenix Fairy's expedition into the Profound Heaven Sect ruins had lost three Core Formation cultivators, while the survivors prepared another expedition.
• Aaron sensed Shen Qingmei fleeing Long Linger, who pursued her to seize the Fire Essence Ganoderma and clear an obstacle to her pursuit of a flawless Golden Core.

Aaron ambushed Long Linger as she pursued Shen Qingmei, crippled her, and used her soul-searching to learn about a sword art and a Formless Sword. After Long Linger died, Aaron considered adding swordsmanship to his abilities while continuing to guard Autumn Lake.

• Long Linger caught Shen Qingmei and prepared to kill her, but Aaron attacked with his Black Jade Seal and overwhelmed her with his Earthly Pole Primordial Magnetism Divine Ability.
• Shen Qingmei escaped while Aaron searched Long Linger’s soul and learned of her ambitions and cultivation secrets.
• Aaron crippled Long Linger, left her in the wilderness with beast bait on her body, and she was killed by wolves.
• Aaron discovered fragments of the Lesser Existence Formless Sword Art and took the materials for Long Linger’s planned Formless Sword.
• Aaron decided to explore swordsmanship while keeping his primary cultivation art and continued guarding Autumn Lake.

Ten years later, Aaron took a forty-year assignment guarding Starfall Mine, hoping to learn more about the Great Void Divine Crystals associated with Star Iron. He arrived and began observing the mine’s strict procedures, leaving him to wonder which of the two veteran guards the sect trusted most.

• Aaron exchanged his completed garrison assignment for merit points and chose to guard Starfall Mine after planning to seek a secret art.
• Aaron arrived at Starfall Mine, presented his credentials to Star Plucker, and inspected the mine with him.
• Star Plucker explained that the three Core Formation guards took turns inspecting, weighing, recording, and storing Great Void Divine Crystals.
• Aaron observed that the crystals were mined only rarely and watched Star Plucker and Granny Dove verify and store a newly discovered piece.

Aaron secretly skimmed tiny amounts of Void Divine Crystal while keeping up his cautious routine at the mine, then returned to Book Mountain Sword Pavilion to extend his assignment. The White Phoenix Fairy judged him harshly for choosing decades more guard duty over cultivation.

• Aaron practiced the Fire Sacrifice Art with Black Sun Demonic Fire and resolved to train it every day.
• After ten years guarding the mine, Aaron discovered he could shave off small fractions of Void Divine Crystal while leaving its recorded weight unchanged, and began slowly collecting the scraps.
• Aaron learned from Star Plucker that cultivators were exploring the dangerous Profound Heaven Sect ruins, and said he planned to return to the sect and extend his duty for forty years.
• Aaron returned to Book Mountain Sword Pavilion and told Shen Qingmei he had come to extend his assignment.
• The White Phoenix Fairy criticized Aaron for making little cultivation progress, and concluded that he was greedy for life and afraid of death.

After decades stationed at Star Mine, Aaron left his post and used Grand Void Divine Crystal Sand to forge a concealed Formless Needle magic treasure. He began nurturing it and planned to use his self-devised Formless Needle Art alongside a fragmentary sword art.

• Aaron told Shen Qingmei that he would endure powerful enemies until he could deal with them, joking that even the Profound Heaven Sect would become ruins after a hundred thousand years.
• Seventy years passed while Aaron remained at Star Mine, where he gathered Grand Void Divine Crystal Sand and studied four third-rank skills.
• Aaron handed over his post at Star Mine to Red Cloud and left the mine after spending eighty years there.
• Aaron refined the crystal sand into a semi-transparent Formless Needle, inscribing formations into it with his artifact-refining and formation skills.
• Aaron stored the needle in his dantian to nurture it and decided to use his Formless Needle Art with a fragment of the Lesser Existence Formless Sword Art.

Aaron refined the Formless Needle and discovered that his Fire Sacrifice Art had transformed the Black Sun Demonic Fire into a flame that burned lifespan. In Qianyang City, he learned that a deadly formation guarding the Northern Dipper Hall in the Profound Heaven Sect ruins had killed even powerful cultivators.

• Aaron tested the Formless Needle, piercing a mountain with invisible sword energy and concealing his flight.
• Aaron found that the Spirit-Devouring Demonic Flame drained the vitality of anyone it burned, though he doubted he could penetrate a powerful cultivator’s defenses.
• Aaron arrived in Qianyang City and learned that Shen Qingmei had entered seclusion to form her core.
• Aaron met Luo Kun and said he had come to seek opportunities at the Profound Heaven Sect ruins in Myriad Demon Lake.
• Luo Kun explained that a lifespan-draining formation at the Northern Dipper Hall had killed North Sea Wanderer and other Golden Core cultivators.

Aaron learned that Northern Dipper Hall housed the deadly Supreme Big Dipper Edict Formation, but chose to delay exploring the Profound Heaven Sect ruins while he gathered information. After Shen Qingmei died following a failed core formation, he heard that Nascent Soul demon beasts had begun exploring Northern Dipper Hall again.

• Luo Kun told Aaron about the Profound Heaven Sect’s ancient cultivation methods and the Supreme Big Dipper Edict Formation, which had killed many cultivators, including White Phoenix Fairy.
• Aaron decided to postpone exploring the ruins, settled in Qianyang City, and spent several years studying ancient records and purchasing items related to the Profound Heaven Sect.
• Aaron considered the danger and value of the sect’s natal divine abilities, but dismissed the idea of destroying his Golden Core to pursue the ancient cultivation method.
• Aaron received news that Shen Qingmei had failed to form her core and died after her cultivation regressed and her lifespan ran out.
• Aaron sent condolences and promised to keep supporting the Shen Family, then learned at Skywind Tower that Nascent Soul demon beasts from the Hundred Thousand Mountains were leading a new expedition into Northern Dipper Hall.

After learning that the Northern Dipper Hall formation drained the lifespan of those who entered, Aaron decided to leave Great Qian and return to the Far Western Lands. There, a group of young cultivators discovered his Spirit Herb Island and set their sights on his Longlife Turtle.

• Aaron learned that a fourth-rank demon beast had barely survived the Northern Dipper Hall formation, and he decided to return home rather than risk competing for Great Qian's opportunities.
• Aaron discovered that the Vast Righteous Sect's branch and merchant ships were gone, so he bought supplies and left Qianyang City on his own.
• Book Mountain Sword Pavilion failed to find Shen Fei after he vanished, and the Shen Family eventually lost the protection of his name.
• In the Far Western Lands, Zeng Yu led Sister Ling and Brother Li to Spirit Herb Island, claiming he had found spiritual herbs guarded by a Longlife Turtle.
• Brother Li recognized the turtle as a centuries-old creature with the potential to become a second-rank demon beast and claimed it for himself.