Chapter Summaries

He Song took An Ning to explore the abandoned Gold-Spirit Sand mine after failing to find potential subordinates in Golden Sand Immortal Market. He used his powerful divine sense to navigate blocked tunnels and discovered a large cave containing traces of past cultivators, leaving him wary of what might be hidden there.

• He Song searched Golden Sand Immortal Market for potential subordinates but found no one and decided to visit the abandoned mine with An Ning.
• An Ning quietly left Golden Sand Immortal Market with He Song, and they flew to the mine several hundred li away.
• He Song surveyed the mine with his divine sense and led An Ning through tunnels that he had not been able to fully probe.
• He Song used a flying sword to clear a rockslide blocking a tunnel, with An Ning helping him.
• He Song discovered that the tunnel opened into a huge cave marked by signs of past cultivators, then checked for immediate dangers and grew wary.

He Song and An Ning entered a vast cave hidden behind the mine tunnel, where He Song found a dead Foundation Establishment cultivator and investigated the circumstances of their death. He left the cause uncertain but suspected a fierce battle with a Foundation Establishment demon beast had trapped the cultivator in the cave.

• He Song prepared for danger by deploying the Starfall Pearl, the Purple Lightning Spirit Snake Seal, and two defensive Golden Core Secret Techniques, then told An Ning to protect herself.
• He Song led An Ning through the cleared mine tunnel toward a cave where his divine sense had detected traces of past cultivators and a trapped person's remains.
• An Ning was surprised by the enormous, dark cave and noticed the excavated rock piles left by someone who had tried to escape.
• He Song found a cross-legged skeleton and searched its Storage Pouch, discovering over a hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones and a Foundation Establishment demon beast skeleton.
• He Song saw that the remains had broken bones and noticed signs of spell combat throughout the cave, leading him to suspect the cultivator had died after a brutal battle with the demon beast.

He Song found the remains and fortune of a Foundation Establishment Real Person in a cavern beneath the abandoned mine, then decided the mine could serve as a hidden cultivation retreat. He returned alone to explore the underground current and discovered a deep pool several hundred li away that led to the surface.

• He Song recovered over a hundred thousand Spirit Stones, a Foundation Establishment demon beast corpse, and other items from the skeleton, giving An Ning several Jade Slips containing Foundation Establishment secret arts.
• He Song searched the abandoned mine with An Ning but found no further opportunities, and he considered using its winding tunnels and concealed underground-current exit as a secluded cultivation site.
• He Song explored the underground current with his divine sense and detected Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment demon beasts, concluding that the injured Real Person could not have escaped through it.
• He Song left An Ning at the Golden Sand Immortal Market, returned to the abandoned mine alone several days later, and personally entered the underground current.
• He Song discovered a deep pool several hundred li away that led to the surface, though a Foundation Establishment demon beast lived within it, and he continued exploring.

He Song mapped the enormous underground current and confirmed it was safe for his secluded cultivation, then discovered a Water-Avoiding Pearl concealing what appeared to be a long-abandoned cultivator's cave dwelling. He cautiously approached the underwater bubble, where a pagoda, palaces, and overgrown fields suggested a potentially valuable Golden Core cave dwelling.

• He Song explored and mapped an underground current stretching more than ten thousand li, finding many Foundation Establishment demon beasts but judging the area too small to nurture a Golden Core demon beast.
• He Song decided the current was a suitable place to cultivate in seclusion, since cultivators rarely visited and he could remain concealed there.
• While heading back toward his entrance, He Song detected a huge transparent bubble at the riverbed and suspected it was formed by a Water-Avoiding Pearl.
• He Song reasoned that the Pearl might mark a cave dwelling whose protective array had long since dissipated, then secretly approached it.
• He Song saw dry soil, withered plants, a tall pagoda, and several palaces inside the bubble, and suspected he had found a Golden Core cultivator's cave dwelling.

He Song discovered a long-hidden Golden Core cave dwelling after deducing that its protective array had failed when its Spirit Stones ran out. He entered the abandoned refuge, subdued its guards, concealed it with his own array, and prepared to investigate the chamber containing the former owner's remains and Golden Core.

• He Song found the cave dwelling’s buried array plate and flags, confirming that a powerful Golden Core killing array had once protected it.
• He Song cautiously explored the bubble with his divine sense and discovered a skeleton, a Golden Core, and a Storage Pouch in a palace chamber.
• He Song entered the bubble and disabled the four golden-armored guards by removing their cores and storing them away.
• He Song deployed a Heavenly Dipper Divine Thunder Array to conceal and secure the cave dwelling.
• He Song headed toward the meditation chamber to investigate the skeleton, Golden Core, and Storage Pouch.

He Song secured the Golden Core in the meditation chamber and reflected on how his good fortune had led him to three Golden Core cave dwellings. After finding the cave owner’s sparse Storage Pouch, he read a letter suggesting that he might have a connection to Snow Wind Palace.

• He Song tested the Golden Core with lightning and fire, confirmed it was genuine and harmless, and stored it for future talisman treasure refining.
• He Song considered his past discoveries and concluded that his luck had helped him find the secluded cave dwelling.
• He Song emptied the cave owner’s Storage Pouch and found only a few Jade Slips, miscellaneous items, and a written letter.
• He Song read the letter, which revealed that its author had died in Changlan Secret Realm after failing to reach the Nascent Soul realm and hinted at He Song’s possible connection to Snow Wind Palace.

He Song read Lord of Falling Snow’s letter and concluded that the Canglan Secret Realm was a Snow Wind Palace-controlled demon-beast breeding ground. He collected the dead Golden Core cultivator’s belongings and discovered that a Jade Slip described Water Spiritual Essence, which could improve a cultivator’s spiritual roots.

• He Song read Lord of Falling Snow’s letter and inferred that spirit beasts guarded the Canglan Secret Realm’s entrances for Snow Wind Palace.
• He Song considered Lord of Falling Snow’s request to spare his Golden Core but decided to keep both the Golden Core and the remaining treasures.
• He Song identified an azure pearl and an emerald jade tablet as items containing dense spiritual energy, then gathered all the miscellaneous objects into his Storage Pouch.
• He Song probed a Jade Slip with his divine sense and learned about Water Spiritual Essence, which could be refined into the body to make up for deficiencies in a cultivator’s spiritual roots.

He Song examined Water Spiritual Essence and realized it might improve his four-spiritual-root aptitude, but he refused to refine an unverified treasure left by Lord of Falling Snow. He then learned that a jade-green token from the same belongings was supposedly a valuable Treasure Tree Heart, though he remained uncertain about its authenticity and worth.

• He Song recalled that Water Spiritual Essence could add a spiritual root but might be dangerous to use, and reasoned that cultivators with four spiritual roots might gamble on it for a chance at three-root affinity.
• He Song considered using the Water Spiritual Essence because he lacked a water spiritual root, but put it away until he could verify the claims and rule out a trap.
• He Song read another Jade Slip and learned that the jade-green token from Lord of Falling Snow's belongings was said to be a Treasure Tree Heart formed from a Golden Core tree demon.
• He Song learned the Jade Slip claimed the Treasure Tree Heart could be worth two or three Golden Cores, but doubted both the token's identity and the stated value.

He Song finished searching Lord of Falling Snow’s cave dwelling, keeping its treasures and remains while learning about the Golden Core True Lord’s past. After taking the Water-Avoiding Pearl and allowing the cave to flood, He Song prepared to seek seclusion and break through to the Golden Core Middle Stage.

• He Song examined Lord of Falling Snow’s Jade Slips, learned of his cultivation history, and found no Golden Core Secret Technique or further treasure records.
• He Song decided to keep Lord of Falling Snow’s remains, reasoning that the Golden Core corpse could potentially be refined into a puppet.
• He Song collected the cave’s alchemy and artifact-refinement items but found that its medicinal gardens and Spirit Fields had withered.
• He Song removed the Water-Avoiding Pearl, causing the cave’s protective bubble to collapse and underground waters to flood the dwelling.
• He Song put away the Heavenly Dipper Divine Thunder Array and prepared to find a place for secluded cultivation and advance to the Golden Core Middle Stage.

He Song abandoned plans to refine the White Rainbow Mountain-Splitting Talisman until after his breakthrough, then concealed and prepared an abandoned-mine cavern as a place of seclusion. While he cultivated there, True Lord Feihu set out with three other Golden Core True Lords to capture the Twin-Winged White Tiger and sent He Song a message asking for help protecting a Zhao Family descendant at Jade Lake Immortal Market.

• He Song decided to wait until he reached the middle Golden Core stage before refining the White Rainbow Mountain-Splitting Talisman.
• He Song searched the underground current without finding another Golden Core cave dwelling, then chose the enormous cavern in the abandoned mine for seclusion.
• He Song leveled the cavern, concealed its approach with Nether Smoke Arrays, and installed a Spirit Gathering Array and a Heavenly Dipper Divine Thunder Array before entering seclusion.
• True Lord Feihu formed an alliance with the other three Golden Core families in Purple River Prefecture and set out to track down the Twin-Winged White Tiger.
• After several months of He Song's seclusion, True Lord Feihu sent him a message explaining that he had secretly sent Zhao Family juniors away and asking about the descendant at Jade Lake Immortal Market.

He Song saw through True Lord Feihu’s attempt to learn whether he threatened the search for the Twin-Winged White Tiger, then reassured him that he was far away and resumed cultivation. Five years later, He Song reached the bottleneck between the early and middle Golden Core stages and began trying to break through it.

• True Lord Feihu asked He Song to take a Zhao Family child from Jade Lake Immortal Market, while indirectly testing whether He Song remained near Purple River Prefecture.
• He Song replied that he had crossed the One Yang Sect and was in Purple Cloud Sect territory, so he could not help retrieve the child.
• True Lord Feihu accepted the reply with reduced suspicion, arranged for someone else to take the child, and decided to act against the Twin-Winged White Tiger.
• He Song spent five years cultivating as spiritual power accumulated in his Golden Core.
• He Song reached the early-to-middle Golden Core bottleneck and began trying to break through it.

He Song tested the Golden Core Middle Stage bottleneck and estimated that he could break through in a few years, confirming that his bottlenecks seemed unusually easy to overcome. During his seclusion, news reached him that True Lord Feihu’s failed attempt to capture a Twin-Winged White Tiger had drawn many Golden Core cultivators to Purple River Prefecture, where conflict and suspicion were spreading.

• He Song struck the Golden Core Middle Stage bottleneck and found that it loosened enough for him to expect a breakthrough within several years.
• He Song recalled breaking through the Qi Refining Late Stage bottleneck in half a year, while Wei Fan and other cultivators needed much longer, and wondered why his bottlenecks were unusually fragile.
• He Song dismissed his unanswered questions and resumed repeatedly striking the bottleneck.
• True Lord Feihu and three other Golden Core True Lords failed to capture the Twin-Winged White Tiger after their poor coordination let the wounded beast escape.
• The pursuit drew Golden Core True Lords from across the surrounding regions to Purple River Prefecture, where suspicion, rivalries, and frequent battles made the area unstable.
• More Golden Core True Lords began following True Lord Feihu and his companions as they pursued the Twin-Winged White Tiger, watching them without intervening.

True Lord Feihu told He Song how Golden Core cultivators fought over the wounded Twin-Winged White Tiger before a golden serpent from the Golden Snake Ancestor’s clan claimed it and drove them away. He Song remained in seclusion, declined Feihu’s invitation to return to Purple River Prefecture, and received further news from Meng Guan and True Monarch Luo Jing.

• True Lord Feihu and the three Golden Core True Lords with him abandoned their hunt and returned to Purple River Prefecture Capital as more cultivators arrived.
• Golden Core True Lords gathered around the exhausted, wounded Twin-Winged White Tiger, but none dared attack or help it, and a standoff continued for months.
• A Golden Core golden serpent arrived, ordered the cultivators to leave, took the Twin-Winged White Tiger, and faced no opposition because it belonged to the Golden Snake Ancestor’s clan.
• True Lord Feihu recounted the outcome to He Song and explained the golden serpent’s backing; the cultivators dispersed and Purple River Prefecture grew quiet.
• He Song declined True Lord Feihu’s invitation to return to Purple River Prefecture Capital and continued his seclusion, also receiving messages from Meng Guan and True Monarch Luo Jing.

After five more years of stalemate between the One Yang Sect and the Locking God Sect, He Song continued his secluded cultivation and finally broke through to the middle stage of Golden Core. His cultivation was still consolidating as he absorbed spiritual energy, bringing him closer to refining powerful talisman treasures.

• The One Yang Sect and the Locking God Sect remained deadlocked near the Cloud Province Capital, while Meng Guan and Wei Fan continued to gain rewards in the war.
• He Song asked Meng Guan and Wei Fan to save any cultivators' Golden Cores for him, but they insisted on giving them to him without exchange to repay his past help.
• He Song spent five years relentlessly attacking his cultivation bottleneck while his various arts remained stagnant.
• Inside his cave abode in an abandoned mine in Hu Province, He Song finally broke through the bottleneck and reached the middle stage of Golden Core.
• He Song circulated the Purple Mansion Strengthening Yuan Technique, drawing in spiritual energy through his Golden Core Spirit Gathering Array as his mana and strength increased.

After consolidating his breakthrough to the Golden Core mid-stage, He Song tested his increased strength and prepared to refine his first talisman treasure. He chose the Golden Core left by Lord of Falling Snow as its core, keeping Silver Moon True Monarch’s Golden Core for future use.

• He Song considered how to repay Meng Guan and Wei Fan for the cultivators’ Golden Cores they had saved for him, and resolved to provide them with pills, artifacts, and talismans over time.
• He Song’s spiritual-energy absorption slowed to its normal rate, confirming that he had broken through to the Golden Core mid-stage and consolidated his cultivation.
• He Song tested his increased mana and the stronger power of his spells and artifacts inside his cave abode.
• He Song took out his talisman-treasure materials and selected Lord of Falling Snow’s Golden Core as the treasure’s core.
• He Song decided to keep Silver Moon True Monarch’s Golden Core for later use.

He Song prepared the materials to refine the White Rainbow Mountain-Splitting Talisman and began making a talisman treasure using Lord of Falling Snow's Golden Core. The chapter ended as He Song carefully drew the talisman patterns onto the Golden Core, beginning the most difficult stage of the refinement.

• He Song chose to preserve Silver Moon True Monarch's Golden Core and used Lord of Falling Snow's Golden Core as the primary material for the talisman treasure.
• He Song inspected the demonic beast heart's blood essence, spirit liquid, and spirit mine powders he had gathered for refining precious spirit ink.
• He Song fused the spirit liquid and spirit mine powders into the heart's blood essence, producing precious spirit ink.
• He Song roasted the spirit ink over spirit fire until it shrank to the size of a grain of rice, concentrating its spiritual qi and blood qi.
• He Song placed the precious spirit ink with Lord of Falling Snow's Golden Core and began drawing the White Rainbow Mountain-Splitting Talisman patterns onto it.

He Song completed his first White Rainbow Mountain-Splitting Talisman and considered how to conceal its conspicuous appearance and spiritual pressure. The treasure was fully charged, and He Song settled on developing a miniature Nether Smoke Array to hide it inside an ordinary jade bead.

• He Song inscribed the White Rainbow Mountain-Splitting Talisman's patterns onto a Golden Core and activated them with his mana.
• The patterns seeped into the Golden Core, and the nearly completed Talisman Treasure began absorbing He Song's mana.
• He Song recognized that the finished treasure's appearance, spiritual energy, and spiritual pressure could attract unwanted attention.
• He Song considered enclosing the treasure in jade, then realized a miniature Nether Smoke Array could conceal it from divine sense probing.
• He Song deduced that he could inscribe weakened array patterns inside jade, but the White Rainbow Mountain-Splitting Talisman stopped absorbing mana before he began testing the method.

He Song concealed the White Rainbow Mountain-Splitting Talisman inside an ordinary jade bracelet so he could use it without alerting enemies. He arranged to meet Meng Guan and Wei Fan in Azure Moon Prefecture three months later to receive cultivators' Golden Cores, while the war between the One Yang Sect and the Locking God Sect continued.

• He Song enclosed the conspicuous White Rainbow Mountain-Splitting Talisman in a jade ball fitted with a miniature Nether Smoke Array, hiding its appearance and aura.
• He Song made several empty matching jade beads, strung them together with the concealed talisman, and wore the bracelet beneath his sleeve.
• He Song judged that his middle Golden Core cultivation and talisman treasure improved his safety, though he remained cautious about the ongoing sect war.
• He Song contacted Meng Guan and Wei Fan, who said they could provide him with cultivators' Golden Cores but needed to plan carefully to leave the battlefield.
• He Song arranged for Meng Guan and Wei Fan to meet him in Azure Moon Prefecture three months later, where many Golden Core True Lords could protect them.

He Song left his secluded cave and traveled toward Blue Moon Immortal City to retrieve Yu'er, whom he had left behind nearly thirty years earlier. He found her safe but still at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, and she greeted him with delight.

• He Song packed away most of the treasures and furnishings from his current cave, leaving its formations and remaining herbs behind in case he returned.
• He Song headed toward Green Moon Immortal Province to visit the Golden Core cave dwelling he had built and collect Yu'er before its defensive formations ran out of Spirit Stones.
• He Song planned to take Yu'er to an underground current where she could live safely among the demon beasts.
• He Song inspected the cave near Blue Moon Immortal City, confirmed its formation was intact, and entered unnoticed.
• He Song found Yu'er sleeping in the cave and discovered that her cultivation had not advanced beyond the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.
• He Song patted Yu'er's shell, and she awoke and greeted him with overwhelming delight.

He Song returned to his underground cave dwelling, harvested its spirit herbs, and sealed it with the Nether Smoke Array before taking Yu'er to his hidden cave near Golden Sand Immortal Market. He then set out for Azure Moon Prefecture to reunite with Luo Jing and Yun Jing, preparing gifts of his own Golden Core defensive Spirit Talismans.

• He Song found Yu'er still devoted to him and discovered that the puppet tending her had used up all her Hundred Beasts Pills.
• He Song harvested the cave dwelling's spirit herbs, dismantled the Heavenly Dipper Divine Thunder Array, and left one thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones to maintain the Nether Smoke Array and preserve the empty cave.
• He Song brought Yu'er to his hidden cave near Golden Sand Immortal Market, instructed her to stay safe, and left for Azure Moon Prefecture.
• He Song decided to thank Luo Jing and Yun Jing for sharing information with him for nearly thirty years by giving them defensive talismans he had personally refined.
• He Song packed one hundred Golden Core defensive Spirit Talismans for each of Luo Jing and Yun Jing.