Chapter Summaries

Yun Yao met Lin Chang'an to explain her longing for freedom and hinted that she was leaving on a dangerous mission. She left gifts for their friends and an incomplete Second-Rank Talisman Master inheritance, while Lin Chang'an realized Li Fire Palace was preparing a major move and resolved to make use of the inheritance.

• Yun Yao told Lin Chang'an that she had envied his freedom since they first met and that becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator had only moved her into another gilded cage.
• Yun Yao gave Lin Chang'an items for Shen Lie, Qingqing, and their other friends, asked him not to tell them, and said she hoped they would meet again.
• Lin Chang'an gave Yun Yao several Second-Rank Talismans as she departed.
• Lin Chang'an examined Yun Yao's gifts and found an incomplete Second-Rank Talisman Master inheritance that included insights and the inheritance of a Second-Rank Ice Talisman.
• Lin Chang'an recognized that Yun Yao's mission might be tied to Li Fire Palace's attempt to stop True Person Lu's disciple from achieving Core Formation, and planned to use the inheritance to improve his talisman skills.

Lin Chang'an waited through the tense night of the third Auction, then learned that Han Family Fortress had won the Core Formation Spirit Item by pledging allegiance to True Person Lu. Two months later, Celestial Mystery City remained on guard against unrest, while Lin Chang'an improved his talisman skills and prepared for possible danger.

• Lin Chang'an kept watch over Celestial Mystery City and read Yun Yao's Talisman insights while Shen Lie and the others sheltered below.
• Chen Qing told Lin Chang'an that Han Family Fortress had won the Core Formation Spirit Item by pledging its lineage to True Person Lu and surrendering three-tenths of its Foundation Establishment cultivators' Primordial Spirits.
• Chen Qing reported that Mystic Sound Pavilion's intentions remained unclear, and Lin Chang'an and Chen Qing worried that the crisis around Celestial Mystery City was not over.
• Two months later, Lin Chang'an bought ice-attribute Cinnabar and learned that True Person Lu had increased rewards for Foundation Establishment cultivators guarding the city, drawing Rogue Cultivators into watching suspected Cultivator Bandits.
• Lin Chang'an advanced his Second-tier Low-grade Talisman Master proficiency, recalled Yun Yao, and decided to return and make more Ice Talismans.

The author reflected on the book’s difficult path to Sanjiang and announced its premium launch, promising steady daily updates while asking readers to subscribe and vote. The chapter ended with recommendations for several other authors’ books.

• The author said the book would go premium at noon after five updates totaling ten thousand words, then continue with eight thousand words daily.
• The author recounted the book’s repeated setbacks, eventual progress through the rounds, and last-minute entry into Sanjiang after delaying launch and revising saved chapters.
• The author thanked readers, friends, and editor Sheng Xia for supporting the book through its slow growth.
• The author promised consistent updates without sacrificing quality and asked readers to subscribe and cast monthly votes.
• The author recommended four books by fellow authors.

Lin Chang'an practiced talisman-making while waiting for the unrest in Celestial Mystery City to pass, then witnessed a Core Formation Phenomenon over Tianxuan Peak. As True Person Lu's disciple began forming a core, rival Golden Core forces challenged Lu, and the city faced the threat of battle.

• Lin Chang'an successfully crafted an Ice Talisman and resolved to postpone alchemy until he could return to his cave abode.
• Eight years after Celestial Mystery City was established, Lin Chang'an reflected on the passage of time as snow fell over the city.
• A Core Formation Phenomenon erupted above Tianxuan Peak, prompting cultivators to flee indoors.
• Lin Chang'an ordered cultivators in his jurisdiction to return home and bar their doors while Shen Lie and Lu Qingqing cleared Gathering Immortal Pavilion.
• True Person Lu warned Old Ghost Huang of Li Fire Palace and Mystic Sound Pavilion against acting presumptuously, then manifested his Third-Order Black Water Turtle as the Golden Core elder surnamed Huang charged to confront him.

Conflict erupted in Celestial Mystery City as True Person Lu’s enemies challenged his faction, while the real contest shifted to the battle atop Tianxuan Peak. Lin Chang'an sensed that the person forming a core there might not be Su Miaoyin.

• Li Fire Palace and Mystic Sound Pavilion disrupted the city’s formation, but True Person Lu’s allies and the Mysterious Yin Demonic Sect hunted down bandits before they could cause chaos.
• Elder Huang revealed that he had reached Late Golden Core and joined forces with Divine Sword Sect, while a Mystic Sound Pavilion cultivator attacked him over Li Fire Palace’s betrayal.
• True Person Lu called out the hidden forces, and Zheng Centipede arrived to support him, leaving the opposing Golden Core cultivators to clash outside the city.
• Lin Chang'an and Chen Qing watched the battle around Tianxuan Peak as cultivators avoided intervening in the core-formation struggle.
• Lin Chang'an sensed that the powerful spiritual aura on Tianxuan Peak did not belong to Su Miaoyin and wondered who was forming a core.

Li Fire Palace and Divine Sword Sect challenged True Person Lu's support for Su Miaoyin's Core Formation, while Huang Tianxiao tried to turn Wu Yan against her. The apparent breakthrough at Tianxuan Peak proved to be a deception: Su Miaoyin had used an array to conceal Fairy Nishang's Core Formation at Mystic Sound Peak.

• True Person Huang mocked True Person Lu for giving Core Formation resources to Su Miaoyin, but True Person Lu revealed his Flying Needle Life-Bound Dharma Treasure and dismissed him.
• Huang Tianxiao tried to provoke Wu Yan, but Song Tingfeng defended True Person Lu and explained that the disciples had agreed to give Su Miaoyin three portions of their Primordial Spirits before she achieved Core Formation.
• Huang Tianxiao unleashed the Blood Spirit Great Array over Tianxuan Peak, and the array began collapsing near the Array Disk Huang Shaohai had set up.
• Huang Tianxiao activated a Quasi-Tier 3 Forbidden-Breaking Talisman, breaking the array and making the crowd believe Su Miaoyin's Core Formation had been interrupted.
• Su Miaoyin emerged with a shattered Array Disk and struck Huang Tianxiao with her lightning-wreathed hammer, revealing that the earlier Core Formation phenomenon had been an illusion created by the array.
• The true Core Formation phenomenon rose over Mystic Sound Peak, revealing that Fairy Nishang of Mystic Sound Pavilion had been the one achieving Core Formation.

Lin Chang'an learned how True Person Lu turned the upheaval in Celestial Mystery City into a lasting alliance with Mystic Sound Pavilion and control over the city. As the sects withdrew and True Person Lu invited Rogue Cultivators to claim land and resources, Lin Chang'an and Chen Qing went to see him reward those who had helped.

• A new Core Formation aura emerged from Mystic Sound Pavilion, and rumors spread that Fairy Nishang possessed a Heavenly Spirit Root.
• Lin Chang'an concluded that True Person Lu had used the conflict to gain control of Celestial Mystery City and secure Mystic Sound Pavilion as an ally.
• Chen Qing told Lin Chang'an that Mystic Sound Pavilion had recognized True Person Lu as the city's master, withdrawn from the city, and formed an alliance with him against Li Fire Palace and Divine Sword Sect.
• Chen Qing reported that defectors accused Li Fire Palace of using its female disciples as Cultivation Cauldrons and employing the Demonic Path's Foundation Seizing Method.
• True Person Lu invited Rogue Cultivators to settle on Spirit Mines and Spirit Veins vacated by the sects, and Lin Chang'an agreed to go see him reward merit.

After Li Fire Palace and Mystic Sound Pavilion withdrew, Lin Chang'an exchanged his reward for spirit fields and assessed Celestial Mystery City's rise as a new power in Yue Kingdom. As he prepared to return to his cave abode, he encountered Yun Yao, who had stayed behind and appeared gravely unwell.

• Li Fire Palace, Mystic Sound Pavilion, and other powers withdrew, leaving Black Turtle Lu True Person as Celestial Mystery City's master.
• Elder Feng gave Lin Chang'an a jade tablet granting him access to high-grade resources and fee-free auctions on Su Miaoyin's instructions.
• Lin Chang'an exchanged his reward for one hundred mu of spirit fields, as Chen Qing congratulated him.
• Lin Chang'an reflected that Celestial Mystery City was attracting cultivators and could become Yue Kingdom's fourth great power, while the other major forces waited for Lu to weaken.
• Lin Chang'an resolved to resume alchemy training and hoped to have time to cultivate before Yue Kingdom's powers clashed.
• Yun Yao appeared behind Lin Chang'an in an unfamiliar form, pale and clutching her chest, and he asked why she had not left.

Lin Chang'an sheltered the gravely injured Yun Yao, who revealed why she had faked her death to escape Li Fire Palace and repaid his kindness with the Condensing Origin Art. As Celestial Mystery City prospered after Li Fire Palace withdrew, Lin Chang'an considered how to use the secret art and hoped the city’s stability would last long enough for him to cultivate.

• Lin Chang'an treated Yun Yao’s wounds and learned that she had faked her death to escape Li Fire Palace’s plan to use her as a cultivation cauldron.
• Celestial Mystery City allotted Lin Chang'an a hundred mu of top-grade Spirit Fields, while Chen Qing received ordinary fields for his family.
• After recovering, Yun Yao gave Lin Chang'an the Condensing Origin Art, which purified mana and medicinal toxicity using same-attribute spiritual objects.
• Yun Yao prepared to leave Celestial Mystery City, and Lin Chang'an gave her Second-Rank Talismans and kept the Jade Slip she had copied for him.
• Lin Chang'an decided to seek a Wood-Attribute spiritual object to practice the art, while Yun Yao left him a Storage Bag containing several hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones.
• Li Fire Palace withdrew from its spiritual lands as Celestial Mystery City filled with rogue cultivators, and Lin Chang'an hoped True Person Lu could preserve the peace for a few years.

Lin Chang'an explained Celestial Mystery City's new alliance and resource policies to his friends, then arranged for the Zhou Family to lease his hundred mu of High-grade Spirit Fields. The Zhou Family agreed to train two of his friends’ children as Spirit Planters, while Lin Chang'an learned of a trading fair where he might find second-tier Wood-Attribute spiritual materials.

• At the Gathering Immortal Pavilion, Lin Chang'an described Celestial Mystery City's alliance with the Mystic Sound Pavilion and its invitation for rogue cultivators to settle there.
• Lin Chang'an offered to cooperate with the Zhou Family over his hundred mu of High-grade Spirit Fields and proposed that Wei Yingying and Shen Fan learn Spirit Planting.
• Celestial Mystery City rewarded cultivators who had helped safeguard the Market and leased other Spirit Fields, while lineages with ties to Li Fire Palace began moving away.
• Zhou Renmao visited Lin Chang'an with Zhou Bingyun and agreed to lease the hundred mu of High-grade Spirit Fields for fifty Mid-grade Spirit Stones a year.
• Zhou Renmao agreed that the Zhou Family would train Wei Yingying and Shen Fan, and told Lin Chang'an about a Trading Fair planned for three months later.

Lin Chang'an went to the Market’s Trading Fair hoping to find a Second Tier spiritual item for the Condensing Origin Art, while reflecting on Celestial Mystery City’s growing population. After meeting with the Zhou Family, he departed with Zhou Renmao for the fair, as Zhou Bingyun considered how to draw closer to him.

• Lin Chang'an reviewed his slow cultivation progress, valued Yun Yao’s Condensing Origin Art, and set out hoping to buy a suitable spiritual item at the Trading Fair.
• Lin Chang'an congratulated Chen Qing on settling his clan in the city, while Chen Wen urged Chen Qing to lease Lin Chang'an’s Spirit Fields for the Chen Family.
• Lin Chang'an observed that cultivators from foreign lands were gathering in Celestial Mystery City and resolved to strive for Core Formation.
• Zhou Bingyun welcomed Lin Chang'an to the Zhou Family, asked Zhou Yifan about his habits, and decided she must pursue both cultivation and a connection with him.
• Zhou Renmao invited Lin Chang'an to travel to the Trading Fair on the Zhou Family’s flying spirit beast, which Lin Chang'an admired.

Lin Chang'an attended Celestial Mystery City's private Trading Fair, where he exchanged for a Wood-Attribute monster core and built ties with the city's prominent cultivators. Song Tingfeng's explanation of formations helped Lin Chang'an advance his formation mastery, and the two eagerly continued talking.

• Zhou Renmao brought Lin Chang'an to the Trading Fair, where Lin surveyed the gathering of local families, Mystic Sound Pavilion families, foreign cultivators, and rogue cultivators.
• Su Miaoyin greeted Lin Chang'an, acknowledged his earlier help, and offered to trade him a Wood-Attribute monster core.
• Lin exchanged eighty Mid-grade Spirit Stones with Su Miaoyin for one of her cores, while the Han Family traded for the other.
• Song Tingfeng learned from Su Miaoyin that Lin had helped Celestial Mystery City and warmly offered to look for Wood-Attribute spiritual objects for him.
• Song Tingfeng spoke with Lin about formations, and Lin's formation mastery advanced as he listened; both men became enthusiastic about the conversation.

Lin Chang'an cultivated the Condensing Origin Art with a Second-tier Wood-Attribute Crystal Core and discovered it could remove pill poison, though the core would eventually become unusable. After selling talismans to Chen Qing, he learned Chen's lineage wanted more Spirit Fields, while Chen Wen privately resented Lin and vowed to strengthen the Chen Family.

• After the Trading Fair, Lin Chang'an gained beginner formation skill from his conversation with Song and began cultivating the Condensing Origin Art with a Monster Core.
• Over two months, Rogue Cultivators flocked to Celestial Mystery City, which became the region's Loose Cultivator Holy Land, while Lin Chang'an refined the core into a bead and swallowed it.
• Lin Chang'an found that the bead slightly purified spiritual power and, more importantly, absorbed pill poison from Medicinal Pills, but it would need replacement once full of impurities.
• Chen Qing visited Lin Chang'an, bought two second-rank Golden Light Talismans, and asked to lease Spirit Fields, but Lin said they were already leased to the Zhou Family.
• Chen Qing returned to his Cave Abode and told his clansmen he had failed to lease more fields; Chen Wen complained about Lin, then resolved to make the Chen Family as powerful as the Zhou Family.

Two and a half years after Celestial Mystery City became a flourishing haven for rogue cultivators, Lin Chang'an became a Second-Rank Alchemist and discovered that second-tier pills greatly accelerated his cultivation. Chen Qing explained to his grandsons why the Chen Family still lagged behind established lineages, while Lin's acquaintances showed how his guidance had shaped the younger generation.

• Lin Chang'an successfully refined five Second-Rank Low-Grade Pills after more than six years of alchemy practice and used one to cultivate, experiencing a much faster rate of progress.
• Lin Chang'an met Chen Wen and Chen Feng, who reported an insect infestation in the Chen Family's Spirit Fields, then went to the Market trading district with the Green-Horned Ox.
• Chen Qing told Chen Wen and Chen Feng that the Chen Family's ordinary Spirit Fields and single Foundation Establishment cultivator could not match the Zhou Family's deep inheritance and accumulated resources.
• Chen Qing decided to visit the Zhou Family to buy Spirit Chickens that could control insects and provide Spirit Meat, despite Chen Wen's reluctance to approach Lin Chang'an's connection there.
• Shen Lie's son and Wei Yiyi's daughter greeted Lin Chang'an gratefully for arranging their Spirit Planting studies, and Wei Yiyi grew displeased as he watched his daughter grow close to the Shen family.

Lin Chang'an discussed the threat of war in the Yue Kingdom with his friends and encouraged them to keep cultivating, then visited the Market to gather alchemy materials and sought a better Spirit Pen. At Bountiful Joy Auction, Song Tingfeng congratulated him on his progress toward becoming a Second-tier Mid-grade Talisman Master and prepared to help him find suitable equipment.

• Lin Chang'an reunited with Shen Lie, Lu Qingqing, and Wei Yiyi at Gathering Immortal Pavilion, where they discussed their families, cultivation, and the danger of war reaching Celestial Mystery City.
• Lin Chang'an praised Shen Fan's diligent cultivation and teased him and Wei Yingying as they accompanied him out of the pavilion.
• Lin Chang'an disguised his identity in the Market and collected Spirit Fruits and other alchemy materials while considering how to improve his pills and equipment.
• Lin Chang'an decided to replace his Spirit Pen while waiting for the upcoming Auction to buy a better Pill Furnace, noting that his Talisman Master proficiency was nearly sufficient for the next grade.
• At Bountiful Joy Auction, Lin Chang'an asked Song Tingfeng about obtaining a better Spirit Pen, and Song Tingfeng recognized his recent progress and congratulated him.

Lin Chang'an reunited with Yun Yao, who revealed that war in the Yue Kingdom was being planned and that rival sects had placed a bounty on him as a Talisman Master. She then asked him to help with an unusual Second-Rank Explosion Talisman inheritance, leaving Lin Chang'an startled by its method of inscribing talismans onto cultivators’ bodies.

• Lin Chang'an bought a Second-tier High-grade Spirit Pen and advanced Cinnabar at Bountiful Joy Auction House, then recognized Yun Yao among the cultivators leaving with Su Miaoyin.
• Yun Yao met Lin Chang'an at Gathering Immortal Pavilion, and they caught up on their friends and her travels through the Outer Sea and the Holy Island of the Mysterious Yin Demonic Sect.
• Yun Yao warned Lin Chang'an that Li Fire Palace and Divine Sword Sect were preparing for future war, and that their alliance with Protector Xiang and True Person Lu would eventually end in conflict.
• Yun Yao told Lin Chang'an that the Two Major Sects had placed bounties on skilled practitioners in Celestial Mystery City and Mystic Sound Pavilion, offering three Foundation Establishment Pills for a Second-tier Low-grade Talisman Master like him.
• Yun Yao gave Lin Chang'an a Second-Rank Explosion Talisman inheritance containing a method for inscribing Explosion Talismans onto cultivators’ bodies, and Lin Chang'an reacted with astonishment.

Lin Chang'an worried about the growing danger in Yue Kingdom and resolved to strengthen his cultivation and combat skills while preparing for the coming Auction. He broke through to become a Second-tier Mid-grade Talisman Master, then received Yun Yao at his cave abode after Zhou Bingyun completed a talisman transaction.

• Lin Chang'an considered the bounty on cultivators, prepared for rising danger, and resolved to advance his cultivation and learn stronger combat methods.
• As two months passed, Lin Chang'an stocked up on supplies while Celestial Mystery City announced Patrol Cultivator Squads, which Chen Qing's grandsons Chen Wen and Chen Feng joined.
• Lin Chang'an broke through to Second-tier Mid-grade Talisman Master and assessed his increased income and remaining weaknesses in combat.
• Zhou Bingyun delivered the Zhou Family's payment and received three Second-tier Mid-grade Talismans from Lin Chang'an.
• Yun Yao arrived as promised, and Zhou Bingyun respectfully greeted her before leaving and resolving to pursue Foundation Establishment herself.

Lin Chang'an helped Yun Yao inscribe an Explosion Talisman across her body, then realized his Self-Healing Body might let him use the same technique by sacrificing a regenerating limb. After Yun Yao left, he considered his growing need for combat power and decided he could not miss the upcoming Auction.

• Lin Chang'an welcomed Yun Yao into his Cave Abode, where she asked him to begin drawing an Explosion Talisman on her body with Third-tier Cinnabar.
• Lin Chang'an completed the painful inscription while Yun Yao endured the process, and she recovered in his Cave Abode as he rested nearby.
• Lin Chang'an studied Yun Yao's Jade Slip and concluded that he could draw the talisman on an arm or leg, then regenerate the sacrificed limb with his Self-Healing Body.
• Yun Yao thanked Lin Chang'an, discussed the risks and benefits of Demonic Path techniques with him, and gave him a Sound Transmission Jade Talisman before leaving in disguise.
• Lin Chang'an found the Third-tier Cinnabar Yun Yao had left behind and decided to attend the Auction to seek a spell or divine ability that could increase his combat power.

As the Auction approached in Celestial Mystery City, Lin Chang'an revealed that he had become a Second-tier Mid-grade Talisman Master and traded his talismans for Monster Beast Essence Blood. After learning that Poisonous Miasma was making Monster Beast materials scarce, he saw an opportunity in Detoxification Pills and prepared to attend the Auction.

• Chen Qing brought Chen Wen and Chen Feng to Gathering Immortal Pavilion, where they served tea to the Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Old Hu explained that hunters had exhausted the mountain range’s outer regions and struggled to find Monster Beasts amid the Poisonous Miasma in its depths.
• Lin Chang'an traded two talismans for four bottles of fire-attributed Monster Beast Essence Blood, surprising the gathered cultivators with his Second-tier Mid-grade Talisman Master status.
• Lin Chang'an realized the Monster Beast shortage could increase demand for Detoxification Pills and considered acquiring a Second-tier Detoxification Pill formula at the Auction.
• Chen Wen resented Lin Chang'an’s acclaim but resolved that he would someday reach Foundation Establishment and earn similar respect.
• Shen Lie chose to stay at Gathering Immortal Pavilion and save Spirit Stones for her son rather than attend the Auction.

Lin Chang'an attended Celestial Mystery City's first Auction, where he bought a high-grade Pill Furnace and won an incomplete Demonic Path sword manual containing the Great Sword Art. The Auction revealed rising prices and growing resource scarcity, while Chen Qing showed his descendants the gulf between Foundation Establishment cultivators.

• Lin Chang'an saw his cultivation progress had accelerated after he began using Second-tier Pills, then recognized Han Lin'er hosting the Auction.
• Chen Qing explained to Chen Wen and Chen Feng that rising prices made cultivation resources difficult to afford, and urged them to strengthen the Chen Family.
• Lin Chang'an bought a Second-Order High-Grade Purple-Veined Pill Furnace for three hundred and fifty-five Mid-grade Spirit Stones and observed that prices were rising as resources became scarcer.
• Bidders drove Foundation Establishment Pill prices above nine thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones, alarming Chen Qing, Chen Wen, and Chen Feng.
• Lin Chang'an outbid other Foundation Establishment cultivators and won the incomplete sword manual, which contained the Great Sword Art, for one thousand and fifty Mid-grade Spirit Stones.
• Chen Qing told Chen Wen and Chen Feng that he had brought them to see the gulf between ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators and those with greater resources.