Chapter Summaries

Li Yuan investigated the Yuan Sect’s activity around the Tianyue Mountain Range, then returned to Wulin Marketplace after demonic scouts were detected. He captured three scouts and learned that the Yuan Sect was targeting him and had established footholds in eastern Liang Province.

• Li Yuan met Xuanpu, learned the Spirit Transformation Ceremony might produce a result within a month, and asked about the Yuan Sect’s Nascent Soul Cultivator near the Tianyue Mountain Range.
• Li Yuan sensed increasingly numerous but less useful enlightenment fragments at the Main Peak’s Enlightenment Area.
• Ji Wenyuan told Li Yuan that Wulin Marketplace’s Detection Array had found suspicious Demonic Cultivator auras on three consecutive nights, so Li Yuan returned to investigate.
• Li Yuan captured three Foundation Establishment scouts from the Yuan Sect in an abandoned Spirit Field and found a bone fragment listing their mission to survey marketplaces and investigate him.
• Li Yuan used an illusion to extract intelligence identifying Deercry Ridge and Withered River Valley as two new Yuan Sect footholds in Liang Province, then took the scouts away.

Li Yuan inspected the Yuan Sect spies’ hideouts, delivered the information and captives to Xuanpu, and visited the Remnant settlement, where he learned Elder Shen had died. Back at the sea-region outpost, he gained permanent traits from array inspections and soul tempering, then studied an advanced tome on the Nascent Soul Realm.

• Li Yuan surveyed the two hideouts used by the Yuan Sect spies, recorded their layouts and Demonic Qi traces, and sent the information and three captives to Xuanpu.
• Li Yuan visited the Remnant settlement and learned from Leader Zhou that Elder Shen had died after settling the settlement’s affairs.
• Li Yuan gave Leader Zhou a Mingyuan Chamber of Commerce contact channel for future supply orders and left the settlement.
• Li Yuan inspected the Monster Detection Arrays and permanently gained Monster Trace Spirit Appraisal after Site Four accumulated forty warnings.
• Li Yuan tempered his soul continuously for twenty days and permanently gained Soul Tempering Profound Subtlety.
• Li Yuan exchanged Contribution Points for an advanced Nascent Soul Formation tome and studied how the Nascent Soul functioned after formation.

Li Yuan monitored the Monster Beast Alliance’s escalating attacks, accepted a mission to destroy an undersea nest, and advanced his techniques while preparing to depart. He permanently acquired Karmic Insight just before the expedition began.

• Dragon Abyss Pavilion confirmed that the Yuan Sect and Monster Beast Alliance were cooperating, while a Fourth-Order great monster beast attacked Kunpeng Alliance islands and the Alliance’s Nascent Soul cultivator remained absent.
• Li Yuan cleared two groups of Second-Order Monster Beasts near an island and agreed to lead a mission against a monster beast nest in an undersea canyon.
• The President revealed that the nest contained at least one third-rank flood dragon, and three Golden Core cultivators would carry out the attack.
• Li Yuan cultivated for several days and advanced the Life Flame Tracking Technique and Life Flame Retro-Mirroring Technique to mastery.
• Li Yuan fulfilled the conditions to permanently acquire Karmic Insight, improving his perception of karmic clues and reducing the lifespan cost of his spells.

Li Yuan joined Zhao and Sun to slay a Third-Order High-Grade Flood Dragon in an undersea canyon, then found a Canglan Sect transformation technique in its lair. After claiming the Flood Dragon Inner Core and receiving his share of the spoils, Li Yuan began cultivating the technique.

• Li Yuan divined that the assault on the Flood Dragon's lair would be somewhat auspicious but involve variables, then planned the attack with Zhao and Sun.
• Li Yuan located the Flood Dragon and two young Flood Dragons in the canyon cavern, while Zhao and Sun cleared the seven Second-Order Monster Beasts.
• Li Yuan sealed the cavern entrance with an array, and he, Zhao, and Sun fought together to kill the Third-Order High-Grade Flood Dragon.
• Li Yuan retrieved the Flood Dragon Inner Core and discovered a Jade Slip containing the Monster-to-Human Transformation Technique, which could let human cultivators transform into Demonic Beasts.
• The three cultivators divided the Flood Dragon's materials, and Li Yuan returned to the Closed-Door Cultivation Chamber to cultivate the technique.

Li Yuan cultivated three techniques with the Flood Dragon Inner Core and blood, improving his transformation, body tempering, and concealment abilities. He received a request to help defend the Kunpeng Alliance’s main island, with a tome of Nascent Soul Formation experience among the rewards, and returned to his cultivation chamber.

• Li Yuan used the Flood Dragon Inner Core to reach the beginner stage of the Monster-to-Human Transformation Technique, briefly revealing faint scales on his forearm.
• Li Yuan used Third-Order High-Grade flood dragon heart’s blood to advance the Flood Dragon Blood Body-Tempering Art to minor accomplishment.
• Li Yuan refined the Shadow Concealment Illusory Escape Art to proficient, forming a dual-layer film that improved light refraction and concealed its spirit-power fluctuations.
• The President told Li Yuan that the Kunpeng Alliance had asked Golden Core cultivators to guard its main island while its Nascent Soul Cultivators were away, offering daily supplies, a Treasure Pavilion treasure, and a tome of Nascent Soul Formation experience.
• Li Yuan put away the Communication Token and returned to the Closed-Door Cultivation Chamber.

Li Yuan arrived at Kunpeng Alliance Main Island to help defend its Fourth-Order grand formation and gained a Kunpeng Array Pearl and a Nascent Soul Formation Experience Manual. A Fourth-Order Golden Toad attacked the island, but the cultivators held the barrier until it withdrew at sunset.

• Li Yuan divined that guarding Kunpeng Alliance Main Island was mostly auspicious, then left the Loose Cultivator Alliance outpost for the island.
• Deputy Alliance Leader Jiang gave Li Yuan a Kunpeng Array Pearl and a Nascent Soul Formation Experience Manual before assigning him to the third eastern node of the grand formation.
• Li Yuan connected to the array and used the Array Dao Pivot to study its structure and reinforce a weak link in the defensive circuits.
• A Fourth-Order Golden Toad demanded that the island's Nascent Soul return, then attacked the barrier with venom, water columns, and spirit power shockwaves.
• Li Yuan and the other Golden Core cultivators maintained the formation through hours of attacks, and the Golden Toad sank beneath the sea at sunset.
• Li Yuan rotated off duty with roughly eighty percent of his spirit power remaining and returned to his guest room.

Li Yuan discovered a faint trace of Demonic Qi near the Golden Toad’s route, then studied Nascent Soul formation and accepted a dangerous post on the island in exchange for a rare treasure. As more cultivators fled and the Golden Toad’s attacks intensified, Li Yuan remained at his node and advanced the Monster-to-Human Transformation Technique to proficiency.

• Li Yuan detected a faint trace of Demonic Qi beneath the sea southeast of the island, in the direction where the Golden Toad had vanished, and kept the discovery to himself.
• Li Yuan studied the Kunpeng Alliance’s Nascent Soul experience manual and learned practical details about controlling Golden Core transformation and synchronizing Essence, Qi, and Spirit.
• Li Yuan overheard that cultivators planned to flee, and Vice Alliance Leader Jiang offered him doubled compensation and one item from the alliance’s internal Treasure Pavilion if he stayed.
• Li Yuan chose the Golden Toad Demon Artifact, equipped it, and gained a forty-percent increase in total spiritual power along with protection against demon beasts and breakthrough backlash.
• As the Golden Toad attacked daily and other cultivators left the island, Li Yuan continued guarding his node and cultivating the Monster-to-Human Transformation Technique.
• Li Yuan completed a self-sustaining medium circulation through twenty-four meridians and reached proficiency in the Monster-to-Human Transformation Technique.

Li Yuan witnessed the Golden Toad and its allies shatter the Kunpeng Alliance's grand array, then escaped the island and reported the attack to the Loose Cultivator Alliance President. He left the outpost afterward, while the Kunpeng Alliance's Nascent Soul cultivators remained in the Tianyue Mountain Range.

• Li Yuan maintained the damaged grand array as the Golden Toad arrived with three Third-Order Monster Beasts, more than ten Second-Order Monster Beasts, and three Golden Core Demonic Cultivators.
• The Golden Toad and the beasts attacked from several directions while the Demonic Cultivators targeted the seventh node, causing the node to fail and the grand array to collapse.
• The Golden Toad struck down a Demonic Cultivator who urged it to stop the Kunpeng Alliance's Golden Core cultivators from escaping, then listened as another Demonic Cultivator proposed peace talks.
• Li Yuan escaped the island without being pursued and concluded that the attack aimed to draw the Kunpeng Alliance's Nascent Soul cultivators away from the Tianyue Mountain Range.
• Li Yuan informed the Loose Cultivator Alliance President about the array's destruction and the attackers' actions, then packed his belongings and left the outpost.

Li Yuan delivered probes and set up an array at the Lu Family’s third mineral vein, where he discovered signs of an artificial passage hidden beneath the Array Eye. He finished refining the second batch of Dharma Artifacts and planned to investigate the passage after completing the array adjustments.

• Li Yuan visited Tianyue Marketplace, then traveled to Baihe Province to deliver twelve mineral vein probes to Lu Ping.
• Li Yuan surveyed the third mineral vein with Lu Yang and chose an Array Eye location more precise than the survey team’s suggestions.
• Li Yuan found a Mysterious Vein Essence Ore with a green trait and took it with Lu Yang’s permission.
• While setting up the array, Li Yuan sensed an artificial passageway about two hundred zhang beneath the Array Eye but continued his work without revealing it.
• Li Yuan completed the array setup, refined the second batch of Dharma Artifacts, and planned to investigate the passage after making the array’s final adjustments.

Li Yuan secretly explored an ancient ruin beneath the Lu Family’s third mine vein and learned about the Mystic Origin Sect, the Upper Realm, and cultivation realms beyond Nascent Soul. After the Lu Family discovered the ruins, Li Yuan accepted a spirit plant and left Baihe Province for Wulin Marketplace in Liang Province.

• Li Yuan concealed himself, dug down from the mine tunnel, and found an ancient passage and a stone library beneath the mine.
• Li Yuan made the Ancient Script Discernment trait permanent and read books describing the Mystic Origin Sect, its ties to the Clear Void Sect, the Upper Realm, and cultivation realms beyond Nascent Soul.
• Li Yuan copied the ancient books’ contents, restored the passage and mine tunnel, and returned to his guest room before dawn.
• Li Yuan identified an artificial hollow beneath the mine while adjusting the array, and Lu Yang led Foundation Establishment cultivators to investigate the ruins.
• Lu Yang confirmed the ruins belonged to the Mystic Origin Sect and gave Li Yuan a spirit plant as thanks; Li Yuan then left for Liang Province.
• Li Yuan reviewed what he had learned about the Upper Realm and arrived near Wulin Marketplace.

After receiving news that a Yuan Sect Nascent Soul Cultivator had massacred cultivators near Tianyue Mountain Range to gather power for a Spirit Transformation breakthrough, Li Yuan advanced his Black Iron Body-Tempering Art and acquired a body-tempering ore. He traveled to Tianyue and learned that Xuanpu had lost an arm in the attack, while the Spirit Transformation Ceremony was nearing its outcome.

• Li Yuan received messages from Xuanpu and Ji Wenyuan describing the Yuan Sect Nascent Soul Cultivator’s massacre and suspected demonic attempt to reach Spirit Transformation.
• Li Yuan cultivated for several days and advanced the Black Iron Body-Tempering Art to minor accomplishment.
• Li Yuan arranged for Ji Wenyuan to buy Red Marrow Essence Ore at auction and stored it without equipping it.
• After divining that a trip to Tianyue Mountain Range was leaning auspicious, Li Yuan traveled there and found the marketplace and Enlightenment Area nearly deserted.
• Xuanpu told Li Yuan that demonic qi corrosion had forced him to lose his left arm and that the Yuan Sect Nascent Soul Cultivator had left to digest the cultivators’ essence.
• Li Yuan sensed that the Spirit Transformation Ceremony had reached its final stage, with success or failure imminent.

Li Yuan witnessed the Tianyue Sect Master successfully break through to Spirit Transformation and ascend through a Spatial Passage to the upper realm. He stayed in the Tianyue Mountain Range to refine his Supreme Grade Golden Core using the spiritual qi pouring through the passage.

• Li Yuan sensed the Tianyue Sect Master's breakthrough reach its final stage as the Tianyue Mountain Range's Large Spirit Vein was drained completely.
• The Tianyue Sect Master succeeded in reaching Spirit Transformation, and a Spatial Passage opened above the main peak.
• Before ascending, the Tianyue Sect Master sent golden light across the region, granting Li Yuan knowledge that raised his Talisman attainment to Tier 3 Proficient and taught him the Tier 3 spell Talisman-Array Linkage.
• The Tianyue Sect Master entered the Spatial Passage, which remained open and poured spiritual qi into the lower realm, gradually restoring the depleted spirit vein.
• Li Yuan stayed near the Enlightenment Area and cultivated in the abundant spiritual qi, slowly improving the quality of his spiritual energy and Demonic Qi.
• The Tianyue Sect held an ascension ceremony and reopened its gates, while Li Yuan continued tempering his Golden Core instead of attending.

Li Yuan attended Tianyue Sect’s Ascension Ceremony, where an Upper Realm decree appointed Xuanpu to oversee the sect and the Spatial Passage restored the region’s spirit qi. After the ceremony, Li Yuan continued toward Liang Province while studying a Wood Spirit Cultivation Art.

• Li Yuan watched cultivators gather for the ceremony and greeted Lu Yang, who had come with Lu Ping and two guards.
• Tianyue Sect announced changes to its rules and recruitment plans, then received an Upper Realm decree appointing Xuanpu to oversee sect affairs.
• Spirit qi from the Spatial Passage replenished Tianyue Mountain Range’s spirit vein and spread across the surrounding region.
• Li Yuan received a Third-Order wood-element spell called the Wood Spirit Cultivation Art and analyzed its pathways without changing his Equipment Slot.
• Li Yuan heard that a Kunpeng Alliance Nascent Soul cultivator had taken an unidentified item from the passage and suspected it extended lifespan.
• After the three-day ceremony and two more days in Tianyue Mountain Range, Li Yuan flew toward Liang Province and continued studying the spell.

Li Yuan returned to Wulin Marketplace, mastered Talisman-Array Linkage, and began cultivating the Wood Spirit Cultivation Art while seeking rare medicinal pills. Xuanpu summoned him to Tianyue Marketplace's Deliberation Pavilion without explaining why.

• Li Yuan returned to Wulin Marketplace and told Ji Wenyuan that Xuanpu was acting as Tianyue Sect's interim master.
• Li Yuan deduced Talisman-Array Linkage, made Linkage Activation Formation Talismans, and successfully tested temporary formation networks on the Back Mountain.
• Lu Yang told Li Yuan that his family had secured a mineral vein in Baihe Province and wanted to discuss formations and more Dharma Artifact orders.
• Li Yuan initiated the Wood Spirit Cultivation Art and learned that he needed five Third-Order wood-element medicinal pills to permanently activate the Spirit Field Space entry.
• Li Yuan asked Ji Wenyuan and Xu Zhang about the availability and prices of Third-Order wood-element medicinal pills, then received Xuanpu's request to meet at Tianyue Marketplace's Deliberation Pavilion.

Li Yuan received orders from Xuanpu to clear the Fiend Demon Sect’s outposts in Liang Province and watch for signs of the Yuan Sect Nascent Soul cultivator. After eliminating the outposts, he returned to Wulin Marketplace to prepare materials for refining the Peiyuan Gumu Pill.

• Xuanpu explained the Spatial Passage’s transport limits, reported that a Golden Core disciple from the Mingyuan Sect had arrived, and assigned Li Yuan to clear the Fiend Demon Sect’s Liang Province strongholds.
• Li Yuan exchanged Contribution Points for the Peiyuan Gumu Pill formula and flew to the first outpost at Qingsong Ridge.
• Li Yuan subdued two Foundation Establishment cultivators at Qingsong Ridge and handed them over to Ji Wenyuan.
• Li Yuan captured three cultivators at Kumu Ravine and found a Fiend Demon Essence Ore with a Green-grade trait.
• Li Yuan cleared the remaining outposts, finding most abandoned or nearly empty, and captured nine Demonic Cultivators in total.
• Li Yuan returned to Wulin Marketplace, sent Xu Zhang a list of ingredients to procure, and resumed tempering his Golden Core while he waited.

Li Yuan traveled to the sea region to obtain scarce Wood Essence Dew, learned that the Golden Toad had detained the Kunpeng Alliance’s Golden Core cultivators, and refined Peiyuan Gumu Pills. He began consuming the pills to fulfill the conditions for permanent trait transformations.

• Li Yuan learned that Tianyue Sect’s mass purchases had exhausted mainland supplies of Wood Essence Dew, then studied Nascent Soul formation techniques before traveling to the sea region.
• The President told Li Yuan that the Golden Toad had captured all fourteen Golden Core cultivators on Kunpeng Alliance Main Island and was negotiating with the Alliance’s returning Nascent Soul senior.
• Li Yuan bought Wood Essence Dew and other ingredients on Azure Wave Island, then refined three furnaces of Peiyuan Gumu Pills, producing nine pills with a stable yield.
• Li Yuan equipped the Wood Spirit Cultivation Art Jade Slip, activated the Spirit Field Space trait, and swallowed the first Peiyuan Gumu Pill before continuing his cultivation.

Li Yuan permanently established Wood Essence Fortification and Spirit Field Space, fusing the latter with Void-Bound Carry to create a Portable Small Realm that could expand with his cultivation and accelerate spirit plant growth. He stocked its water and soil plots with medicinal plants, then returned to cultivation.

• Li Yuan consumed his fifth Peiyuan Gumu Pill, making Wood Essence Fortification and Spirit Field Space permanent and fusing Spirit Field Space with Void-Bound Carry into the Portable Small Realm.
• Li Yuan examined the Small Realm’s new spirit field, water area, and spatial structure, then exchanged for spirit-plant manuals and bought water-type seedlings, spirit earth, and spirit sand.
• Li Yuan planted Azure Water Duckweed, Emerald Bead Algae, and Water Spirit Root in the Small Realm’s water area.
• Li Yuan traveled back to Wulin Marketplace and planted Qingyuan Wood-Heart Herb and other terrestrial spirit herb seedlings in the Small Realm’s spirit field.
• Li Yuan left the Small Realm and sat down to cultivate.

Li Yuan set up a yield-enhancing formation and a detection formation at a new Lu Family mineral vein in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, then completed two more arrays and inspected the older sites. He permanently acquired a mineral-yield ability and left Baihe Province for Liang Province after hearing that Third-Order monster beasts were fleeing southeast.

• Li Yuan traveled to the Lu Family's new mineral vein with two guards and installed overlapping yield-enhancing and detection formations.
• A Third-Order Low-Grade Rock Scale Lizard approached the site, and Li Yuan killed it with Void-Splitting Slash while wielding the Flood Dragon Inner Core.
• A Lu Family guard told Li Yuan that Third-Order monster beasts had been migrating southeast from deep within the mountains.
• Li Yuan set up a defensive array upgrade at a warehouse and a Spirit Gathering Array in a new Mine Tunnel, then inspected the Lu Family's three earlier mineral vein arrays.
• Li Yuan reinforced the first array, replaced its worn Array Pivot Stone, and permanently gained the Mineral Array Yield Increase entry after it had operated for ninety days.
• Li Yuan advised Lu Yang to maintain the arrays and left Baihe Province for Liang Province.

Li Yuan returned to Qinghe Market, learned that Mingyuan Sect was recruiting talented lower-realm cultivators through Tianyue Sect, and then resumed his work and cultivation in Wulin Marketplace. He completed a large artifact-refining order and advanced the Monster-to-Human Transformation Technique to proficient, leaving him able to manifest early forms based on different demonic beast essences.

• Li Yuan inspected Qinghe Market's growth and learned that its cooperation with Tianyue Sect had expanded, while Mingyuan Sect recruited talented disciples through Tianyue Sect for the upper realm.
• Lu Yang arranged a new order for fifty-four mine tunnel support pillars, and Li Yuan discovered that the first completed pillar carried a Green trait requiring a mine tunnel to operate safely for 120 days.
• Li Yuan refined the support pillars while cultivating the Monster-to-Human Transformation Technique, expanding its grand circulation beyond sixty percent and reaching the proficient stage.
• Li Yuan manifested dark teal Flood Dragon scales and claws, then drew on other demonic beast essences to produce coarse fur, though he found the alternate form incomplete.
• Li Yuan continued refining his Supreme Grade Golden Core, seeking to improve its quality before attempting a Nascent Soul breakthrough.

Li Yuan visited Tianyue Marketplace during a cross-province auction and met Lin Zhao, a Mingyuan Sect disciple from the upper realm, who explained the sect’s plans for the lower realm. After buying two trait-bearing items, Li Yuan returned to cultivate and continued refining his Supreme Grade Golden Core.

• Li Yuan entered the expanded Tianyue Marketplace and sensed Lin Zhao, an upper-realm Golden Core cultivator, in a teahouse.
• Lin Zhao told Li Yuan about the upper realm’s fierce competition and Mingyuan Sect’s plans to send Nascent Soul cultivators down and develop the lower realm as a rear base.
• Li Yuan bought Spirit-Congealing Jade Marrow, which could improve Golden Core density, from a materials shop.
• Li Yuan purchased a Spirit Pivot Dharma Disk with a trait that could set up an array within his body.
• Li Yuan returned to his residence and cultivated in the dense spiritual energy, continuing the final refinement of his Supreme Grade Golden Core.