Chapter Summaries

Lu Ye learned that Tang Yifeng was the Crimson Blood Sect’s Sect Master and received an introduction to the sect, which was short on people. When Lu Ye tried to show Tang Yifeng a cultivation art, he accidentally revealed an illustrated dual-cultivation book, which Tang Yifeng confiscated for safekeeping.

• Tang Yifeng introduced himself as the Crimson Blood Sect’s Sect Master and explained that Lu Ye was only a probationary disciple until he passed the sect’s assessments.
• Tang Yifeng described the Crimson Blood Sect’s history, and Lu Ye learned that the sect had few members.
• Lu Ye asked Tang Yifeng for help finding his second aperture, then produced Steward Yang’s Storage Bag and offered a cultivation art from it.
• Lu Ye accidentally handed Tang Yifeng an illustrated book of dual cultivation, whose images and sounds came alive when Tang Yifeng channeled Spiritual Power into it.
• Tang Yifeng called the book unsuitable for Lu Ye’s age and put it away, promising to return it when Lu Ye was older.

Old Man Tang explained the grades of cultivation techniques and how they determined a cultivator’s Spiritual Apertures, realm progression, and potential strength. He taught Lu Ye that cultivators had to choose techniques suited to their limits and that good and evil came from people, not techniques.

• Old Man Tang identified the Golden Cicada Free and Unfettered Art as a Yellow-tier technique that could open twenty-seven Spiritual Apertures.
• Old Man Tang explained the four technique grades and how the number of apertures required for each Spirit Stream tier varied by grade.
• Lu Ye realized that cultivators’ realm labels alone could not determine their strength because higher-grade techniques required more apertures at the same tier.
• Old Man Tang explained that each cultivator had a limit to how many Spiritual Apertures they could open and that many cultivators began with Yellow-tier techniques.
• Old Man Tang told Lu Ye that cultivation techniques had neither good nor evil, and Lu Ye respectfully promised to remember his lesson.

Old Man Tang taught Lu Ye how to locate and open his second Spiritual Aperture, then discovered that the pills Lu Ye had taken from Zhou Cheng’s Storage Bag were failed Qi and Blood Pill residue. Lu Ye learned that pill residue could cause harmful Pill Toxin, but Old Man Tang found his Spiritual Power was still pure enough that he need not worry much.

• Old Man Tang guided Lu Ye to the location of his second Spiritual Aperture and explained that Lu Ye had to break its Aperture Barrier himself.
• Old Man Tang left guiding Spiritual Power in Lu Ye’s next eight apertures, and Lu Ye began striking the second aperture’s barrier until his Spiritual Power ran low.
• Lu Ye prepared to take pills from Zhou Cheng’s Storage Bag, but Old Man Tang revealed they were residue from failed Qi and Blood Pill refinement.
• Old Man Tang explained that pill residue contained harmful Pill Toxin and warned Lu Ye not to take it.
• Old Man Tang checked Lu Ye’s Spiritual Power and reassured him that it was still pure despite his having taken two or three hundred pills of residue.

Lu Ye learned from Old Man Tang that his Spiritual Power was pure despite his heavy use of pill residue, and suspected the Talent Tree was responsible. Guided by the Sect Master, he began using Spirit Nurturing Pills, rapidly opened and filled new apertures, and ended the chapter asleep after an exhausting cultivation session.

• Lu Ye asked Old Man Tang how to deal with Pill Toxin, and Old Man Tang advised him to cultivate in moderation and gave him a bottle of Spirit Nurturing Pills.
• Lu Ye swallowed a Spirit Nurturing Pill, followed Old Man Tang’s instructions to guide its power, and opened his second Spiritual Aperture in less than half a day.
• After Old Man Tang left, Lu Ye tested his Talent Tree theory by consuming more Spirit Nurturing Pills and filled his second aperture in two days.
• Lu Ye opened and filled his third aperture after another round of cultivation, then grew tired, ate from Zhou Cheng’s Storage Bag, and fell asleep.

Lu Ye traveled with the Sect Master in a Twin Warhorse Carriage and learned about cultivation paths before an unknown attacker destroyed their carriage. The Sect Master protected Lu Ye as they hovered in midair and surveyed the ambush.

• The Sect Master left the Flying Dragon Ship with Lu Ye in a Twin Warhorse Carriage after speaking with the stern middle-aged man.
• Lu Ye examined the carriage and its artificial horses, and the Sect Master explained that Artificers crafted them.
• The Sect Master assessed Lu Ye's aptitude and explained that Weapon Cultivation or Spell Cultivation suited him best.
• An unknown attack blasted the Twin Warhorse Carriage apart while the Sect Master instructed Lu Ye.
• The Sect Master carried Lu Ye away from the wreckage and prepared to confront the attacker.

Tang Yifeng fought off an ambush while protecting Lu Ye, then made him an Official Disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect and fled toward a Ruined Hall. The pursuers closed in as Tang Yifeng reached the hall, whose appearance alarmed them.

• A thin man attacked Tang Yifeng and Lu Ye with yellow beams while a burly cultivator charged, but Tang Yifeng deflected the spell into the attacker.
• A hidden woman wounded Tang Yifeng, who fled with Lu Ye while the three assassins pursued him.
• Tang Yifeng asked Lu Ye about the Spirit Stream Battlefield, then used a Great Seal to accept him as an Official Disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect.
• Tang Yifeng gave Lu Ye something, told him to stay alive, and descended into a wilderness to reveal a Ruined Hall.
• The thin man recognized the Ruined Hall and urged the others to stop Tang Yifeng.

The Sect Master sent Lu Ye away through a Crystal Pillar as three attackers assaulted the Ruined Hall, then revealed his formidable strength and defeated them. Pang Zhen learned that Pang Dahai had guided Lu Ye to the Crimson Blood Sect and arrived after the Sect Master’s message to find the attackers dead.

• The Sect Master raised a hastily arranged Formation to hold off the three attackers and instructed Lu Ye to activate the Crystal Pillar, warning him to hide and keep his connection to the Crimson Blood Sect secret.
• The Formation shattered, but the Sect Master caught the burly man’s punch and revealed that his strength far exceeded the attackers’ intelligence.
• The thin man called for retreat, but the Sect Master crushed the burly man’s bones, knocked the Slender Woman from hiding, and pursued the thin man with a rope-like treasure.
• Pang Zhen scolded Pang Dahai for violating alliance rules by guiding Lu Ye to the Crimson Blood Sect, then rushed out after receiving the Sect Master’s message.
• Pang Zhen arrived at the devastated wilderness and found the three attackers dead while Old Man Tang stood amid the wreckage.

After three Divine Sea Realm assassins targeted Lu Ye, Old Man Tang sent him into the Spirit Stream Battlefield and joined Pang Zhen in seeking the people behind the ambush. Lu Ye appeared alone in a forest surrounded by wolves and discovered that a Spiritual Pattern identified him as a Crimson Blood Sect disciple with three apertures opened.

• Pang Zhen learned that the three slain cultivators had targeted Lu Ye, whom Old Man Tang had sent into the Spirit Stream Battlefield.
• Pang Zhen recognized the Heaven's Mystery Pillar as belonging to the ruined White Dragon Institute and realized Lu Ye could have appeared anywhere in the vast battlefield.
• Old Man Tang demanded that Pang Zhen uncover who had arranged the ambush, while refusing to send searchers after Lu Ye to avoid drawing attention to him.
• Lu Ye found himself stranded in a forest, climbed a tree to escape a pack of vicious wolves, and wondered where he was and what had happened to the Sect Master.
• Lu Ye examined the back of his hand and activated a Spiritual Pattern that identified him as a Crimson Blood Sect disciple in the Spirit Stream Battlefield, with three apertures opened.

Lu Ye learned that the Sect Master had sent him to the Spirit Stream Battlefield and left him supplies and information to survive. His Battlefield Mark connected him to the Crimson Blood Sect’s camp, giving him a route back to the sect.

• Lu Ye realized he was in the Spirit Stream Battlefield and worried about the dangers posed by cultivators from the Vast Sky Alliance and Myriad Demon Ridge.
• Lu Ye searched the Storage Bag the Sect Master had left him and found Spiritual Pills, Spirit Talismans, clothing, and a Jade Slip.
• Lu Ye used the Jade Slip to learn how the Spirit Stream Battlefield worked and why cultivators usually entered through their own sect’s Heaven’s Mystery Pillar.
• Lu Ye learned that his Battlefield Mark, branded with the Crimson Blood Sect Sect Master's Great Seal, connected him to the Crimson Blood Sect’s camp and could lead him home.

Lu Ye used a Golden Wheel Talisman to drive off a pack of wolves, then depleted his Spiritual Power and retreated to a cave to recover and assess his supplies. He planned to stay there and cultivate while remaining alert to the dangers of the wilderness.

• Lu Ye chose a Golden Wheel Talisman and discovered that it formed a disc that fired powerful crescent-shaped blades.
• Lu Ye killed more than a dozen wolves with the talisman, and the survivors fled after a howl sounded in the distance.
• Lu Ye exhausted his Spiritual Power, swallowed a Spirit Nurturing Pill, and left the bloodied area with wolf meat in his Storage Bag.
• Lu Ye found an unclaimed cave and settled inside to recover and take stock of his belongings.
• Lu Ye counted his pills, ores, cultivation art, clothing, and nearly thirty spirit talismans.

Lu Ye used his Spiritual Pills to rapidly advance from three apertures to eight in half a month, and discovered that pills did not seem to harm his Spiritual Power. With his supplies exhausted and the Ninth Aperture still sealed, he sought a faster way to reach the Spirit Stream Realm.

• Lu Ye divided the ores, Spiritual Pills, and Spirit Talismans among three Storage Bags, changed clothes, and began refining a Spirit Nurturing Pill.
• Lu Ye sensed the dense Spiritual Energy around him and realized that the Spirit Stream Battlefield offered better cultivation conditions than the outside world.
• Lu Ye cultivated almost nonstop, eating wolf meat and consuming his Qi and Blood Pills and Spirit Nurturing Pills to open apertures.
• After half a month, Lu Ye had advanced from three apertures to eight and confirmed that swallowing pills had not reduced the purity of his Spiritual Power.
• Lu Ye ran out of pills before breaking the Ninth Aperture and found that cultivating by drawing in Spiritual Energy would take months.

Lu Ye was confronted by a powerful Big Tiger after hunting the beasts in its territory and eating their meat to cultivate. When the Big Tiger demanded payment, Lu Ye used the Healing Pills as a distraction and launched a talisman-and-sword attack, leaving the fight underway.

• Lu Ye continued cultivating by refining the essence of wild-beast meat into Spiritual Power after running out of Spiritual Pills.
• A Big Tiger entered Lu Ye's cave and accused him of killing the creatures in its territory.
• Lu Ye denied responsibility, but the Big Tiger pointed out that he was the only human nearby and demanded Spiritual Pills or Spirit Stones.
• Lu Ye said he had neither and offered the Big Tiger his Healing Pills instead.
• As Lu Ye kicked the bottle toward the Big Tiger, he activated a Fire Serpent Talisman and charged with his sword.

Lu Ye fought Big Tiger after discovering it was not as powerful as he had feared, but an unseen attacker disrupted the battle. Just as he prepared to use a Spirit Talisman, the attacker surrendered and appeared as a young girl emerging from the rock wall.

• Lu Ye tested Big Tiger's reluctance to approach, then attacked it with a Fire Serpent Talisman and his sword.
• An unseen assailant ambushed Lu Ye with a crushing force and a shriek, but his Spiritual Power drove it back into the rock wall.
• Big Tiger pounced, and Lu Ye wounded it with his sword while taking a claw strike across his chest.
• Lu Ye dodged beneath Big Tiger and struck its underbelly, but a golden barrier protected it from serious injury.
• As Lu Ye reached for a Spirit Talisman, a voice surrendered, and a young girl emerged from the rock wall beside Big Tiger.
• Lu Ye demanded to know what the girl was.

Lu Ye confronted Yiyi and Amber, learning that Yiyi was an independent Accomplice Spirit linked to the tiger. He spared them in exchange for payment, but rejected the locked and emptied Storage Bags they offered, leaving their lives in doubt.

• Lu Ye threatened Yiyi and Amber with a Spirit Talisman, and Yiyi explained that she was an Accomplice Spirit rather than an ordinary Accomplice Ghost.
• Yiyi pleaded for their lives and offered to pay, so Lu Ye held back from attacking Amber.
• Yiyi returned with several Storage Bags and claimed Amber had frightened cultivators into surrendering them.
• Lu Ye discovered that the Storage Bags were locked or empty and told Yiyi they were not enough to buy their lives.

Lu Ye forced Yiyi and Amber to offer compensation for their confrontation, and Yiyi gave him a Barrier Breaking Fruit after he swore a Heaven's Mystery Oath not to harm them unless they provoked him. With the fruit in hand, Lu Ye believed the Spirit Stream Realm was within reach.

• Lu Ye rejected Yiyi's offer to take him to Green Cloud Market and demanded better compensation for his wound and spent talisman.
• Yiyi left the cave and returned nearly an hour later, weak and translucent, carrying a crimson Barrier Breaking Fruit.
• Yiyi offered Lu Ye the fruit on condition that he swear not to harm her or Amber, and Lu Ye made a Heaven's Mystery Oath before the Heavenly Mechanism.
• Yiyi and Amber left the cave after Lu Ye accepted the fruit, and Amber bounded away into the forest with Yiyi inside him.
• Lu Ye examined the Barrier Breaking Fruit and realized it could help him reach the Spirit Stream Realm.

Lu Ye tested the Barrier Breaking Fruit on a rabbit after recovering from his wounds and learning that a Storage Bag’s Restriction Lock could destroy the bag. Once he confirmed the fruit was not poisonous, he ate it and found it rapidly melted the barrier at his ninth Spiritual Aperture.

• Lu Ye treated his chest wounds with Healing Pills and recovered enough to finish eating the Great Serpent.
• Lu Ye fed a piece of the Barrier Breaking Fruit to a rabbit to test whether it was poisonous.
• Lu Ye tried to unlock one of Yiyi’s Storage Bags, but its Restriction Lock caused the bag to burst into flames and burn to ash.
• Lu Ye confirmed the rabbit was unharmed, killed it, and ate the Barrier Breaking Fruit himself.
• Lu Ye felt the fruit’s heat flow through his Spiritual Apertures and rapidly melt the Aperture Barrier at his ninth Spiritual Aperture.

Lu Ye used a Barrier Breaking Fruit to open the Ninth and Tenth Apertures, then strengthened his Ninth Aperture through days of hunting and cultivation. He connected his nine First Layer apertures into a Minor Heavenly Circulation and achieved the Spirit Stream Realm, leaving him far stronger than before.

• Lu Ye opened his Ninth Aperture and used the remaining fruit’s medicinal effect to open his Tenth Aperture, while loosening the Eleventh Aperture’s barrier.
• Lu Ye hunted nearby beasts for six days and refined their essence into qi until his Ninth Aperture was full.
• Lu Ye circulated Spiritual Power through his nine apertures and connected them into a Minor Heavenly Circulation.
• Lu Ye broke through to the Spirit Stream Realm as his Spiritual Power began flowing continuously through the nine apertures.
• Lu Ye sensed that his Spiritual Power had become more than twice as destructive and realized the Tenth Aperture would not strengthen his First Layer circulation yet.

After failing to cultivate by absorbing Spiritual Energy, Lu Ye left his hiding place to seek Green Cloud Market, where he hoped to obtain Spiritual Pills. Yiyi eventually gave him directions, and Lu Ye set off toward the market.

• Lu Ye found that his perception of Spiritual Energy had improved, but he still could not absorb it efficiently enough to cultivate.
• Lu Ye decided to leave the forest and seek Yiyi and Big Tiger to ask about Green Cloud Market.
• Lu Ye found Yiyi and Big Tiger in a cave and asked Yiyi about the market, but she refused to help him.
• Lu Ye threatened to kill ten beasts a day until none remained, prompting Yiyi to chase after him and provide directions to Green Cloud Market.
• Yiyi pointed Lu Ye east toward the market, while he asked her to indicate the way without using compass directions.

Lu Ye left Yiyi and Big Tiger’s territory and traveled toward Green Cloud Market while considering what Yiyi had told him about the Spirit Stream Battlefield. He reached the market at the foot of Green Cloud Mountain, where he hoped to find his way to the Crimson Blood Sect’s camp.

• Lu Ye set out for Green Cloud Market after warning Yiyi that he would return if her directions proved false.
• Yiyi told Lu Ye that the Spirit Stream Battlefield had Outer Circle, Inner Circle, and Core Region divisions, with sect camps placed according to rank and cultivation resources growing richer farther inward.
• Lu Ye decided to follow an arcing route through the Outer Circle to avoid stronger cultivators in the Inner Circle and Core Region.
• Yiyi explained that low-cultivation disciples were sent to the Outer Circle through Heaven's Mystery Pillars and that Green Cloud Markets were generally safe places for cultivators to trade and rest.
• Lu Ye crossed a river and a Chaotic Stone Forest, then reached Green Cloud Market at the foot of Green Cloud Mountain.

Lu Ye entered Green Cloud Market and encountered Demon Cultivators for the first time before a merchant from the Heaven's Mystery Merchant Guild introduced himself. Lu Ye grew interested in visiting the guild, though he decided to explore the market first.

• Lu Ye blended into the crowded Green Cloud Market and realized cultivators from opposing factions could mingle because they could not readily identify one another.
• A bull-horned Demon Cultivator and his cat-eared companion passed by, and Lu Ye learned they had not yet fully taken human form.
• A wealthy-looking man explained that he came from the Heaven's Mystery Merchant Guild and invited Lu Ye to trade there.
• Lu Ye hid his Crimson Blood Sect identity by letting the man believe he was a Rogue Cultivator.
• The merchant pointed Lu Ye toward the guild, and Lu Ye considered selling some of his items there after exploring the market.