Chapter Summaries

After the Yin Soul Sect was destroyed, Ghost Soul rebuilt it under the Soul Locking Sect and began gathering intelligence for He Song. As the righteous and demonic paths fought to a stalemate, Meng Guan grew stronger in battle while Wei Fan’s repeated cultivation retreats left He Song and Meng Guan puzzled.

• He Song decided to wait for confirmation of the Yin Soul Sect’s destruction before having Ghost Soul claim its leadership, while Ghost Soul fled the border fighting into demonic territory.
• Righteous path cultivators ambushed and killed many Nascent Soul demonic cultivators, occupied the borderlands, and swept away demonic forces there.
• After hearing that the Yin Soul Sect and its stationed Soul Locking Sect cultivator had fallen, Ghost Soul asked the Soul Locking Sect for support and rebuilt the Yin Soul Sect as a logistics force.
• Ghost Soul began gathering intelligence on the Soul Locking Sect’s movements, while He Song withheld minor information from Meng Guan and Wei Fan to preserve Ghost Soul’s usefulness as an informant.
• The war settled into a stalemate, and Meng Guan repeatedly survived battles and rapidly increased his strength, earning the demonic-side name Soul Severing Child.
• Wei Fan told He Song he was entering seclusion to refine heavenly treasures, leaving He Song and Meng Guan uncertain why the Nine Yang Sect’s sect master appeared to be supporting his cultivation so extensively.

He Song refined a second Nascent Soul Great Perfection corpse into a powerful puppet and named her Flowing Firefly. After testing her against Evening Snow and the Nine-Turn Tribulation Lightning Pearl, he classified their strength as Nascent Soul limit and gained two puppets at that level.

• Wei Fan kept the source of his cultivation secret, and He Song and Meng Guan promised to help if he faced difficulties before returning to their own affairs.
• He Song continued refining the Profound Yellow World-Suppressing Cauldron while his puppets seized the treasures from a newly emerged Nascent Soul in a nearby immortal domain.
• He Song obtained a Nascent Soul Great Perfection corpse, prepared carefully, and refined it into a puppet he named Flowing Firefly.
• He Song tested Flowing Firefly against Evening Snow and found that they fought to a draw, even after he moved the Nine-Turn Tribulation Lightning Pearl onto Flowing Firefly.
• He Song returned the Nine-Turn Tribulation Lightning Pearl to Evening Snow and concluded that Flowing Firefly and Evening Snow had both reached the Nascent Soul limit.
• He Song classified Nascent Soul Great Perfection experts as ordinary, peak, or limit, and recognized that his two limit-level puppets made him a formidable force.

He Song refined the Profound Yellow World-Suppressing Cauldron and discovered that its Profound Yellow Realm could store treasures and spiritual power, replenish him, and form a powerful defensive shield. After years of work, he completely refined the Dao Artifact, though unlocking its full potential still required him to reach Spirit Transformation.

• He Song kept Flowing Firefly by his side and planned to make life-saving items and Top-grade Spirit Artifacts to strengthen her.
• He Song mastered the Profound Yellow Realm inside the Profound Yellow World-Suppressing Cauldron and found it could store treasures and generate ownerless spiritual power from external spiritual qi.
• He Song discovered that stored spiritual power could replenish him or form a protective curtain, with both functions growing stronger as the Profound Yellow qi accumulated.
• He Song concluded that he would need Spirit Transformation to gather Profound Yellow qi more freely and draw out the Dao Artifact's full power.
• He Song completely refined the Profound Yellow World-Suppressing Cauldron, which flew into his body to be stored in his dantian.

After refining the Profound Yellow World-Suppressing Cauldron, He Song strengthened the Earth Vein Spirit Pearl and improved the cauldron’s reserves. He later met Han Yuezi in Zetianjing, where they discussed recent events in the cultivation world.

• He Song explained how the Profound Yellow World-Suppressing Cauldron could unleash powerful attacks and how its strengthened spirituality obeyed him without an artifact spirit.
• He Song upgraded the Earth Vein Spirit Pearl to a Top-grade Spirit Artifact and poured his remaining Profound Yellow Qi into the cauldron’s inner realm.
• He Song emerged from seclusion and learned that Han Yuezi had reached Nascent Soul Great Perfection decades earlier.
• He Song gave Han Yuezi Ice-Muscle Jade-Bone Pills, and she later showed him how they had enhanced her appearance.
• Han Yuezi returned to the Cold Family to handle a major matter, then gave one of the pills to her puppet as well.
• He Song met Han Yuezi again in Zetianjing, and they sat in her pavilion to discuss recent events in the cultivation world.

He Song and Han Yuezi discussed how the war between Nine Yang Sect and Soul Locking Sect was unlikely to destroy either holy land, though it endangered individual Nascent Soul cultivators such as Meng Guan. He Song reflected on Wei Fan’s astonishing rise to Nascent Soul Late Stage through Nine Yang Sect’s support and wondered how far his good fortune would carry him.

• He Song and Han Yuezi reasoned that the righteous and demonic holy lands would preserve the balance of power, making territorial concessions more likely than either Nine Yang Sect or Soul Locking Sect being destroyed.
• He Song worried that Meng Guan could be caught in a sudden shift at the front, though he trusted Meng Guan’s strength and ability to escape danger.
• He Song learned that Wei Fan had reached Nascent Soul Late Stage after refining many heavenly treasures supplied through Nine Yang Sect.
• He Song wondered whether Wei Fan’s exceptional fortune explained why he had gained the support of Nine Yang Sect and risen so rapidly.
• He Song decided that Wei Fan’s bond with him and Meng Guan would remain unchanged and gazed toward Nine Yang Sect, wondering whether Wei Fan could reach Nascent Soul Great Perfection or Spirit Transformation.

Han Yuezi told He Song that a purge and redeployment had drastically weakened the Cold Family, and that the Treasure Gathering Pavilion was sending cultivators to the border amid the war between the righteous and demonic paths. She revealed that she had removed He Song from the deployment list and offered him Cold Family treasures to help him appear to advance to the Nascent Soul Late Stage, unaware that he had already reached it.

• Han Yuezi explained that a major event had reduced the Cold Family’s Nascent Soul Cultivators from nearly a hundred to fewer than twenty, with many purged or sent to guard Pavilion branches.
• Han Yuezi said the Pavilion Master had ordered the deployment to strengthen the branches ahead of the war, and warned He Song that he might otherwise have been sent to the border.
• He Song suspected the Treasure Gathering Pavilion had an ulterior purpose and realized Han Yuezi had likely intervened to keep him from being deployed.
• Han Yuezi admitted she had crossed He Song’s name off the list and asked him to reach the Nascent Soul Late Stage within a hundred years to avoid scrutiny from the Pavilion Master.
• He Song secretly considered how to conceal his existing Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivation, while Han Yuezi offered him Cold Family treasures at a low price to help him make the breakthrough appear credible.

He Song accepted the Cold Family’s offer to provide the resources for his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Late Stage and asked Han Yuezi for genuine Enlightenment Tea Leaves. Han Yuezi secretly took two leaves and other treasures from the family treasury, then brought them to He Song in Zetianjing.

• He Song agreed to accept the Cold Family’s cultivation resources and promised to repay its kindness after reaching the Nascent Soul Late Stage.
• He Song asked Han Yuezi for Enlightenment Tea Leaves picked from the Enlightenment Tea Mother Plant, claiming they would help him study a spell.
• Han Yuezi discovered the Cold Family had two such leaves and decided to use them to deepen her bond with He Song.
• Han Yuezi took both leaves and numerous cultivation treasures from the Cold Family treasury, then waited half a day before visiting He Song.
• Han Yuezi gave He Song the two Enlightenment Tea Leaves and the other treasures, advising him to consume the leaves last.

He Song received two Enlightenment Tea Leaves and other treasures from Han Yuezi, then offered to secretly shelter a junior of the Cold Family in case the family faced destruction. Han Yuezi brought him a Foundation Establishment youth, whom He Song renamed Blazing Sun and entrusted with a Jade Slip containing information about Lin Cong.

• Han Yuezi gave He Song many heavenly treasures, including two Enlightenment Tea Leaves, and explained how hard she had worked to obtain them.
• He Song thanked Han Yuezi and proposed secretly raising one of her juniors to preserve the Cold Family’s bloodline if disaster struck.
• Han Yuezi agreed, saw the value of establishing hidden branch lines, and returned to select a candidate while He Song left with the treasures.
• Han Yuezi brought a sharp-browed youth with an earth spiritual root to He Song in Zetianjing and explained his potential.
• He Song accepted the Foundation Establishment youth, named him Blazing Sun, and gave him a Jade Slip with information about Lin Cong so he could someday rebuild his family.

He Song arranged for Blazing Sun, a Cold Family junior with an Earth Spiritual Root, to assume the identity of a descendant of Lin Cong while he secretly protected the Lin Family. After Han Yuezi entrusted Blazing Sun to him, He Song began openly nurturing him at the Zetianjing Treasure Gathering Pavilion Branch, then returned his attention to searching for opportunities through his puppets.

• He Song planned to register Blazing Sun as a Lin Family descendant, fabricate records of his life there, and keep him from forming a real connection with Lin Cong's descendants.
• Blazing Sun accepted the identity information in the Jade Slip, and Han Yuezi approved He Song's arrangements while entrusting the junior to his care amid growing concern about a possible war.
• He Song promised to provide Blazing Sun's cultivation resources, and Han Yuezi agreed to send him a Purifying Spirit Pill if he later attempted the Nascent Soul Realm.
• After Han Yuezi departed, He Song showed Blazing Sun around the Zetianjing Treasure Gathering Pavilion Branch and gave him Foundation Establishment cultivation supplies and Magic Artifacts.
• He Song publicly introduced Blazing Sun as the descendant of an old acquaintance, and the branch's cultivators treated him warmly while Mingyue began instructing him.
• As the branch returned to its usual tranquility, He Song resumed directing his puppets to seek opportunities for him.

He Song learned from Han Yuezi that the Cold Family possessed records of Spirit Transformation pill formulas and talisman-making methods, then obtained both Jade Slips to study. He began searching for the rare materials needed to practice and craft Spirit Transformation treasures.

• He Song reserved his two Enlightenment Tea Leaves for a future breakthrough to the Spirit Transformation Realm while refining other heavenly treasures and sending puppets to search for resources.
• He Song's intelligence network reported that Treasure Gathering Pavilion had sent Nascent Soul cultivators to its branches along the righteous and demonic border, and he helped keep their presence secret.
• Han Yuezi told He Song that the Cold Family treasury held two Jade Slips containing Spirit Transformation pill formulas and the Azure Profound Talisman Compendium.
• He Song asked to study the Jade Slips and promised Han Yuezi a share if he successfully refined Spirit Transformation treasures; Han Yuezi agreed and lent them to him.
• After memorizing the records, He Song ordered his intelligence organization to search for materials and began studying the Azure Profound Talisman Compendium's guidance on practicing Spirit Transformation talismans.

He Song began studying the Mysterious Yellow Immortal Talisman, a powerful Spirit Transformation defensive talisman whose materials he could obtain through his intelligence network and arrays. After drinking genuine Enlightenment Tea, he found that both his cultivation and comprehension advanced far faster than expected, leaving him poised to master several talismans and improve his crafting skill during seclusion.

• He Song chose the Mysterious Yellow Immortal Talisman as his first Spirit Transformation talisman to study because he could gather its materials, including Mysterious Yellow Qi, through his resources.
• He Song entered seclusion to comprehend the talisman, relying on the Azure Profound Talisman Compendium he had obtained from Han Yuezi and the materials gathered by his intelligence operatives.
• He Song drank a genuine Enlightenment Tea Leaf to accelerate his cultivation and talisman comprehension.
• He Song discovered that the tea held several times the medicinal power of the tea he had consumed before and could help him reach Nascent Soul Great Perfection after several more decades of cultivation.
• He Song realized the tea might let him master several Spirit Transformation talismans and improve his mana control enough to craft two or three kinds of them.

He Song studied the Nine Heavens Alchemy Compendium and planned to gather and cultivate the rare herbs needed for its pills while continuing to comprehend Spirit Transformation talismans. He planted herb seeds in his current array-covered cave abode and intended to establish more medicinal gardens after his seclusion, then returned to studying the Mysterious Yellow Immortal Talisman.

• He Song learned that the Nine Heavens Alchemy Compendium contained the Origin Transformation Pill formula, but he concealed his interest because searching openly for its rare ingredients could attract Spirit Transformation forces.
• He Song directed his puppets to search for ingredients and seeds for the Origin Transformation Pill and other pills, and he purchased additional herb seeds from Treasure Gathering Pavilion.
• He Song had Flowing Firefly plant the seeds inside his current Nine Abyss Return-to-Void Array and planned to build separate medicinal gardens at other natural-array sites after seclusion.
• He Song considered how large, mature herb gardens could drain spiritual energy and expose his arrays, so he planned to distribute precious herbs among separate gardens.
• He Song continued refining the medicinal power of Enlightenment Tea and studying the Mysterious Yellow Immortal Talisman while the herbs in his cave abode grew.

After years in seclusion, He Song mastered three Spirit Transformation talismans and began preparing to make them, while arranging dedicated medicinal gardens to protect his cultivation from the spirit herbs. He emerged ready to refine Spirit Transformation talisman jade and draw the talismans.

• He Song used the Enlightenment Tea’s medicinal power to master the Profound Yellow Immortal Talisman and two other Spirit Transformation talismans, then studied the medicinal principles of a Spirit Transformation pill formula.
• After emerging from seclusion, He Song practiced drawing Spirit Transformation talisman patterns on Nascent Soul talisman jade until he could complete a hundred attempts without damaging any jade.
• He Song reviewed the defensive Profound Yellow Immortal Talisman, offensive Profound Yellow Karma-Purifying Talisman, and concealment-focused Profound Yellow Dust-Assimilating Talisman, and prepared to supply the mana their creation would require.
• He Song refined several Nine Abyss Return-to-Void Arrays and had Flowing Firefly install them at concealed locations with natural arrays so the spirit herbs would not hinder his cultivation.
• He Song melted his Spirit Transformation materials into Spirit Transformation talisman jade and prepared to draw the three talismans.

He Song successfully drew his first Spirit Transformation talisman and went on to refine several talismans of three types, deepening his skill and strengthening his reserves. After exhausting his materials, he gave Flowing Firefly one talisman of each type to distribute among his puppets, improving their protection while they gathered intelligence and resources for him.

• He Song prepared Mysterious Yellow energy, Spirit Stones, and the Profound Yellow World-Suppressing Cauldron before drawing a Mysterious Yellow Immortal Talisman.
• The talisman absorbed a vast amount of He Song's mana and transformed into a defensive Spirit Transformation talisman, which he stored as a trump card.
• He Song continued drawing Mysterious Yellow Immortal Talismans, Profound Yellow Karma-Purifying Talismans, and Profound Yellow Dust-Assimilating Talismans, refining several despite failures and heavy resource costs.
• He Song used up his available Spirit Transformation talisman materials and stored the talismans he had made.
• He Song gave Flowing Firefly one talisman of each type and ordered him to distribute them among the puppets other than Ghost Soul.

He Song prepared to cultivate Spirit Transformation herbs by building guarded medicinal gardens and planned to use his remaining Enlightenment Tea Leaf to master Spirit Transformation alchemy. He chose three elixirs to pursue and stocked arrays so his puppets could establish more gardens while he studied in seclusion.

• He Song gave each Nascent Soul Puppet three Spirit Transformation talismans to improve its chances of survival.
• He Song refined Nine Abyss Return-to-Void Arrays and Profound Yang Ice Soul Arrays to conceal and defend medicinal gardens, while Flowing Firefly installed them at naturally formed arrays.
• He Song moved spiritual herbs into the new gardens and sowed more seeds, planning to harvest successive batches over the coming century.
• He Song decided to use his remaining Enlightenment Tea Leaf to learn Spirit Transformation pill formulas and improve his alchemy skills.
• He Song selected the Heavenly Dipper Essence-Gathering Pill, Iceheart Jade Marrow Pill, and Profound Clarity Dao Seeking Pill as his targets.
• He Song prepared extra array plates and flags so his puppets could turn newly discovered natural arrays into medicinal gardens while he remained in seclusion.

He Song learned that Ghost Soul and the rebuilt Yin Soul Sect were being targeted by several Devil Dao Nascent Soul cultivators bearing old grudges. He rejected a direct intervention that might expose Ghost Soul and began seeking a Devil Dao ally to resolve the immediate crisis before secretly killing the attackers.

• He Song sensed Ghost Soul's distress and learned that former enemies of the original Yin Soul Sect had joined forces to pressure Ghost Soul.
• The hostile cultivators escalated their attacks by sending people to kill a Golden Core elder of Ghost Soul's Yin Soul Sect.
• Ghost Soul, outnumbered by the Nascent Soul attackers, called on He Song to handle the crisis.
• He Song rejected sending his own puppets to attack openly because it could expose Ghost Soul and force him to leave Devil Dao territory.
• He Song decided Ghost Soul needed help from a Devil Dao cultivator, after which He Song intended to eliminate the attackers without leaving the Yin Soul Sect under suspicion.

He Song arranged for Ghost Soul to settle the Yin Soul Sect’s conflict with hostile Nascent Soul demonic cultivators, then secretly hunted them down before they could retaliate. He planned to turn their corpses into puppets and use them to strengthen his influence within the demonic factions.

• He Song summoned Ghost Soul’s demonic allies and paid a Soul Locking Sect elder to help negotiate with the Nascent Soul cultivators targeting the Yin Soul Sect.
• Ghost Soul and the hostile cultivators reached an agreement that ended their pressure on the sect and barred them from its immortal domain.
• He Song kept his allies at the Yin Soul Sect until his intelligence network confirmed the hostile cultivators had left, then sent his puppets to track them.
• He Song’s puppets ambushed the demonic cultivators in a remote valley, surrounding them with concealment and attack arrays.
• He Song intended to kill the cultivators, refine their bodies into puppets, and use them as informants within the demonic factions.

He Song defeated four Nascent Soul demonic cultivators who had targeted Ghost Soul, then discovered their leader suspected the former Yin Soul Sect Master had obtained a Spirit Transformation inheritance. Investigating the sect’s fall, He Song learned that the Yin Soul Sect Master had vanished during the battle and might have survived with the inheritance.

• He Song’s Profound Yang Ice Soul Array and Nascent Soul Puppets killed the four demonic cultivators, and his puppets collected their corpses and belongings before teleporting back to him.
• He Song soul-searched the corpses and learned that their Nascent Soul Late Stage leader had targeted Ghost Soul to seize a suspected Spirit Transformation inheritance from the former Yin Soul Sect Master.
• He Song used his intelligence networks to investigate the Yin Soul Sect’s destruction and learned that the righteous faction had sent eight powerful Nascent Soul cultivators to attack it.
• The Soul Locking Sect’s Nascent Soul Great Perfection cultivator died, but the Yin Soul Sect Master vanished after unleashing a mysterious technique, despite the righteous faction’s trapping formation.
• The righteous faction concealed the Yin Soul Sect Master’s disappearance, leaving He Song to consider whether the sect master and his inheritance had survived.

He Song learned that the former Yin Soul Sect Master had survived a Nascent Soul Cultivator ambush and might possess a Spirit Transformation inheritance, so he set plans in motion to find and kill him. His investigation of the Yin Soul Sect uncovered three Soul Locking Sect informants but no sign yet of the former master, while four puppets continued along the dead men’s original plan to lure him out.

• He Song considered where the former Yin Soul Sect Master might be hiding and sent Evening Snow, Flowing Firefly, Clear Wind, and Wild Crane to impersonate four dead men and provoke him into acting.
• He Song dispatched Idle Cloud to search the lands around the former Yin Soul Sect mountain gate for the former master's corpse and for concealed formations.
• He Song used Ghost Soul and the Void Escape Technique to secretly monitor the Yin Soul Sect's elders and disciples.
• He Song identified three suspicious cultivators whose daily meditation led them to contact a Soul Locking Sect outpost, revealing them as informants.
• He Song left Ghost Soul under limited continued surveillance and directed the four puppets to follow the dead men's original plan to draw out the former Yin Soul Sect Master.

He Song asked Han Yuezi what Nascent Soul cultivators needed to break through to Spirit Transformation, and she explained the need for a Primordial Spirit secret art and a protective spirit pill. He Song left considering whether demonic-path techniques might offer a more accessible route.

• He Song visited Han Yuezi to ask how Nascent Soul cultivators could break through to Spirit Transformation.
• Han Yuezi explained that cultivators had to merge their divine sense with their Nascent Soul to form a Primordial Spirit, and that a secret art and a protective pill improved their chances.
• Han Yuezi recounted how a Cold Family ancestor had reached half-step Spirit Transformation after failing a breakthrough protected by a Mysterious Yellow Bodyguard Pill.
• Han Yuezi said the Cold Family possessed neither a Primordial Spirit secret art nor the Nirvana Ascension Pill or Mysterious Yellow Bodyguard Pill.
• He Song asked whether demonic-path Primordial Spirit secret arts could help righteous-path cultivators break through to Spirit Transformation.