Chapter Summaries

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.

Xiaoqing revealed its true strength as a second-rank demon beast and defeated the cultivators attacking it. Aaron returned to his homeland, rescued Xiaoqing’s final opponent, and used the Soul Search Technique to learn about the Azure Cauldron Sect.

• Zeng Yu, Sister Ling, and Li Xisun struggled to subdue Xiaoqing, so Li Xisun used his second-rank Heavenly Punishment Talisman.
• Xiaoqing broke through to the second rank, shattered the talisman’s attack, and killed Zeng Yu and Sister Ling with earthen spikes.
• Xiaoqing battered Li Xisun until Aaron arrived, and Li Xisun realized the demon beast belonged to the Core Formation cultivator.
• Aaron reunited with Xiaoqing and asked Li Xisun about Azure Pill and the Azure Cauldron Sect.
• Aaron seized Li Xisun with a spiritual power hand and used the Soul Search Technique.

Aaron returned to the Far Western Lands after centuries away, learned that Azure Cauldron Sect had risen to dominate Forest Kingdom and Martial Kingdom, and decided to challenge its control. He reunited with the Li Family as its long-missing Patriarch Qingjing, but Li Jiantong worried that his advanced age would leave him unable to defeat Qingyun Patriarch.

• Aaron burned Li Xisun to ashes and learned how the Far Western Lands had changed since his departure, including Azure Cauldron Sect's rise.
• Aaron inspected the spiritual herbs at Great Marsh Lake, found that the Nine-Eyed Begonia had stopped growing, and decided to claim a spiritual vein, starting with Azure Cauldron Mountain.
• Aaron promised Xiaoqing that he would take it along to guard his future spiritual herb garden.
• Aaron arrived at Little Moon Mountain and revealed himself to Li Jiantong as the Li Family's long-lost Patriarch Qingjing, now a Core Formation cultivator.
• Aaron told Li Jiantong that he intended to take Forest Kingdom and Martial Kingdom from Azure Cauldron Sect, while Li Jiantong feared he could not defeat Qingyun Patriarch at his advanced age.

Aaron lured Qingyunzi away from the Azure Cauldron Sect by having Xiaoqing disrupt the Cloud Mica Mine, then ambushed him with the Black Jade Seal. Qingyunzi survived the attack with the Greenwood Sword and revealed that he was a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator wielding two natal magic treasures.

• Li Jiantong explained that Aaron could draw Qingyunzi out by creating a crisis at the Cloud Mica Mine, while keeping Li Qingjing's return secret.
• Xiaoqing rampaged through the mine, killing several late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators before escaping with an Earth Escape Talisman.
• After half a month of disruption, Qingyunzi flew to the mine, and Aaron secretly attacked him with the Black Jade Seal.
• Qingyunzi's Greenwood Sword warned him of the ambush and blocked Aaron's attack, allowing Qingyunzi to escape the seal's range.
• Aaron recognized the Greenwood Sword as Azure Pill's former natal magic treasure and asked Qingyunzi who he was.
• Qingyunzi identified Aaron as Li Qingjing, then revealed his mid-stage Core Formation cultivation and two natal magic treasures.

Aaron defeated Qingyunzi, discovering through a soul search that he was Azure Pill reborn through a secret bloodline art. With Qingyunzi dead, the chain of crimes that began with a carp finally ended.

• Aaron lured Qingyunzi into a third-rank array and used talismans, the Formless Needle, and the Formless Sword to pierce his defenses and knock him unconscious.
• Aaron restrained Qingyunzi, suppressed his treasures, and searched his soul for several hours.
• Aaron killed Qingyunzi and found a jade slip containing the Bloodline Rebirth Art in his storage pouch.
• Aaron pieced together how Azure Pill had used the art to be reborn as a gifted blood relative, outlast his rivals, and eventually destroy the Vast Righteous Sect.
• Aaron reflected that Qingyunzi had barely remembered the old events at Great Marsh Lake and concluded that the bloody chain triggered by the carp had ended.

Aaron revealed that he had killed Qingyunzi and rallied more than a dozen Foundation Establishment forces to attack the Azure Cauldron Sect. As the sect collapsed into chaos, Aaron reached Azure Cauldron Mountain and examined its activated third-rank formation.

• Aaron told Li Jiantong that Qingyunzi was dead and ordered him to gather Foundation Establishment forces for an assault on the Azure Cauldron Sect.
• At Little Moon Mountain, Aaron appeared before the gathered cultivators, displayed Qingyunzi's head, and announced that Li Qingjing had returned after forming his core.
• Shen Wantong, Mo of the Three Beasts Sect, and other cultivators pledged to join the campaign, while Aaron secretly killed Xiao Chi as he tried to flee.
• Aaron ordered the assembled forces to destroy the Blazing Flame Sect before marching against the Azure Cauldron Sect.
• The Azure Cauldron Sect's subordinate forces rebelled, its cultivators fled, and its loyalists activated the sect-protecting formation to resist.
• Aaron arrived at Azure Cauldron Mountain and recognized its genuine Five Elements Lost Trail Formation.