Chapter Summaries

Li Yuan bought White Jade Rice and discovered that its affix boosted his Vital Blood, recovery, and mundane-technique training; he began working toward permanentizing it. On patrol, he found a complete Iron Scale Snake shed skin the Panel could equip and later agreed to ask about a Guard Squad position for Fang He.

• Li Yuan spent ten Spirit Stones on White Jade Rice, equipped it, and began eating two pounds a day to fulfill its permanentization condition.
• After eating the rice, Li Yuan felt his Vital Blood surge and trained the Iron Ox Technique and Nurturing Origin Technique more efficiently.
• Li Yuan spotted a complete First-Order Mid-Grade Iron Scale Snake shed skin that the Panel recognized, but he postponed buying it because his Equipment Slots were full.
• Fang He asked Li Yuan to inquire about joining the market's Guard Squad, explaining that he could not rely on his former captain, and Li Yuan agreed to ask around.
• Li Yuan ate more White Jade Rice and trained while his Vital Blood was full, bringing the affix's permanentization progress to 5/10.

Li Yuan made Five Grains Nourishing Qi a Permanent Affix and used his strengthened cultivation setup to deepen his spiritual power. After learning that an Upper First-Order Demonic Beast had injured a Guard Squad patrol near the market, he returned home determined to grow stronger.

• Li Yuan consumed the last of his White Jade Rice and permanently affixed Five Grains Nourishing Qi, freeing an Equipment Slot.
• Li Yuan equipped the Iron Ox Technique and cultivated with five active Affixes, increasing his endurance and building a strong foundation at Qi Refining, Fourth Layer.
• Li Yuan patrolled the Spirit Field District and found no signs of danger.
• Rogue Cultivators at the market gate discussed an Upper First-Order Demonic Beast that had attacked a Guard Squad patrol east of the market.
• Wang De told Li Yuan that the attack had occurred south of the market, killing two Guard Squad members and seriously injuring their captain, and canceled Li Yuan's outer patrols for now.
• Li Yuan returned to his residence and circulated the Spirit Guiding Art to raise his strength as the market grew more dangerous.

Li Yuan collected his monthly pay, learned that Fang He had joined the Guard Squad, and heard that the market was losing shops as Demonic Beasts appeared more frequently nearby. Wang De revealed that guards had been punished for leaving a patrol gap and that the unusual beast sightings might be deliberate; Li Yuan returned home to continue cultivating.

• Li Yuan received three Spirit Stones, two Vein-Clearing Pills, and fifteen Contribution Points, and used one pill to accelerate his cultivation.
• Fang He told Li Yuan that he had joined the Guard Squad and would report for duty the next day.
• Li Yuan saw Rogue Cultivators leaving Qinghe Market and several shops packing up to depart.
• Wang De told Li Yuan that Zhou Dazhuang and two other guards had two months of pay docked and their Guard Squad service extended after negligence let Demonic Beasts enter the Spirit Field District.
• Wang De reported increasingly frequent and seemingly unnatural Demonic Beast sightings near the market and told Li Yuan to prepare for possible new assignments.
• Li Yuan practiced the Iron Ox Technique and Nurturing Origin Technique, then cultivated the Spirit Guiding Art as his progress neared new proficiency milestones.

Li Yuan reached Mastery in the Iron Ox Technique and decided to focus his training on the Nurturing Origin Technique while seeking affordable pills to complete a Permanent Affix. He tested a Fiend Essence Pill and found that it advanced the Vein-Clearing Pill Permanent Affixing Progress without causing lasting harm, leaving him hopeful that the stall owner’s husband would make more.

• Li Yuan reached Mastery in the Iron Ox Technique and shifted most of his mundane training time to the Nurturing Origin Technique.
• Li Yuan counted his fifteen Spirit Stones and calculated that he still needed eight medicinal pills to complete the Vein-Clearing Pill Permanent Affix.
• While patrolling East Street, Li Yuan found a stall selling Fiend Essence Pills and learned from the old woman that they accelerated cultivation but produced harmful Fiend Qi.
• Li Yuan bought a Fiend Essence Pill and consumed it at home, relying on Viscera Strengthening and Spirit Qi Filtration to withstand its Fiend Qi.
• Li Yuan saw his Vein-Clearing Pill Permanent Affixing Progress rise to 2/10 and hoped the old woman's husband would refine more pills.

Li Yuan received orders to join the Outer Third Patrol Group, patrolling beyond Qinghe Market alongside Xu Mao, Lin Xiaowu, and Guard Squad captain He Shou. After reaching the South Outpost and learning the surrounding terrain, Li Yuan began cultivating with a Fiend Essence Pill.

• Wang De told Li Yuan that patrol assignments had shifted, placing him in the Outer Third Patrol Group for continuous patrols beyond the market.
• Li Yuan bought the old woman's remaining four Fiend Essence Pills and asked her to save three more if she obtained them.
• Li Yuan met Xu Mao, Lin Xiaowu, and He Shou at the East Gate, and the four traveled south toward the South Outpost.
• On the road, He Shou taught the group how to identify signs of Demonic Beasts and Cultivator Bandits.
• At the South Outpost, He Shou assigned the group to share rooms and led them on an afternoon route familiarization patrol.
• After returning to the outpost, Li Yuan took a Fiend Essence Pill and began cultivating.

Li Yuan joined He Shou, Xu Mao, and Lin Xiaowu on a South Line patrol, where He Shou taught them to track beasts and explained the dangers beyond the market. The group killed a Low-grade First-Order Horned Lizard, and He Shou took charge of selling its materials before they returned to the station.

• Li Yuan and his companions collected supplies at a Guard Squad station and set out on patrol with He Shou.
• He Shou taught the group how to identify beast droppings and sense Demonic Beasts, while warning them about the risks farther from the market.
• Li Yuan sensed a Demonic Beast ahead, and He Shou sent Li Yuan, Xu Mao, and Lin Xiaowu to confront it while he watched from the side.
• Li Yuan, Xu Mao, and Lin Xiaowu worked together to kill the Horned Lizard, and He Shou advised them on their combat mistakes.
• The group divided the Horned Lizard's materials by contribution, then handed them to He Shou to sell through the Guard Squad's purchasing channel before returning to the station.

Li Yuan and He Shou discovered tracks showing that different kinds of Demonic Beasts had traveled toward the market town over several days, prompting a report to the garrison, Guard Squad headquarters, and the Wang Family. Li Yuan bought three Vein-Clearing Pills to finish converting his trait and began cultivating with one of them.

• Li Yuan cultivated after patrols while the group hunted Demonic Beasts, and Lin Xiaowu was injured by a First-Order Mid-Grade creature and had to withdraw.
• He Shou and Li Yuan found a trampled path with overlapping tracks from lizard-type, beast-type, and snake-type Demonic Beasts heading northeast toward the market town.
• Li Yuan reported the tracks' differing ages and details to the South Line leader, who alerted Guard Squad headquarters and the Wang Family.
• Li Yuan bought three Vein-Clearing Pills at the garrison trading point for eight Spirit Stones.
• Li Yuan began cultivating with one of the pills, seeking the final progress needed to permanently convert his trait.

Li Yuan completed the permanentization of Circulation Acceleration as the Wang Family reinforced the outpost and patrols found increasingly frequent Demonic Beast traces. The patrols were ordered to search farther into the outer region, and Li Yuan ended the chapter two White Traits short of unlocking a third Equipment Slot.

• Li Yuan consumed his second Vein-Clearing Pill, bringing its permanentization progress to 9/10.
• Li Yuan and He Shou found more than twenty Wang Family members at the outpost, and Li Yuan's squad received Liu Ping and Chen Qi as replacements for the injured Lin Xiaowu.
• He Shou led the five-person patrol, where Li Yuan detected a departing spirit-qi pulse and the team discovered seven or eight fresh Demonic Beast traces.
• He Shou told the team that patrol routes would expand deeper into the outer region to search for Demonic Beast activity, with Demonic Beasts taking priority over Cultivator Bandit leads.
• Li Yuan consumed his final Vein-Clearing Pill and permanentized Circulation Acceleration, leaving him with four Permanent Affixes and three White Traits.

Li Yuan joined He Shou’s patrol southwest and used his Spirit Detection Disk to spot several Demonic Beasts before they could ambush the group. After the team found an unusually dense gathering of beasts, He Shou turned them back toward the station to report it.

• Li Yuan equipped the Nurturing Origin Technique, restoring its Qi-Blood Self-Generation affix alongside his Iron Ox Technique.
• He Shou led Li Yuan, Chen Qi, Liu Ping, and Xu Mao southwest, where Li Yuan detected a beast waiting in ambush and helped the team avoid it.
• Li Yuan spotted two Iron-Spine Hyenas crossing a grassland, and He Shou guided the team around them.
• Li Yuan detected more beasts ahead, including a Swamp Toad Beast and a Horned Lizard blocking the route, so He Shou ordered a retreat.
• Chen Qi and Liu Ping suggested hunting the scattered beasts, but Li Yuan warned that the gathering signaled danger, and He Shou led the team back to the station.

After patrols encountered an unusual concentration of demonic beasts, He Shou’s group found a half medicinal pill in a hyena’s stomach, raising suspicions about why the beasts were moving. On the way back, Li Yuan considered seeking new Affixes through spell manuals at the Hidden Merit Pavilion.

• He Shou told the group that other patrols had also encountered demonic beasts, including one that lost a member, and that the Wang Family planned a nighttime investigation.
• Li Yuan saw that his spell proficiency had risen sharply after several days of combat, and the next morning his patrol found the South Line unusually quiet.
• He Shou’s group met several Rogue Cultivator teams, and one leader said the beasts seemed to be stirred up inside the Yuanheng Mountains and mentioned plans to visit the Li Family’s market town.
• The patrol surrounded and killed a Low-grade First-Order Iron-Spine Hyena, then He Shou found half a medicinal pill in its stomach and kept it to report.
• On the return journey, Li Yuan considered exchanging Contribution Points for spell manuals that might provide useful Affixes, while He Shou carried the pill toward the main garrison.

After his patrol rotation ended, Li Yuan returned to the market, collected his allowance, and heard Old Zhang worry about his grandson and the dangers of leaving. At the Hidden Merit Pavilion, Li Yuan found a Green-Trait Origin Condensation Art he wanted but lacked four Contribution Points to obtain, then returned home to cultivate.

• Li Yuan’s team completed its patrol rotation, and Li Yuan returned to the market with Xu Mao, Liu Ping, and Chen Qi.
• Li Yuan collected six Spirit Stones and a voucher from the Management Office for half a month of patrol duty.
• Old Zhang asked Li Yuan about the demonic beasts and whether he should move to the Li Family Market with his grandson, and Li Yuan warned him about the dangerous road and fierce competition.
• Li Yuan searched the spell manuals at the Hidden Merit Pavilion and found that the Origin Condensation Art had a Green Affix Grade.
• Li Yuan realized he was four Contribution Points short of exchanging for the Origin Condensation Art, then went home and resumed cultivating.

Li Yuan received the rewards for his previous missions and spent twenty-eight Contribution Points on the Origin Condensation Art. He equipped it to gain the Green Spirit Qi Condensation trait, leaving him with a method to strengthen his Spirit Qi and a dangerous path toward making the trait permanent.

• Wang De gave Li Yuan the settled rewards for his three missions, including twelve Contribution Points for discovering a Medicinal Pill in a Demonic Beast.
• Li Yuan registered his rewards and exchanged twenty-eight Contribution Points for the Origin Condensation Art at the Hidden Merit Pavilion.
• Li Yuan examined the art's Spirit Qi Condensation trait and learned that making it permanent required compressing Spirit Qi and reaching the next cultivation stage.
• Li Yuan unequipped the Nurturing Origin Technique and equipped the Origin Condensation Art, keeping the Iron Ox Technique's Viscera Strengthening trait.
• The Origin Condensation Art's effects began changing Li Yuan's Spirit Qi, and his panel showed the art at Not Entry Level (0/100).

Li Yuan advanced his Origin Condensation Art and discovered that his purified spiritual power made it easier to compress. During his patrol, he met the old pill seller’s husband, Old Sun, who gave him a list of herbs to gather in exchange for payment and pills.

• Li Yuan practiced the Origin Condensation Art, reached Entry Level, and then cultivated with the Spirit Guiding Art.
• Li Yuan found Old Sun tending the pill stall and learned that he had set aside three Fiend Essence Pills for him.
• Old Sun explained that he had developed the Fiend Essence Pills himself but had not fully solved their Fiend Qi side effects.
• Li Yuan refused Old Sun’s request to test pills, but accepted two Fiend Essence Pills in exchange for gathering herbs during patrols.
• Old Sun gave Li Yuan a list of herbs to prioritize, and Li Yuan continued his patrol along North Alley.

Li Yuan absorbed two Fiend Essence Pills more efficiently after advancing to Spirit Qi Condensation, bringing him close to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer. He bought an Iron Scale Snake Molt and wore it beneath his clothes, preparing to use its Scale Armor Protection affix while continuing his cultivation.

• Li Yuan digested two Fiend Essence Pills, observed his improved absorption, and practiced the Nurturing Origin Technique and Origin Condensation Art.
• Li Yuan bought the complete Iron Scale Snake Molt from a market vendor for eight Spirit Stones.
• Li Yuan told Old Sun the pills had worked well and agreed to watch for herbs while patrolling, especially near Demonic Beast nests.
• Li Yuan inspected the molt and learned its Scale Armor Protection affix increased skin defense and resisted some toxins and negative effects.
• Li Yuan tucked the molt beneath his clothes and resumed cultivating the Spirit Guiding Art.

Li Yuan’s patrol group followed a new route closer to the Yuanheng Mountains, where he used a strengthened Fireball Technique to help kill a Spine-Tailed Lizard. The group returned to the outpost after learning that Wang Family teams had entered the mountains for an undisclosed purpose.

• He Shou told Li Yuan, Xu Mao, Liu Ping, and Chen Qi that their patrol route had shifted west and that the Wang Family wanted them to collect rare herbs.
• Li Yuan detected a Mid-Grade Spine-Tailed Lizard, then wounded it with a compressed Fireball while He Shou and Chen Qi attacked its exposed flank.
• Li Yuan killed the lizard with a second Fireball, and He Shou warned him that overcompressing spirit qi with the Origin Condensation Art could cripple him.
• The group dismantled the lizard and gave its valuable materials to He Shou for processing through the Guard Squad.
• He Shou told the group that Wang Family members had led three teams into the Yuanheng Mountains with supplies for an extended stay.

Li Yuan made Scale Armor Protection permanent by having Xu Mao strike him until its progress reached fifty, then continued cultivating and heard Chen Qi suspect that someone was deliberately driving Demonic Beasts toward the area. The patrol members left the cause unresolved, trusting the Wang Family to investigate.

• Li Yuan equipped the Iron Scale Snake Molt and gained Scale Armor Protection, then asked Xu Mao to hit him to build its permanent progress.
• Xu Mao punched Li Yuan with spirit qi until Scale Armor Protection reached 50/50, and Li Yuan made it a Permanent Affix.
• Li Yuan equipped the Nurturing Origin Technique, cultivated, and joined He Shou, Chen Qi, and Liu Ping as they discussed the Demonic Beasts’ unusual movements.
• Chen Qi said an old herb-gatherer had seen Rogue Cultivators deliberately herd Demonic Beasts toward a rival market, and suggested someone might be doing the same now.
• He Shou told the others not to speculate and said the Wang Family would investigate before the patrol members dispersed.

He Shou’s squad encountered the Crow Claw Gang pursuing three Rogue Cultivators and attacked the bandits. The squad killed three bandits, but the weakest escaped into the brush.

• He Shou identified the pursuers as the wanted Crow Claw Gang and decided the squad should fight them.
• He Shou, Li Yuan, Chen Qi, Liu Ping, and Xu Mao flanked the four bandits as they chased the injured Rogue Cultivators.
• He Shou’s Wind Blade and Li Yuan’s powerful Fireballs turned the fight in the squad’s favor, while Chen Qi and Liu Ping engaged another bandit.
• The weakest bandit resisted Xu Mao’s Ice Spike and escaped into distant brush.
• He Shou, Chen Qi, and Liu Ping killed their opponents, and He Shou finished off the Crow Claw Gang leader after Li Yuan brought him down.

Li Yuan found a Breath-Concealing Jade Pendant among the Crow Claw Gang bandits’ spoils and noticed it resembled Zhao Wu’s pendant, then accepted He Shou’s Flame Snake Tube in exchange for letting He Shou claim credit for killing the wanted bandit. After returning to the station, Li Yuan cultivated with the Qi Refining Fifth Layer within reach.

• He Shou and Li Yuan defeated the Crow Claw Gang bandits and shared out their possessions with the three Rogue Cultivators they had rescued.
• Li Yuan found a Green-affix Breath-Concealing Jade Pendant and took it, noting its resemblance to Zhao Wu’s Blue-trait pendant.
• He Shou told Li Yuan that the bandit leader was wanted and offered him a Flame Snake Tube in exchange for claiming the merit.
• Li Yuan accepted the Flame Snake Tube, whose Precision affix improved long-range attacks, and He Shou left to write the report.
• Li Yuan cultivated with the Spirit Guiding Art, bringing his Qi Refining Fourth Layer to the brink of its limit.

Li Yuan prepared for a dangerous clearing operation in the Yuanheng Mountains and used his remaining time to break through to the Qi Refining Fifth Level. With the breakthrough complete, he resumed cultivating before the Guard Squad’s departure the next day.

• He Shou told Li Yuan that the Guard Squad would enter the Yuanheng Mountains with Wang Family cultivators the day after tomorrow and that the patrol teams had two days to prepare.
• Li Yuan cultivated, registered his patrol record, and sold herbs to Old Sun, who gave him an extra Fiend Essence Pill.
• Li Yuan swallowed the Fiend Essence Pill and continued cultivating until his spirit qi reached saturation and he sensed the barrier to the Qi Refining Fifth Level.
• Li Yuan broke through the barrier, expanding his dantian and increasing the amount, density, and speed of his spirit qi.
• Li Yuan confirmed that his realm had reached the Qi Refining Fifth Level, cultivated until morning, and prepared to depart the next day.

Li Yuan tested the Flame Snake Tube and learned how to activate the Breath-Concealing Jade Pendant by applying a medicinal paste and drinking the liquid it produced. After confirming that it masked his Qi Refining Fifth Layer aura as roughly Qi Refining Third Level, he decided to report the discovery to Wang De for contribution points.

• Li Yuan tested the Flame Snake Tube and found it fired rapidly with modest power and low spiritual power consumption.
• At Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, an appraiser discovered medicinal powder in the pendant’s groove and explained that it enabled the jade to conceal aura fluctuations.
• Old Sun identified the powder’s herbs and prepared a paste for Li Yuan to apply to the pendant.
• Li Yuan collected and drank the liquid that seeped from the pendant, suppressing his aura to roughly Qi Refining Third Level.
• Li Yuan decided to report the pendant’s function to Wang De in hopes of earning contribution points.