Chapter Summaries

Lu Ye surveyed the Myriad Phenomena Sea and chose to travel to Myriad Phenomena Island, where he could gather information and learn about the region. He hired the ferryman Fang Wanli, who explained how the Myriad Phenomena Merchant Association operated as the sea’s dominant force.

• Lu Ye saw cultivators fighting over an island and reviewed the rules restricting Moon Jade and Great Sun Realm cultivators in the Myriad Phenomena Sea.
• Lu Ye chose Myriad Phenomena Island as his destination and began the long journey across the sea.
• Fang Wanli approached Lu Ye and offered to ferry him to Myriad Phenomena Island for ten Lingyu.
• Lu Ye exchanged Sound Talisman imprints with Fang Wanli and paid him to explain the Myriad Phenomena Merchant Association.
• Fang Wanli told Lu Ye that the association was backed by local forces and major top-tier realms, whose mutual involvement helped it control the Myriad Phenomena Sea.

Lu Ye arrived at Myriad Phenomena Island and learned how its entry fees, ferry traffic, and public and private Spirit Islands were managed. After paying to enter, he explored the island’s bustling shops and discovered that its protective array kept out Starry Sky Energy, allowing Divine Sea cultivators to work there.

• Fang Wanli explained the five-Lingyu entrance fee, the Star Map’s color markings for Spirit Islands, and the customs governing ferry boats and Star Boats.
• Lu Ye reached Myriad Phenomena Island, paid five Lingyu for a token, and heard Old Man Bai explain the rules for entering and leaving.
• Watching cultivators pay to enter, Lu Ye imagined making a fortune by charging visitors to his own Spirit Island, then dismissed the idea as impractical.
• Lu Ye entered the island’s crowded streets and visited Marvelous Pill Workshop to look around.
• Lu Ye realized the island’s Grand Array blocked Starry Sky Energy, making it safe for Divine Sea cultivators, and left the shop without buying anything.

Lu Ye visited the Myriad Phenomena Merchant Association to arrange repairs for his Crag Mountain Saber and seek information about the Jade Snail Star System. He left with the investigation underway and a list of Fire Attribute material prices, aware that his dwindling Lingyu would soon be needed to replenish the Talent Tree’s fuel.

• Lu Ye surveyed shops on Myriad Phenomena Island and learned that even the cheapest Star Boat cost far more than he could afford.
• Lu Ye negotiated with Cao Xiang to repair the Crag Mountain Saber for fifteen hundred Lingyu and received a Jade Slip receipt for its collection in ten days.
• Lu Ye asked the Merchant Association to locate the Jade Snail Star System, and Cao Xiang accepted a three-hundred-Lingyu deposit after finding no record of it.
• Lu Ye requested a list of prices for Fire Attribute materials and left the Merchant Association with the Jade Slip.
• Lu Ye realized his Lingyu reserves were shrinking and that he would soon need to buy fuel for the Talent Tree.

Lu Ye bought Dragon Breath Crystals at the Open Market to replenish the Talent Tree's fuel, then left Myriad Phenomena Island to test the cultivation environment of the Myriad Phenomena Sea. He found a reef island, set up protective arrays, and began sensing the dense Starry Sky Energy around him.

• Lu Ye bargained with a stall owner at the Open Market and bought twenty-four Dragon Breath Crystals for seven hundred sixty spirit jades each.
• Lu Ye learned that the stall owner had been running the stall for almost three years and would soon be replaced by someone from his realm.
• Lu Ye left Myriad Phenomena Island, and his Pass Token cracked, meaning he would need to pay five spirit jades to enter again.
• Lu Ye searched for a suitable place away from the island and settled on a reef island about thirty yards across.
• Lu Ye arranged protective spirit arrays and sensed that the Myriad Phenomena Sea held denser Starry Sky Energy than the ordinary starry sky.

Lu Ye tested his cultivation needs and discovered that the Myriad Phenomena Sea's waters rapidly flooded him with dangerous energy and impurities, though the Talent Tree protected him at a steep fuel cost. He returned to the reef island with a fish he had struck beneath the sea, revealing that the Myriad Phenomena Sea was not lifeless.

• Lu Ye calculated that after advancing to the Star Constellation Realm Middle Stage, he needed roughly four hundred Lingyu per month and used Dragon Breath Crystals to replenish the Talent Tree's fuel.
• Lu Ye entered the Myriad Phenomena Sea and found that its energy and impurities poured into his body, consuming the Talent Tree's fuel as it protected him.
• A white-haired old man and a young girl saw Lu Ye jump into the sea, assumed he had died, and eventually left.
• Lu Ye sensed something swimming nearby, punched it, and carried it back to the reef island.
• Lu Ye stared in astonishment at the fish he had brought up from the Myriad Phenomena Sea.

Lu Ye caught a White Spirit Salmon by chance and sold it to Qiu Pingyang for 2,600 Lingyu, learning that anglers could earn a fortune fishing in the Myriad Phenomena Sea. Hoping to find a way to replenish his Lingyu, Lu Ye headed for Fishing Island to see how the anglers worked.

• Lu Ye examined the fish he had caught and learned from Qiu Pingyang that it was a valuable White Spirit Salmon.
• Qiu Pingyang bought the damaged fish from Lu Ye for 2,600 Lingyu and told him about Fishing Island and the dangers of fishing.
• Lu Ye considered how another catch might expose his ability to remain in the Myriad Phenomena Sea for a long time, but decided to investigate fishing anyway.
• Lu Ye checked his Star Map and flew toward Fishing Island.
• Lu Ye arrived near Fishing Island and saw many anglers casting their lines from scattered reefs.

Lu Ye visited Fishing Island to observe the Anglers and met a relaxed young man who taught him how fishing worked. After learning about the costs and risks, Lu Ye decided to buy discounted fishing gear, and the chapter ended with him guessing the man's name was “Ladle... man.”

• Lu Ye watched the Anglers on Fishing Island and noticed that no one had caught a White Spirit all day.
• The young Angler asked Lu Ye for wine, accepted several jars, and explained the specialized gear and concentration needed to fish.
• The young man warned Lu Ye about the financial and cultivation risks of becoming an Angler, then offered to help him buy used gear.
• Lu Ye checked the market price with Fang Wanli and agreed to buy a fishing set from the young man's contact for three thousand Lingyu.
• When Lu Ye asked the young man's name, the man hinted at the ladle hanging at his side, and Lu Ye guessed, “Ladle... man?”

Li Taibai bought fishing gear from You Ling and spent hours trying unsuccessfully to catch a White Spirit, using up his bait and equipment. He returned to Myriad Phenomena Island to retrieve his repaired Crag Mountain Saber and bought more bait by offering six Spiritual Treasures for sale.

• Li Taibai met Pu Ke and bought fishing gear from You Ling, who gave him her sound talisman mark and offered a discount on assassination work.
• Pu Ke taught Li Taibai how to fish, but after several hours Li Taibai lost two hooked White Spirits and used up his bait, line, and hook.
• Li Taibai returned to Myriad Phenomena Island and collected his repaired Crag Mountain Saber from Cao Xiang at the Myriad Phenomena Merchant Association.
• Cao Xiang offered Li Taibai twenty Bait Pills for two thousand Lingyu, so Li Taibai put six unused Spiritual Treasures up for sale.
• Cao Xiang estimated the six Spiritual Treasures at about thirteen thousand Lingyu and explained that the merchant association generally bought them for only sixty percent of their value.

Lu Ye used his Clone as a cover while his main body caught a White Spirit underwater and arranged for the Clone to land it openly at Fishing Island. Several buyers from major forces surrounded him, and the chapter ended as they prepared to bid for the fish.

• Lu Ye bought fifteen Dragon Breath Crystals and traveled back to Fishing Island to carry out his plan.
• After struggling to fish, Lu Ye left his Clone at the island and dove underwater with his main body, hidden by a Thousand Faces Spirit Pattern.
• Lu Ye waited motionless beside the bait, seized a White Spirit, and attached it to the Clone’s hook.
• The Clone landed the White Spirit in front of nearby anglers and buyers, making Lu Ye’s catch appear to be the result of fishing.
• An elderly buyer offered four thousand six hundred jade, but Lu Ye rejected the price, so the buyers prepared to auction the White Spirit.

Lu Ye used his main body underwater to help his Clone catch White Spirits, earning more than 16,000 jade while keeping up the appearance of a lucky beginner. When two jealous anglers crowded beside him, he secretly tugged their bait and lines until they lost their supplies, while his own hook stayed empty.

• Lu Ye sold his first White Spirit for 5,300 jade, then continued fishing as his main body cultivated underwater and secretly retrieved the Clone’s bait.
• After several days without a catch, Lu Ye’s main body helped the Clone land a second, larger White Spirit, which sold for nearly 6,000 jade.
• Lu Ye caught a third White Spirit for over 5,000 jade, prompting the mole-faced youth and an old man to move their fishing lines close beside him.
• Lu Ye’s main body found the old man’s Bait Pill and yanked it, making the old man’s line snap; he then did the same to the mole-faced youth’s bait.
• The old man and the mole-faced youth repeatedly lost bait and fishing lines, spending their supplies while Lu Ye claimed he had forgotten to bait his empty hook.
• The old man left to buy more Bait Pills, and the furious mole-faced youth soon left as well.

Lu Ye spent half a year fishing on Fishing Island, earning Lingyu, advancing his cultivation, and refusing offers to join major factions. His routine was shattered when an outsider fought the local Great Sun Realm cultivators, killed one, and moved toward the island.

• Lu Ye sold White Spirits and spent most of his Lingyu on cultivation supplies while fishing, and he refused to become an exclusive angler for any faction.
• Lu Ye grew familiar with Pu Ke and secretly helped him catch White Spirits in return for Pu Ke’s earlier assistance.
• Lu Ye and Pu Ke sensed several Great Sun Realm cultivators fighting in the distance and watched the battle’s shockwaves sweep across the sea.
• One Great Sun Realm cultivator’s aura vanished, and Lu Ye and Pu Ke realized a local expert had likely been killed.
• An aged attacker mocked the Myriad Phenomena Star System and approached Fishing Island, prompting Lu Ye and Pu Ke to flee below.

After a Sunlight was killed in a clash over Fishing Island, Lu Ye continued cultivating and developed a new defensive Spiritual Pattern. When White Spirit vanished during the Fish Dormancy Period, he abandoned fishing and headed for Recruitment Island to find another way to earn Lingyu.

• An old man swept over Fishing Island after killing a Sunlight, pursued by two Sunlights of the local star system, while Lu Ye and Pu Ke protected themselves from the pressure.
• Lu Ye stayed on Fishing Island, completed a new defensive Spiritual Pattern, and named it Sacred Guard.
• Lu Ye discovered that White Spirit had vanished, and Pu Ke explained that the Fish Dormancy Period had begun.
• Lu Ye searched the deep sea for White Spirit but found none, then withdrew his Clone as the anglers and fish buyers left Fishing Island.
• Concerned that his Lingyu would soon run out, Lu Ye chose Recruitment Island on his Star Map and set off in his Star Boat to find a way to make money.

Lu Ye searched Recruitment Island for work that could cover his unusually high cultivation costs, then received intelligence about a possible route back to the Jade Snail Star System. He met Tang Jun to review the information and asked whether he knew the Heavenly Evolution and Cloud Peak Star Systems.

• Lu Ye inspected recruitment notices on Recruitment Island but rejected low-paying jobs and a high-paying guard position that could involve a war.
• Cao Xiang gave Lu Ye intelligence tracing a possible route from Myriad Phenomena through the Heavenly Evolution and Cloud Peak Star Systems to Jade Snail, and reduced the fee to five hundred Lingyu.
• Lu Ye paid Cao Xiang and sent a message before leaving the Myriad Phenomena Merchant Association.
• Lu Ye met Tang Jun on a reef island while disguised and showed him the Jade Slip.
• Tang Jun explained that he had avoided asking the Merchant Association for intelligence because his Moon Jade Realm cultivation would make him conspicuous, and Lu Ye asked whether he knew the two star systems.

Lu Ye decided to return to Jade Snail and chose to travel alone while Tang Jun stayed in the Myriad Phenomena Sea to prepare for future cultivators from their realms. To enter the Heavenly Evolution Star System, Lu Ye accepted a supply-escort job that might help him earn a guarantor, and he met the recruiter and two others at the departure point.

• Tang Jun explained why one of them should stay in the Myriad Phenomena Sea while the other mapped the route back to Jade Snail, and Lu Ye chose to go.
• Tang Jun gave Lu Ye nearly two thousand Lingyu and a Jade Slip for Wu Zhuo to support Lu Ye's return to Azure Dawn Dao Realm.
• Lu Ye decided to seek passage into the Heavenly Evolution Star System by joining a supply-escort job advertised on Recruitment Island.
• Lu Ye agreed to escort supplies on a round trip for 1,500 Lingyu and planned to build a relationship with the recruiter so he could later gain a guarantor.
• Two days later, Lu Ye arrived at the agreed meeting place and found the middle-aged recruiter there with two others.

Lu Ye, traveling under the name Li Taibai, joined Zhu Yuan and two other cultivators to escort supplies, but grew suspicious when Zhu Yuan skipped the Middle Righteous Register and led them off course. At a sinister cave on a barren star, Lu Ye realized the job was a trap, and Fan Yunhua and Jia Yu fled in opposite directions.

• Lu Ye introduced himself as Li Taibai and joined Zhu Yuan, Fan Yunhua, and Jia Yu for a supply-escort mission.
• Zhu Yuan refused to take the group to the Middle Righteous Register, saying the supplies were urgently needed and that he trusted his judgment.
• After two days, Fan Yunhua noticed that Zhu Yuan had steered the Star Boat away from the route to the Heavenly Evolution Star System, and Zhu Yuan said they were going to collect the supplies.
• Zhu Yuan led the group to a barren star and stopped outside a cave whose ominous presence made Lu Ye, Fan Yunhua, and Jia Yu wary.
• Lu Ye concluded that Zhu Yuan had lured them into a trap, and Fan Yunhua and Jia Yu fled in opposite directions.

Lu Ye and Zhu Yuan were caught between a Sunlight hidden in the cave and its black shadows, which killed Fan Yunhua and Jia Yu. After Lu Ye’s hostage plan failed, he charged into the darkness and resisted the Sunlight’s pressure, then struck at something he could not see as the hidden being laughed.

• Fan Yunhua and Jia Yu fled as Lu Ye attacked Zhu Yuan, severing his arm and pinning him with a saber through the heart.
• Black shadows dragged Fan Yunhua and Jia Yu into the cave, where their screams and life forces vanished.
• Lu Ye realized a Sunlight was in the cave and tried to take Zhu Yuan hostage, but the Sunlight killed Zhu Yuan with a black ray.
• Lu Ye charged into the cave, where the darkness suppressed his movement and Spiritual Power, and he resisted the Sunlight’s attempt to force him to kneel.
• The pressure suddenly vanished as Lu Ye lunged forward and struck at something in the darkness, prompting the Sunlight to laugh.

Lu Ye discovered that the old man who had brought him to the cave was Ma Bin, a survivor from Nine Provinces’ Pre-Nine Provinces Era. Ma Bin revealed that he had targeted Lu Ye because he sensed the aura of Heaven’s Mystery Disk, and explained that Zhu Yuan’s transport mission had been a ruse to bring Lu Ye to him.

• Lu Ye recognized the old man as the powerful fugitive he had seen on Fishing Island and realized the man had deliberately spared him.
• Ma Bin guessed that Lu Ye came from Nine Provinces because he carried the aura of Heaven’s Mystery Disk, and Lu Ye understood how he had been identified.
• Ma Bin introduced himself as a former member of the Human Emperor Sect of Heaven Continent who had helped forge Heaven’s Mystery Disk.
• Lu Ye revealed that he was from the Crimson Blood Sect in Soldier Province, and Ma Bin recalled Soldier Province’s Righteous Qi Sect.
• Ma Bin admitted that he had noticed Lu Ye on Fishing Island, then arranged for Zhu Yuan to lure him to the cave with a fabricated supply-transport mission.
• Ma Bin confirmed that Zhu Yuan’s account of the route through Heavenly Evolution and Cloud Peak was mostly fabricated, though the passage through Heavenly Evolution to Cloud Peak was real.

Lu Ye told Ma Bin how Nine Provinces had survived and grown over ten thousand years, while Ma Bin explained why he had stayed away to protect his homeland. Ma Bin then asked Lu Ye to tell him more about the younger generation.

• Lu Ye realized Zhu Yuan’s recruitment had been arranged to bring him to Ma Bin, and asked why the senior had summoned him.
• Ma Bin learned that Nine Provinces had become a Large Realm and that Little Nine, the Artifact Spirit of Heaven’s Mystery Disk, had guided its development.
• Lu Ye recounted Nine Provinces’ history, including the Bug Disaster and the expedition to the Blood Refining World, and told Ma Bin that Yang Qing had killed Yue Xin.
• Ma Bin said he had avoided seeking news at the Cycle Tree because enemies were watching, and Lu Ye explained how the Insect Path had brought him to the Myriad Phenomena Star System.
• Lu Ye explained how he obtained a Little People Race Red Talisman, and Ma Bin asked him to continue describing the younger generation.

Lu Ye parted from Ma Bin after learning that the Pre-Nine Provinces Era survivor intended to settle old matters alone, then searched the corpses Ma Bin left behind. As Lu Ye headed back toward the Myriad Phenomena Sea, he encountered a mysterious young cultivator and discovered that people were searching the region before a Starship blocked his way.

• Ma Bin told Lu Ye to forget their meeting, then vanished by entering Zhu Yuan, who departed aboard his Star Boat.
• Lu Ye found Fan Yunhua and Jia Yu’s desiccated corpses, searched their Storage Rings, and collected their Lingyu and other possessions.
• A very young Star Constellation Realm Early Stage cultivator entered the cave, threatened Lu Ye with a Red Talisman, and demanded that they pretend not to have met.
• Lu Ye set out for the Myriad Phenomena Sea and noticed more cultivators searching along the route.
• A Starship blocked Lu Ye’s Star Boat as he traveled toward the sea.

Lu Ye discovered that the young man he had met on the Barren Star was Chu Shen, the runaway young master of the Myriad Mist Sect, and returned to claim the reward. After breaking Chu Shen’s concealed Formation, Lu Ye was struck by a restraining treasure, but grabbed Chu Shen’s wrist before he could use a needle on him.

• A warship’s cultivators told Lu Ye that the Myriad Mist Sect was searching for Chu Shen and offered a large reward for his return.
• Lu Ye realized that the young man he had encountered on the Barren Star matched Chu Shen’s description and returned to search for him.
• Lu Ye found a concealed cave where Chu Shen was hiding and broke through its Formation with his Crag Mountain Saber.
• Chu Shen struck Lu Ye with Mystic Light from a treasured mirror, then approached and tried to make him a subordinate with a long needle.
• Lu Ye recovered faster than Chu Shen expected and seized his wrist before the needle could reach him.