Chapter Summaries

Li Yuan prepared nineteen hundred mu of spirit fields by leveling the eastern land and reducing fiend qi in the south, helping Wulin Marketplace attract more residents. He then acquired a Soul-Calming Jade Pendant and discovered that his Soul Condensation Art advanced quickly because his soul was already unusually strong.

• The Short-Bearded Cultivator surveyed land for nineteen hundred mu of spirit fields, and Li Yuan agreed to resolve the eastern terrain and southern fiend qi problems.
• Li Yuan used the Earth Manipulation Art to level the eastern hills and loosen the soil, then placed Fiend Gathering Arrays at three underground nodes to reduce fiend qi in the south.
• The Short-Bearded Cultivator's workers began reclaiming the land, and expanded low-fiend areas drew more Rogue Cultivators to Wulin Marketplace.
• Li Yuan bought a jade pendant from a Traveling Merchant and identified it as a Soul-Calming Jade Pendant with the Spirit Platform Stability affix.
• Li Yuan realized his Soul Condensation Art advanced rapidly because his soul had been strengthened by his existing traits and cultivation.

Li Yuan attended a Yuanyang Sect investigation into demonic qi and learned that a Demon Sect was backing the Dark Abyss Society to search for a lost Treasury. Afterward, he bought the Gold-Iron Body Refining Art and quickly cultivated it to Mastery.

• Li Yuan joined more than twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators at Yunyang Marketplace, where Yuanyang Sect Elder tested them with dark silver tokens for residual demonic qi.
• One cultivator’s token detected demonic qi, and he explained that he had entered a Demonic Cultivator Ruins; the Elder verified his evidence and placed him under observation.
• The Elder revealed that a Demon Sect was suspected of supporting the Dark Abyss Society to find the former Demon Sect’s Treasury, which might also hold part of a destroyed Nascent Soul sect’s legacy.
• The Elder instructed the cultivators to keep their tokens, report suspicious people through their Dharma Protector Tokens, and avoid acting on their own.
• Li Yuan bought the Gold-Iron Body Refining Art in Yunyang Marketplace and cultivated it to Mastery in Wulin Marketplace, aided by his accumulated bodily enhancements and affixes.

Li Yuan investigated three marketplace cultivators carrying faint traces of Demonic Qi and learned that one was asking about his Fiend Ore vein. After Chen Yi sent him a Demon-Probing Array, Li Yuan expanded his surveillance and advanced several cultivation techniques.

• Li Yuan detected three cultivators with faint traces of Demonic Qi and secretly monitored their movements.
• One of the cultivators asked about the Fiend Ore vein, prompting Li Yuan to report the men and their activities to Chen Yi.
• Chen Yi told Li Yuan to avoid alerting the suspects and sent him a Demon-Probing Array inheritance and materials.
• Li Yuan set up the array at Wulin Marketplace's four entrances, gained the permanent Demon-Sense Amplification trait, and restored the array with a spare Spirit-Purifying Stone.
• Li Yuan completed the Thick Earth True Art, made Technique Advancement permanent, and progressed the Red Fire Art and Gold-Iron Body Refining Art.

Li Yuan negotiated with Chen Yi over the sect’s plans to expand Wulin Marketplace into Ghost Mist Forest, then learned ways to improve his Fiend Ore vein. He continued cultivating and brought the Gold-Iron Body Refining Art to Perfection, greatly strengthening his bones and skin.

• Chen Yi presented the Yuanyang Sect’s plan to explore and develop the depths of Ghost Mist Forest, with Wulin Marketplace serving as its forward base.
• Li Yuan negotiated a preliminary agreement with Chen Yi: new vein mining rights would be split equally, Li Yuan would have priority on Fiend Ore, hunting-ground fees would be ten percent, and Outpost maintenance costs would be shared.
• Li Yuan asked how to improve a Fiend Ore vein, and Chen Yi described infusing it with high-order Fiend Qi or using Cultivation-Type Arrays over several decades.
• Li Yuan returned to his stone house and continued cultivating the Gold-Iron Body Refining Art until it reached Perfection.
• Li Yuan tested his strengthened body by drawing an Upper First-Order Dharma Sword across his forearm, which left only a shallow white mark without breaking his skin.

Li Yuan attended the Yuanyang Sect auction, bought talisman crafting methods and materials, and discovered a Green Trait on a Longevity Pill he won for three thousand Spirit Stones. The trait reduced lifespan loss, but its permanence condition remained far out of reach.

• Li Yuan arrived at Yunyang Marketplace and inspected several auction items, finding no Affix fluctuations.
• Li Yuan bought the Wayfinding Talisman and Concealment Talisman crafting methods, along with formation and alchemy materials.
• The host auctioned a First-Order Longevity Pill, and Li Yuan detected its Green Trait while the bidding was underway.
• Li Yuan won the Longevity Pill for three thousand Spirit Stones and learned its Longevity Solidification Affix reduced lifespan loss by one-tenth.
• Li Yuan saw that making the Affix permanent required five hundred years of accumulated lifespan, then left the Auction House with his purchases.

Li Yuan devoted himself to cultivation while the Wulin Marketplace continued to expand, improving several techniques and making a talisman-making affix permanent. His spirit power grew denser, bringing him closer to Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.

• Li Yuan followed a fixed cultivation schedule, advancing the Red Fire Art to Major Accomplishment while steadily progressing in his other techniques.
• Mastery triggers during cultivation raised the proficiency of Li Yuan's Fire Python Technique, Fire Control Art, Earth Manipulation Art, and Root Cultivation Art.
• Li Yuan crafted Wayfinding and Concealment Talismans, but their affixes could not be equipped or made permanent yet.
• After drawing five different Upper First-Order Talismans with the Azure Cloud Talisman Brush, Li Yuan made its Spirit Ink Efficiency Boost affix permanent.
• The Wulin Marketplace gained residents and merchants, and its monthly profit shares rose as Li Yuan invested most of the earnings in cultivation and array materials.
• Li Yuan's spirit power became denser, and he drew closer to Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.

Li Yuan joined Chen Yi and seven other Foundation Establishment cultivators to investigate abnormal fluctuations in the depths of Ghost Mist Forest. They found an ancient underground ruin already entered by Dark Abyss Society members, and prepared to follow them inside.

• Li Yuan received Chen Yi's summons to investigate abnormal spiritual power fluctuations and used a Wayfinding Talisman that pointed toward the forest's deepest region.
• Chen Yi assembled nine Foundation Establishment cultivators at Wulin Marketplace and assigned Li Yuan to lead them into Ghost Mist Forest.
• Li Yuan led the group through thick fog and Fiend Qi until they found an excavated clearing and a stone structure bearing ancient Spirit Patterns.
• Chen Yi determined that demonic cultivators had entered the ruins around ten days to half a month earlier and ordered the group to inspect the remaining outer formations.
• Li Yuan sensed several intruders' footprints and strong demonic qi inside the corridor, and Chen Yi told the group to prepare to enter.

Li Yuan and the other cultivators explored the Demon Sect’s underground Treasury, identifying it as the former site of Sword Peak Sect and finding it largely looted. Before leaving, Li Yuan discovered and unsealed a Purple Trait artifact, the Three-Origin Unity Bead, whose powerful effects appeared in his Panel.

• Chen Yi led the team into the underground Ruins, where they identified the site as Sword Peak Sect’s former home, later converted into a Demon Sect Treasury.
• Chen Yi divided the nine cultivators into three groups, and Li Yuan, Li Ze'an, and a Yuanyang Sect disciple explored the eastern corridor.
• Li Yuan and his companions killed two Foundation Establishment Early Stage demonic cultivators and divided their spoils, leaving their intelligence Jade Slips for Chen Yi.
• Li Yuan found a concealed dark-gold bead beneath rubble, detected its Purple Trait with Entry Perception, and kept it after learning its restriction prevented him from viewing its details.
• The team returned to Wulin Marketplace, where Chen Yi reported the Ruins’ history and said he would file a report with the sect.
• Li Yuan broke the bead’s restriction at his stone house and learned it was the Three-Origin Unity Bead, which increased essence, qi, and spirit by twenty percent and allowed them to convert into one another.

Li Yuan permanently retained Spirit Platform Stability and broke through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage during secluded cultivation. After fulfilling the conditions for another trait, he permanently retained Flame Essence Refinement, leaving him with his sixth Blue Trait.

• Chen Yi gave Li Yuan four thousand Contribution Points and told him the sect would build an Outpost near the ruins and invest more resources in Wulin Marketplace.
• Li Yuan completed the Red Fire Art and permanently retained the Soul-Calming Jade Pendant's Spirit Platform Stability trait.
• Li Yuan began secluded cultivation to reach the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, drawing on the Fiend Vein's steady supply of Fiend Qi.
• After seven days, Li Yuan broke through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, increasing his spirit power and divine sense.
• Li Yuan permanently retained Flame Essence Refinement from the Red Flame Condensing Essence Pill as his sixth Blue Trait.

After stabilizing his Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation, Li Yuan helped Chen Yi track three cultivators carrying demonic aura and capture them before they could self-destruct. Their seized belongings revealed clues about Fiend Ore, the Ruins, and a possible underground passage, while the larger aims of the Dark Abyss Society remained unclear.

• Li Yuan tested how Three-Origin Unification converted vital energy and soul force into spirit power, then reviewed his Panel and resolved to pursue an upper-grade Golden Core.
• Li Yuan received patrol records showing that three cultivators carrying demonic aura were seeking information about Fiend Ore, the Outpost, and the Ruins, and he informed Chen Yi.
• Li Yuan and Chen Yi tracked the three cultivators' secret message network and, after several days of surveillance, arranged a coordinated nighttime arrest.
• Chen Yi's sect cultivators used talismans and a bronze mirror to suppress the captives' demonic aura and prevent their attempted self-destructions.
• Li Yuan examined the seized items, including a forbidden-breaking awl, while Chen Yi sent an old Token to the sect for identification and arranged for the captives to be interrogated.

Li Yuan learned that the Dark Abyss Society was searching for an ancient underground structure and used a Fiend Cultivation Array and a Second-Order fiend core to nourish the fiend ore vein. After the vein began improving his aptitude, he sensed a faint, distant fluctuation rising from deep underground.

• Chen Yi told Li Yuan that the Dark Abyss Society was using the fiend ore mine to search for an ancient underground passage or sealed region, and Li Yuan accepted the Fiend Cultivation Array inheritance.
• Li Yuan set up the array across the ore vein, reaching Minor Accomplishment in First-Order Array Dao as he learned to guide the fiend qi currents.
• Li Yuan hunted down and killed a Second-Order Middle Grade fiend demon in Ghost Mist Forest, then took its fiend core back to the mine.
• Li Yuan used the fiend core to strengthen the ore vein, and Sha Vein Nourishment began gradually improving his aptitude.
• Li Yuan sensed a faint fluctuation returning from deep underground, but his divine sense could not follow it to its source.

As the Yuanyang Sect began building an Outpost near Ghost Mist Forest, Li Yuan noticed underground anomalies aligning between the Fiend Ore, the Outpost, and the Ruins. During a deeper Ruins expedition, he helped the sect break through intact restrictions and discovered an unexplored alchemy area.

• The Yuanyang Sect began construction on the Outpost, bringing more cultivators, merchants, and array-maintenance work to Wulin Marketplace.
• Li Yuan mapped the underground Backflow anomalies and saw that they roughly connected the Fiend Ore, the Outpost, and the Ruins.
• Chen Yi told Li Yuan that the Yuanyang Sect would lead a larger second expedition into the Ruins with new Array Masters and Forbidden-Breaking tools.
• Li Yuan used the Forbidden-Breaking Awl and Spirit Pattern Analysis to identify hidden patterns and help dismantle the restrictions in a newly opened passage.
• The expedition entered a relatively intact outer area containing Stone Platforms, Alchemy Furnace bases, and herb racks, which appeared to have served alchemy work.

Yuanyang Sect explored the outer Alchemy District, where Li Yuan found records relevant to Golden Core Formation and an unreadable Jade Slip that revealed a body-tempering spell once equipped. The group stopped at the sealed Deep Layer entrance and returned to the market, leaving Li Yuan with new information to study.

• Chen Yi divided Yuanyang Sect into search teams, and Li Yuan found a booklet describing how spiritual power, the body, and the soul should be balanced before Golden Core Formation.
• Li Yuan discovered a Grey Jade Slip with a Green Trait but scrambled contents, and Chen Yi returned it to him after failing to read it.
• The teams searched the Side Warehouse and gathered Jade Slips, records, and ledgers, but found no valuable artifacts or finished pills.
• Chen Yi judged the Deep Layer entrance too dangerous to open and ordered the group to withdraw with their discoveries.
• Back at the market, Li Yuan equipped the Grey Jade Slip and received an unnamed Second-Order body-tempering spell focused on refining bones and skin membrane.

Li Yuan uncovered a covert network in Wulin Marketplace that was gathering maps, materials, and information related to the Ruins. After Yuanyang Sect raided its intermediaries, Chen Yi proposed striking the network’s peripheral strongholds near Ghost Mist Forest.

• Li Yuan learned the Pulse-Probing Technique and Dust-Drawing Technique while investigating suspicious marketplace records and sent his findings to Chen Yi.
• Chen Yi arrived and ordered Li Yuan to keep watching suspects until they uncovered the network’s middlemen and upstream connections.
• Li Yuan studied texts on Golden Core Formation as Yuanyang Sect quietly positioned its forces in the marketplace.
• Chen Yi ordered a coordinated raid that seized several intermediaries, Fragmented Maps, part of a Key Seal, materials, and secret letters.
• Chen Yi and Li Yuan learned the network’s routes led toward the middle layer of the Ruins and its peripheral sites lay near Ghost Mist Forest.
• Chen Yi proposed uprooting the network’s peripheral strongholds before it could regain the initiative.

Li Yuan led Yuanyang Sect teams in clearing three Dark Abyss Society strongholds, uncovering evidence that the Society sought access to the Deep Layer and a Large Spirit Vein core. Back at Wulin Marketplace, he acquired a Tracking Disk with a Green Trait as the marketplace shifted into a frontline supply hub.

• Chen Yi sent Li Yuan and two teams to raid suspected strongholds using the route information Li Yuan had gathered.
• Li Yuan's team captured a hidden mine stronghold and seized jade slips, formation materials, and a Fragmented Map.
• Li Yuan dismantled the three-layer restrictions at a second stronghold, captured a returning Foundation Establishment cultivator, and recovered supplies and records.
• Li Yuan's team cleared a third stronghold, and Li Yuan permanently converted Spirit Pattern Analysis into an affix.
• Chen Yi connected the recovered records to the Dark Abyss Society's pursuit of the Deep Layer and a Large Spirit Vein core.
• Li Yuan obtained the Tracking Disk, while Wulin Marketplace increased supplies and became a frontline supply hub.

Li Yuan discovered a hidden Spirit Vein Branch beneath Ghost Mist Forest and defeated the powerful Demonic Beast guarding it. He learned that the branch could not be equipped until he explored the entire vein, but the route deeper underground was obscured, so he left with the discovery recorded.

• Li Yuan followed clues from the Fragmented Book, Earth Vein Map, and abnormal Backflow locations to a concealed underground entrance.
• Li Yuan descended into a Dissolution Layer and discovered a pure Spirit Vein Branch guarded by a Second-Order High-Grade Demonic Beast.
• Li Yuan tested Three-Origin Unification in battle and killed the Demonic Beast with coordinated techniques and attacks.
• Li Yuan traced the exposed branch and found that the Panel could not equip the incomplete Spirit Vein until he explored the entire vein.
• Li Yuan failed to locate the main vein through the chaotic underground stone layers, memorized the branch's location, and returned to the surface after dark.

Li Yuan cultivated the Soul Condensation Art to Major Accomplishment, permanently retained Invisibility Concealment, and continued training the Azure Wood Longevity Art as his market grew. He acquired a soul-nourishing Affix and fused it with two medicinal Affixes to gain Medicinal Essence Synergy, which increased medicines’ benefits to spiritual power, the body, and the soul by 50%.

• Li Yuan sorted fragments from soul-related Jade Slips and used their insights to cultivate the Soul Condensation Art.
• Li Yuan reached Major Accomplishment in the Soul Condensation Art, strengthening his divine sense and its resistance to impact.
• Li Yuan permanently retained Invisibility Concealment and tested its ability to make his presence easier to overlook.
• Li Yuan continued circulating the Azure Wood Longevity Art while merchants and Rogue Cultivators gathered at the market.
• Li Yuan bought Spirit-Nourishing Liquid, permanently retained Divine Medicine Induction, and fused it with Spirit Liquid Enrichment and Bone Marrow Tempering to obtain Medicinal Essence Synergy.

Chen Yi warned Li Yuan that the Fiend Demon Sect had arrived with a Golden Core cultivator, and Wulin Marketplace prepared for war as the rival sects' Golden Core cultivators confronted one another. Li Yuan discovered a Mid-Grade Fiend Stone in his mine and permanently affixed Fiend Qi Perception, leaving him with a clearer sense of nearby Fiend Qi.

• Chen Yi told Li Yuan that the Fiend Demon Sect had arrived with Foundation Establishment cultivators and a Golden Core cultivator, prompting wartime readiness.
• Li Yuan helped stabilize Wulin Marketplace as supplies and personnel moved to the Outpost and some rogue cultivators left.
• The Yuanyang Sect and Fiend Demon Sect Golden Core cultivators confronted each other at Ghost Mist Forest without beginning a full fight.
• Li Yuan discovered that his Fiend Ore mine had produced a Mid-Grade Fiend Stone, which improved the mine's Fiend Qi flow and stabilized nearby Spirit Fields.
• Li Yuan used the Mid-Grade Fiend Stone to permanently affix Fiend Qi Perception and gained a clearer ability to distinguish nearby Fiend Qi.

Li Yuan discovered signs of a possible Large Spirit Vein beneath his mine and advanced the Azure Wood Longevity Art to Mastery. After two Golden Core cultivators inspected the mine, the Fiend Demon Sect’s cultivator compensated him with a Demon Transformation Bead, leaving Li Yuan with a useful new item and a warning to guard the market.

• Li Yuan sensed a deep, heavy trace resembling the outline of a Large Spirit Vein beneath his mine and memorized its direction.
• The Azure Wood Longevity Art reached Mastery, strengthening its steady vitality and lifespan benefits.
• Chen Yi told Li Yuan that Golden Core cultivators from the Fiend Demon Sect and Yuanyang Sect intended to inspect his Fiend Vein.
• Li Yuan concealed the mine’s deeper information as the two Golden Core cultivators probed it, and they concluded it was an ordinary Fiend Vein.
• The Fiend Demon Sect cultivator gave Li Yuan a Demon Transformation Bead as compensation, and the Yuanyang Sect cultivator told him to guard the market well.

After the Yuanyang Sect forced the Fiend Demon Sect to withdraw from the ruins, the Dark Abyss Society gained permission to operate openly in Liang Province under restrictions. Li Yuan acquired fiend-type resources at the Foundation Establishment Trading Fair and returned to nurture his Fiend Vein as tensions shifted into a quieter struggle.

• A second Yuanyang Sect Golden Core arrived, and the Fiend Demon Sect agreed to withdraw from the ruins in exchange for the Dark Abyss Society's permitted presence in Liang Province.
• The Yuanyang Sect took control of the ruins, but its two Golden Cores found that breaking the Deep Layer array would require slow, careful work and planned to recruit Array Masters.
• Li Yuan attended the resumed Foundation Establishment Trading Fair and traded Healing Pills and Spirit Stones for three Second-Order Sha Qi Crystals and a Second-Order Fiend Demon Bone Core.
• Demonic Cultivators began trading openly in Wulin Marketplace, and local businesses adjusted as their presence brought more customers.
• Li Yuan returned to his stone house with the fiend-type resources and prepared to use them to nourish the Fiend Vein.