Chapter Summaries

Aaron learned about cultivation techniques, market rules, and ways to earn spirit stones in East Gate Market, then discovered that even the cheapest cave dwelling was beyond his means. He left considering whether to become a tenant farmer near East Gate Valley’s spirit fields, despite his reluctance.

• Aaron questioned a bookstore scholar about the Primal Unity Art and learned that it advanced slowly and covered only Qi Refining.
• The scholar explained that Aaron could earn spirit stones by joining the East Gate Family, practicing a craft, or renting spirit fields as a tenant farmer.
• Aaron bought the Spring Return Art jade slip to pay for the scholar’s information and left the bookstore.
• Aaron learned at East Gate Inn that the cheapest cave dwelling cost one spirit stone per month and that spiritual qi was richest near the East Gate Family’s ancestral residence.
• Aaron considered tenant farming for its yearly income and access to better spiritual qi, but balked at the prospect of becoming a farmer.

Aaron killed two rogue cultivators who ambushed him, but suffered a serious sword wound and spent a month recovering. He returned to cultivation more cautious than before and left the spoils buried in separate cities for ten years.

• Aaron left East Gate Valley and killed a yellow-clad rogue cultivator with repeated perfected Fireball Arts.
• A female cultivator ambushed Aaron with a Blackwood Sword, but he survived the strike and killed her with three rapid punches.
• Aaron gathered the spoils, fled the Grand Origin Mountains, and recuperated in a small Forest Kingdom city.
• One month later, Aaron healed his back with the Spring Return Art and reflected on how close he had come to dying.
• Aaron resumed cultivating and decided to leave the buried spoils untouched for ten years in case the rogue cultivators had tracking methods or accomplices.

Ten years after reaching the sixth level of the Primal Unity Art, Aaron found a Demon-Luring Manual but failed to locate demonic beasts in the Grand Origin Mountains. He bought the complete cultivation art and rented a cave dwelling in East Gate Market, where he began cultivating toward the seventh level.

• Aaron inventoried the loot from two rogue cultivators and discovered that the Demon-Luring Manual explained the origins of the Incomplete Sea-Gathering Art.
• Aaron searched the Grand Origin Mountains for demonic beasts, but found that the East Gate Family controlled the area's spiritual-energy sites and that his bait attracted only ordinary animals.
• Aaron passed a group of refugees whose leader used his arrival to rally them into a small rebel army, then continued toward East Gate Valley.
• Aaron bought the complete Primal Unity Art for twenty low-grade spirit stones and rented cave dwelling C-37 for a year.
• Aaron bought spirit rice, cooked and ate it, then entered his cultivation room and began practicing the art's seventh level.

Aaron settled into East Gate Market, cultivated, and learned about its residents and trades. After buying Old Dong Long a meal in exchange for information, Aaron learned that the Azure Cauldron Sect supported the Forest Kingdom’s imperial family, which would endure as long as the sect remained strong.

• Aaron sensed that his bottleneck toward late-stage Qi Refinement was loosening and reflected on how the spirit vein and spirit rice aided his cultivation.
• Aaron met Old Master Zhou, a talisman maker, and considered how difficult it would be to obtain an inheritance in a cultivation profession.
• Aaron watched Old Dong Long haggle over a damaged Black Iron Shield, then invited him to share a meal and answer questions about the cultivation world.
• Old Dong Long told Aaron that the Azure Cauldron Sect had established the Forest Kingdom’s imperial family and that the family would survive as long as the sect did.

Aaron learned more about the Azure Cauldron Sect’s restrictions on cultivators and discussed cultivation bottlenecks and auctions with Dong Long, who visited his rented cave dwelling. Dong Long then offered to take Aaron to meet female cultivators secretly running pleasure houses, and Aaron agreed under the pretense of condemning them.

• Aaron reflected that cultivators could secretly interfere in mortal affairs despite the Azure Cauldron Sect’s rule, and wondered whether Huang Wenlong had cultivator connections.
• After several months, Dong Long visited Aaron’s cave dwelling and discussed ways to overcome cultivation bottlenecks, including buying spiritual pills at auctions.
• Aaron asked whether Foundation Establishment Pills appeared at auctions, and Dong Long explained that no one would dare sell one because it could threaten the East Gate Family’s power.
• Dong Long invited Aaron to take concubines amid the chaos in the Forest Kingdom, but Aaron declined, saying he wanted to focus on cultivation.
• Dong Long suggested that Aaron visit female cultivators secretly operating pleasure houses, and Aaron agreed while claiming he would go to criticize them.

Aaron broke through to the seventh level of Qi Refinement, then prepared to leave the market after his cave-abode lease expired and his spirit stones ran low. Before departing, he obtained Nine-Eyed Begonia seeds from Dong Long and bought a Mystic Turtle Shield, then fled the market aboard his Iron Leaf Boat.

• Aaron broke through to late-stage Qi Refinement and tested his increased mana by flying the Blackwood Sword around his courtyard.
• Aaron told Dong Long he could no longer afford to stay in the market, and Dong Long gave him Nine-Eyed Begonia seeds in exchange for wine.
• Aaron learned from Dong Long about the East Gate Family's Foundation Establishment cultivators and the gifted Dongmen Xue, then discussed the thin spiritual energy in the mortal world.
• Aaron bought a discounted Mystic Turtle Shield at the Fire Refining Furnace, spending all but two of his spirit stones.
• Aaron packed his cave abode, left the expired residence token behind, and sped away from the market on his Iron Leaf Boat.

Aaron searched Great Marsh Lake for places to grow spirit herbs and established Spirit Herb Island, where he cultivated Nine-Eyed Begonias. Fifteen years later, his Qi Refinement progress remained slow, and he continued tending his herbs in a small valley with slightly denser spiritual energy.

• Aaron returned to Great Marsh Lake and planned to establish spirit-herb gardens, using poison to control the people he recruited.
• Aaron fertilized Nine-Eyed Begonia with powdered spirit stones and searched the lake for places with enough spiritual energy to grow it.
• Over fifteen years, the turmoil in the Forest Kingdom subsided, while Aaron's cultivation advanced to Qi Refinement Level Seven.
• Aaron assessed that his progress toward Qi Refinement perfection would take many more decades outside the market.
• Aaron cultivated several Nine-Eyed Begonias beside a spring on Spirit Herb Island, keeping his own cultivation away from their limited spiritual energy.

Aaron discovered that most of his remote spirit herb gardens had failed, then attended Dong Long’s funeral and received the old spirit farmer’s inheritance. At the market, he learned that a talisman master named Zhou had been murdered, leaving Aaron worried that another acquaintance had died.

• Aaron found the herb keepers at one remote garden dead and its spirit herb field abandoned, then visited other gardens to distribute antidotes and rewards.
• Aaron went to Dong Long’s funeral and paid his respects to his deceased friend.
• Dongfang Shuo gave Aaron a jade slip containing Dong Long’s spirit farming knowledge and the Spring Wind Turns to Rain Art.
• Aaron offered Dongfang Shuo a way to contact his mortal subordinates before leaving for the market.
• Aaron learned that a talisman master surnamed Zhou had been lured out of the valley and murdered by female cultivators skilled in seductive maiden arts.

After more than a century of cultivation, Aaron reached Qi Refinement Grand Perfection and prepared to seek a path to Foundation Establishment. When a Crimson Blood Carp King emerged in Great Marsh Lake, Aaron set out to catch it, while the Heavenly Hero Gang promised the fish to a cultivator called Young Master Qing.

• Aaron mastered Spring Wind Turns to Rain and used it to nourish the herbs around the spring on Spirit Herb Island.
• Sixty years later, Aaron had perfected his spells and reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement, but a bottleneck stalled his progress until he eventually advanced to the tenth layer of the Primal Unity Art.
• Aaron learned that Dongfang Shuo had died after failing a desperate attempt at Foundation Establishment, and he continued to consider how he might one day pursue revenge against Azure Elixir True Person.
• Aaron went to East Gate Valley to prepare for Foundation Establishment, then learned a Crimson Blood Carp King had emerged and decided to catch it.
• Aaron used bait from the Demon-Luring Manual to draw fish while sailing across Great Marsh Lake in disguise.
• Huang Tianba promised the Crimson Blood Carp King to Young Master Qing, whom he and the Heavenly Hero Gang treated as a cultivator.

Aaron captured the Crimson Blood Carp King and learned from Qin Qing that Dongmen Hong was rumored to have died, while Dongmen Xue had concealed it. After returning to East Gate Market to sell his harvest, Aaron noticed spirit rice prices had risen and suspected war was approaching.

• Huang Tianba spotted fish schools gathering and led his ship to pursue the Crimson Blood Carp King.
• Aaron took the Carp King and questioned Qin Qing, who revealed rumors that Dongmen Hong had died and Dongmen Xue had hidden his death.
• Qin Qing hurriedly departed with Huang Tianba, and Aaron returned to Spirit Herb Island to cultivate.
• Aaron later harvested medicinal herbs and traveled to East Gate Market, wary that the East Gate Family might soon collapse.
• Aaron saw that spirit rice prices had risen from one to one and a half spirit stones per stone and inferred that the increase was linked to war.

Aaron sold medicinal herbs, spirit wine, and a spirit fish at Azure Pill Workshop, then rejected Wu Qiantong’s offer of employment. After leaving, Aaron suspected the workshop was secretly recruiting fighters to target the East Gate Family and Dongmen Xue.

• Aaron noticed that magical artifacts and many supplies had sharply risen in price, while cultivation techniques were depreciating.
• Aaron used the name Ye Fei and sold Wu Qiantong his medicinal herbs and Crimson Blood Carp King for over a hundred spirit stones.
• Wu Qiantong sampled Aaron’s aged Returning Essence Wine, bought the batch privately, and brought Aaron’s earnings to nearly one hundred and fifty spirit stones.
• Wu Qiantong dismissed the attendant and asked Aaron to accept employment, but Aaron refused.
• Aaron left the workshop and inferred that the secret recruitment was aimed at the East Gate Family and Dongmen Xue.

Aaron bought a mid-grade Profound Ginseng Sword, practiced with it outside East Gate Valley, and returned for the ten-year grand auction. The auction ended with two Longlife Turtle eggs selling to anonymous bidders, while Aaron considered how amusing it would be to outlive one.

• Aaron found only three Foundation Establishment cultivation arts at the Myriad Arts Pavilion and left without buying one, deciding to wait for the grand auction.
• Aaron bought the mid-grade Profound-Exploring Sword for sixty spirit stones and left East Gate Valley to refine it in a mortal city.
• After a month of practice, Aaron returned to East Gate Valley in the guise of Ye Fei and avoided a rigged bargain at a market stall.
• Leopard opened the grand auction, where cultivators bid on artifacts, pills, cultivation methods, and other resources.
• Leopard offered two Longlife Turtle eggs, and two anonymous cultivators bought them after others dismissed the turtles as too slow to raise.
• Aaron wished the eggs had been cheaper and mused that competing with a Longlife Turtle to see who could outlive the other would be interesting.

Aaron bought the incomplete Bright Jade Art for its Eternal Youth and Jade Bones effects, then returned to watch the auction. The auction’s finale was revealed as a Foundation Establishment Pill, igniting the crowd’s excitement.

• Aaron bid on the Bright Jade Art, hoping its Jade Bones effect could help conceal his age and its Eternal Youth effect could preserve his appearance.
• Hongyu and the Miao Family’s First Madam joined the bidding, but Leopard revealed that the art preserved one’s appearance only after reaching Foundation Establishment.
• Aaron paid for the Bright Jade Art with all his spirit stones, spirit herbs, and spirit wine, then returned to watch the auction.
• Leopard unveiled a Foundation Establishment Pill as the finale item, and the crowd erupted with excitement.

Aaron fled East Gate Valley after realizing the auction’s Foundation Establishment Pill signaled a major upheaval, escaping as the valley was attacked and sealed by the Black Blood Sect. He continued fleeing with pursuers closing in behind him.

• Aaron recognized the Foundation Establishment Pill as a sign of impending conflict and left the auction before violence erupted.
• The grand auction exploded, looting spread through East Gate Market, and Aaron escaped East Gate Valley on his Iron Leaf Boat.
• A powerful formation enclosed the valley as Black Blood Sect cultivators slaughtered its residents and the Miao family’s First Madam fell while trying to protect Miao Hongyu.
• Dongmen Xue revealed that he had used the Foundation Establishment Pill to lure rival factions into conflict and cooperated with the Black Blood Sect to seize East Gate Valley.
• Aaron discovered demonic cultivators pursuing him, but his slow Iron Leaf Boat could not keep them at a distance.

Aaron evaded a group of Black Blood Sect pursuers, killed one of them, and learned that a demonic invasion from the Martial Kingdom might be imminent. As he headed toward a mortal city to lie low, Ye Jiuniang fled toward him with the sect’s senior brother in pursuit.

• Aaron dropped into a forest, hid beneath his Camouflage Barrier, and prepared to ambush a searching Black Blood Sect cultivator.
• Aaron recognized that the short, fat cultivator had spotted him, defended himself against skull talismans, and killed the man with the Profound Inquiry Sword.
• Aaron found that the dead cultivator belonged to the Black Blood Sect of the Martial Kingdom and decided to hide in the mortal world until the danger passed.
• Aaron hurried toward the nearest mortal city on foot, but Ye Jiuniang and a Black Blood Sect senior brother approached in the same direction.
• Ye Jiuniang recognized Aaron and pleaded with him to save her, causing the senior brother to halt when he saw Aaron’s peak Qi Refining cultivation.

Aaron killed Ye Jiuniang after she tried to turn the pursuers against him, then fought the Black Blood Sect senior brother and defeated him by locating him inside the ghost mist and striking him with the Hundred-Step Divine Fist. The senior brother’s Hundred Ghost Banner fell free, but a sudden change interrupted Aaron as he prepared to loot the corpse.

• Aaron killed Ye Jiuniang with fireballs and the Profound Inquiry Sword after she tried to divert the danger onto him.
• The Black Blood Sect senior brother summoned his Hundred Ghost Banner and attacked Aaron with a ghost army, including a late Qi Refinement great ghost.
• Aaron used the senior brother’s voice to locate him in the ghost mist, then broke his Vajra Talisman with the Profound Inquiry Sword.
• Aaron struck the senior brother with the Hundred-Step Divine Fist, killing him and causing the Hundred Ghost Banner to fall.
• Aaron approached the corpse to loot the banner, but a sudden change erupted.

After killing a Black Blood Sect true disciple, Aaron discovered that a Soul-Chasing Talisman had marked his mana and risked exposing him to the sect. He dispersed his cultivation to become a mortal and hid in Black Marsh Prefecture City, while a Foundation Establishment cultivator began searching the city and killing cultivators.

• A crimson talisman split after the true disciple's death, sending one streak away and embedding another in Aaron's mana.
• Aaron identified the dead man as a Black Blood Sect true disciple and realized the talisman could track him and damage his Dao foundation.
• Aaron entered Black Marsh Prefecture City, dispersed all his cultivation with the Bright Jade Art, and went to an inn as an ordinary man.
• A Black Blood Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator arrived above the city and found that the talisman's mark had vanished.
• The Foundation Establishment cultivator began searching the city and killed a Rogue Cultivator who could not identify Aaron.

Aaron avoided being discovered by a Black Blood Sect cultivator who considered slaughtering Black Marsh Prefecture City, then fled the war by blending in with refugees headed into the Forest Kingdom. In Mu'en City, he found that the places he remembered remained but the people and families he had known were gone.

• Aaron stayed in Black Marsh Prefecture City as a mortal while a Black Blood Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator failed to find him and nearly decided to slaughter the city.
• The cultivator received orders to reinforce East Gate Valley after the Azure Cauldron Sect mobilized, and he abandoned his plan and left.
• Aaron decided to wait out the war among ordinary people, relying on his martial arts and postponing cultivation and retrieving his storage pouches.
• Two months later, Aaron heard refugees recounting battles at Two Realms Mountain and quietly joined the crowds fleeing inland from the Martial Kingdom's invasion.
• In Mu'en City, Aaron found Spring Return Hall still operating under a new proprietor and learned that the Lin Family and the Bai family had disappeared.

Fifteen years after the cultivation war began, Aaron took Bai Shuixian to recover storage bags he had buried near Black Marsh Prefecture. When a lecherous cultivator captured Bai Shuixian, Aaron pretended to submit and offered the man a chance to inspect his relics.

• Aaron recalled finding and raising Bai Shuixian, teaching her martial arts and secretly testing whether she could cultivate, though she had no spiritual roots.
• After hearing that the Forest Kingdom and Martial Kingdom had made peace, Aaron decided the cultivation conflict had settled and set out with Bai Shuixian to recover his buried storage bags.
• Aaron dug up a storage bag with his bare hands, then collected others at several locations while Bai Shuixian asked about his past.
• At the last location, Aaron returned from searching a valley and found Bai Shuixian bound beside the carriage by a short, lecherous cultivator.
• Aaron pretended to urge Bai Shuixian to become the cultivator's concubine, then asked the man to accept him into his sect and offered him relics he had collected.

Aaron rescued Bai Shuixian from a cultivator, escorted her to Great Marsh Prefecture, and then resumed cultivating in hiding. After reaching the first level of Qi Refinement, he examined the spoils he had kept from years earlier and discovered Ye Jiuniang’s storage pouch still held a surprising item.

• Aaron killed the coarse-robed cultivator who had bound Bai Shuixian, searched the body, and took her away by carriage.
• Several months later, Aaron brought Bai Shuixian to Great Marsh Prefecture and left her there before disappearing.
• Aaron settled on a secluded island in Great Marsh Lake and cultivated the Bright Jade Art until he reached the first level of Qi Refinement.
• Aaron inspected his old spoils, including the Hundred Ghost Banner, several magical artifacts, and nearly a thousand spirit stones.
• Aaron found a talisman master inheritance bearing the name Zhou in Ye Jiuniang’s storage pouch, then noticed something suspicious while searching it again.