Chapter Summaries

Lin Chang'an helped the outpost defeat a Quasi-Third-tier Fire Bird, negotiated for its Crystal Core, and gave it to his Phoenix Cry Bird to prepare for the Cave Abode ruins. Back in Celestial Mystery City, he worried that the prolonged Beast Tide and weakening prospects for Mystic Sound Pavilion had left his growing investments in Spirit Fields and shops without buyers.

• Lin Chang'an severed the Quasi-Third-tier Fire Bird's wing with the Great Sword Art, allowing Yun Yao and the outpost cultivators to defeat the beast and scatter its followers.
• Lin Chang'an offered several Second-Order High-Grade Talismans for a share of the spoils and secured the Quasi-Third-tier Crystal Core.
• Lin Chang'an gave the Crystal Core to his Phoenix Cry Bird, which began pecking through it as it prepared to advance.
• Lin Chang'an returned to Celestial Mystery City and reflected on the resources he had gathered for the Cave Abode ruins and Core Formation.
• Lin Chang'an saw that the prolonged Beast Tide, the city's uncertain future, and the lack of buyers had made his investments in Spirit Fields and shops increasingly risky.

As three disciples of True Person Lu began forming cores in Celestial Mystery City, Li Fire Palace and Divine Sword Sect tried to break the city's formation while three Third-tier Monster Beasts attacked. The formation was breached, leaving Lin Chang'an to hide with his spirit beasts as the crisis escalated.

• Lin Chang'an discussed Celestial Mystery City's uncertain future with Shen Lie and considered saving resources or fleeing if the Yue Kingdom fell into turmoil.
• Three Core Formation phenomena erupted over Tianxuan Peak, Li Fire Peak, and Mystic Sound Peak, while True Person Lu activated the city's defenses against the approaching Third-tier Monster Beasts.
• Li Fire Palace and Divine Sword Sect learned of the simultaneous Core Formations, and Mystic Sound Pavilion began a counterattack as Fairy Nishang's Master warned her to prepare an escape route.
• Two Core Formation Late Stage cultivators from Li Fire Palace and Divine Sword Sect used Third-Order High-Grade Array-Breaking Talismans to breach Celestial Mystery City's Mountain Protection Formation.
• Lin Chang'an released the Green-Horned Ox and Phoenix Cry Bird, then ordered them into his cave abode to hide from the three Third-tier Monster Beasts.

Su Miaoyin formed a True Core, strengthening Celestial Mystery City as its enemies considered joining forces against it. Lin Chang'an and his allies celebrated their profits and the city’s renewed prospects, while Lin’s spirit pet advanced and the Qin Family tried to reclaim the shops it had sold.

• True Person Lu drove off the Li Fire Palace and Divine Sword Sect cultivators after killing a third-tier Monster Beast, and Su Miaoyin later completed her True Core while Song Tingfeng formed a False Core.
• Li Fire Palace and Divine Sword Sect decided to cooperate against Mystic Sound Pavilion and Celestial Mystery City after Su Miaoyin’s advancement became known.
• Lin Chang'an, Hu Jin, Yun Yao, and their companions celebrated the profits they had made from buying property during the crisis, while Yun Yao reflected on her distance from old friends and their descendants.
• Lin Chang'an received an invitation to Celestial Mystery City’s Core Formation celebration and found that his Phoenix Cry Bird had advanced to the Second-Order Middle Stage.
• Qin Feng asked Lin Chang'an and Hu Jin to let his family redeem its shops for twenty percent more, but Lin pointed out that their value had more than doubled and refused to overlook the risks they had borne.

Lin Chang'an and Old Hu refused Qin Feng’s attempt to buy back the Black Market shops, then watched Celestial Mystery City celebrate Su Miaoyin’s Core Formation and regain stability. When Qin Feng opened a rival Black Market in the West District, Lin Chang'an explained why their established market had advantages the Qin Family would struggle to match.

• Qin Feng offered to pay sixty percent more for the shops and hinted that his Foundation Establishment lineage could help or harm Lin Chang'an and Old Hu, but their killing intent made him retreat.
• Lin Chang'an and Old Hu bought new robes, and three months later they attended Su Miaoyin’s Core Formation celebration, where True Person Lu’s standing and the city’s wealth were on display.
• Su Miaoyin reinforced the Mystic Sound Pavilion front line with the Third Tier Black Water Turtle, while Celestial Mystery City stabilized and Lin Chang'an’s cultivation continued to advance.
• Old Hu told Lin Chang'an that Qin Feng had joined forces with others to open a competing Black Market in the West District, backed by six Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivators.
• Lin Chang'an argued that the Qin Family lacked their market’s investment, connections, supplies, and early advantage, and Old Hu calmed down as they anticipated the rival market’s difficulties.

Lin Chang'an learned from Song Tingfeng about Core Formation, while the Qin Family and its partners struggled to attract cultivators to their new Black Market. After inspecting his artifacts and improving his skills, Lin Chang'an traded in the East District Black Market under the identity Elder Yao, where he sensed someone watching him.

• Lin Chang'an returned the Black Market's earnings and more than three thousand Mid-grade Spirit Stones to Song Tingfeng, who shared his False Core experience and warned him not to risk pursuing a True Core at any cost.
• The Qin Family and their partners decided to spend more of their resources to recruit skilled cultivators and attract high-level materials to their struggling Market.
• Lin Chang'an tested his Yellow Dragon Bell and Green-Scaled Sword, reviewed his progress in alchemy and arrays, and set out to seek rare array records.
• Lin Chang'an disguised himself as Elder Yao and exchanged pills for Spirit Grass and other resources at the East District Black Market.
• Lin Chang'an sensed that someone was watching him while he made his purchases.

Lin Chang'an, disguised as Elder Yao, met with Qin Feng, who was secretly recruiting skilled cultivators for the Qin Family’s West District Market. Qin Feng plotted to poach the East District’s people and undermine its Market, while Lin Chang'an continued to conceal his involvement; later, Lin Chang'an advised Shen Fan, Wei Yingying, and Zhou Bingbing on cultivation.

• Lin Chang'an noticed Qin Feng following him, accepted a Second-Tier Monster Core, and went with him to a restaurant while disguised as Elder Yao.
• Qin Feng revealed he was from the Qin Family Market and offered to buy Lin Chang'an’s Medicinal Pills at a premium; Lin Chang'an agreed to trade beneath Tianxuan Peak but refused to visit the unfamiliar Market.
• Over the following months, Qin Feng and his allies recruited cultivators and acquired high-grade goods, unaware that eighteen of the more than twenty people they had befriended were Lin Chang'an using different identities.
• Qin Feng urged the ten Foundation Establishment cultivators to poach the East District’s people and set a trap to make its Black Market suffer, despite an elder warning him that the plan was too risky.
• Lin Chang'an advised Shen Fan and Wei Yingying as they prepared for Foundation Establishment, and offered Zhou Bingbing cultivation pointers after she brought gifts and visited his Cave Abode.

Lin Chang'an used his Elder Yao disguise to discover that Qin Feng planned to poach the East District Market’s suppliers and sabotage its deal with the Seven Kingdoms Chamber of Commerce. Qin Feng persuaded the West District’s Foundation Establishment cultivators to back the plan, while Lin Chang'an’s many identities accepted lavish offers and demanded steep deposits.

• Wei Yingying worried that she might fail Foundation Establishment while Shen Fan succeeded, but Lin Chang'an reassured them that they still had a chance.
• Lin Chang'an met Qin Feng as Elder Yao and learned that the East District Market had secured a major materials deal with the Seven Kingdoms Chamber of Commerce.
• Qin Feng offered Elder Yao increasingly generous terms to divert the suppliers and revealed his plan to undermine the East District Market’s transaction.
• Qin Feng gathered the West District’s Foundation Establishment cultivators, and most agreed to risk offending the East District in hopes of replacing it.
• Lin Chang'an told Old Hu that the Qin Family likely had connections, while sixteen of Lin Chang'an’s identities agreed to Qin Feng’s offers and demanded five times the East District’s deposit.

After breaking through to become a Second-tier Low-grade Formation Master, Lin Chang'an used a scheme to ruin Qin Feng's West District Market, which had tried to poach traders from the East District. Qin Feng and his nine fellow Foundation Establishment Cultivators asked Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao for help, leaving the East District leaders to decide how to respond.

• Lin Chang'an reached the Second-tier Low-grade Formation Master level while the Phoenix Cry Bird secretly drank his spirit tea and tried to frame the Green-Horned Ox.
• Qin Feng's recruited traders abandoned the West District Market, revealing that Lin Chang'an had used multiple identities to help deceive them and leaving Qin Feng's group unable to fulfill its trade commitments.
• Old Hu told Lin Chang'an that Qin Feng's attempt to seize two foreign Rogue Cultivators had exposed his scheme and emptied the West District Market.
• Lin Chang'an, Yun Yao, Old Ghost, He Yan, Lao Jia, and Old Hu discussed precautions against schemes and large-scale trades at the East District Black Market.
• Qin Feng arrived with nine Foundation Establishment Cultivators, wept before Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao, and begged them to lend resources and Spirit Stones to save his market.

Lin Chang'an and the East District Black Market drove off Qin Feng's desperate West District group, then watched the West District Market collapse as its partners turned on one another. The Qin Family was ruined and Qin Feng disappeared from Celestial Mystery City, while the ongoing war continued to drive cultivators from the Yue Kingdom.

• Qin Feng and the West District cultivators asked Lin Chang'an's group for resources, then threatened them when they refused.
• Yun Yao and Lin Chang'an attacked the West District group, forcing Qin Feng and his companions to apologize and leave the East District Market.
• The West District partners blamed one another as rival markets squeezed them out, and their market dissolved.
• Rumors blamed Qin Feng for colluding with outsiders, and the Qin Family's plans to relocate became known; Qin Feng resigned and left Celestial Mystery City.
• Old Hu told Lin Chang'an that the former West District cultivators had dispersed, while they discussed how the war was driving Foundation Establishment Cultivators out of the Yue Kingdom.

After three years, Lin Chang'an emerged to help Shen Fan and Wei Yingying attempt Foundation Establishment, while he and Yun Yao discussed growing unrest in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range. Yun Yao feared the hidden Cave Ruins would soon be discovered, so she and Lin Chang'an began preparing to investigate them ahead of time.

• Lin Chang'an left his cave abode and joined Shen Lie, Lu Qingqing, Wei Yiyi, and Li Erniu as Shen Fan and Wei Yingying prepared to attempt Foundation Establishment.
• Lin Chang'an gave Shen Fan and Wei Yingying three Refined Foundation Establishment Pills and advised them to use their dual cultivation secret art; Wei Yingying secretly kept one pill for herself while Shen Fan prepared to use the other two.
• Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao watched the anxious families from a private room, then discussed reports of demon-beast unrest and increasingly dangerous Poisonous Miasma deep in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.
• Yun Yao revealed her Water Dragon Flags and said she wanted to investigate the Cave Ruins before others discovered them.
• Lin Chang'an agreed to prepare for the expedition and revealed to Yun Yao that he had reached the Second Tier as a Formation Master.

Two months after Shen Fan achieved Foundation Establishment, Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao prepared to repay their old friends’ kindness and investigate a Golden Core Cultivator’s Relic Cave Abode. Three months later, they reached its concealed entrance in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range and began cautiously probing its Third-Order Array.

• Shen Lie, Lu Qingqing, Wei Yiyi, Shen Fan, and Wei Yingying visited Lin Chang'an to offer their thanks, while Wei Yiyi remained upset about Wei Yingying’s situation.
• Yun Yao emerged after the visitors left, gave Lin Chang'an Spirit Stones to repay their friends’ kindness, and agreed with him to prepare another Foundation Establishment opportunity for Wei Yingying after letting her temper her will.
• Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao agreed to secretly investigate the Relic Cave Abode in three months, while Lin Chang'an prepared formations, talismans, pills, and other resources for the expedition.
• Old Hu told Lin Chang'an that a Foundation Establishment Cultivator connected to the Chayun Kingdom Chamber of Commerce had returned and was secretly watching the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, then decided to keep tracking him.
• Three months later, Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao reached a miasma-filled swamp concealing the Relic Cave Abode, used Yun Yao’s Hidden Spirit Veil, and began examining its Third-Order Array.

Lin Chang'an located the weakened Blood Sha Red Sun Array and discovered that other cultivators had found the ruins. A fight with the masked pursuer ended when Lin Chang'an and Old Hu recognized each other, but Yun Yao's arrival left Old Hu cornered amid the exposed Cave Abode ruins.

• Lin Chang'an found the array's sun and baleful positions, then noticed traces that other cultivators had been nearby.
• Old Hu chased a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator into the array's vicinity, where Lin Chang'an blocked the fugitive's path and killed him.
• Lin Chang'an and Old Hu fought, drawing Poison Scorpions and exposing the array around the Cave Abode ruins.
• Lin Chang'an and Old Hu unleashed their Talisman Treasures, then recognized each other and stopped their clash.
• Lin Chang'an summoned Yun Yao, who arrived and joined him in confronting Old Hu.

Lin Chang'an, Yun Yao, and Old Hu cleared up their disguises and formed an alliance to explore the exposed Cave Abode ruins, negotiating a share of the spoils in exchange for Old Hu’s Core Formation secret art. After waiting for the Poison Scorpions to settle, they entered the weakened Blood Sha Red Sun Array and began making their way through it.

• Old Hu explained that he had tracked down the slain cultivator from Chayun Kingdom, and he and Lin Chang'an compared their concealed identities and Talisman Treasures.
• Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao learned that the Cave Abode ruins might have been discovered by other cultivators, while Old Hu offered his family’s Core Formation insights and a secret art to join their expedition.
• Lin Chang'an, Yun Yao, and Old Hu negotiated how to divide the ruins’ treasures, swore oaths upon their Dao hearts, and agreed to enter after the Poison Scorpions settled.
• Seven days later, Lin Chang'an used five Quasi-Tier 3 Forbidden-Breaking Talismans to open a breach in the formation while Old Hu and Yun Yao fought off the approaching Poison Scorpions.
• The three entered the Blood Sha Red Sun Array, where Lin Chang'an guided them through its weakened formations as they battled Fire-Devouring Demon Spirits for more than half a month.

Lin Chang'an, Yun Yao, and Old Hu crossed the Blood Sha Red Sun Array Gate after an outside party triggered its defenses, then entered a deceptively peaceful valley in search of a Golden Core Cultivator's Cave Abode. With no signs of the abode, Yun Yao brought out a Demonic Magic Tool to investigate.

• Lin Chang'an realized someone was breaking into the array, and the party used the distraction to find a route through its defenses.
• A Chayun Kingdom group led by a False Core elder entered the array to claim the ruin and drew most of its attacks toward themselves.
• Lin Chang'an, Yun Yao, and Old Hu fought a Quasi-Third Tier Fire-Devouring Demon Spirit, found the barrier's weak point, and opened a gap with two talismans.
• Old Hu used a Talisman Treasure to cut down two more demon spirits while Lin Chang'an broke through the barrier, and all three escaped into the valley.
• The group found no sign of the Cave Abode, so Yun Yao brought out a blood-red Demonic Magic Tool that formed a Black Phantom Skull of Resentful Wailing.

Yun Yao, Lin Chang'an, and Old Hu entered True Person Blood Sha’s Cave Abode, recovered his relics, and learned of his bitter hatred for Lu the Turtle. They escaped the formation with valuable spoils, but its collapse trapped the Fu Clan group amid surging miasma and enraged Poison Scorpions.

• Yun Yao used the cultivator’s blood to guide the group through the Cave Abode’s bloodline barrier, where they found True Person Blood Sha’s preserved corpse.
• Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao checked the Cave Abode for traps before Yun Yao collected Blood Sha’s treasures, revealing his curses against Lu the Turtle.
• The three divided Blood Sha’s spirit stones, medicinal pills, Jade Slips, and four damaged Magic Treasures, while Lin Chang'an kept Old Hu’s shares and took the corpse.
• Lin Chang'an collected the Blood Sha Red Sun Array’s main Array Disk and Array Flags, and the three concealed their auras to slip past the Fu Clan guards.
• The formation collapsed days later, flooding the area with Miasma and driving the Poison Scorpions berserk as a False Core True Person roared from within.

Lin Chang'an, Yun Yao, and Old Hu divided the treasures from True Lord Blood Fiend’s cave and returned to their cultivation routines. Lin Chang'an uncovered Blood Sha’s memories and a powerful sword divine ability, then learned that Shen Lie had sent word that something had happened to Er Niu.

• Lin Chang'an, Yun Yao, and Old Hu divided their copied inheritances and damaged treasures, and Old Hu shared the Three-Turn Core Condensation Art.
• Lin Chang'an searched True Lord Blood Fiend’s remains with his Life-Bound Spirit Plant and discovered Blood Sha’s memories, the complete Sha Yuan Sword Art, and the Sword Shadow Follows Heart divine ability.
• Lin Chang'an burned the remains, and the three paid their respects at a burial site before returning to cultivation and studying formations.
• Lin Chang'an considered how to obtain third-tier demon cores and prepare for Core Formation while prioritizing steady cultivation.
• Old Hu told Lin Chang'an that the Fu Family’s Chamber of Commerce had discovered their cave ruins too late, and Shen Lie then sent Lin Chang'an a message that something had happened to Er Niu.

Lin Chang'an visited Li Erniu after a concubine stole Li Yifan’s Foundation Establishment Pill, and watched Li Yifan reject the burden of establishing a cultivation lineage. After the family conflict settled, Lin Chang'an received Pulse-Protecting Pills from Yun Yao and prepared to cultivate Sword Shadow Follows Heart as he planned for a dangerous journey to the Monster Sea Abyss.

• Lin Chang'an, Shen Lie, and Wei Yiyi visited Li Erniu, who lamented that a concubine had stolen Li Yifan’s Foundation Establishment Pill with help from her younger brother.
• Wei Yiyi criticized Li Erniu’s indulgence and the rivalry among his concubines’ children, while Lin Chang'an and Shen Lie explained how difficult it was to establish a cultivation lineage.
• Li Yifan told Lin Chang'an that he would leave with his mother and full siblings, abandon the Li Family lineage, and protect his family through his own cultivation.
• The thief failed his Foundation Establishment attempt and was forced with his family into servitude; Li Erniu gave up his plans for a lineage, while Li Yifan cultivated in peace.
• Yun Yao brought Lin Chang'an seven Pulse-Protecting Pills, which he planned to use while cultivating Sword Shadow Follows Heart.
• Lin Chang'an resolved to prepare for a future journey to the dangerous Monster Sea Abyss, where he hoped to seek what he needed for Core Formation.

Lin Chang'an mastered the Sword Shadow Follows Heart Technique and later met with his companions as they discussed the worsening war and the anomaly in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range. The gathering ended with each cultivator reflecting on their chosen path, while Lin Chang'an remained determined to keep cultivating.

• After half a year of practice, Lin Chang'an mastered the Sword Shadow Follows Heart Technique and tested its powerful offense and defense, though it consumed much spiritual power and strained his meridians.
• Over the next two or three years, Lin Chang'an continued his cultivation and, at age eighty-seven, considered his progress toward Foundation Establishment Late Stage and the time needed to prepare for Core Formation.
• Old Hu told Lin Chang'an that Cultivator Bandits were impersonating them, and Old Ghost, He Yan, Lao Jia, and Yun Yao joined them to discuss the worsening front lines and the danger of True Person Lu's eventual death.
• The group learned that demon beasts were migrating from the Cloud Mist Mountain Range and that its miasma had obstructed investigations; Lin Chang'an recalled that True Person Blood Sha's fragmented memories might explain the anomaly.
• Lao Jia and the others discussed Yun Yao's eventual search for Core Formation Spirit Items, while Yun Yao said she needed time to stabilize her recent breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
• Lao Jia toasted his companions' future cultivation, and Shen Lie and Lu Qingqing reflected on their life together as Lin Chang'an and Yun Yao recognized that their former companion was living well.

Lin Chang'an refined Second-Order High-Grade pills but found their effect on his cultivation limited, and decided to delay traveling to the Monster Sea Abyss. Meanwhile, Shen Fan and Wei Yingying returned to Celestial Mystery City after a staged chase, unaware that Qin Feng and Foundation Establishment Cultivator Gu planned to use them to spark turmoil in the East District Black Market.

• Lin Chang'an traded in the Black Market as Wood Daoist and suspected that traders offering Quasi-Third Tier items were probing for clues about the Secret Realm ruins.
• Lin Chang'an refined Second-Order High-Grade pills and found they would only shorten his path to Foundation Establishment Late Stage by five or six years, so he resolved to pursue steadier cultivation before traveling to the Monster Sea Abyss.
• Shen Fan and Wei Yingying fled toward Celestial Mystery City with a Monster Beast crystal core while a Foundation Establishment cultivator pursued them, then escaped by leading him into Monster Beast territory.
• Foundation Establishment Cultivator Gu revealed that he and Qin Feng had staged the chase and planned to provoke Gu's elder brother into attacking the East District Black Market, with Li Fire Palace disciples lying in ambush.
• Qin Feng said the turmoil would ignite other measures against Celestial Mystery City, while Gu agreed to the plan in exchange for Li Fire Palace's protection for their families.
• Shen Fan and Wei Yingying reached Lin Chang'an's cave abode before Gu returned to feign concern for his nephew.

Lin Chang'an uncovered a Li Fire Palace tracking scheme targeting Shen Fan and Wei Yingying, then reported his suspicions of a plot against Celestial Mystery City to Elder Feng in exchange for a chance at third-tier pills. True Person Lu prepared to return to action after spending over a hundred years expelling poison and acquiring Spirit Liquid for Nascent Soul formation.

• Wei Yingying told Lin Chang'an how she and Shen Fan obtained a Demon Beast Crystal Core and were pursued, and Lin Chang'an agreed to have it refined into Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Lin Chang'an removed a hidden Li Fire Palace tracking mark from Shen Fan and realized the scheme might be aimed at him or Celestial Mystery City.
• Gu Congfeng confronted Lin Chang'an over his son and the Crystal Core, but Gu Congjian restrained him and later delivered an apology invitation that Lin Chang'an accepted while suspecting a trap.
• Lin Chang'an reported to Elder Feng that Li Fire Palace might be planning to cause unrest in Celestial Mystery City and requested third-tier Medicinal Pills, which Elder Feng agreed to ask True Person Lu about.
• True Person Lu told Elder Feng to call a disciple back and grant Lin Chang'an pills, then revealed that he had spent more than a hundred years expelling poison and was ready to end his plans.