Chapter Summaries

Li Yuan returned to Wulin Marketplace, permanently converted the Space Folding Bead, and strengthened his body through cultivation. After Ji Wenyuan reported suspicious observers and seven or eight Golden Core cultivators heading to Yuanyang Sect, Li Yuan realized the factions were likely confronting the sect over Zhou Mingyuan and the Earth Origin Spirit Fetus.

• Li Yuan permanently converted the Space Folding Bead and received the Mysterious Nether Sect Sect Master's incomplete research on opening a stable Spatial Passage to the Upper Realm.
• Li Yuan sorted the artifacts recovered from Withered Bone Ridge and sealed away Small Pearl's Earth Origin Spirit Fetus because its conversion requirements were too distant and it would occupy an Equipment Slot.
• Li Yuan absorbed the remaining Carapace Crab and Ice Snake essence blood, advancing the Flood Dragon Blood Body-Tempering Art to Proficiency and the Iron Wall Body Refining Manual to Perfection.
• Ji Wenyuan told Li Yuan that rumors about the masked Demonic Cultivator had spread and that spies were watching Wulin Marketplace; Li Yuan ordered the Patrol Team to strengthen patrols without driving the watchers away.
• Ji Wenyuan reported that seven or eight Golden Core cultivators were heading toward Yuanyang Sect, and Li Yuan concluded they were targeting the sect because Zhou Mingyuan had fled with the Earth Origin Spirit Fetus.

Li Yuan permanently activated the Nether Void Mirror’s affinity and learned the principles of a Space Stabilization spell. After hearing reports of demonic cultivators and suspicious inquiries at the market, he received an invitation from True Person Xuanpu to join the Tianyue Sect and learned that the Yuanyang Sect was surrounded.

• Li Yuan opened spatial rifts until the Nether Void Mirror’s activation condition was fulfilled, permanently gaining Nether Void Remnant Rhyme and learning the principles of Space Stabilization from the Sect Master of the Mysterious Nether Sect.
• Ji Wenyuan reported that demonic cultivators had passed near the market, several were active near Qinghe Market, and two unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivators had asked about a masked Late Golden Core Stage demonic cultivator wielding spatial spells.
• Li Yuan instructed Ji Wenyuan to keep recording suspicious activity without approaching or driving anyone away.
• True Person Xuanpu invited Li Yuan to join the Tianyue Sect as an honored guest, but Li Yuan declined because he remained an honored guest of the Yuanyang Sect.
• Xuanpu told Li Yuan that seven or eight Golden Core cultivators from multiple factions had surrounded the Yuanyang Sect’s mountain gate, then departed and left the invitation open.
• Li Yuan considered the Tianyue Sect’s offer and returned to the Closed-Door Cultivation Chamber.

Li Yuan agreed to commercial cooperation between Wulin Marketplace and Tianyue Marketplace while investigating the siege of the Yuanyang Sect and learning that Zhou Mingyuan was attempting Nascent Soul Formation. His Array Dao research advanced, and he left his cultivation chamber with four long-term goals in mind.

• True Person Xuanpu offered commercial cooperation between the two marketplaces, and Li Yuan accepted without committing to the Tianyue Sect.
• Li Yuan learned that the Yuanyang Sect was losing its resource points while rival Golden Core cultivators maintained a siege without attacking its mountain gate.
• Li Yuan secretly overheard three Tianyue Sect cultivators speculate that Zhou Mingyuan was attempting Nascent Soul Formation and agree to keep seizing Liang Province's resources while they waited.
• Li Yuan's thirty days of Array Dao research made Array Principle Glimmer a Permanent Affix, granting him an instinctive sense of Array Pattern Affinity.
• The Tide Array Heart Scripture advanced from Entry Level to Proficiency as its circuits adapted to Li Yuan's improved Array Dao perception.
• Li Yuan identified four goals—obtaining a Third-Order Soul Cultivation Method, finding Void Crystal and Spirit Essence Jade, and developing his spatial spells—then left his Closed-Door Cultivation Chamber.

Li Yuan returned to Qinghe Market as the Tianyue Sect and Fiend Demon Sect expanded into former Yuanyang Sect territory, and oversaw preparations for a major trading fair and auction. He left the market with a new suspicious merchant under surveillance and a completed, upgraded defensive array system.

• The Tianyue Sect seized former Yuanyang Sect sites across Liang Province while the Fiend Demon Sect expanded in the northeast, and attacks by Demonic Cultivators declined.
• Li Yuan visited the expanded Qinghe Market and learned that its new Nanhai Firm owner, Shop Owner Fang, had been probing security procedures and asking about ancient relics, so Li Yuan ordered Xu Zhang to monitor him discreetly.
• Li Yuan refined auction items, bought a Third-Order Profound Light Ring, a Third-Order Green Flow Pot, and Spirit Essence Jade from the Chamber of Commerce's offerings, and added two Third-Order Monster Beast Inner Cores and two Shangyuan Pills to the auction list.
• Xu Zhang proposed establishing a Black Market to manage gray-goods trading and gather intelligence, and Li Yuan approved the plan.
• Li Yuan built Exploration, Early Warning, and Defensive Arrays around Qinghe Market, completing a system whose spirit-power circulation efficiency exceeded that of the array system at Withered Bone Ridge.

Li Yuan attended Qinghe Market’s Trading Fair, secured new equipment affixes, and finalized a cooperation agreement with the Mingyuan Chamber of Commerce. As the auction approached, his Burning Wood Eternal Spring Art advanced to Minor Accomplishment through the fusion of fire and wood spirit qi.

• Li Yuan bought a Spirit Pattern Ring and a Jade Bone Pendant at the Trading Fair, making their White Traits permanent, and purchased an Emerald Jade Flute with a Green Trait whose permanence condition required five victories using sound-wave spells.
• Representatives from Bitan Sect, Qingyan Sect, Yunxiao Sect, and the Mingyuan Chamber of Commerce congratulated Li Yuan on reaching Golden Core.
• Li Yuan and the President of the Mingyuan Chamber of Commerce signed an agreement for the chamber to establish shops and supply goods at Qinghe Market, while postponing plans for a Teleportation Array.
• Li Yuan inspected the consigned auction lots, found Green Traits on a Second-Order Bronze Token and a Second-Order Ink Spirit Pen, and arranged for his people to bid on them.
• Li Yuan cultivated the Burning Wood Eternal Spring Art until its fire-wood cycle began generating composite spirit qi, advancing the art from Mastery to Minor Accomplishment before the auction began.

Li Yuan attended Qinghe Market’s two-day auction, acquired several affixed items, and bought a method for making the Earth Wall Talisman. He derived the Earth Wall Technique from its principles and successfully cast it, though its barrier lasted only two breaths.

• Li Yuan watched the first day’s auction, where his consignments sold well and two Shangyuan Pills fetched high prices.
• Li Yuan collected the Bronze Token and Ink Spirit Pen, inspected their green affixes, and stored them without equipping them.
• Li Yuan’s Crimson Silver Amulet sold during the Third-Order auction, and he had Xu Zhang’s steward buy the Earth Wall Talisman method for fifteen Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Li Yuan studied the method and discovered that its earth-resonating pattern could be used without talisman paper to form a defensive spell.
• Li Yuan cast the Earth Wall Technique in his cultivation chamber, producing a barrier that lasted two breaths before it shattered.

Li Yuan accepted Tianyue Sect’s commission to break the formations guarding a sea Ruins and uncovered a well-preserved inheritance site. He acquired two spells and purchased a Third-Order Sea Pattern Spirit Disk before returning with Zhao Heng.

• Li Yuan saw that Tianyue Sect had taken over Yunyang Marketplace, then received Zhao Heng’s invitation to Elder Tu’s Spirit Transformation ceremony and a commission to open sea Ruins in exchange for Void Crystal.
• Li Yuan and Zhao Heng traveled to the island, where Li Yuan forcibly broke the Ruins’ layered restrictions and opened the first chambers.
• Li Yuan found the Breath Concealment Technique and Shadow Evasion Technique on Jade Slips in the first two layers.
• Li Yuan and Zhao Heng entered the third layer, where they found an inheritance hall filled with murals, Dharma Artifacts, Jade Slips, and spirit materials.
• Li Yuan purchased a Third-Order Sea Pattern Spirit Disk with the Blue Affix Sea Spirit Rhyme, and he and Zhao Heng left the Ruins.

Li Yuan refined his Life-Bound Dharma Artifact using the Void Crystal Zhao Heng had supplied, creating a transformable artifact that could take the forms of a sword, shield, and mirror. The artifact granted him the purple Source Assimilation affix, and he left the workshop with it equipped.

• Zhao Heng gave Li Yuan an excellent-quality Void Crystal, and Li Yuan accepted it before the two parted ways.
• Li Yuan rented a large Artifact Refining Workshop on Kunpeng Alliance Main Island and used three furnaces and fourteen Divine Sense Threads to forge the artifact’s shell, pattern layer, and core hub.
• Li Yuan assembled the three layers and infused the artifact with spirit power, completing the Life-Bound Dharma Artifact.
• Li Yuan tested the artifact as it transformed into a sword, shield, and mirror, then received the permanent Insight into Artifact Principles affix.
• The Panel upgraded the artifact’s Source Resonance affix to purple Source Assimilation, which Li Yuan equipped before leaving the workshop.

Li Yuan tested his new Life-Bound Dharma Artifact, permanently transformed the Mysterious Nether Restriction Remnant Intent, and cultivated two spells during closed-door training. He also investigated Shopkeeper Fang and began accumulating progress toward permanently transforming his talisman-making trait.

• Li Yuan tested his Life-Bound Dharma Artifact in sword, shield, and mirror forms, then used Myriad Image Retrospection to identify transformation delays and spiritual power losses.
• Li Yuan fulfilled the Mysterious Nether Restriction Remnant Intent’s condition, permanently transformed it, and learned the four foundational types of restrictions.
• Li Yuan learned the Breath Concealment Technique and Shadow Evasion Technique to Entry Level, then practiced coordinating his Dharma Artifact until several transformations became faster.
• Li Yuan divined Shopkeeper Fang and found that he was connected to a larger organization, then instructed Xu Zhang to keep monitoring him discreetly.
• Li Yuan made an excellent Second-Order Fireball Talisman, advancing his talisman-making permanent transformation progress from zero to one.

Li Yuan inspected Qinghe Market and reviewed its business and recent developments with Xu Zhang. He accepted an invitation to a Golden Core-level Alchemist Gathering at Baijing Marketplace and began preparing for the trip.

• Li Yuan surveyed Qinghe Market, noting the growth of its shops, the busy Mingyuan Chamber of Commerce branches, the orderly Black Market, and the stable defensive formations.
• Xu Zhang reported that long-term Rogue Cultivator registrations had risen nearly forty percent as cultivators left the Yuanyang Sect's sphere of influence.
• Xu Zhang told Li Yuan that Shopkeeper Fang of Nanhai Firm had vanished after secretly seeking damaged ancient-sect artifacts and Dharma Artifact fragments.
• Li Yuan received an invitation to Baijing Marketplace's Golden Core-level Alchemist Gathering and Trading Fair at the beginning of next month.
• Li Yuan confirmed his attendance and instructed Xu Zhang to prepare Third-Order alchemy supplements and materials for Tianyuan Pills.
• Li Yuan left for Qinghe Market's Closed-Door Cultivation Chamber, passing the now-empty Nanhai Firm storefront.

Li Yuan completed the Demon-Spirit Fusion Technique and, while flying toward Baijing Marketplace, rescued Fang Yue from two Fiend Demon Sect pursuers. Fang Yue revealed that the Yuanyang Sect was isolated, short on resources, and split over whether to surrender, while Zhou Mingyuan remained missing; Li Yuan then continued on his journey.

• Li Yuan perfected the Demon-Spirit Fusion Technique and considered what he would need to form another Demonic Qi Golden Core.
• Li Yuan sensed a battle near the Yuanyang Sect's territory and killed the two Fiend Demon Sect cultivators pursuing Fang Yue.
• Fang Yue told Li Yuan that the Tianyue Sect surrounded the Yuanyang Sect, Fiend Demon Sect sentries intercepted disciples, and the sect's four Golden Core Elders were divided over surrendering.
• Li Yuan gave Fang Yue Meridian-Repairing Pills, searched the pursuers' belongings, and found a Spirit-Devouring Dark Bead and a map of Fiend Demon Sect sentry posts.
• Fang Yue left after healing, and Li Yuan continued toward Baijing Marketplace.

Li Yuan arrived at the expanded Baijing Marketplace, registered for the Alchemist Gathering, and received his participation credential from the president of the Mingyuan Chamber of Commerce. While shopping for materials, he found a Mysterious Nether Sect spirit tool carrying a hidden tracking mark and chose to keep investigating quietly as the gathering approached.

• Li Yuan registered at Baijing Marketplace and learned that the recent teleportation array had brought more cultivators and merchants there.
• The president of the Mingyuan Chamber of Commerce gave Li Yuan his Alchemist Gathering credential and learned that he was a Third-Order alchemist.
• The president asked Li Yuan to consider building a teleportation array between Baijing and Tianyue Marketplace, and Li Yuan said he might try after improving his array dao mastery.
• Li Yuan bought a spirit pattern jade embryo and several Third-Order alchemy materials while exploring the marketplace.
• Li Yuan found a Mysterious Nether Sect spirit tool in a grocery shop, detected a concealed tracking mark on it, and bought it without revealing his discovery.

Li Yuan attended the Alchemist Gathering at Baijing Marketplace, where his exceptional Tianyuan Pill impressed the other alchemists and led Meng Yangzi to invite him to install an alchemy array system in Yang Province. After trading at the fair, Li Yuan accepted a commission to refine a Qingyuan Pill and planned to deliver it the next day.

• Li Yuan joined six other alchemists at the gathering and displayed a Tianyuan Pill whose quality astonished Meng Yangzi.
• After the appraisals, Meng Yangzi discussed Yang Province and hired Li Yuan to build an alchemy array system at his residence.
• Meng Yangzi told Li Yuan about the difficult-to-refine Origin Recovery Nascent Infant Pill and its rare, weakened materials.
• Li Yuan traded pills and spirit materials at the Trading Fair but found no Affix items.
• A gray-robed Golden Core cultivator commissioned Li Yuan to refine a Qingyuan Pill, and Li Yuan agreed to deliver it the next day.

Li Yuan successfully refined a commissioned pill, then traveled through Yang Province to learn about its powers and gather Affix-bearing items. With three days remaining before his appointment with Meng Yangzi, he continued his journey prepared with new information and Affixes.

• Li Yuan refined a high-quality pill for the gray-robed cultivator, who collected it and paid him.
• Li Yuan left Baijing Marketplace and flew west into Yang Province, stopping first at Chisha Marketplace.
• Li Yuan bought basic intelligence about Yang Province's three Golden Core forces, Tianyang Sect, and the region's unstable order.
• Li Yuan visited three marketplaces and found a Tortoise Shell Divination Plate, an Old Bronze Abacus, a Vein-Seeking Spirit Bead, and a Medicine Identification Jade Slip.
• Li Yuan kept the green divination plate and transformed the gray and white items into Permanent Affixes, then organized what he had learned about Yang Province and its neighbors.
• Li Yuan noted that three days remained before his appointment with Meng Yangzi.

Li Yuan permanently improved his divination abilities, fused two entries into Heavenly Derivation Connection, and built a powerful alchemy formation for Meng Yangzi in Yang Province. Back in Wulin Marketplace, he learned of Tianyue Sect’s new exchange catalog and took interest in a spell that might help him locate his storage space.

• Li Yuan completed his seventh divination, permanently retained Divination Spirit Connection, and fused two green entries into Heavenly Derivation Connection.
• Li Yuan designed and constructed a three-part alchemy formation in Meng Yangzi’s residence, then tested it with Meng Yangzi.
• Meng Yangzi praised the formation’s improvements and paid Li Yuan with spirit stones and rare Yang Province materials.
• Li Yuan returned to Wulin Marketplace, where Ji Wenyuan told him that Tianyue Sect and Yuanyang Sect had reached an agreement and released an exchange catalog.
• Li Yuan noticed the Spatial Seeking Technique in the catalog and decided it might help him find the storage space he had opened before.

Li Yuan learned how to earn Tianyue Sect Contribution Points, then used his demonic qi reserves and Affixes to form a Supreme Grade Mid Golden Core Stage Demonic Qi Golden Core. He fused it with his Spirit Qi Golden Core into one dark-gold core and emerged from cultivation after nightfall.

• Ji Wenyuan relayed that Tianyue Sect missions in marketplaces awarded Contribution Points, and Li Yuan learned that two or three Third-Order missions could pay for the Spatial Seeking Technique.
• Li Yuan gathered the shattered Demonic Qi Golden Core fragments and checked that his reserves, cultivation techniques, and Purple Traits could support core formation and fusion.
• Li Yuan condensed a Supreme Grade Mid Golden Core Stage Demonic Qi Golden Core beside his Spirit Qi Golden Core.
• Li Yuan removed the buffer between the two cores and used Demon-Spirit Homology and Spirit-Demon Spatial Containment to fuse them into one dark-gold Golden Core.
• Li Yuan found that fusion had increased his total spirit power and demonic qi, improved their qualities, and strengthened his spells before he left the chamber after nightfall.

After stabilizing his spirit-demon Core Fusion, Li Yuan reviewed his cultivation and plans, then chose missions that could earn him the Spatial Seeking Technique and a scarce Qingyuan Pill ingredient. He improved his Third-Order alchemy before preparing to leave Wulin Marketplace for Ling Province.

• Li Yuan tested his fused Golden Core, found that it strengthened his spells and deepened his cultivation, and stabilized its condition after three days of closed-door cultivation.
• Li Yuan considered obtaining Qingyuan Pill ingredients and learning about Nascent Soul Formation, then reviewed new Tianyue Sect exchange notices and missions brought by Ji Wenyuan.
• Li Yuan selected three missions, including reconnaissance on a Yuan Sect-affiliated Golden Core lineage in Ling Province, whose additional reward was a Qingyuan Pill primary ingredient.
• Li Yuan refined several batches of Third-Order Tianyuan Pills and advanced to Third-Order Proficiency in Alchemy Art.
• Li Yuan continued making talismans, brought Ink Spirit Precision Control's permanentization progress to roughly twenty-five days, and completed preparations for departure.

Li Yuan investigated the Zhen Family stronghold and recorded evidence of its secret talks with Tianyue Sect, then explored Xuanxu Marketplace and discovered another tracking mark on a jade ring. With the Ling Province mission complete, he flew south to begin his next assignment.

• Li Yuan traveled to Ling Province and learned that the Yuan Sect controlled it through Golden Core Lineages while secretly facing pressure from hostile forces to the north.
• Li Yuan used his demonic qi perception to intercept communications showing that the Zhen Family was negotiating with Tianyue Sect and that several other lineages were doing the same.
• Li Yuan recorded the Zhen Family's communications on the Image-Sound Recording Stone, while questioning why Tianyue Sect needed outside evidence of its own negotiations.
• Li Yuan bought a Sha Qi Copper Sheet in Xuanxu Marketplace and made its White Trait permanent.
• Li Yuan found a Sha Pattern Jade Ring carrying a concealed tracking mark like the one he had found in Baijing Marketplace, then bought three Second-Order Demonic Cultivator spell slips.
• Li Yuan left Xuanxu Marketplace and flew south to begin his second mission.

Li Yuan completed three Tianyue Sect missions, exchanged his Contribution Points for the Spatial Seeking Technique, and quickly learned to detect traces of spatial spells. He refined a Qingyuan Pill with a powerful Blue Trait and left the cultivation chamber considering its demanding permanentization condition.

• Li Yuan cleared a demonic cultivator stronghold and scouted a smuggling route while learning three Second-Order demonic cultivator spells.
• Li Yuan exchanged his mission rewards for the Spatial Seeking Technique Jade Slip and permanentized its Clear Book Pattern trait.
• Li Yuan learned the Spatial Seeking Technique and confirmed it could detect lingering traces left by a Spatial Rift, though it could not penetrate his storage pouch or Portable Space.
• Li Yuan refined a Qingyuan Pill and discovered its Qingyuan Condensation trait, which required ten consecutive successful batches to permanentize.
• Li Yuan pushed open the Stone Gate after assessing the pill's permanentization condition.

Li Yuan traveled to Yaoguang Island for the secret realm’s opening, learned that it offered cultivation trials, and completed the permanent transformation of Ink Spirit Precision Control while waiting. He accepted Tianyue Sect’s offer to become an offering guest in exchange for arrays, pills, and marketplace support, and the secret realm entrance began to brighten as its opening approached.

• Li Yuan searched for stabilized storage spaces with the Spatial Seeking Technique but found nothing before Zhou He told him the Yaoguang Secret Realm was about to open.
• Zhou He explained that the secret realm offered individual and competitive trials that rewarded cultivators with insights transmitted directly into their divine senses.
• Li Yuan reached Yaoguang Island, made talismans while waiting for the entrance to open, and permanently transformed Ink Spirit Precision Control after thirty days.
• True Person Xuanpu recruited Li Yuan as a Tianyue Sect offering guest, and Li Yuan agreed to provide arrays and pills in exchange for support and a Third-Order fire-element spell.
• Li Yuan equipped the Blazing Sun Bright Fire Art and agreed to discuss supplying Tianyue Sect’s new Liang Province marketplaces with Ji Wenyuan.
• At a trading fair on Yaoguang Island, Li Yuan exchanged supplies for two Fire Sun Stones and a Gathering Essence Jade, while the secret realm entrance’s spirit patterns grew brighter.