Chapter Summaries

Two years after the Beast Tide began stirring the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, Lin Chang'an reviewed his cultivation and new Yellow Dragon Bell before meeting Yun Yao. She proposed joining forces to open a trading shop in Celestial Mystery City, leaving Lin Chang'an tempted by the opportunity and preparing to gather allies.

• Lin Chang'an noted that his cultivation and talisman skills had improved over two years, and he examined the Yellow Dragon Bell he had received as compensation from Celestial Mystery City.
• Lin Chang'an soothed his Green-Horned Ox and Phoenix Cry Bird before welcoming Yun Yao to discuss the Cloud Mist Mountain Range and an undiscovered Secret Realm whose formation would weaken in a dozen years or so.
• Yun Yao proposed that they use the approaching Beast Tide and market uncertainty to buy Spirit Fields and shop deeds at low prices.
• Yun Yao suggested that she and Lin Chang'an recruit friends and establish a trading shop selling supplies and discreet goods to Qi Refining Late Stage and Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Lin Chang'an agreed the plan seemed feasible and considered notifying Celestial Mystery City and bringing in allies, including a possible connection to True Person Lu's successor.

Lin Chang'an recruited allies and used his connections to organize a Black Market venture in Celestial Mystery City amid the approaching Beast Tide. The group agreed on their roles and profit shares, leaving the business ready to begin.

• Lin Chang'an proposed a business venture to Hu Jin, who agreed to join and suggested involving Lao Jia.
• Lin Chang'an visited Song Tingfeng at Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, offered gifts for Wu Yan and Su Miaoyin, and secured Song Tingfeng's support for the venture.
• Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao gathered Hu Jin, Lao Jia, Old Ghost, and He Yan to discuss their Black Market plans and the goods and services each could provide.
• Lin Chang'an requested thirty percent of the profits for his Alchemist friend, while Yun Yao requested twenty percent in exchange for supplying Monster Beast materials.
• Hu Jin, Lao Jia, Old Ghost, and He Yan accepted the remaining ten percent each, and the group toasted their shared venture.

Lin Chang'an expanded his influence through the eastern black market while operating as the disguised alchemist Medicine Daoist, refining pills and training his Great Sword Art as the beast tide worsened. The chapter ended with Zhou Bingyun visiting him amid growing fears that Celestial Mystery City might be threatened, still uncertain about her own Foundation Establishment.

• Lin Chang'an and five Foundation Establishment cultivators established and regulated a black market district in eastern Celestial Mystery City, then took turns overseeing it.
• Lin Chang'an began selling Foundation Establishment Pills under the identity Medicine Daoist and used his increased free time to practice the Great Sword Art.
• Disguised as Medicine Daoist, Lin Chang'an traded pills and alchemy services through Old Hu's shop, while Old Hu warned two Qi Refining cultivators to conceal their pills and attempt breakthroughs soon.
• Lin Chang'an reflected on his rise from an ordinary black market visitor and used a Dust-Avoiding Pill to cleanse his aura.
• Demon Beast activity near Celestial Mystery City intensified, spreading rumors and anxiety among cultivators about the city's safety.
• Zhou Bingyun visited Lin Chang'an with Spirit-Feeding Pills, and he remarked that she might soon become the Zhou Family's next Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Lin Chang'an traded with Zhou Bingyun, advanced his cultivation and sword art, and learned that threats were gathering around Celestial Mystery City. As Li Fire Palace and Divine Sword Sect plotted to test True Person Lu with a Beast Tide, Lu and Su Miaoyin prepared to draw out their enemies.

• Zhou Bingyun exchanged valuable spirit-beast materials with Lin Chang'an for a Foundation Establishment Pill, and Lin Chang'an later attended her Foundation Establishment banquet with the Black Market's other cultivators.
• Lin Chang'an tested his mastered Great Sword Art, pierced nine Second-Order High-Grade defensive Talismans, and considered visiting the site where a Golden Core cultivator had fallen.
• He Yan brought Lin Chang'an his share of the Black Market's profits and warned him that cultivators using the Foundation Seizing Method had appeared; Lin Chang'an urged caution as the Beast Tide and political tensions grew.
• Elder Huang of Li Fire Palace and a Divine Sword Sect elder suspected True Person Lu was near death and agreed to stir up a Beast Tide to test him and attack Yue Kingdom if their suspicions proved true.
• True Person Lu fished and played chess with Su Miaoyin, then revealed that he planned to use the Beast Tide to expose those with evil intentions; Su Miaoyin left with the fish for her Earth Dragon Beast.

Lin Chang'an and Old Hu confronted two Chayun Kingdom cultivators who disrupted their Black Market, and Yun Yao revealed that she had reached Foundation Establishment Late Stage. Celestial Mystery City accepted responsibility for the outsiders' deaths, while the Market gained a powerful new deterrent.

• Lin Chang'an and Old Hu discussed the growing unrest in Celestial Mystery City and the trouble caused by outsiders.
• Two Vajra Sect cultivators accused a stall owner of killing their martial nephew and tried to intimidate him, so Old Hu and Lin Chang'an intervened.
• Lin Chang'an trapped one attacker with the Yellow Dragon Bell while he and Old Hu killed the other with coordinated sword and saber strikes.
• Yun Yao ambushed the surviving attacker and killed him, revealing her Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation.
• Celestial Mystery City's patrol arrived and declared that the city would take responsibility, and Lin Chang'an, Old Hu, and Yun Yao celebrated the Market's increased security.

After Yun Yao’s breakthrough strengthened the Black Market, Lin Chang’an investigated the slain Vajra Sect cultivators and watched the Beast Tide crisis worsen. Years later, he reunited with his former companions as they pooled resources to help Li Erniu prepare Zhou Yifan for Foundation Establishment, just as Zhou Yifan returned home.

• Yun Yao celebrated her Foundation Establishment breakthrough, accepted a larger share of the Black Market’s profits, and deliberately announced that she would visit Lin Chang’an’s Cave Abode to reassure their allies.
• Lin Chang’an read the memories of a slain Vajra Sect cultivator, learned about Chayun Kingdom and the incomplete Vajra Art, then used his Blood-Thirsty Poison Vine mask to copy the cultivator’s aura.
• Yun Yao told Lin Chang’an that Celestial Mystery City and Mystic Sound Pavilion were offering rare supplies and high-grade resources to draw cultivators into fighting the increasingly dangerous Beast Tide.
• Years later, Lin Chang’an met Shen Lie, Li Erniu, Wei Yiyi, and Lu Qingqing, and Li Erniu asked them to lend him resources to prepare Zhou Yifan for Foundation Establishment.
• Li Erniu’s second son rushed in to announce that Zhou Yifan had returned and that his mother wanted Lin Chang’an invited to their home.

Zhou Yifan obtained a Second Tier Monster Core while risking his life, and Lin Chang'an agreed to refine Foundation Establishment Pills for him. After Zhou Yifan rejected the Zhou Family’s marriage proposal and reclaimed the Li surname, Lin Chang'an escorted him to secluded cultivation, where he discovered the three pills were all Refined Foundation Establishment Pills.

• Zhou Yifan told Lin Chang'an and Li Erniu that he had seized a Monster Core during a bloody fight over an injured Second Tier Monster Beast.
• Lin Chang'an agreed to safeguard Zhou Yifan's Foundation Establishment resources and refined three Foundation Establishment Pills over two days.
• Zhou Bingyun told Lin Chang'an that the Zhou Family offered Zhou Yifan a choice between marrying her younger cousin or leaving the lineage and repaying double his resources.
• Zhou Yifan rejected the marriage, changed his surname back to Li, and prepared for Foundation Establishment after his injuries healed.
• Lin Chang'an gave Li Yifan his Foundation Establishment insights and the pills, then escorted him to a secluded Cave Abode.
• Li Yifan discovered that all three pills were Refined Foundation Establishment Pills and vowed to succeed at Foundation Establishment.

After Li Yifan reached Foundation Establishment, the Zhou Family strengthened its ties with Lin Chang'an by sending Zhou Bingbing to help at his cave abode. As the beast tide intensified, Yun Yao told Lin Chang'an about an injured quasi-third-tier venomous snake, and they set out together to hunt it for its valuable materials.

• Li Erniu celebrated Li Yifan's Foundation Establishment with the Zhou Family, which welcomed Li Erniu as a son-in-law and offered him thirty mu of spirit fields.
• Zhou Bingyun brought her younger sister Zhou Bingbing to Lin Chang'an's cave abode, where Bingbing agreed to tend the Spirit Plants and feed the Green-Horned Ox.
• Lin Chang'an heard reports that Demon Beasts were leaving the depths of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range as the beast tide grew more active.
• Yun Yao told Lin Chang'an that she had found an injured quasi-third-tier venomous snake and proposed they hunt it together and divide the rewards.
• Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao arranged for Old Hu and Old Ghost to cover their duties, disguised themselves, and left Celestial Mystery City for the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.

Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao hunted a Quasi-Third-tier Green-Scaled Python in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, using their spirit pets, array, and combined attack secret art to draw it from its pool and wound it. The battle continued as they fought to wear down the intelligent beast and avoid its corrosive poison mist.

• Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao traveled deep into the Cloud Mist Mountain Range and carefully approached the Green-Scaled Python’s miasma-filled pool.
• Yun Yao revealed her Ice Flood Dragon, which sensed the python underwater, while Lin Chang'an released his Green-Horned Ox and the pair activated their array and combined attack secret art.
• Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao drove the Green-Scaled Python from the pool with the Ice Cone Art, earthen spikes, and Yellow Dragon Bell, then sealed its route back to the water.
• The Green-Scaled Python broke free, battered the Yellow Dragon Bell, and spewed poison mist before burrowing underground to escape.
• Lin Chang'an used his Spirit Eye to track the python through the poison mist, and he and Yun Yao struck it underground with a giant sword and spear before switching to mobile combat.

Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao killed a Quasi-Third-tier Green-Scaled Giant Python and divided its valuable remains before an Induction Jade Talisman warned them that another cultivator was nearby. As they headed toward the Golden Core cultivator’s ruin, they discovered Song Tingfeng and his companions secretly preparing for Su Miaoyin’s Core Formation.

• Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao used their Combined Attack Secret Technique to wear down the Green-Scaled Giant Python, then survived its venomous final strike and confirmed its death.
• Lin Chang'an captured the python’s essence soul, and he and Yun Yao divided its body and other spoils before recovering inside the array.
• Yun Yao’s Induction Jade Talisman reacted to a cultivator’s mana, prompting her and Lin Chang'an to recall their spirit pets and head toward the ruin.
• Yun Yao and Lin Chang'an agreed to investigate cautiously, with Yun Yao prepared to prevent anyone else from claiming the ruin if necessary.
• Song Tingfeng and eight companions set up a Tier 3 Great Array in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range to help Su Miaoyin form her core and distract attention from Celestial Mystery City.

Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao discovered that Li Fire Palace and the Divine Sword Sect had surrounded Su Miaoyin, whose Four Symbols Black Tortoise Formation defended her as she attempted to form her core. The formation weakened when two of Su Miaoyin’s allies betrayed her, leaving Huang Tianxiao confident that Li Fire Palace would take Xuantian City.

• Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao found a powerful concealed array near the Relic Cave Abode, but withdrew when they sensed danger in the sky.
• Li Fire Palace and the Divine Sword Sect arrived in war flying boats and demanded that Su Miaoyin surrender a Core Formation Spirit Item.
• Lin Chang'an disguised his aura with the Blood-Thirsty Poison Vine and fled with Yun Yao as the sects attacked Su Miaoyin’s Four Symbols Black Tortoise Formation.
• Lin Chang'an recognized Su Miaoyin as a true Third-Order Formation Master when her formation resisted attacks from the two sects’ Core Formation Cultivators.
• Fellow Daoist Miao betrayed Su Miaoyin’s side, seized an array flag, and weakened the formation; Junior Sister Fan then secretly poisoned Su Miaoyin and destroyed another flag before escaping.
• Su Miaoyin questioned Junior Sister Fan, who revealed that she had become Dao companions with a Li Fire Palace disciple, while Huang Tianxiao declared that Li Fire Palace would take Xuantian City.

After escaping the battle in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao took refuge in Green Bamboo Mountain Market while Li Fire Palace and Divine Sword Sect besieged True Person Lu and pursued Su Miaoyin. As the market filled with displaced cultivators and the conflict continued, a small Beast Tide threatened its failing defenses.

• True Person Lu fought four Core Formation Cultivators outside Celestial Mystery City after they threatened his daughter, Su Miaoyin.
• Huang Tianxiao and a Divine Sword Sect cultivator used Third-tier Forbidden-Breaking Talismans to shatter Su Miaoyin's formation, and she detonated a Third-tier Demon Core to strike the Li Fire Palace flying boat.
• Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao decided to avoid Celestial Mystery City and traveled to Green Bamboo Mountain Market, where they learned the fighting had continued and Mystic Sound Pavilion's Great Elder might have died.
• The Zhou Family welcomed Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao and arranged for them to stay in its best cultivation courtyard while gathering intelligence.
• Lin Chang'an considered the undiscovered Relic Cave Abode and hoped its deceased Golden Core Cultivator might offer useful insights or a Secret Technique.
• A small Beast Tide reached the markets, and a Zhou Family steward warned Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao that Green Bamboo Mountain Market's formation was close to failing.

Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao helped defend Green Bamboo Mountain Market from a beast tide, then prepared to return to Celestial Mystery City amid reports that Su Miaoyin had vanished. As they packed to leave, Su Miaoyin unexpectedly appeared in Yun Yao’s room.

• Lin Chang'an considered advancing his Sha Yuan Sword Art before a beast tide threatened Green Bamboo Mountain Market.
• Lin Chang'an, Yun Yao, and the other cultivators helped repel successive waves of Demon Beasts, and Lin Chang'an used his sword art to strike down flying beasts.
• During the lulls, Lin Chang'an distributed collected Demon Beast materials and reflected with Yun Yao on his rise from a poor Qi Refining cultivator.
• Yun Yao told Lin Chang'an that Su Miaoyin’s whereabouts were unknown and that cultivators were searching for her Core Formation Spirit Item; they planned to return to Celestial Mystery City in three days.
• The Zhou Family steward thanked Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao for defending the market and explained why the Zhou Family planned to remain there.
• As Lin Chang'an packed to leave, Su Miaoyin appeared in Yun Yao’s room and teased her, while Yun Yao responded with suspicion and hostility.

Yun Yao and Lin Chang'an agreed to escort Su Miaoyin back to Celestial Mystery City after weighing the rewards and danger, while Lin Chang'an sensed a powerful hidden beast protecting her. As they set out, True Person Lu secretly used the crisis to draw out his enemies and pursue a deeper plan tied to the coming beast tide and the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.

• Su Miaoyin asked Yun Yao to escort her to Celestial Mystery City, and Yun Yao agreed to consult Lin Chang'an before committing.
• Lin Chang'an sensed the aura of a powerful third-tier monster beast on Su Miaoyin and agreed to help Yun Yao escort her.
• The four Core Formation cultivators from the Two Major Sects blamed Old Ghost Huang after True Person Lu defeated them, but they dismissed the idea that Lu had been acting.
• True Person Lu fished atop the Black Water Turtle and revealed that the Gold-Devouring Mouse was protecting Su Miaoyin while he used the turmoil to find people with disloyal intentions.
• Lin Chang'an, Yun Yao, and disguised Su Miaoyin departed Green Bamboo Mountain Market for Celestial Mystery City.

Lin Chang'an returned safely to Celestial Mystery City with Yun Yao and Su Miaoyin, then resumed his quiet routine while considering the gains from the hunt and the dangers ahead. Three days later, he agreed to let Shen Lie and Li Erniu conduct business in his Black Market, leaving his old friends with his support as the Beast Tide loomed.

• Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao escorted Su Miaoyin through the Demon Beast-ridden Cloud Mist Mountain Range and learned about her One Body, Two Souls condition.
• Li Fire Palace and Divine Sword Sect's Core Formation Cultivators learned that Su Miaoyin had returned to Celestial Mystery City and resolved to lure True Person Lu out by exploiting the turmoil in Cloud Mist Mountain Range.
• Su Miaoyin reunited with Song Tingfeng in Celestial Mystery City, while Yun Yao demanded an explanation after hearing that someone had leaked information about their journey.
• Lin Chang'an returned to his cave dwelling, sorted the materials from the Quasi-Third-tier Monster Beast and the bandits, and resumed drawing talismans, refining pills, and cultivating.
• Shen Lie and Li Erniu visited Lin Chang'an to ask to conduct business in his Black Market, and he agreed to protect them.

Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao visited Tianxuan Peak, where True Person Lu shared a pill recipe for improving Spiritual Root aptitude and guided their cultivation. They left with valuable gifts, while Lin Chang'an gained a path toward refining his Life-Bound Spirit Plant and True Person Lu urged Su Miaoyin to pursue an Immortal Golden Core.

• Lin Chang'an reflected on Core Formation, then met Yun Yao at Tianxuan Peak, where Su Miaoyin welcomed them and offered Spirit Fish from the Spirit Vein Spring.
• True Person Lu revealed the Spirit-Supplementing Pill Recipe, an improved version of an ancient recipe for a Heaven-Mending Pill that could raise Spiritual Root aptitude.
• True Person Lu guided Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao in cultivation for three days, greatly increasing Lin Chang'an's technique proficiency before fatigue forced them to leave.
• Su Miaoyin arranged for Lin Chang'an to meet an Artifact Refiner and gave him Third-Order Spirit Liquid, while she gave Yun Yao a Third-tier spirit item and both visitors received more gifts.
• Lin Chang'an returned to his Cave Abode, recorded the pill recipe, and used Third-Order Spirit Liquid to nourish his Life-Bound Spirit Plant, which began to revive and strengthen him.
• After the visitors left, True Person Lu told Su Miaoyin to prepare carefully for Core Formation and aim for an Immortal Golden Core.

Lin Chang'an strengthened his talisman preparations and received powerful Spirit Artifacts while the Beast Tide and war in Yue Kingdom intensified. He and Yun Yao identified the Cave Abode ruins’ Blood Sha Red Sun Array and agreed to prepare for its weakening over the coming years.

• Lin Chang'an used rare Quasi-Third-tier talisman paper to make six Second-tier High-grade Array-Breaking Talismans and planned to give three to Yun Yao.
• Lin Chang'an met Old Hu at the Black Market, where they discussed hunting Monster Beasts, trading resources, and the war between Li Fire Palace, Divine Sword Sect, and Mystic Sound Pavilion.
• Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao received a Green-Scaled Sword and Green-Scaled Armor forged from a Quasi-Third-tier Green-Scaled Python, and Lin Chang'an tested the sword’s power.
• Lin Chang'an asked Yun Yao about the Array protecting the Cave Abode ruins, and she identified it as the Demonic Path’s Blood Sha Red Sun Array.
• Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao discussed preparing water-attribute, yin-cold methods and agreed to inspect the ruins and Array together every three years.

Lin Chang'an prepared for the turmoil in Yue Kingdom by practicing Water-Attribute spells, seeking formation and talisman inheritances, and agreeing to safeguard Foundation Establishment resources for Shen Fan and Yingying. As rumors of a Beast Tide shook Celestial Mystery City, he and Old Hu negotiated with Qin Feng over his family's properties and rare talisman inheritances.

• Lin Chang'an decided to seek a Second-Tier Formation Inheritance and practiced Water Shield Art and Water Evasion Art.
• Old Hu warned Lin Chang'an that reports of two third-tier Monster Beasts might have been deliberately spread, then proposed buying assets and inheritances from people leaving Celestial Mystery City.
• Shen Lie, Lu Qingqing, and Wei Yiyi entrusted Lin Chang'an with resources for Shen Fan and Yingying, and he promised to provide each with a Foundation Establishment Pill when they were ready.
• Rumors of True Person Lu's death and the approaching Beast Tide unsettled Celestial Mystery City as property prices fell and Monster Beast resources became more expensive.
• Qin Feng offered to sell his family's spirit fields, shops, and three Second-Rank Talisman inheritances, including a rare lightning-element inheritance, and Old Hu began haggling over the price.

Lin Chang'an bought the Qin Family’s Second-Rank Thunder Shock Talisman inheritance and other holdings as Celestial Mystery City faced mounting turmoil. When a Beast Tide driven by three Third-tier Monster Beasts threatened the city, Lin Chang'an and his companions prepared to defend it and make use of the opportunity.

• Lin Chang'an and Hu Jin bought Qin Feng’s holdings, while Lin Chang'an separately purchased the Qin Family’s Thunder Shock Talisman inheritance.
• Lin Chang'an borrowed over a thousand Mid-grade Spirit Stones from Song Tingfeng to support Celestial Mystery City’s stability.
• A Beast Tide surged from the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, driven by three Third-tier Monster Beasts, and Celestial Mystery City sounded the alarm.
• Celestial Mystery City recruited cultivators to defend the city and offered battle merits for Beast Tide spoils and valuable resources.
• Lao Hu, He Yan, Yun Yao, and others prepared to fight together, while Lin Chang'an supplied them with Second-Order High-Grade Talismans.
• Li Yifan joined the defenders, and Lin Chang'an encouraged Shen Fan and Wei Yingying while giving them talismans for protection.

Lin Chang'an profited from the prolonged Beast Tide, strengthened his combat skills, and joined a supply escort as the cultivators began pushing back the Demon Beasts. When a Quasi-Third-tier flying beast attacked a base, Lin Chang'an revealed his power by cutting down one of its companions and drew the monster’s attention.

• Lin Chang'an traded supplies and materials through the Black Market while Celestial Mystery City’s formation held against the Beast Tide.
• After six months of fighting, Lin Chang'an completed a Quasi-Third-Rank Thunder Shock Talisman and advanced the Sha Yuan Sword Art to Perfect Realm.
• Lin Chang'an joined Shen Lie, Wei Yiyi, and other cultivators escorting supplies to an outlying base as Celestial Mystery City’s forces counterattacked.
• A Quasi-Third-tier fire-spewing bird and a flock of Thief Fire Birds attacked the base, overwhelming its defenders despite their formation.
• Lin Chang'an charged into the battle on the Green-Horned Ox and severed a Second-tier flying beast’s wing with his Killing Intent sword radiance, prompting Old Hu to call for his help.