Chapter Summaries

He Song harvested spirit herbs and searched for opportunities across Green Moon Immortal Province, then decided to cultivate near his cave rather than actively seek dangerous Golden Core treasures. As he refined pills, he received a letter from Wei Fan, who said his failed Golden Core attempt had left him regretting not giving He Song the Congealed Golden Core.

• He Song spent two months harvesting his medicinal gardens and found several minor opportunities, including one Foundation Establishment cave dwelling.
• He Song reconsidered seeking opportunities after realizing the danger of competing with other Golden Core cultivators, and chose to cultivate near his cave while gathering local news.
• He Song began refining Five Elements Spiritual Pills from his harvested herbs, while Yu'er slept beneath the Mixed Gold Spirit Fruit Tree.
• He Song received Wei Fan's letter saying his injuries from failing to form the Golden Core had healed and lamenting that he had not given He Song the Congealed Golden Core.

After Wei Fan told He Song he was leaving to seek another chance at core formation, He Song kept his Golden Core cultivation secret and spent two years refining pills and improving his crafting skills. With his herbs exhausted, He Song left his cave dwelling to sell his pills in other immortal cities, carrying a fortune that could attract attention from Foundation Establishment cultivators.

• Wei Fan wrote that his injuries had healed and that he was leaving to search for opportunities, promising to give He Song a Congealed Golden Core if he found one.
• He Song thanked Wei Fan but concealed that he had already reached the Golden Core realm, explaining that revealing his advancement could expose the source of his treasures.
• He Song spent two years refining spirit herbs into pills, improving his Golden Core cultivation slightly and raising his skill in alchemy, talisman crafting, and artifact refinement.
• He Song finished refining his harvested herbs and estimated that selling the pills would earn tens of thousands of mid-grade Spirit Stones.
• He Song left his cave dwelling, traveled underground for more than a hundred li, then took his flying boat toward other immortal cities to sell the pills.

After receiving True Monarch Luo Jing’s invitation to her Golden Core Grand Gathering, He Song decided to attend and planned to sell his pills along the way. When he entered Azure Mountain Immortal City, four waiting cultivators identified him as their suspected target and prepared to kill him.

• He Song chose to sell his spiritual pills in batches across several immortal cities to avoid drawing attention and exposing himself to tracking techniques.
• True Monarch Luo Jing wrote to He Song that she had reached the Golden Core realm and invited him to a grand gathering and auction in the Cloud Province Capital.
• He Song decided to attend the gathering, replied that he would arrive in time, and continued selling pills as he traveled toward Cloud Province.
• He Song left a Heavenly Dipper Divine Thunder Array outside Azure Mountain Immortal City, concealed his appearance and cultivation, and entered the city.
• Four cultivators gathered outside the city, concluded that He Song was likely the pill seller they sought, and planned to kill him when he left.

He Song entered Azure Mountain Immortal City and discovered four Foundation Establishment cultivators waiting outside, then learned they were connected to the city’s prominent families. After investigating the Li Family, he found evidence that it had bought blood pills from demonic cultivators and began interrogating an elderly family member.

• He Song sensed four Foundation Establishment cultivators ambushing outside Azure Mountain Immortal City and noticed that only three Foundation Establishment cultivators remained inside.
• He Song visited the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, traded pills with Bai Xuan, and learned about the Li Family and the city’s other Foundation Establishment families.
• He Song identified the four ambushers as Foundation Establishment cultivators from the city’s three families and used his divine sense to investigate the Li Family.
• He Song entered the Li Family estate and found an elderly cultivator swallowing blood-colored pills that he suspected had come from demonic cultivators.
• He Song seized the pills, revealed his Perfect Foundation Establishment aura, and reached to soul-search the old man.

He Song uncovered Li Xiao’s collusion with Devil Dao cultivators, stripped the three great families of Azure Mountain Immortal City of their treasures, and alerted a stationed True Person to the Li Family’s crime. He then confronted the four Foundation Establishment cultivators waiting to ambush him and trapped them inside the Heavenly Dipper Divine Thunder Array as their attacks struck its defenses.

• He Song soul-searched Li Xiao, learned the Li Family’s secrets, and burned him to ashes.
• He Song took the three great families’ treasure and left Li Xiao’s Blood Pills and Storage Pouch in a stationed True Person’s residence to expose the Li Family.
• He Song left Azure Mountain Immortal City and flew directly toward Yun Hua and the three Foundation Establishment cultivators lying in ambush.
• Yun Hua ordered the other three to attack He Song after realizing he had spotted them.
• He Song activated the Heavenly Dipper Divine Thunder Array, enclosing Yun Hua and the others as their attacks struck its protective screen.

He Song trapped Yun Hua and three Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators in the Heavenly Dipper Divine Thunder Array after they attacked him, then killed three despite their pleas for mercy. He left Yun Hua alive for now and brought an unconscious evil cultivator into the formation.

• Yun Hua and three Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators attacked He Song, but the Heavenly Dipper Divine Thunder Array blocked their strikes without showing a ripple.
• Yun Hua realized He Song’s formation was likely a Golden Core Great Array, and the four attackers grew afraid and reconsidered their plan to seize his Spirit Stones.
• He Song activated the Starfall Pearl, accused the four of colluding with demonic path cultivators, and claimed he would act in the name of the One Yang Sect.
• Yun Hua and the others begged for their lives and offered Spirit Stones and other benefits, but He Song brought down divine thunder and killed three of them.
• He Song moved away from Yun Hua to avoid tracking marks, then captured an unconscious evil cultivator he had brought along and tossed him into the formation.

He Song killed Yun Hua and a captured demonic cultivator while taking precautions against hidden tracking techniques, then searched their memories. He discovered that the demonic cultivator had stumbled upon a mysterious opportunity in a mist-shrouded mountain range ten thousand miles beyond Azure Mountain Immortal City.

• He Song grievously wounded Yun Hua with the Stele-Splitting Finger and ordered the captured demonic cultivator to kill him.
• The demonic cultivator recognized Yun Hua and severed his head, after which He Song killed the demonic cultivator to divert any death-triggered tracking techniques away from himself.
• He Song waited for both men to die and confirmed that no tracking phenomenon appeared.
• He Song searched Yun Hua's and the demonic cultivator's memories and found a promising opportunity in a miasma-covered mountain range beyond Azure Mountain Immortal City.

After uncovering clues to a mysterious formation in the mountains beyond Azure Mountain Immortal City, He Song suspected the area might conceal a Golden Core cave dwelling. He secured his retreat, traveled there in secret, and reached the miasma-filled region, where he found signs of cultivators who had died.

• He Song inferred from the evil cultivator's memories and faint formation traces that the remote mountains might hide an extraordinary place.
• He Song burned the five bodies, erased evidence, and retrieved the Heavenly Dipper Divine Thunder Array before heading toward the mountains.
• He Song tallied his plunder from Yun Hua, the other Foundation Establishment cultivators, and their family vaults, estimating his gains at more than twenty thousand middle-grade Spirit Stones.
• He Song suppressed his impulse to repeat the killings, deciding that doing so would attract unwanted attention and conflict with his wish to cultivate in peace.
• He Song set up a Heavenly Dipper Divine Thunder Array as a fallback, then used the Hidden God Technique and Earth Escape Technique to approach the mountains unseen.
• He Song entered the miasma-filled region protected by the Starfall Pearl and followed the evil cultivator's route to the strange place, where he saw scraps of robes, ornaments, and bones.

He Song discovered that a Golden Core concealment formation in a miasma-filled valley used illusions of precious spirit herbs to lure cultivators, and he suspected it had trapped a pursuing group. He postponed investigating the formation until after the approaching Golden Core Grand Gathering and waited near Cloud Province Capital as cultivators began arriving.

• He Song examined the secluded valley and determined that its apparent spirit herbs were likely illusions produced by a Golden Core concealment formation.
• He Song inferred that the formation’s illusions may have lured the cultivators pursuing the evil cultivator into the valley, where they disappeared.
• He Song investigated the formation’s broad coverage, then left to attend the upcoming Golden Core Grand Gathering before returning to explore it.
• He Song traveled toward Cloud Province Capital and set up a Heavenly Dipper Divine Thunder Array several hundred miles away as an escape route.
• He Song waited and cultivated inside the array while watching more cultivators, including Foundation Establishment Real Persons, arrive for the gathering.

He Song entered Cloud Province Capital for the Golden Core gathering and received a token from True Monarch Luo Jing that let him access the Golden Core trading venue. As he left for the Foundation Establishment cultivators’ lodgings, Purple-Robed True Lord and True Person Yun Jing went to welcome the first visiting Golden Core True Lord, who arrived aboard a flying vessel.

• He Song left his secluded location, traveled to Cloud Province Capital, and met True Monarch Luo Jing and True Person Yun Jing at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.
• He Song gave a vague explanation for his delayed arrival, and True Monarch Luo Jing inferred that he had encountered a fortuitous opportunity.
• True Monarch Luo Jing gave He Song a token that allowed him to enter the Golden Core True Lords’ trading venue at the gathering.
• A Golden Core aura arrived outside Cloud Province Capital, and True Monarch Luo Jing left with True Person Yun Jing to greet the newcomer.
• He Song headed toward the lodgings for Foundation Establishment Real People as Purple-Robed True Lord appeared to welcome the arriving Golden Core True Lord, whose flying vessel came into view.

He Song attended the Golden Core Grand Gathering in the Cloud Province Capital, observing its events while waiting for the auction and a meeting of Golden Core True Lords. At the auction, he found True Person Yun Jing waiting in his private room, where she explained that she had come to escape her master's constant scolding.

• He Song inferred that Azure-Robed True Lord and Purple-Robed True Lord were fellow disciples and that True Monarch Luo Jing's sect might have a Nascent Soul Ancestor behind it.
• He Song settled into his residence and spent half a month exploring the Cloud Province Capital, but found no treasures or techniques he wanted.
• He Song attended the Golden Core Grand Gathering, watched Foundation Establishment cultivators fight in the arenas, and listened to True Monarch Luo Jing lecture on Foundation Establishment cultivation.
• He Song waited through the gathering's events for the large auction and the Golden Core True Lords' exchange meeting.
• At the auction, He Song entered his private room and found True Person Yun Jing waiting there.
• True Person Yun Jing told He Song she had come to escape her master's repeated scolding and praise of her senior sister.

At the Treasure Gathering Pavilion auction, He Song set his sights on the Qingye Dan Collection, a Jade Slip containing Golden Core pill formulas. When he bid against another high-status bidder, he drew the auction hall’s attention, while Yun Jing wondered why a Perfect Foundation Establishment cultivator wanted it.

• Yun Jing welcomed He Song to their private room and gave him a Jade Slip listing the auction items.
• He Song reviewed the auction offerings and decided the Qingye Dan Collection was the only item he wanted.
• The Qingye Dan Collection’s price rose from one thousand to ten thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones as Foundation Establishment cultivators bid.
• Private Room Thirty-Three raised the bid to fifteen thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones, silencing the auction hall.
• He Song bid sixteen thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones from Private Room Three, prompting Yun Jing and the crowd to take notice.

He Song won the Qingye Dan Collection at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion auction after outbidding the cultivator in private room thirty-three, then attended the Golden Core True Lord exchange meeting with Yun Jing True Person. After spotting someone he claimed was an old acquaintance, he left Yun Jing and disguised himself in the crowd.

• He Song and the bidder in private room thirty-three raised the Qingye Dan Collection's price to twenty thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones before the other bidder stopped, and He Song bought it.
• Yun Jing True Person congratulated He Song, and he watched the rest of the auction without purchasing anything else.
• Yun Jing invited He Song to the Golden Core True Lord exchange meeting, and he agreed to enter with her.
• He Song and Yun Jing walked through the exchange hall, where Golden Core cultivators displayed pills, talismans, artifacts, formations, and secret techniques for sale or trade.
• He Song told Yun Jing he had spotted an old acquaintance, slipped away from her, and changed his appearance, figure, and cultivation aura beneath a black robe.

He Song attended a Golden Core exchange gathering disguised as a Foundation Establishment cultivator and found few items he could obtain through barter. He bought a Green Jade Leaf that could resist tracking techniques, but became wary after its seller questioned him about the Golden Core elder behind him.

• He Song inspected the gathering’s treasures but passed on several Golden Core Secret Techniques because their sellers demanded items he did not possess.
• He Song stopped at a crowded partition where cultivators argued over an item, then searched its Spirit Stone-priced goods for something that could counter tracking techniques.
• The partition’s owner contacted He Song through divine sense and offered him a low-grade Spiritual Artifact called the Green Jade Leaf for thirteen thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones.
• He Song accepted the offer, paid for the Green Jade Leaf, and put it in his Storage Pouch.
• He Song left the crowd and continued through the hall, suspecting the seller had ulterior motives after asking about the Golden Core True Lord behind him.

He Song suspected that the black-robed Golden Core had marked him or the Green Jade Leaf to track and ambush him, so he waited until most cultivators had left before meeting True Monarch Luo Jing. He removed possible marks from himself and partly refined the artifact, leaving the black-robed Golden Core to suspect Luo Jing while He Song prepared to leave freely.

• He Song searched the Golden Core gathering but found nothing else he could buy, and avoided trading Silver Moon True Monarch's marked artifacts for fear of drawing the One Yang Sect's attention.
• After the gathering ended, He Song stayed in his residence for several days while the black-robed Golden Core watched him and grew suspicious about the identity of the Golden Core behind him.
• He Song visited True Monarch Luo Jing and her junior sister, Foundation Establishment Real Person Yun Jing, under the pretense of saying farewell.
• During the meeting, He Song washed away any tracking marks on his body and partly refined the Green Jade Leaf to remove another person's traces.
• He Song bid farewell to True Monarch Luo Jing and returned to his residence, having set up the black-robed Golden Core to blame her for the lost tracking opportunity.

He Song stayed in Cloud Province Capital and refined the Green Jade Leaf, unknowingly frustrating the black-robed Golden Core who had been tracking him. After waiting a month for He Song to leave, the pursuer lost the tracking trace and grew murderous, while He Song remained cautious and continued preparing to evade him.

• The black-robed Golden Core watched He Song enter Treasure Gathering Pavilion and was alarmed when He Song purged the tracking mark on his body.
• He Song secretly refined the Green Jade Leaf, severing the black-robed Golden Core’s connection to it and leading the pursuer to suspect True Monarch Luo Jing was involved.
• The black-robed Golden Core waited outside Treasure Gathering Pavilion, planning to intercept He Song, but He Song returned to his residence and continued cultivating.
• After a month without He Song leaving, the black-robed Golden Core lost the remaining tracking trace, smashed a teacup and table, and vowed to capture and torture him.
• He Song continued refining the Green Jade Leaf and planned to stay in Cloud Province Capital for at least another month to avoid the black-robed Golden Core.

He Song spent two months refining the Green Jade Leaf and waiting for a tracking mark to fade while a black-robed Golden Core cultivator watched his residence. He escaped the Cloud Province Capital through the earth and later left for Green Moon Immortal Province, while the cultivator discovered his empty residence months afterward and swore revenge.

• He Song continued refining the Green Jade Leaf and decided to be cautious about the backgrounds of anyone he might target.
• The black-robed Golden Core cultivator waited outside He Song's residence for two months, growing increasingly furious as rumors spread around the teahouse.
• After confirming that two months had passed without anyone approaching, He Song chose to leave through the earth rather than risk being seen at his door.
• He Song emerged near the Cloud Province Capital's gates, waited several days inside his Heavenly Dipper Divine Thunder Array, then departed for Green Moon Immortal Province.
• The black-robed Golden Core cultivator kept watching He Song's apparently occupied residence for months before entering and discovering it was empty.
• The black-robed Golden Core cultivator realized He Song had escaped and, unable to act recklessly in the Cloud Province Capital, vowed to kill him if they met again.

A black-robed Golden Core pursued He Song but was caught in a battle with Purple-Robed True Lord and several other Golden Core cultivators, escaping only after sustaining grave injuries. Meanwhile, He Song reached a concealed Golden Core cave dwelling in Green Moon Immortal Province and began investigating its formation.

• The black-robed Golden Core cursed He Song outside his residence, and Purple-Robed True Lord detected his aura and raised the Treasure Gathering Pavilion's defenses.
• Purple-Robed True Lord searched for the intruder, then spotted him after he reappeared and threatened the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.
• Purple-Robed True Lord and several Golden Core True Lords pursued the black-robed Golden Core for days, forcing him to escape with a secret technique.
• The black-robed Golden Core hid in a mountain forest to heal his severe wounds and continued blaming He Song for his misfortune.
• He Song arrived at a concealed Golden Core cave dwelling in Green Moon Immortal Province and set out to study its concealment formation.

He Song paused his secluded study of a Golden Core Concealment Array after receiving news that Meng Guan had emerged from twelve years of seclusion as a Golden Core True Lord. He advised Meng Guan about seeking information and choosing a path in the Golden Snake Sect’s territory, then returned to studying the array.

• He Song received Meng Guan’s message announcing his Golden Core breakthrough and plans to visit a nearby prefectural city to learn about Golden Core matters.
• He Song considered how Meng Guan’s visit might lead the Golden Snake Sect to recruit him, while reflecting on why he could not safely join a Nascent Soul sect himself.
• He Song replied that he was pursuing an opportunity with Wei Fan and cautioned Meng Guan to avoid the One Yang Sect’s territory because it was preparing for war.
• He Song suggested that Meng Guan consider joining the Golden Snake Sect, establishing his own Golden Core force, or remaining a Rogue Cultivator.
• Meng Guan read He Song’s reply, was moved by his friendship, and considered the options He Song had laid out.

He Song spent ten years cultivating and studying a Golden Core concealment formation while preparing to refine Golden Core pills and gaining the Green Jade Leaf’s protection against tracking arts. He learned that Meng Guan had joined the One Yang Sect as a Golden Core elder after Zhao Lin vouched for his origins.

• Meng Guan decided that joining the One Yang Sect was a worthwhile path and considered going to war against the Locking God Sect.
• He Song continued comprehending the concealment formation and cultivating, while harvesting mature herbs from his medicinal gardens.
• He Song studied the Qingye Dan Collection, which described the Spirit-Awakening Pill and the essence-burning Blood-Explosion Pill.
• He Song fully refined the Green Jade Leaf, which formed a barrier to thwart tracking secret arts.
• He Song learned that Meng Guan had joined the One Yang Sect as a Golden Core elder, and Zhao Lin’s testimony helped verify Meng Guan’s Thick Earth Sect origins.