Chapter Summaries

Li Yuan followed an orca to a cave supposedly holding a human cultivator’s inheritance, only to discover the orca had lured him there to kill a rival. He killed both Third-Order great demons and found that their cores were Affix items.

• The orca offered Li Yuan an inheritance in exchange for help killing another Third-Order great demon, and Li Yuan agreed to follow it.
• Li Yuan disabled the crude formations outside the octopus great demon’s cave and entered, where the beast attacked him with tentacles and venom.
• The orca tried to bite Li Yuan from behind, but he froze it with the Ice Seal Art.
• Li Yuan used the Void-Splitting Slash to kill the octopus great demon and then collected both demons’ cores.
• Li Yuan’s perception revealed that both cores were Affix items that could be equipped.

Li Yuan equipped the cores of the defeated orca and octopus demons, gaining new affixes that strengthened his body and improved his spell learning. He explored the octopus demon’s cave, recovered an ancient water-element inheritance, and advanced his Talisman Crafting Art to Third-Order Entry Level before leaving the deep sea.

• Li Yuan equipped the Demonic Devouring Orca Core and absorbed its demonic qi, increasing his body’s carrying capacity.
• Li Yuan equipped the octopus core and gained Ten Thousand Arts Mastery, which clarified the spell structures in his mind.
• Li Yuan entered the octopus demon’s cave, broke its crude restrictions, and uncovered Jade Slips and classics among the wreckage.
• Li Yuan studied the inheritance and advanced his Talisman Crafting Art from Second-Order Perfection to Third-Order Entry Level.
• Li Yuan learned about the Sea Spirit Array, Water Absorption Array, and Water Luck Talisman, stored the inheritance, and left the cave.

Li Yuan extracted two Miniature Water-Attribute Spirit Veins and learned that Tianyue Sect was building a costly long-distance teleportation array. After making a Water Luck Talisman, he successfully derived the Wayfinding Art from a Wayfinding Talisman and continued mastering spells, leaving him with a rapidly expanding repertoire.

• Li Yuan extracted two Miniature Water-Attribute Spirit Veins from the seafloor and returned to the islands around the Kunpeng.
• Li Yuan heard that Tianyue Sect was recruiting Array Masters and buying materials for an expanded ultra-long-distance Teleportation Array, but he declined to join the project.
• Li Yuan bought the Water Luck Technique, crafted a Water Luck Talisman, and discovered its Water Luck Guidance affix and permanent transformation condition.
• Li Yuan purchased several spell manuals and used Ten Thousand Arts Mastery to derive the Wayfinding Art from his Wayfinding Talisman.
• Li Yuan mastered the Fire Arrow Technique and cultivated the other spells he had bought to Entry Level.

Li Yuan entered the Inner Circle Preview Hall under a disguise, inspected the auction lots, and discovered that the most valuable item carried a Purple Trait. The Tianyue Sect Master announced plans for a long-distance teleportation route and revealed he would attempt Spirit Transformation at Tianyue Main Peak, inviting the gathered cultivators to witness it.

• Li Yuan passed the hall’s Nascent Soul scrutiny and found Hidden Tracking Marks on the displayed lots.
• Li Yuan approached an ancient Jade Box and detected that it carried a Purple Trait.
• The Coral Palace, Dragon Abyss Pavilion, and Yuan Sect representatives arrived alongside Nascent Soul divine senses from the Kunpeng Alliance and Tianyue Sect.
• The Tianyue Sect Master announced that the long-distance teleportation array would soon open, offering discounted Foundation Establishment travel and one free round trip for Golden Core cultivators and above.
• The Tianyue Sect Master confirmed he would attempt Spirit Transformation at Tianyue Main Peak and invited the gathered cultivators to observe.

Li Yuan visited Tianyue Marketplace, acquired several Affixes, and returned to Wulin Marketplace amid news that Yuanyang Sect was recruiting Array Masters to repair the Lingxu Secret Realm’s damaged formations. After rebuilding Wulin Marketplace’s defenses, he advanced his Array Dao and gained a powerful new Affix.

• Li Yuan teleported to Tianyue Marketplace, explored its shops, and acquired four items with Affixes.
• Li Yuan heard that Yuanyang Sect was recruiting Array Masters to address spatial damage to the Lingxu Secret Realm, then returned to Wulin Marketplace.
• Ji Wenchuan and Xu Zhang told Li Yuan that his Yuanyang Sect standing had helped Wulin Marketplace expand and attract investment.
• Li Yuan used ancient formation traces to rebuild Wulin Marketplace’s defenses as a Chain Formation, permanently transforming Residual Pattern Nesting.
• Li Yuan advanced his Formation proficiency to Third-Order Mastery and fused four Affixes into Array Network Overview.

Li Yuan traveled to the Lingxu Secret Realm to repair its spatial formations, but two demonic cultivators attacked and deliberately collapsed the realm. He seized its red Collapse Core, unlocking a new system function and discovering its powerful spatial properties and permanent solidification conditions.

• Li Yuan arrived at the Lingxu Secret Realm and used Array Network Overview to construct a spatial stabilization array, obtaining a Boundary Void Crystal Core with a blue affix.
• Blood Fiend True Person and a Late Golden Core Stage cultivator from Yuan Sect attacked the gorge and destroyed Li Yuan’s array.
• Li Yuan disguised himself as a Late Golden Core Stage demonic cultivator and concealed himself above the gorge while the attackers shattered the Secret Realm’s spatial load-bearing points.
• The Lingxu Secret Realm collapsed into a red Collapse Core, and Li Yuan intercepted it before Blood Fiend True Person could take it.
• Li Yuan endured Blood Fiend True Person’s attack, seized the Collapse Core, and unlocked the system function that revealed hidden item information after permanent solidification.

Li Yuan seized the Small Realm Collapse Core and escaped Blood Fiend True Person and a Late Golden Core Stage Yuan Sect cultivator. He equipped the core in a hidden cavern, gaining an unprecedented perception of space as he began restoring his demonic qi.

• Li Yuan struggled to suppress the Collapse Core's spatial shards and demonic-qi drain while Blood Fiend True Person and a Late Golden Core Stage Yuan Sect cultivator moved to attack him.
• Li Yuan used the Demon Blood Substitute Technique to draw their attacks, then seized Blood Fiend True Person's spatial Dharma Artifact and escaped with Shift Technique and Demonic Shadow Step.
• After fleeing a hundred miles, Li Yuan used the artifact to temporarily suppress the core's spatial tremors.
• Li Yuan established a connection with the core and equipped the Small Realm Collapse Core (Complete) in his Equipment Slot.
• Li Yuan gained a powerful sense of spatial perception and began recovering his demonic qi in the underground cavern.

Li Yuan tested the Red Core’s ability to create a Void Interlayer, then returned to the collapsed Lingxu Secret Realm to salvage its ruins and extract two spirit veins. A divination about the Demon Sect’s true goal yielded only the word “Passage,” and Li Yuan left the canyon with his gains.

• Li Yuan entered a temporary Void Interlayer created with the Red Core, confirmed he could survive there for several days, and sensed Blood Fiend True Person and a Yuan Sect Golden Core cultivator fleeing far away.
• Li Yuan returned to the collapsed Lingxu Secret Realm and used Array Network Overview to reclaim broken Array Patterns and scavenge valuable materials.
• Li Yuan extracted a Fire-Attribute Spirit Vein and an Earth-Attribute Spirit Vein, bringing his Vein-Extraction Spirit Transformation progress to 3/5.
• Li Yuan used Heavenly Derivation Divination Technique to ask what the Demon Sect truly wanted and received the unclear answer “Passage.”
• Li Yuan gathered his remaining supplies, concealed his aura, and vanished into the night.

After recovering from his Spirit Ruins expedition, Li Yuan returned to the Kunpeng islands and acquired new abilities while preparing for the upcoming Auction. He extracted and traded spirit veins, permanently converted Vein-Extraction Spirit Transformation, and fused several affixes into the purple trait Myriad Spirits Returning to Veins, while learning of a hidden Large Spirit Vein southeast of the Kunpeng.

• Li Yuan healed his spatial wounds, returned to Wulin Marketplace, and learned that activity at Withered Bone Ridge had grown tense.
• At Tianyue Marketplace, Li Yuan bought a jade blank and permanently gained the Craftsmanship affix after discovering its artifact-refining insights.
• Zhou He told Li Yuan that the Kunpeng Alliance Auction would begin in five days and explained how its trading areas had been arranged.
• Li Yuan extracted two Miniature Water-Attribute Spirit Veins from the Outer Sea, traded them for wood- and metal-attribute veins, and completed Vein-Extraction Spirit Transformation.
• The converted ability revealed the location of a hidden Large Spirit Vein about three hundred miles southeast of the Kunpeng's outer perimeter.
• Li Yuan fused his spirit-vein affixes into Myriad Spirits Returning to Veins, his sixth Purple Trait, which linked his Portable Spirit Veins and nearly doubled his cultivation efficiency.

Li Yuan made Spirit-Demon Spatial Containment permanent by completing a full collision of spirit and demon spells inside a Spatial Rift, gaining ancient research on their fusion. He returned to Lingtai Palace and considered using a dual-core method to achieve Spirit-Demon Unification after the Auction.

• Li Yuan opened a Spatial Rift, entered the Void Interlayer, and collided spirit power with demonic qi until Spirit-Demon Spatial Containment became a Permanent Affix.
• The permanence process revealed an ancient Nascent Soul Realm cultivator’s experiments and his speculation that destroying the Lingxu Secret Realm might enable Spirit-Demon Fusion.
• Li Yuan made Ink Stability and Counting Rod Precision permanent after picking up an old ink ingot and bamboo counting rods at a Rogue Cultivator stall.
• Back in his guest room, Li Yuan reviewed the Mysterious Nether Sect’s theory of fusing a spirit-power embryo with a Demon Core, or a demonic-qi embryo with a Spirit Core, to achieve Spirit-Demon Unification.
• Li Yuan decided to handle the Auction in five days, acquire what he needed, and then find a safe place to shatter his core and cultivate anew.

Li Yuan attended a Coral Palace banquet, learned about Tianyue Sect’s upcoming Spirit Transformation Ceremony, and gained two permanent affixes from spirit offerings. On the ferry back, he killed a school of mutant Silver Sharks and collected their Inner Cores.

• Li Yuan attended the Coral Palace banquet, where the Coral Palace Elder announced Tianyue Sect’s Spirit Transformation Ceremony would take place in three months.
• The Dragon Abyss Pavilion sword cultivator confronted the Coral Palace Elder over Coral Palace’s survey of a Third-Order Water-Attribute Spirit Vein, but they agreed to discuss ownership another day.
• At the exchange session, Li Yuan converted a Biyuan Spirit Fruit and Spirit-Clearing Tea into permanent affixes.
• A school of mutant Silver Sharks attacked Li Yuan’s ferry, and Li Yuan froze and killed more than ten of them with his Ice Seal Art and water blades.
• Li Yuan collected mutated Inner Cores from the dead sharks and arrived safely at the affiliated island’s pier.

Li Yuan helped Mo Baichuan reach an undersea ruin, bypass its defenses, and disable a guardian puppet before claiming two unusual treasures. He left with Coral Palace array rubbings and secretly planned to return alone to investigate a damaged Teleportation Array deeper in the ruins.

• Li Yuan agreed to assist Mo Baichuan with an undersea ruin in exchange for Coral Palace array rubbings.
• Li Yuan read the underwater defensive array and opened the ruin’s Stone Gate without triggering its restriction.
• Li Yuan and Mo Baichuan entered a side hall, where Li Yuan disabled a Third-Order High-Grade Guardian Puppet by severing its spiritual power transmission.
• Li Yuan chose the Tidal Sound Ancient Chime and Water Spirit Bead as his share of the hall’s treasures.
• Li Yuan sensed a damaged Teleportation Array in the ruins’ third passage but left with Mo Baichuan without investigating it.
• Mo Baichuan gave Li Yuan four undersea array rubbings, and Li Yuan resolved to return to the ruins alone after the Auction.

Li Yuan attended the Coral Palace Auction, where he learned the Kunpeng Alliance was supporting the Tianyue Sect’s Spirit Transformation Ceremony so its aging Nascent Soul ancestor might reach the Upper Realm. He acquired three items with useful Affixes and made the Spirit Gathering Jade’s Affix permanent while the Auction continued.

• Li Yuan entered the Auction in disguise and heard Golden Core cultivators discuss the Kunpeng Alliance ancestor’s dwindling lifespan and his hopes of escaping to the Upper Realm through the Spirit Transformation Ceremony’s passage.
• Li Yuan passed on the early auction items, then bought the Kunpeng Inhalation Technique for eight hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and confirmed its Blue Kunpeng Ingestion Affix.
• Li Yuan purchased the Boundary-Breaking Essence Condensation Bead for one thousand two hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and discovered its Blue breakthrough-enhancing Affix.
• Li Yuan bought the Spirit Gathering Jade for two hundred and thirty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and equipped it.
• Li Yuan repeatedly emptied and restored his spiritual power, fulfilling the jade’s condition and making its Green Spirit Gathering Affix permanent.

Li Yuan won the Myriad Image Mirror at the auction, while Coral Palace claimed the Secret Realm Core after fierce bidding. After the auction, Li Yuan inspected Tianyue Sect’s super long-distance Teleportation Array and found its peripheral circuits needed repairs and reinforcement.

• Li Yuan bid five thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones for the Myriad Image Mirror and discovered its Purple Trait increased soul strength and condensation.
• Li Yuan passed on an ancient lightning sword and an Alchemy Furnace because he lacked Spirit Stones and they did not suit his needs.
• Coral Palace won the Secret Realm Core for thirty-two thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones after Dragon Abyss Pavilion withdrew from the bidding.
• Li Yuan left the auction and went to observe Tianyue Sect’s Super Long-Distance Teleportation Array.
• Li Yuan found that the core array was sound but its rushed, damaged peripheral circuits needed repair and reinforcement.

Li Yuan shattered his Mid-grade Demon Core and formed a Supreme Grade Spirit Core in a concealed chamber beneath Mo Province. The Boundary-Breaking Essence Condensation Bead boosted his cultivation to the peak of the Early Golden Core Stage, leaving him one step from the Middle Layer.

• Li Yuan traveled to Mo Province and sealed a stone chamber around a medium-sized spirit vein with concealment, defense, and Spirit Gathering arrays.
• Li Yuan used Core Shattering to destroy his Mid-grade Demon Core, enduring a violent surge of demonic qi that his defensive Permanent Affixes helped suppress.
• Li Yuan drew spirit qi from the spirit vein and his thirteen Portable Spirit Veins, then began forming a Spirit Core using his cultivation arts and the Golden Core Formation Platform.
• The Boundary-Breaking Essence Condensation Bead accelerated the process as Li Yuan formed a Supreme Grade Spirit Core.
• The bead strengthened Li Yuan’s cultivation and foundation, raising him to the peak of the Early Golden Core Stage; he then tested his expanded meridians and smoother spirit qi circulation.

After forming a Supreme Grade Golden Core, Li Yuan gained a major increase in lifespan and unlocked three permanent affixes, while the Myriad Image Mirror strengthened his soul and perception. He stabilized his cultivation in seclusion, with steady progress toward the Middle Golden Core Stage.

• Li Yuan’s lifespan surpassed twelve hundred years, triggering a transformation that refined his body’s foundation without changing his realm.
• Li Yuan fulfilled the conditions for Dantai Creation, Three-Origin Unification, and Boundary-Breaking Essence Condensation, turning all three into permanent affixes and gaining their insights.
• Li Yuan equipped the Myriad Image Mirror, increasing his soul strength by fifty percent and enhancing his perception and information processing.
• Li Yuan stored the residual demonic qi from his shattered Demon Core and rested before circulating his Supreme Spirit Core with the Azure Wood Longevity Art.
• Li Yuan sensed that his Supreme Grade Golden Core had improved the nurturing of his Life-Bound Dharma Artifact Embryo and stabilized his cultivation at the Peak Early Golden Core Stage.
• During several days of seclusion, Li Yuan refined his spirit-power circulation and steadily approached the Middle Golden Core Stage.

After returning to Wulin Marketplace, Li Yuan handled sect affairs and reviewed how the Lingxu Secret Realm’s destruction had affected regional tensions and trade. He then went to Tianyue Marketplace to acquire artifact-refining knowledge and rented a breakthrough chamber to study the techniques needed for his Life-Bound Dharma Artifact.

• Li Yuan returned to Wulin Marketplace through a Spatial Rift and found that his Supreme Spirit Core no longer leaked spiritual power, even in the Void Interlayer.
• Chen Yi gave Li Yuan the sect’s compensation for the Lingxu Secret Realm incident and reported that negotiations at Withered Bone Ridge had collapsed into a controlled standoff with the Fiend Demon Sect.
• Li Yuan received Zhou Mingyuan’s invitation to the Tianyue Sect’s Spirit Transformation Ceremony, reviewed Wulin Marketplace’s growing accounts, and took most of its surplus Spirit Stones.
• Li Yuan simulated Golden Core Formation fluctuations and traveled to Tianyue Marketplace, where he bought artifact-refining manuals and discovered the Insight into Artifact Principles affix.
• Li Yuan rented a breakthrough chamber, studied the artifact-refining manuals, planned materials for his Life-Bound Dharma Artifact, and continued practicing talisman making and pill refining.

Li Yuan completed a convincing simulated Golden Core breakthrough, returned to Wulin Marketplace, and received full ownership of the marketplace and promotion to Yuanyang Sect Consecrated Elder. He declined a ceremony in favor of a major trading fair and auction, then learned Burning Wood Eternal Spring Art and activated its Flame of Life affix.

• Li Yuan left Tianyue Marketplace after Qi Chong'an congratulated him on his apparent Golden Core breakthrough and offered him a Guest Elder position, which he declined.
• Li Yuan returned to Wulin Marketplace, where Xu Zhang reported that Zhou Mingyuan was coming to meet him.
• Zhou Mingyuan transferred full ownership of Wulin Marketplace to Li Yuan, promoted him to Yuanyang Sect Consecrated Elder, and offered him a choice of Third-Order cultivation arts.
• Li Yuan chose Burning Wood Eternal Spring Art from the Yuanyang Sect's Jade Slips and later agreed with Xu Zhang to hold a high-level trading fair and auction instead of a Golden Core Ceremony.
• Li Yuan equipped Burning Wood Eternal Spring Art, activated its Flame of Life affix, and reached Entry Level in the cultivation art after half an hour.

Li Yuan completed the Entry Level of the Burning Wood Eternal Spring Art, traveled to Water Province, and joined the Loose Cultivator Alliance to gain access to its sea routes, markets, and intelligence. The Alliance’s president told him that dangerous sea-monster activity was increasing and invited him to consider a purge mission near an undersea Reef Cluster linked to ruins Li Yuan had previously discovered.

• Li Yuan traveled to Nanyuan Marketplace, where Zhou He noticed that Li Yuan had formed his Golden Core and described the benefits of joining the Loose Cultivator Alliance.
• Zhou He took Li Yuan to the Alliance’s main island, where President Lu Yuanxing discussed the Alliance’s need for mainland goods and explained its membership terms and benefits.
• Li Yuan accepted five hundred initial contribution points and officially joined the Loose Cultivator Alliance as a Golden Core-level member.
• Lu Yuanxing told Li Yuan that sea-monster activity had increased and that the Alliance planned a Deep Sea Purge Mission near an undersea Reef Cluster.
• Li Yuan recognized that the mission area was near the third-fork Teleportation Array he had found in the undersea Ruins, but he did not commit to joining the mission.

Li Yuan exchanged contribution points for aquatic talisman and spell techniques, registered for the Deep Sea Purge Mission, and tested two arrays before advancing his Demon-Spirit Fusion Technique. After breaking through to the Mid Golden Core Stage, he left his cultivation chamber with about ten days remaining before the mission departed.

• Li Yuan exchanged contribution points for Tide Pattern Talisman and Tide Sound Art, then registered for the Deep Sea Purge Mission departing in half a month.
• Li Yuan set up the Sea Spirit Array and Water Absorption Array, permanently gained their two White Traits, and recovered the arrays' remaining materials.
• Li Yuan cultivated the Demon-Spirit Fusion Technique, combining spirit power and demonic qi into mixed energy and reaching Minor Accomplishment after two days.
• Li Yuan gathered spirit power until his Supreme Spirit Core expanded and he broke through from Peak Early Golden Core Stage to Mid Golden Core Stage.
• Li Yuan left his cultivation chamber after dark, with roughly ten days remaining before the Deep Sea Purge Mission.