Chapter Summaries

Li Yuan strengthened the mine vein and joined the Ruins’ array-breaking effort, where practical experience advanced his First-Order Array Dao to Major Accomplishment and let him make a defensive affix permanent. While replenishing Wulin Marketplace’s supplies in Yunyang Marketplace, he noticed Demonic Cultivators buying tools to detect spiritual qi and left without drawing their attention.

• Li Yuan used Second-Order Sha Qi Crystals and a Bone Core to strengthen the Fiend Vein’s flow and expand the low-Fiend-Qi region.
• Li Yuan joined the Ruins’ array-breaking effort, collected Jade Slips, and set aside an affixed slip that mutually enhanced Array Dao and Talisman Dao.
• Li Yuan helped dismantle restrictions at the Ruins and identified a false backflow pattern, reaching First-Order Array Dao—Major Accomplishment.
• Li Yuan made Array Pattern Defense a permanent affix and slowed his array work to consolidate his breakthrough.
• Li Yuan traveled to Yunyang Marketplace to restock Wulin Marketplace and noticed Demonic Cultivators buying tools for detecting spiritual qi, but did not approach them.

Li Yuan traced the mine’s Backflows and hidden passages to uncover the Main Spirit Vein of a Large Spirit Vein. He discovered traces of the Dark Abyss Society or Demon Sect and layers of old restrictions, then learned the Panel considered the entire Spirit Vein completely explored.

• Li Yuan used the Fiend Vein, Pulse-Probing Technique, and divine sense to find a concealed passage leading to the Main Spirit Vein.
• Li Yuan entered the underground chamber and saw an exposed section of the Main Spirit Vein, several times larger than the Spirit Vein Branch he had found before.
• Li Yuan found demonic qi around two Spirit Vein Branches, indicating that the Dark Abyss Society or Demon Sect had reached the area.
• Li Yuan identified hidden one-way restrictions on the branches and a vast concealment net above the Main Spirit Vein, which blocked efforts to trace its full course.
• Li Yuan memorized the branches and restrictions, completing the underground Spirit Vein’s outline in his perception.
• The Panel declared the Large Spirit Vein completely explored and previewed the purple Spirit Vein Spirit Accumulation affix.

Li Yuan equipped the Large Spirit Vein and discovered that it improved his cultivation, perception, and ability to trace the main vein’s restrictions. He chose to keep it equipped for cultivation while prioritizing the growth of his Fiend Ore, and the chapter ended with Fiend Qi flowing back through the mine tunnel.

• Li Yuan unequipped the Fiend Vein and equipped the Large Spirit Vein, activating Spirit Vein Spirit Accumulation.
• Li Yuan sensed his spiritual power grow clearer and recover on its own, while his consciousness began moving through a faint, steady cultivation cycle.
• Li Yuan used the Spirit Vein’s perception to map nearby branch veins, detect a Demonic Beast and a passing cultivator, and trace restrictions toward the Deep Layer Ruins.
• Li Yuan determined that the restrictions concealed the main vein’s core and likely misdirected the Dark Abyss Society and the Demon Sect, who had only reached the Spirit Vein’s edges.
• Li Yuan returned to Wulin Marketplace and found that several mid-grade Fiend Stones had formed, though the mineral vein had not yet crossed the next threshold.
• Li Yuan decided to keep the Large Spirit Vein equipped for cultivation and make Fiend Ore cultivation his highest priority as Fiend Qi flowed through the mine tunnel.

Li Yuan exchanged for Bone Refining Spirit Paste and a Basic Talisman Dao Inheritance, improving his body-refining practice and advancing his talisman skills to Mastery. He also found and used fiend materials to strengthen his ore vein, while his Nameless Body Refining Technique reached Entry Level.

• Li Yuan exchanged contribution points for Bone Refining Spirit Paste and a Basic Talisman Dao Inheritance, then studied both at the outpost.
• Li Yuan used the paste while practicing the Nameless Body Refining Technique and studied the inheritance before drawing talismans.
• Li Yuan improved the Spirit Water Talisman to Mastery and raised his Tier 2 Talisman Crafting Art to Mastery through continued practice.
• Li Yuan searched Ghost Mist Forest, found fiend materials in a Demonic Beast nest, and brought them back to nourish the ore vein.
• Li Yuan continued his daily routine, and the Nameless Body Refining Technique reached Entry Level.

Li Yuan helped open the newly discovered pill chambers, gained an Old Fire Talisman Artifact, and exchanged contributions for a body-nourishing pill method. After studying it, he realized it required Second-Order alchemy and decided to improve his existing Pill Dao foundation before attempting it.

• Chen Yi invited Li Yuan to help explore the newly opened area, where Li Yuan identified how to dismantle the Fire-Pattern Stone Cabinets.
• Li Yuan helped the team open all twelve cabinets, and an Old Fire Talisman Artifact with the Pill Fire Condensation Affix was assigned to him.
• Chen Yi told Li Yuan about a copied cultivation manual that used Pill Dao to nourish the body, and Li Yuan exchanged three hundred Contribution Points for it.
• Li Yuan studied the manual and concluded that its pill was a difficult Second-Order recipe that required him to perfect his First-Order Alchemy Art first.
• Li Yuan put away the manual and other supplies, then circulated the Azure Wood Longevity Art in his stone house.

Li Yuan tracked Demonic Cultivators in Wulin Marketplace who were buying tools to locate the spiritual vein, then traveled to Yunyang Marketplace and studied alchemy. After improving his First-Order Alchemy Art, he refined Wood Spirit Pills and discovered one could grant him the Herb Property Identification trait.

• Li Yuan compared marketplace records with his observations from Yunyang Marketplace and identified Demonic Cultivators buying vein-probing tools and spirit-measuring Dharma Artifacts.
• Li Yuan gave the names and transaction records to Chen Yi, who told him to keep watching the suspects and connect their purchases, residences, and contacts.
• Li Yuan visited Yunyang Marketplace, where he heard that Qishui Sect and Fiend Demon Sect had begun fighting and saw cultivators fleeing Yun Province.
• Li Yuan bought a Wood Spirit Pill formula and an Alchemy Experience Manual, then used them to improve his alchemy over several days.
• Li Yuan reached Minor Accomplishment in First-Order Alchemy Art and refined two higher-quality Wood Spirit Pills.
• Li Yuan inspected a Wood Spirit Pill and found that it offered the Herb Property Identification trait, which he could make permanent by consuming ten pills.

Li Yuan permanently activated Herb Property Identification, then reached First-Order Array Dao Perfection while helping dismantle array patterns at the Ruins. After trading for a Vein-Probing Wand, he surveyed the Large Spirit Vein and permanently activated its Vein-Protecting Pattern Recognition Affix.

• Li Yuan took ten Wood Spirit Pills and permanently activated Herb Property Identification.
• Li Yuan identified a Reflex Pattern at the Ruins, helping clear the Flow-Guiding Array Patterns and advance his First-Order Array Dao to Perfection.
• Li Yuan inspected a Vein-Probing Wand, traded for it, and discovered its White Vein-Protecting Pattern Recognition Affix.
• Li Yuan traversed the key areas of the Large Spirit Vein and permanently activated Vein-Protecting Pattern Recognition.

Li Yuan improved his First-Order Alchemy Art, then entered Ghost Mist Forest seeking high-quality sha materials. After killing a Foundation Establishment cultivator and testing the Blood Fiend Stone found in his pouch, he made the Tracking affix permanent and discovered it helped him distinguish lingering auras more clearly.

• Li Yuan raised his First-Order Alchemy Art to Major Accomplishment and left Wulin Marketplace to search Ghost Mist Forest for valuable materials.
• Li Yuan killed a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator who attacked him while investigating a spirit vein branch, then took the Second-Order demonic materials and Blood Fiend Stone from his storage pouch.
• Li Yuan tested the Blood Fiend Stone on a dead First-Order Demonic Beast and confirmed that it rapidly drained blood essence from corpses but not living targets.
• Li Yuan encountered a Yuanyang Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator on his way out, fulfilling Tracking's permanence condition after sensing twenty different Foundation Establishment auras.
• Li Yuan made Tracking permanent and found that he could distinguish lingering auras in the forest more clearly.

Li Yuan upgraded his mine vein until it could reliably produce mid-grade Fiend Stones, then reported a Demonic Cultivator’s investigation of a Spirit Vein Branch to Chen Yi. Yuanyang Sect rewarded him with Golden Core Formation guidance and an Alchemy Inheritance, which he equipped as he set his sights on forming a Supreme Grade Golden Core.

• Li Yuan fed fiend materials into the Fiend Cultivation Array until the mine vein itself reached the grade capable of producing mid-grade Fiend Stones, fulfilling one condition for permanently transforming the Fiend Vein Special Equipment.
• Li Yuan told Chen Yi that he had killed a Demonic Cultivator who was investigating a Spirit Vein Branch, and Chen Yi said he would report it and told Li Yuan not to hold back if he encountered them again.
• Yuanyang Sect granted Li Yuan a text on Golden Core Formation and a more detailed Alchemy Inheritance as rewards for his contributions and his encounter with the Demonic Cultivator.
• Li Yuan read that Supreme Grade Golden Cores could continue advancing while High-grade Golden Cores had fixed limits, strengthening his resolve to form a Supreme Grade Golden Core.
• Li Yuan equipped the Alchemy Inheritance, gaining the Blue Pill Formation Refinement affix and a clearer grasp of the alchemical skills he already possessed.

Li Yuan reached Perfection in First-Order Alchemy Art and successfully refined Body Refining Pills, unlocking Entry Level Second-Order Alchemy Art and discovering a powerful potential affix. Meanwhile, he tracked new activity around the spirit vein, noting the Dark Abyss Society’s purchases and the Yuanyang Sect’s concealed detection array, before returning to alchemy.

• Li Yuan reached Perfection in First-Order Alchemy Art and began refining Body Refining Pills using essence blood.
• After four failed batches, Li Yuan successfully refined two Body Refining Pills and advanced to Entry Level Second-Order Alchemy Art.
• The Panel revealed the green Medicine-Refined Strong Body affix, which could prevent impurities and increase physical strength from body-tempering pills.
• Li Yuan sensed several people, including demonic cultivators, investigating old spirit-vein routes that did not reach the core.
• Li Yuan learned that the Dark Abyss Society was buying Vein-Probing Artifacts and recruiting people while the Yuanyang Sect laid a concealed detection array around the spirit vein.
• Li Yuan memorized the array’s disguised nodes and returned to refining pills.

Li Yuan joined the first group to enter the Ruins’ Deep Layer, where the cultivators discovered a Golden Core Formation Platform linked to the main spirit vein. He found a soul-nurturing furnace and acquired a more complete Golden Core Preparation Record, then began studying it.

• Li Yuan arrived at the Deep Layer entrance after receiving the Outpost’s message and followed the Golden Core cultivators and Array Masters inside once they opened the passage.
• The group explored an orderly outer ring and identified the site as a Golden Core Formation Platform built by a Nascent Soul sect.
• Li Yuan sensed that the platform, the corridor, and a restriction above the main spirit vein formed one connected structure.
• Li Yuan found a Soul-Nurturing Old Furnace with a Green Spirit Platform Nourishment affix in an empty Quiet Room and put it away.
• Li Yuan exchanged contribution points for a more complete Golden Core Preparation Record and studied its accounts of Golden Core Formation preparations and phenomena.

Li Yuan bought a Demonic Longevity Pill at Alchemist He's trading fair, where the Dark Abyss Society began offering demonic sect resources to Liang Province cultivators. After helping former ruin companions inspect the deep outer ring, he returned to Wulin Marketplace and encountered Li Ze'an outside the management office.

• Li Yuan recognized that the Yuanyang Sect had concealed a trap array deep inside the spirit vein branch.
• At Alchemist He's fifth Foundation Establishment trading fair, a Dark Abyss Society cultivator offered longevity pills and explained that they extended life but left users tainted with demonic qi.
• Li Yuan bought a Demonic Longevity Pill and discovered its white Longevity Enhancement affix, which improved the effects of longevity pills on himself.
• Former ruin companions invited Li Yuan to check the deep outer ring for missed arrays, and he found none but sensed a clear structural connection between the Golden Core Formation Platform and the spirit vein.
• Li Yuan returned to Wulin Marketplace and saw Li Ze'an waiting outside the management office.

Li Yuan agreed to break the Demon Sect’s outer Demon-Detecting Alarm Array for the Li Family, leaving a deeper Yuanyang Sect trap array intact. After receiving a High-Grade Spirit Stone and an Alchemy Classic as payment, he temporarily equipped the stone to accumulate progress toward upgrading his cultivation trait.

• Li Ze'an revealed that the Demon Sect had pressured the Li Family to break an array and offered Li Yuan a High-Grade Spirit Stone and an Alchemy Classic for the work.
• Li Yuan identified the target as the outer Demon-Detecting Alarm Array at the Yuanyang Sect’s branch vein and agreed to go with the Li Family the next morning.
• Li Yuan traveled to the branch vein and spent half a day breaking the outer array while leaving the deeper Trap Array untouched.
• Li Yuan accepted the payment from Li Ze'an and learned that the High-Grade Spirit Stone could upgrade his Pure Spirit Power trait to Flawless Spirit Power.
• Li Yuan returned to his stone house, temporarily equipped the High-Grade Spirit Stone, and began accumulating permanent conversion progress.

Li Yuan sensed three demonic cultivators entering the Large Spirit Vein and allowed Yuanyang Sect’s hidden formation to trap them. As the marketplace grew busier with refugees from Yun Province and Li Yuan continued cultivating, an official order sent him and other cultivators to the branch vein.

• Li Yuan detected three demonic cultivators scouting the Large Spirit Vein and tracked their progress toward the trap formation without alerting anyone.
• Li Yuan checked the Fiend Cultivation Array, found that the fiend mine had entered its return phase, and collected newly formed Mid-Grade Fiend Stones.
• Li Yuan visited the increasingly crowded Wulin Marketplace, reviewed its registrations, and equipped the Medicine-Refined Strong Body Affix after replacing Bone and Membrane Co-cultivation.
• The formation activated when the three demonic cultivators reached the convergence zone, sealing their retreat and enclosing them as they tried to escape.
• Chen Yi gathered patrol cultivators to respond, and Li Yuan left after receiving the marketplace’s deployment order.

Li Yuan helped contain a Demonic Cultivator breakout, pursued and killed a fleeing Foundation Establishment Early Stage Demonic Cultivator, and learned that Golden Core-level Demonic Cultivators might be secretly involved in the spirit-vein investigation. Chen Yi awarded him a Formation Mechanism Pivot Disk, whose Green Affix could improve linked formations, and Li Yuan stored it without changing his full equipment loadout.

• Chen Yi assigned Li Yuan to guard the northern outer edge while a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Demonic Cultivator battered the Trapping Array and opened a breach.
• A trapped Demonic Cultivator detonated a demonic artifact, disrupting the sealing line and escaping amid the chaos.
• Li Yuan used the Tracking Affix to follow a concealed Foundation Establishment Early Stage Demonic Cultivator through a northern crack, then killed him after dodging poisoned needles and striking with his techniques.
• Chen Yi reported that the Late Stage Demonic Cultivator had been captured, the artifact detonator had escaped, and the Dark Abyss Society's investigation might involve Golden Core-level Demonic Cultivators.
• Chen Yi gave Li Yuan a Formation Mechanism Pivot Disk with a Green Formation Link Sense Affix, and Li Yuan stored it because his equipment slots were full.

Chen Yi explained that the Yuanyang Sect had used a formation as bait for the Demon Sect, and gave Li Yuan an Alchemy Classic in thanks for his help. After a Rogue Cultivator was found drained of blood essence near the market, Li Yuan tracked the lingering aura to an empty courtyard and began investigating the dead man’s dealings.

• Chen Yi told Li Yuan that the sect had set the formation as bait and that the Li Family had been exposed unexpectedly, then assured him the sect would not blame him for breaking it.
• Chen Yi gave Li Yuan an Alchemy Classic, and Li Yuan detected its Green Alchemy Insight affix before storing it.
• Li Yuan investigated a drained Rogue Cultivator’s corpse and tracked a faint, chilling aura to an empty temporary courtyard.
• Li Yuan ordered the Guard Squad to examine the dead man’s registration, movements, contacts, and transactions.
• A patrolling cultivator brought Li Yuan the dead man’s Transaction Records and a jade bottle whose aura combined vegetation and Blood Qi.

After a Dark Abyss Society attack heightened tensions at Wulin Marketplace, Li Yuan strengthened its Demon-Probing Array and completed the conditions to permanentize Bone and Membrane Co-cultivation. The chapter ended with him equipping the Alchemy Classic and activating Alchemy Insight.

• A surviving cultivator reported that Dark Abyss Society members had attacked a Qi Refining squad near the Southern Old Patrol Route, killing one and injuring another.
• Chen Yi tasked Li Yuan with improving the marketplace's Demon-Probing Array, and Li Yuan linked its gates and streets into a network that could track faint traces of demonic qi.
• Li Yuan completed the array's modifications, and a test confirmed that its auxiliary nodes could detect and trace deeply concealed demonic qi.
• As Wulin Marketplace grew crowded with cultivators fleeing the escalating conflict between Qishui Sect and Fiend Demon Sect, Li Yuan delivered Spirit Water Talismans and harvested his spirit herbs.
• Li Yuan advanced three Body Tempering methods to Entry Level, met the conditions for Bone and Membrane Co-cultivation Permanentization, and confirmed the upgrade.
• Li Yuan equipped the complete Alchemy Classic, activating Alchemy Insight.

Li Yuan found a Second-Order Array Dao inheritance in an excavated workshop, advanced his body tempering, and killed a Second-Order Rock-Armored Fire Python. He made Pill Fire Condensation permanent and gained a preview of a new bone-toughening affix, though his equipment slots were full.

• Li Yuan discovered an inheritance scroll in the Array Formation Workshop and gained Second-Order Array Dao—Entry Level after reading it.
• Li Yuan used the Nameless Body Refining Technique, Bone Refining Spirit Paste, and Body Refining Pills to reach Minor Accomplishment and strengthen his body.
• Li Yuan fought and killed a Second-Order Rock-Armored Fire Python, advancing Fire Python Technique to Major Accomplishment and Gold Blade Technique to Mastery.
• Li Yuan recovered the python's inner core and saw the Bones Tough as Iron affix, which required cores from three different Second-Order Demonic Beasts to become permanent.
• Li Yuan made Pill Fire Condensation a Permanent Affix, condensing and strengthening his Fire-Attribute Spirit Qi.

Li Yuan refined his first Meridian-Repairing Pills and discovered that their healing Affix required greater proficiency in his Azure Wood Longevity Art to become permanent. With the Fiend Vein supplying Mid-Grade Fiend Stones and the Large Spirit Vein improving his cultivation, he continued building his resources while sensing the restriction above the main vein remained connected to the deeper Ruins.

• Li Yuan studied his alchemy materials and failed to refine Meridian-Repairing Pills in his first two furnaces before succeeding with the third.
• Li Yuan examined the two pills and saw that the Meridian Healing Affix increased injury recovery, but its permanent transformation required his Second-Order wood-element cultivation art to reach Major Accomplishment.
• Li Yuan checked his Second-Order Alchemy Art progress and recognized that Mid-Grade Fiend Stones from the Fiend Vein could be traded for scarce ingredients, artifacts, and information.
• Li Yuan cultivated near the spirit vein core, where the Large Spirit Vein and Spirit Vein Spirit Accumulation helped him absorb purer spiritual power more quickly.
• Li Yuan sensed that the restriction above the main vein remained connected to the deeper Ruins, but decided it was not yet time to investigate it.

Li Yuan helped Yuanyang Sect clear linked remnants of old arrays in the deep layer of the ruins and discovered a sealed chamber containing two centuries of Golden Core Formation records. The team continued reorganizing the area, while Chen Yi indicated that the Golden Core Formation Zone might need deeper excavation.

• Li Yuan joined Yuanyang Sect's renewed deep-layer exploration and used Formation Link Sense to identify and dismantle hidden Backflow and linked remnants of old arrays.
• Li Yuan discovered that part of a side wall concealed a stone chamber, and Chen Yi's team carefully dismantled its sealed entrance.
• The team found two volumes of Golden Core Formation Notes and an old Token, and Li Yuan realized the records showed the Golden Core Formation Platform had operated in coordination with an array.
• Over the next two days, Li Yuan and the others cleared remnant arrays, and his Formation Link Sense Permanent Conversion Progress reached 4/5.
• Chen Yi said the Golden Core Formation Zone might need deeper excavation, and Li Yuan left for the market district.