Chapter Summaries

He Song learned from Ping'er that Foundation Establishment Real Persons could provide juniors with Foundation Establishment Pills and breakthrough insights, improving their chances of advancing. He also discovered that Meng Guan could bring He Song and Wei Fan into the Thick Earth Sect if he joined, leaving their possible entry dependent on Meng Guan's decision.

• He Song asked Ping'er why having a Foundation Establishment friend or master improved a cultivator's chances of Foundation Establishment.
• Ping'er explained that Foundation Establishment Real Persons reserved pills for juniors and shared their breakthrough experiences, though success remained uncertain.
• He Song realized the information gave Wei Fan a better chance of Foundation Establishment and felt relieved.
• Ping'er revealed that a Rogue Cultivator who joined the Thick Earth Sect after reaching Foundation Establishment could bring up to three late-stage Qi Refining cultivators as outer sect disciples.
• He Song understood that Meng Guan might bring him and Wei Fan into the Thick Earth Sect if Meng Guan chose to join.

He Song learned that Meng Guan could bring him and Wei Fan into the Thick Earth Sect after reaching Foundation Establishment, and weighed the opportunity against the risk of attracting attention. Clear Moon Real Person presented the offer to Meng Guan, who was left to decide whether to join and bring his friends.

• He Song thanked Ping'er for explaining how Meng Guan could bring Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators into the Thick Earth Sect, and reconsidered his plans to return to Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market.
• Clear Moon Real Person offered Meng Guan the promised conditions and permission to bring three Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators into the sect as outer sect disciples.
• Meng Guan and Wei Fan heard that He Song and Wei Fan could join the Thick Earth Sect, and both felt excited about the opportunity.
• Wei Fan and He Song stayed silent and left the choice to Meng Guan, while He Song judged that joining discreetly would offer greater safety without exposing his core secrets.

Meng Guan agreed to join the Thick Earth Sect, and Clear Moon Real Person prepared to take him to its mountain gate. He asked her to bring Wei Fan and He Song along as well, and the three friends set off together aboard her Spirit Boat.

• Meng Guan greeted Clear Moon Real Person as his senior sister and accepted her invitation to join the Thick Earth Sect.
• Clear Moon Real Person urged Meng Guan to leave at once so rival cultivators could not recruit him first.
• Meng Guan asked Clear Moon Real Person to bring Wei Fan and He Song into the Thick Earth Sect with him.
• Wei Fan and He Song were moved by Meng Guan's loyalty, and Clear Moon Real Person agreed to take all three.
• Clear Moon Real Person summoned her Spirit Boat, and the group flew northwest toward the Thick Earth Sect's mountain gate.

He Song learned more about how Ping'er and Chu Shuangshuang had become fellow disciples before the Spirit Boat reached the Thick Earth Sect. There, Yuanshan True Person questioned Clear Moon Real Person and Meng Guan, but Clear Moon swiftly took the party onward to meet the Sect Master True Lord, leaving tensions between her and Yuanshan unexplained.

• He Song learned that Chu Shuangshuang had saved Ping'er during the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market calamity, helped her become a Spirit Skill Pavilion steward, and later brought her to Qingyuan Immortal City, where Clear Moon Real Person accepted her as a disciple.
• Clear Moon Real Person announced that the Spirit Boat had reached the Thick Earth Sect, and He Song saw its peaks, buildings, Spirit Fields, and cultivators.
• Yuanshan True Person intercepted the Spirit Boat and questioned Clear Moon Real Person about her return and Meng Guan's arrival.
• Meng Guan identified himself as the newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator, and Clear Moon Real Person immediately took him and the others onward to meet the Sect Master True Lord.
• Clear Moon Real Person explained that she and Yuanshan True Person had some grievances, then continued piloting the Spirit Boat while the others stayed silent.

He Song and Wei Fan joined the Thick Earth Sect as outer sect disciples after Clear Moon Real Person took Meng Guan to meet the Sect Leader True Lord. He Song received the sect’s generous supplies and learned that his courtyard came equipped with three arrays, leaving him to consider how sect resources could combine with his own array skills.

• Clear Moon Real Person landed the Spirit Boat outside the Thick Earth Sect’s mountain gate and took Meng Guan to meet the Sect Leader True Lord.
• Ping'er and Chu Shuangshuang used Clear Moon Real Person’s token to register He Song and Wei Fan as outer sect disciples.
• He Song and Wei Fan received Storage Pouches, Sound Transmission Talismans, Spirit Stones, pills, Broken Jade Powder, dharma robes, and courtyard array tokens.
• Ping'er and Chu Shuangshuang explained the disciples’ supplies and the three arrays installed in each courtyard.
• He Song realized he could study the sect’s arts while using his array skills to earn additional cultivation resources.

After joining the Thick Earth Sect, He Song settled into his new courtyard and planned how to use his free selections of cultivation arts and spells. Meng Guan and Wei Fan arrived to visit him, leaving him with the company of his fellow disciples.

• He Song saw Wei Fan, Ping'er, and Chu Shuangshuang off, then activated the arrays protecting his courtyard.
• He Song transferred his belongings into his new Storage Pouch and considered choosing Array Dao Initial Understanding, a powerful sword art, and a fast Light Body Technique from the sect's free selections.
• He Song resolved to keep cultivating his twenty mu of Spirit Fields near Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market and use his new spells to travel and defend himself.
• When someone disturbed his arrays, He Song readied talismans and a shield, then relaxed after realizing he was safe within the Thick Earth Sect.
• He Song opened his courtyard to Meng Guan and Wei Fan, who had come together after Meng Guan returned from meeting the sect leader.

After joining the Thick Earth Sect, He Song and Wei Fan learned its rules and heard Meng Guan’s guidance on reaching Foundation Establishment. Meng Guan then gave each of them a Foundation Establishment Pill, bestowed by the sect leader after Clear Moon Real Person spoke for them.

• Meng Guan explained that outer sect disciples who failed to reach Foundation Establishment by age sixty would be sent to an immortal city, and advised He Song and Wei Fan to seek guidance and focus on cultivation.
• Meng Guan warned He Song and Wei Fan to avoid Foundation Establishment Real Persons with “Mountain” in their Dharma names, then shared his insights on compressing spiritual power to form mana.
• He Song and Wei Fan asked Meng Guan questions about his Foundation Establishment experience and learned how he had built up strength before each compression.
• Meng Guan presented He Song and Wei Fan with two Foundation Establishment Pills and told He Song to thank Clear Moon Real Person or her disciples if he met them.

Meng Guan gave He Song and Wei Fan Foundation Establishment Pills and explained how they could improve their chances of breaking through. The next morning, He Song went to the Thick Earth Sect’s Scripture Pavilion to choose texts and study cultivation knowledge.

• Meng Guan gave He Song and Wei Fan one Foundation Establishment Pill each, explaining that taking up to six could greatly increase their chances of success.
• Meng Guan returned to seclusion, while Wei Fan went back to cultivate toward the great perfection of Qi Refinement.
• He Song stored his pill and resolved to seek more before attempting Foundation Establishment, then meditated through the night.
• He Song went to the Scripture Pavilion to choose a Hundred Art of Cultivation, two spells, and one cultivation method.
• A young guard told He Song that he could enter and explained the limits on how many items he could choose.

He Song visited the Thick Earth Sect’s Scripture Pavilion and received guidance from Song Zhen on choosing spells and cultivation texts. He learned the Mountain-Suppressing Sword Technique, the Connected Mountains Wind Technique, and Array Dao Initial Understanding, then returned to his courtyard to begin practicing the spells.

• He Song met Song Zhen, the Scripture Pavilion’s first-floor guard, and asked for help choosing techniques and spells.
• Song Zhen recommended the Connected Mountains Wind Technique for speed and the Mountain-Suppressing Sword Technique for combat, while advising He Song to continue cultivating the Thick Earth Technique and take Array Dao Initial Understanding.
• He Song studied the Jade Slips in a quiet room and realized how much sect disciples’ techniques surpassed those available to Rogue Cultivators.
• He Song memorized the three texts, returned the Jade Slips, and went back to his courtyard.
• He Song practiced the Mountain-Suppressing Sword Technique and Connected Mountains Wind Technique, making swift progress with the help of their detailed annotations.

After nearly three years of cultivation, He Song mastered the Mountain-Suppressing Sword Technique and Connected Mountains Wind Technique, strengthened his Qi Refining stage 7 cultivation, and accumulated 110,000 jin of Spirit Rice. He left the Thick Earth Sect for Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market, intending to sell his rice and travel there using his newly mastered wind-riding technique.

• He Song chose to study the Mountain-Suppressing Sword Technique first, then mastered it and the Connected Mountains Wind Technique over nearly three years.
• He Song continued studying arrays, harvested Spirit Rice twice, and accumulated 110,000 jin while his cultivation advanced toward Qi Refining stage 8.
• Wei Fan and Meng Guan remained in seclusion, while Clear Moon Real Person, Ping'er, and Chu Shuangshuang stayed away at Qingyuan Immortal City.
• He Song decided to sell his Spirit Rice and considered using the proceeds to bid for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• He Song left a note at the Thick Earth Sect's mountain gate and set out for Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market using the Connected Mountains Wind Technique.

He Song returned to his Spirit Fields near Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market and found the arrays damaged, the Spirit Rice withered, and a cultivator dead inside the valley. After restoring the arrays and looting the corpse, he wondered whether the fields were safe to keep and whether the dead cultivator had companions.

• He Song traveled to Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market using the Connected Mountains Wind Technique, staying low to avoid being discovered.
• He Song found the Spirit Gathering Arrays depleted, the Five Elements Array damaged, and the Spirit Rice across his fields withered.
• He Song spotted spiritual energy rising from a corpse, armed himself, and cautiously approached the valley.
• He Song repaired the Five Elements Array and Mysterious Trace Array, then confirmed that the corpse had been killed by the Five Elements Array.
• He Song looted the dead cultivator's belongings, which were worth a little over five hundred Spirit Stones, and burned the corpse.
• He Song questioned whether he could keep the Spirit Fields and whether the dead cultivator's friends might come looking for him.

After a cultivator died in He Song’s Five Elements Array, repeated Sound Transmission Paper Cranes made him fear that the dead man’s associates would trace him to the valley. He erased his Spirit Fields and hid nearby, considering how to respond to whoever came.

• He Song realized the persistent Sound Transmission Paper Crane might lead the dead cultivator’s relatives or friends to his valley, so he decided to abandon the Spirit Field.
• He Song uprooted and burned the withered Spirit Rice, then leveled the twenty mu of fields and scattered weed seeds to hide the evidence.
• Two more Sound Transmission Paper Cranes arrived as He Song worked, increasing his suspicion that someone was searching for the dead cultivator.
• He Song collected the ruined Spirit Gathering Array foundations, left the Mysterious Trace Array and Five Elements Array in place, and erased the remaining traces of the fields.
• He Song tunneled several li away and hid near the valley, weighing plans for the arriving pursuers and preparing to sell his Spirit Rice if necessary.

He Song waited in hiding for the cultivator tracking his Sound Transmission Paper Cranes, intending to kill him and conceal the Spirit Fields. The newcomer, Chen Zhong, mistook the valley for a senior’s legacy and entered its arrays, where he confidently defended against the Five Elements Array’s attacks.

• He Song watched the valley and prepared to ambush the newcomer once he entered the arrays.
• Chen Zhong arrived, identified himself as a Qi Refining stage 6 cultivator, and believed Brother Li had led him to a senior’s legacy.
• Chen Zhong collected the Sound Transmission Paper Cranes, bowed three times, and kowtowed nine times toward the valley.
• Chen Zhong entered the Mysterious Trace Array and then stepped into the Five Elements Array.
• The Five Elements Array attacked Chen Zhong, but he raised a shield that blocked the incoming strikes.

He Song killed Chen Zhong, concealed all traces of his first Spirit Field, and searched for a safer place to establish another one. He found a mist-shrouded valley near the Thick Earth Sect, prepared it for thirty mu of Spirit Fields, and set out for the nearest Immortal Market to sell his goods.

• He Song ambushed Chen Zhong inside the Five Elements Array and killed him with the Scarlet Gold Sword, then took his Storage Pouch.
• He Song waited half a month, erased the traces of the Spirit Field and arrays, and left the valley near Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market.
• He Song searched for a new secluded location and found a misty valley with room for about thirty mu of Spirit Fields.
• He Song set up a Mysterious Trace Array, a Five Elements Array, and a Spirit Gathering Array around the new valley.
• He Song decided to sell his spirit rice and other goods, identified the nearest Immortal Market, and found that it was called Immortal Workshop.

He Song traveled to the Immortal Workshop to sell spirit rice under the alias Han Feiyu, concealing his aura as he entered the Spirit Medicine Pavilion. After negotiating with steward Fang He, he agreed to sell 110,000 jin of premium spirit rice for 10,000 Spirit Stones.

• He Song left his valley and reached the Immortal Workshop, where he studied the map and located the Spirit Medicine Pavilion.
• He Song entered the pavilion disguised in a black robe and was welcomed into its VIP Hall by steward Fang He.
• He Song offered Fang He a Small Freight Storage Pouch containing 110,000 jin of spirit rice.
• Fang He offered 10,000 Spirit Stones for the premium-grade rice, and He Song accepted after checking Fang He for anything suspicious.

He Song sold 110,000 jin of spirit rice to Fang He for 10,000 Spirit Stones, then left the Immortal Workshop wary of Fang He's unusual offer. He went to the black market to sell storage pouches, Magic Artifacts, pills, and other items, leaving the stall owner suspicious of his concealed identity.

• He Song accepted Fang He's payment for the spirit rice but decided never to return to the Immortal Workshop and watched for anyone following him.
• Fang He wondered about He Song's background after storing the rice and paid him 10,000 Spirit Stones.
• He Song found black-market stalls in the Immortal Workshop's Stall Area and followed a stall owner to a teahouse to make a private sale.
• He Song laid out four Storage Pouches, four low-grade Magic Artifacts, pills, and miscellaneous items for the stall owner to inspect.
• The stall owner grew wary of the quantity of goods and He Song's concealed aura, suspecting he might be an evil cultivator.

He Song sold the spoils from two cultivators at an Immortal Workshop black market, then slipped away without realizing that his goods had frightened off Fang He, who had considered ambushing him. After traveling hundreds of miles without pursuit, He Song changed course and headed for Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market instead of returning to the Thick Earth Sect.

• He Song sold four Storage Pouches, four Magic Artifacts, pills, talismans, and other goods to a black-market stall owner for eight hundred Spirit Stones.
• Fang He stopped the stall owner after witnessing the trade, seized the bundle, and realized He Song was likely a dangerous cultivator he had nearly targeted.
• Fang He fled with the goods, leaving the stall owner to suffer the loss of his eight hundred Spirit Stones.
• He Song concealed his aura at an inn, destroyed his black robe, washed away traces, changed clothes, and tunneled out of Immortal Workshop.
• After traveling several hundred miles without anyone pursuing him, He Song turned away from the Thick Earth Sect and headed toward Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market.

He Song visited Zhao Lin and Su Yan in Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market, catching up with them before leaving for Qingyuan Immortal City to thank Clear Moon Real Person, Ping'er, and Chu Shuangshuang. He arrived with gifts and prepared to pay them a visit.

• He Song met Zhao Lin, learned that Zhao Lin had become a renowned talisman master, and told him about his own cultivation and joining the Thick Earth Sect under Meng Guan’s patronage.
• Zhao Lin reflected on how his friendship with Meng Guan had faded, then put aside his regret and spoke with He Song about other matters.
• He Song sent Su Yan a Sound Transmission Paper Crane, met her at a teahouse, and was surprised that she had reached Qi Refining Layer 4.
• He Song said farewell to Zhao Lin and Su Yan, then left Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market.
• He Song arrived in Qingyuan Immortal City with gifts worth fifteen hundred Spirit Stones, intending to thank Clear Moon Real Person, Ping'er, and Chu Shuangshuang.

He Song thanked Clear Moon Real Person, Ping'er, and Chu Shuangshuang in Qingyuan Immortal City, reunited with Lin Cong, then returned to the Thick Earth Sect and cultivated in seclusion until he reached Qi Refining stage 8. He stabilized his breakthrough and reflected on how long it might take to approach Foundation Establishment.

• He Song presented gifts to Clear Moon Real Person, Ping'er, and Chu Shuangshuang, who hosted him in Qingyuan Immortal City for several days.
• He Song met his former neighbor Lin Cong, learned that Lin Cong had reached Qi Refining stage 6, and chose not to tell him he had joined the Thick Earth Sect.
• He Song left Qingyuan Immortal City, returned to the Thick Earth Sect, and entered seclusion after completing his errands.
• He Song spent two years cultivating in his courtyard, occasionally traveling to replenish the formation around his Spirit Field.
• He Song broke through to Qi Refining stage 8, stabilized his cultivation, and thought about reaching Qi Refining great perfection and eventually Foundation Establishment.

He Song received Wei Fan’s message that he had reached the great perfection of Qi Refining and was preparing to attempt Foundation Establishment before turning sixty. After visiting and encouraging him, He Song stayed outside Wei Fan’s courtyard to guard him as he began the breakthrough.

• He Song considered his own progress toward Foundation Establishment and wondered how he could obtain more Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Wei Fan sent He Song a message saying he had reached the great perfection of Qi Refining and had little more than two years before turning sixty.
• He Song realized Wei Fan planned to use a Foundation Establishment Pill to give himself two chances to break through before his age became a barrier.
• He Song visited Wei Fan, congratulated him, and asked whether he felt confident about attempting Foundation Establishment.
• After several days of conversation, Wei Fan entered his quiet room to attempt Foundation Establishment, while He Song guarded his courtyard.