Chapter Summaries

Li Yuan bought a Qi Harmonizing Pill formula and improved his alchemy while continuing to craft talismans. After reaching Proficiency in alchemy, he made Alchemy Comprehension a permanent affix and began cultivating with stronger perception and soul power.

• Li Yuan bought a Qi Harmonizing Pill formula from an old rogue cultivator and gathered ingredients for several batches.
• Li Yuan refined Qi Harmonizing Pills and discovered the Attribute Smoothness affix, which could help with his Hundred Meridians Origin Return Art and talisman crafting.
• Li Yuan spent more than half a month refining and selling Qi Replenishment Pills and Qi Harmonizing Pills, steadily increasing his alchemy proficiency.
• Li Yuan reached Proficiency in First-Order Alchemy Art and made Alchemy Comprehension a permanent affix, consuming the equipped pill.
• Li Yuan gained stronger soul power and perception, then sat down to cultivate.

Li Yuan joined Shen Yue and Zhou Tie in an informal partnership among craftsmen to exchange supplies and refer customers, and bought a new talisman brush from Zhou Tie. Back at his courtyard, he used an Iron Wall Pill to train before resuming spiritual cultivation.

• Shen Yue visited Li Yuan and proposed that they form a voluntary partnership with Artifact Refiner Zhou Tie to trade materials and refer customers.
• Li Yuan agreed, and Shen Yue took him to Zhou Tie’s workshop, where the three discussed their crafts and businesses.
• Zhou Tie offered Li Yuan a talisman brush for fifteen Spirit Stones, and Li Yuan bought it.
• Li Yuan returned to his courtyard, swallowed an Iron Wall Pill, and trained with the Iron Wall Body Refining Art before cultivating with the Spirit Guiding Art.

Li Yuan delivered Talismans to the Ziyuan Trading Firm, then broke through to the Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement while cultivating. He concealed his stronger cultivation and permanently converted the Soul Nourishing Pill into an affix.

• Li Yuan read a notice that the Yuanyang Sect was recruiting guards to rebuild the Loose Cultivator Market, and a traveling merchant explained that several dozen cultivators still lived there.
• Li Yuan delivered Talismans to Shopkeeper Han, collected Spirit Stones, and returned home to make Talismans and cultivate.
• Li Yuan reached the bottleneck of the Qi Refining Eighth Layer and broke through to the Ninth Layer, expanding his dantian and strengthening his meridians, spells, and perception.
• Li Yuan suppressed his aura so he still appeared to be a rogue cultivator in the Qi Refining Mid-to-Late Stage.
• Li Yuan equipped the Soul Nourishing Pill after meeting its conversion condition, and permanently converted Soul Power Replenishment into an affix.

Li Yuan accepted a three-day commission to make Restriction-Breaking Talismans in exchange for their crafting method, then completed the order and kept the method. After using his final Iron Wall Pill to strengthen his body, he resumed cultivating.

• Li Yuan heard that Yuanyang Sect had opened a Spirit Iron Ore vein near Ghost Mist Forest to miners willing to give the sect thirty percent of their ore.
• A cultivator surnamed Lu offered Li Yuan the Restriction-Breaking Talisman method in exchange for twenty talismans within three days, with a fifty-Spirit-Stone penalty if Li Yuan failed.
• Li Yuan bought materials, made a Restriction-Breaking Talisman, and discovered that its equipment affix increased penetration against spiritual power defenses by thirty percent.
• Li Yuan made twenty Restriction-Breaking Talismans, and Lu inspected them, collected them, and left Li Yuan with the crafting method.
• Li Yuan consumed his last Iron Wall Pill, cultivated the Iron Wall Body Refining Art, and then resumed cultivating with the Spirit Guiding Art.

Li Yuan joined Zhou Tie and Shen Yue at a gathering of Yunyang Marketplace craftsmen, where he bought two new talisman-making methods and a premium talisman brush. Back at his courtyard, he successfully made both new talismans on his first attempts.

• Zhou Tie invited Li Yuan to a craftsmen's gathering, and Shen Yue joined them on the way to the teahouse.
• Li Yuan bought the Ice Spike Talisman and Wind-Walking Talisman methods from another talisman maker.
• Li Yuan purchased a premium talisman brush made with hundred-year Spirit Sandalwood and Silver-Maned Beast whiskers.
• Li Yuan discussed talisman techniques with other craftsmen before the gathering dispersed.
• Li Yuan studied the two methods at home and successfully made an Ice Spike Talisman and a Wind-Walking Talisman on his first attempts.

Li Yuan improved his Talisman Crafting proficiency and agreed to teach Shopkeeper Han’s son in exchange for payment and better purchase prices. He acquired and learned the Soul Spike Technique, gaining a way to pursue the Spirit-Refining Talisman’s permanent condition, though he still needed to find a suitable Yin Ghost.

• Li Yuan examined the Ice Spike and Wind-Walking Talismans and saw their Affixes and permanent conditions.
• Li Yuan practiced Talisman Crafting for several days, raising several Talismans to Mastery and improving his other skills.
• Shopkeeper Han asked Li Yuan to teach his son Talisman Crafting and offered market-rate payment plus a five-percent increase in future purchase prices; Li Yuan agreed.
• Li Yuan asked Shopkeeper Han to find a soul attack spell, and Shopkeeper Han returned with a Bamboo Slip containing the Soul Spike Technique for forty-five Spirit Stones.
• Li Yuan learned the Soul Spike Technique to Entry Level and saw that its Affix reduced backlash, while its permanent condition required a soul cultivation method.
• Li Yuan considered using the Soul Spike Technique to kill a First-Order Mid-Grade Yin Ghost, then sat down to cultivate the Spirit Guiding Art.

Li Yuan traveled to Ghost Mist Forest to cultivate with its Fiend Qi and search for a Mid-Grade Yin Ghost, meeting Wang De on the way and learning about the Yuanyang Sect’s upcoming Immortal Sect Assembly. After entering the forest, Li Yuan defeated several Low-grade Yin Ghosts and began absorbing Fiend Qi, leaving his cultivation session underway.

• Li Yuan delivered finished Talismans to the Ziyuan Trading Firm and collected Medicinal Pills from Shen Yue before setting out for Ghost Mist Forest.
• At a fork in the road, Li Yuan met Wang De, who explained that his family sought a Foundation Establishment Pill and planned to send young cultivators to the Yuanyang Sect’s Immortal Sect Assembly.
• Li Yuan parted ways with Wang De and reached Ghost Mist Forest, where he concealed his Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement cultivation before entering the fog.
• Li Yuan defeated five Low-grade First-Order Yin Ghosts with Fireball and Fire Arrow Techniques but found no Mid-Grade Yin Ghosts.
• Li Yuan found an area rich in Fiend Qi, absorbed it until his reserves were full, then circulated the Iron Ox Technique to refine some and continue cultivating.

Li Yuan was ambushed by three cultivators in Ghost Mist Forest and killed them before looting their belongings. He found a Yin Stone among their mining haul, then discovered that the corpses and their souls were vanishing unnaturally as he hurried toward the forest’s edge.

• Li Yuan encountered three cultivators who surrounded him and attacked, hoping to rob him.
• Li Yuan dodged their attacks and killed all three with Fireball Technique and Fire Arrows in less than ten breaths.
• Li Yuan collected the cultivators’ Spirit Stones, pills, tools, and ore, and discovered a Yin Stone with a Yin Qi Amplification Affix.
• Li Yuan noticed that the corpses were rapidly shriveling and their souls had disappeared, then left toward the wall of mist.

Li Yuan practiced the Ice Spike Technique in Ghost Mist Forest, killed a First-Order Mid-Grade Yin Ghost with the Soul Spike Technique, and permanently gained two affixes. He returned to Yunyang Marketplace amid news of Yuanyang Sect recruiting Rogue Cultivators, then continued cultivating in his courtyard.

• Li Yuan repeatedly cast the Ice Spike Technique until it reached Proficiency, then permanently activated Cold Current Amplification.
• Li Yuan sensed a First-Order Mid-Grade Yin Ghost in the thick fog and equipped a Spirit-Refining Talisman to gain Soul Tempering and Condensation.
• Li Yuan resisted the Yin Ghost’s soul attack and killed it with a second, denser Soul Spike Technique, permanently activating Soul Tempering and Condensation.
• Li Yuan left Ghost Mist Forest and learned that Yuanyang Sect had opened disciple recruitment to Rogue Cultivators, with an assessment scheduled in ten days.
• Li Yuan returned to his courtyard, swallowed his last Iron Wall Pill, and practiced the Iron Wall Body Refining Art while the Marketplace buzzed with recruitment news.

Li Yuan asked Alchemist He to refine Origin Breaking Pills and weighed three payment arrangements before deciding to gather the remaining ingredients. He also agreed to teach Shopkeeper Han’s son talisman crafting, then returned to cultivation with the pill-refining decision still unresolved.

• Li Yuan visited Alchemist He and asked him to refine a batch of Origin Breaking Pills.
• Alchemist He offered three arrangements: a share of the pills, a market-price fee, or a higher success fee with compensation if the refinement failed.
• Li Yuan deferred his choice and left to gather the remaining ingredients.
• Shopkeeper Han told Li Yuan that Ziyuan Trading Firm had settled their earlier arrangement and asked him to teach Han Qing talisman crafting.
• Li Yuan accepted Han Qing as a student, received the first month’s tuition, and learned that the firm would raise its purchase price for his work by another half percent.
• Li Yuan resumed making talismans and then cultivated through the evening.

Li Yuan taught Han Qing talisman crafting and discovered that teaching increased his proficiency faster, while his Iron Wall Body Refining Art reached Minor Accomplishment. At a craftsmen’s gathering, he bought the Soul Condensation Art and a jade plate, then learned the plate was a Green-affix item that improved talisman quality.

• Li Yuan corrected Han Qing’s talisman-crafting fundamentals and found that teaching helped his own Talisman Crafting Art proficiency rise nearly thirty percent faster.
• Li Yuan advanced the Iron Wall Body Refining Art to Minor Accomplishment, allowing his muscles to absorb spiritual power on their own.
• Li Yuan attended a craftsmen’s gathering with Zhou Tie and Shen Yue, bought the Soul Condensation Art for thirty-eight Spirit Stones, and purchased a jade plate for forty-five.
• Li Yuan cultivated the Soul Condensation Art to Entry Level, meeting the permanent acquisition condition for the Soul Spike Technique.
• Li Yuan identified the jade plate as a Spirit-Essence Jade Plate whose Green affix increased finished talisman quality by twenty percent, with a permanent acquisition condition requiring three hundred assisted talisman crafts.

Li Yuan discovered how to use the Spirit-Essence Jade Plate to stabilize Talisman patterns and improve their quality, beginning progress toward its permanent transformation. He continued cultivating and teaching Han Qing, leaving the Jade Plate’s progress at thirty-one out of three hundred.

• Li Yuan permanently transformed the Soul Piercing Backlash affix, gaining a buffer that absorbed thirty percent of failed soul-attack backlash.
• Li Yuan placed Herb Talisman Paper over the Spirit-Essence Jade Plate and discovered that its spiritual power stabilized Talisman patterns, improving his Fireball Talisman and starting permanent transformation progress at 1/300.
• Li Yuan taught Han Qing to control his brush speed, and Han Qing’s attempts improved although he still did not complete a successful Talisman.
• Li Yuan drew twenty-eight finished Talismans with the Jade Plate, raising its permanent transformation progress to 31/300.
• Li Yuan cultivated his spiritual power, vital blood, and soul through the night.

Li Yuan sought rare medicinal materials and learned that auctions or Underground Trading Fairs might help him obtain them. At a craftsmen’s gathering, he bought a Spirit Iron Armor whose White Affix could strengthen his defenses, then returned home to continue cultivating.

• Li Yuan asked Shopkeeper Han about Emerald Heart Lotus, Nine-Turn Lingzhi, and Purple Mansion Profound Liquid, and learned that Ziyuan Trading Firm could only watch for them while auctions and Underground Trading Fairs offered other routes.
• Shopkeeper Han explained that rare goods were often sold at auctions or anonymously at Underground Trading Fairs, though he could not recommend Li Yuan to one.
• Li Yuan attended the craftsmen’s circle gathering with Zhou Tie and Shen Yue, where he met a Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement Artifact Refiner selling his goods to fund an attempt at Foundation Establishment.
• Li Yuan bought a Spirit Iron Armor from the Artifact Refiner after its White Affix triggered the Panel’s response.
• Back at his courtyard, Li Yuan previewed the armor’s Spirit Membrane Protection Affix and its permanent-conversion condition, then resumed cultivating the Soul Condensation Art.

As Yunyang Marketplace filled with cultivators drawn by the Yuanyang Sect’s recruitment, Li Yuan learned about the Ji Family and improved his Talisman Crafting Art. After reaching Major Accomplishment in the Iron Wall Body Refining Art, he permanently retained Spirit-Blood Dual Cultivation and Eternal Qi-Blood Stability.

• Li Yuan heard rogue cultivators explain that the Ji Family was a Foundation Establishment family skilled in artifact refining whose sole ancestor was nearing the end of his lifespan.
• Li Yuan permanently retained Spirit-Essence Refining, improving his Talisman crafting quality by twenty percent.
• Li Yuan bought Iron Wall Pills and used them to accelerate his Iron Wall Body Refining Art cultivation.
• Li Yuan reached Major Accomplishment in the Iron Wall Body Refining Art and permanently retained Spirit-Blood Dual Cultivation.
• Li Yuan equipped the Foundation-Solidifying Grass and permanently retained Eternal Qi-Blood Stability, stabilizing qi and blood circulation throughout his meridians.

Li Yuan improved his talisman-making and Soul Condensation Art, bought an Emerald Heart Lotus, and received an invitation to sell a possible second Origin Breaking Pill to the Ji Family. Alchemist He gave him a Token for underground Trading Fairs, and Li Yuan returned to making talismans while seeking the two remaining ingredients for the pill.

• Li Yuan raised his Restriction-Breaking and Detection Talismans and the Soul Condensation Art to Proficiency.
• Li Yuan bought an Emerald Heart Lotus from Shopkeeper Han, leaving him with two of the four main ingredients for the Origin Breaking Pill.
• Shopkeeper Han offered to take custom talisman orders for Li Yuan, and a messenger brought him to Alchemist He.
• Alchemist He told Li Yuan about the Ji Family's urgent need for Foundation Establishment Pills and suggested selling them a second Origin Breaking Pill if one was made.
• Alchemist He gave Li Yuan a Token for underground Trading Fairs and told him the nearest one would take place in eight days.
• Li Yuan returned home and continued making talismans to save spirit stones for the two ingredients he still lacked.

Li Yuan bought the Fiend Gathering Array manual and its materials, planning to set it up in Ghost Mist Forest so he could cultivate with a steady supply of Fiend Qi. He improved his talisman-making skills and advanced the Hundred Meridians Origin Return Art to Perfection.

• Li Yuan bought the Fiend Gathering Array manual and gathered the materials needed to build it.
• Li Yuan chose Ghost Mist Forest as the array’s location because it was rich in Fiend Qi and outside the marketplace’s jurisdiction.
• Li Yuan practiced talisman-making and raised both the Heart-Locking Talisman and Breath-Concealing Talisman to Mastery.
• Li Yuan cultivated overnight and advanced the Hundred Meridians Origin Return Art to Perfection, allowing him to switch spiritual power attributes instantly.

Li Yuan returned to Ghost Mist Forest, successfully set up and then broke a Fiend Gathering Array, and permanently converted several equipment affixes. He finished by cultivating in the forest until Fiend Qi Gathering became a permanent affix.

• Li Yuan entered Ghost Mist Forest and set up a Fiend Gathering Array, drawing nearby Fiend Qi toward its center.
• Li Yuan converted Array Dao Insight into a permanent affix after completing the formation, then broke the formation with a Fireball Technique and permanently converted Barrier-Breaking Penetration.
• Li Yuan picked up the intact Sha-Gathering Stone, equipped it, and began cultivating as it gathered Fiend Qi around him.
• Li Yuan completed one hundred cultivation cycles in Ghost Mist Forest and permanently converted Fiend Qi Gathering into an affix.

Li Yuan cultivated with a Fiend Gathering Array, defeated a Sha-Armor Savage Badger, and permanently solidified the Golden Armor Body Protection Affix. Seeking to solidify Blood-Devouring Tempering, he disguised his strength and set himself up as bait for Cultivator Bandits near Ghost Mist Forest.

• Li Yuan used the Fiend Gathering Array to cultivate until a Sha-Armor Savage Badger was drawn to its concentrated Fiend Qi.
• Li Yuan endured the beast’s full-force attack, permanently solidified Golden Armor Body Protection, and killed the Sha-Armor Savage Badger with Fire Techniques.
• Li Yuan considered how to meet Blood-Devouring Tempering’s solidification condition and decided to kill cultivators who attacked him rather than hunt innocents.
• Li Yuan concealed his Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement cultivation and posed as a weak Rogue Cultivator with a valuable storage pouch.
• Li Yuan left the main road for a secluded path near Ghost Mist Forest, hoping to attract Cultivator Bandits while scanning for hostile auras.

Li Yuan encountered two Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivators killing an injured Li Family cultivator and revealed his Ninth Layer cultivation to defeat them. He made Blood-Devouring Tempering permanent, found Purple Mansion Profound Liquid, and returned to Yunyang Marketplace with his Foundation Establishment preparations progressing.

• Li Yuan hid near the Ghost Mist Forest perimeter as two pursuers caught and killed an injured Li Family cultivator.
• The pursuers spotted Li Yuan and attacked, so he revealed his Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement cultivation and struck the brawny cultivator with a Fireball Technique.
• Li Yuan killed the brawny cultivator, then pursued and killed the fleeing thin cultivator with Fireball and Fire Arrow Techniques.
• After the kills fulfilled the conditions, Li Yuan made Blood-Devouring Tempering a Permanent Affix and absorbed its breakthrough-enhancing power.
• Li Yuan searched the three corpses, found Purple Mansion Profound Liquid in the Li Family cultivator's pouch, and collected the spirit stones and medicinal pills.
• Li Yuan returned to Yunyang Marketplace before nightfall, with only one main ingredient for the Origin Breaking Pill still missing.

Li Yuan obtained the Nine-Turn Lingzhi needed for the Origin Breaking Pill at an underground trading fair and permanently converted the Blood-Qi Precision Control affix from a jade pendant. He then advanced to Qi Refining Great Perfection, one step away from Foundation Establishment.

• Li Yuan counted the spoils from the two cultivator bandits, then sold their short saber and Dark Spheres and searched Yunyang Marketplace for Nine-Turn Lingzhi.
• Li Yuan used He’s Bronze Token to enter the underground trading fair, where he bought a ninety-year-old Nine-Turn Lingzhi for 1,300 Spirit Stones.
• Li Yuan bought a Blood-Qi Jade Pendant and permanently converted its Blood-Qi Precision Control affix, consuming the pendant.
• Li Yuan cultivated with his accumulated enhancements until twelve Heavenly Cycles filled his dantian and raised him to Qi Refining Great Perfection.