Chapter Summaries

Zhu Yu checked the progress of his Corpse Puppets and spirit plants, then welcomed Xiang Sui, Liang Kuan, and Bai Meng to his mountain. They congratulated him on reaching Qi Refining Perfection.

• Zhu Yu discovered that the Little Six-Armed Naga's corpse soul had grown stronger as the sealed demon soul shrank, but he chose not to break the seal.
• Zhu Yu inspected Black Tiger, the Gold Spirit Puppet, the Dragon-Blooded Kobold Warrior, and the Green-Backed Apes, finding that Black Tiger had become an Iron-Armored Corpse while the apes had failed to advance.
• Zhu Yu found that the Pure Bamboo had reached First-Order Upper Grade and considered offering it to Junior Brother Xiang and the others.
• Little Black told Zhu Yu that the Starry Wood could bloom and needed to be left unharvested while it formed flower buds.
• Xiang Sui, Liang Kuan, and Bai Meng visited Zhu Yu and congratulated him on reaching Qi Refining Perfection.

Zhu Yu welcomed Xiang Sui, Bai Meng, and Liang Kuan after reaching Qi Refining Perfection, shared the benefits of his Green Wriggler tea, and sold them spiritual materials from his courtyard. As conflict grew around the upcoming Qingping Tower and estate opening, Zhu Yu asked Xiang Sui to help locate items for cultivating the Mass Grave, then asked what had happened to those whose Lifespan Roots had shattered.

• Zhu Yu hosted Xiang Sui, Bai Meng, and Liang Kuan, whose surprise at his cultivation breakthrough turned to astonishment when the Green Wriggler tea strengthened their bodies.
• Zhu Yu had Zhu Yi pack Green Wrigglers for the three junior brothers, then led them to prune the Starry Wood and Pure Bamboo while Little Black devoured their spirit-fruit offering.
• Zhu Yu received sixty thousand Spirit Stones for the Starry Wood and six thousand for the Pure Bamboo.
• Xiang Sui and Liang Kuan explained that unrest had intensified across the Heavenly Dao Sect as Foundation Establishment True Persons and Qi Refining Perfection cultivators gathered ahead of the Qingping Tower's completion and the estate opening.
• Zhu Yu asked Xiang Sui to seek the second-order Spirit Vine Wood Heart and Ten-Thousand-Year Grave Soil needed to cultivate the Mass Grave, and Xiang Sui agreed to consult his elder brother, Xiang Kui.
• Zhu Yu asked what had happened to the people whose Lifespan Roots had shattered.

After learning that three cultivators with shattered Lifespan Roots died attempting Foundation Establishment, Zhu Yu realized he needed more Spirit Ruins Origin and began investigating a Spirit Body-type art. When his attempts to deduce one failed, he hurried down the mountain, where someone waiting outside finally spotted him.

• Xiang Sui told Zhu Yu that Jiao Zuo, Bai Meng, and Ning had all died attempting Foundation Establishment despite Dao Foundations formed from around twelve thousand Soul Particles.
• Bai Meng and Xiang Sui discussed the risks of raising a Dao Foundation with shattered Lifespan Roots, while Zhu Yu considered how much more Spirit Ruins Origin he needed.
• After Xiang Sui and the others left, shadowy figures who had been watching Zhu Yu abandoned their posts, though some still hoped to claim the Red Pepper Society's bounty.
• Zhu Yu absorbed Spirit Ruins Origin from Yi's Spirit Ruins and discovered that the God Word 'Superior Person' remained within his Dao Foundation.
• Zhu Yu tried twice to use the True Sight Eye to deduce a suitable Spirit Body-type art, but the analysis stalled because he lacked information about such arts.
• Zhu Yu summoned Little Black and hurried down the mountain, where a young man in a blue robe exclaimed that he had finally caught him.

Zhu Yu killed Niu Erhu after two brothers trapped him in a defensive formation, then avoided punishment when the Law Enforcement Team investigated. Long Yan learned of his rapid advancement and suspected he was blessed with extraordinary fortune, while Zhu Yu arrived at the Dharma Repository.

• Two cultivators trapped Zhu Yu outside his cave with a defensive formation and demanded his Corpse-Rearing Coffin.
• Zhu Yu ambushed and killed Niu Erhu, while the surviving brother escaped and alerted onlookers to their fight.
• The Law Enforcement Team inspected the formation, told Zhu Yu and the surviving cultivator to come with them, then let the survivor flee without stopping him.
• Zhu Yu took the formation flags and left on Little Black as the onlookers dispersed.
• At Sword Pool, Long Yan read reports about Zhu Yu’s cultivation and concluded his rapid progress might come from exceptional fortune.
• Zhu Yu entered the Dharma Repository, where Die Ersan greeted him.

Zhu Yu learned about Affiliated Spirit Ruins, selected three yin-aligned Spirit Body arts, and received updated sect records after changing his cultivation information. The records revealed that the Heavenly Dao Sect had been shattered ten thousand years earlier, leaving Zhu Yu stunned by how diminished it was.

• Zhu Yu learned from Die Ersan that Steward Yan had gone to find the Great Ancestor, then asked her to locate high-grade yin-aligned Spirit Body arts.
• Zhu Yu read about the Affiliated Spirit Ruins and decided to avoid entering them with his true body because they could affect his lifespan.
• Die Ersan found Zhu Yu three arts suited to Graveyard Grass—Cold Yin Charm, Baleful Tomb, and Soul-Eating Crow—and Zhu Yu bought them while rewarding her with Spirit Stones.
• Die Ersan and Long Jiu squabbled over Zhu Yu's Spirit Stones, but she eventually shared one with him after Zhu Yu left.
• Zhu Yu changed his cultivation information to Qi Refining Perfection and received sect records and other items from the Affairs Hall.
• Zhu Yu read that the Heavenly Dao Sect had once been a major force but was devastated when a giant emerged from the Wanshen Spirit Ruins and sent the Immortal Grave Spirit Ruins flying.

Zhu Yu considered using the accelerated time of an Affiliated Spirit Ruins to hasten his attempt to develop Graveyard Grass into a Superior Inheritance, then returned safely to his cave while remaining wary of retaliation. Meanwhile, Lu Wanrong and Xing Sida learned that he had reached Qi Refining Perfection and considered inviting him into a Spirit Ruins, but Wu Yang persuaded them to wait.

• Zhu Yu found that deriving the technique Superior Person from Graveyard Grass would take one thousand years, while removing Graveyard Grass shortened the estimate to ten years.
• Zhu Yu realized he was trying to turn Graveyard Grass into a Superior Inheritance and considered using a Split Spirit in an Affiliated Spirit Ruins to exploit its accelerated time.
• Zhu Yu returned to his cave abode without incident, but remained vigilant about possible retaliation from Sword Pool and Sword Appraisal Pavilion.
• Lu Wanrong received word that Senior Brother Zhu had broken through to Qi Refining Perfection, and Xing Sida suggested inviting him into the Spirit Ruins that would reopen soon.
• A gloomy youth objected to sharing their gains with Zhu Yu, and Wu Yang argued that he lacked the strength to participate, so the group decided to invite him next time.

Zhu Yu's Big Goblin Corpse Seeds rose, and he sent Zhu Yi and Zhu Er to sell the corpses and bring back more seeds. After learning that most Spirit Ruins would reopen in a month, he continued cultivating until he tested a new ability in the courtyard.

• Zhu Yu found that his pills no longer fully unlocked his soul's potential and considered trying alchemy.
• Big Goblin Living Corpses and Qingping Corpse Seeds emerged across the Low-Grade Corpse Field and gathered around the Quadrangle Courtyard.
• Zhu Yu ordered Zhu Yi and Zhu Er to take the living corpses to Bai Meng, sell them, and return with more Corpse Seeds.
• Zhu Yu learned from Lu Wanrong that most Spirit Ruins would reopen in a month and spent the intervening days cultivating.
• Zhu Yu earned a net 130,000 Contribution Points from selling the corpses and buying supplies, then stood in the courtyard and shouted, "Rise!"

Zhu Yu watched Black Tiger become an Iron-Armored Corpse with powerful Nether Flame, then saw Little Jade awaken its Void-Splitting Butterfly bloodline. He prepared to leave with Black Tiger and told Little Black to guard the house.

• Black Tiger emerged from its grave mound as an Iron-Armored Corpse, and Zhu Yu tested its strength and Nether Flame.
• Zhu Yu reconnected his spiritual link to Black Tiger and discovered that its new Corpse Soul seemed foolish.
• Zhu Yu shrank the Corpse-Rearing Coffin and secured it to Black Tiger's back.
• Little Jade reached First-Order Perfected and awakened its Void-Splitting Butterfly bloodline and Void-Splitting Soul Severing spell.
• Zhu Yu told Little Black to stay home and guard the house, then departed on Black Tiger.

After Zhu Yu left, Little Black nurtured a speaking Treasure Herb fragment called Xiao Wu in the courtyard. Zhu Yu received Little Black’s message, then encountered a dangerous golden aura upon leaving the Yin-Underworld Grotto and rode Black Tiger toward the Affiliated Spirit Ruins.

• Zhu Yu left the hill with Zhu Yi and Zhu Er while Little Black stayed behind and asked for a large, tasty meal.
• Little Black released a glowing yellow orb into the courtyard soil, where it drew in spiritual energy and grew into a tiny person.
• The tiny person introduced itself as Xiao Wu, cried in fright, and fainted after Little Black licked it and praised its fragrance.
• Little Black told Zhu Yu that the Treasure Herb fragment had awakened, and Zhu Yu instructed Little Black to care for it.
• As Zhu Yu exited the Yin-Underworld Grotto on Black Tiger, a golden thread entered his body and triggered warnings that an unfamiliar aura had been blocked.
• Zhu Yu sensed the dangerous thread in his Divine Sea space, left the cave entrance, and rode toward the Affiliated Spirit Ruins without approaching Godfall Tower.

Zhu Yu confronted a group of Rogue Cultivators who tried to ambush him, but their attack was disrupted when he controlled Old Man Bai. As the battle unfolded, Long Yan attempted to seize the Corpse-Rearing Coffin, and Zhu Yu used a strand of Foundation Establishment aura to strike her down before pursuing her.

• Zhu Yu lured the Rogue Cultivators following him into a mountain hollow, where their leaders asked him to bestow teachings and then plotted to rob him.
• Old Man Bai opened his Jade Box and attacked Zhu Yu with the Thousand-Bee Needle, but Zhu Yu’s control made him mistake the others for enemies and strike the crowd.
• Su Qingwen and Qiu Ba attacked Zhu Yu while the Rogue Cultivators fought Old Man Bai; Su Qingya slipped away toward Black Tiger and the Corpse-Rearing Coffin.
• Long Yan wounded Black Tiger, broke the coffin’s chains, and tried to take the Corpse-Rearing Coffin, but Zhu Yu confronted her with a golden Blood Qi fist.
• Zhu Yu activated a strand of Foundation Establishment aura and struck Long Yan into a hillside; when she survived, he rushed after her to finish the fight.

Zhu Yu destroyed a puppet girl and discovered that the short old man was the source of the hill’s commotion. He harvested the fallen cultivators’ life essence and souls, then subdued the old man.

• Zhu Yu crushed the girl with his aura and Blood Qi True Essence, but she survived the blows.
• Zhu Yu found that the girl was a high-grade puppet controlled by a Split Spirit, stored her damaged body, and broke her ordinary longsword.
• Zhu Yu found Qiu Ba and Su Qingwen gone, checked that Black Tiger and Six-Armed Naga were recovering, and carried the Corpse-Rearing Coffin toward the hill.
• Zhu Yu used Life Plundering and Soul Summoning on more than ten corpses, taking their life essence and souls.
• Zhu Yu approached the short old man as he attacked the woods and compressed him into a sphere with an invisible ripple.

After taking the short old man's Artifact Embryo, Zhu Yu traveled to the Samsara Tower to choose a Spirit Ruins to enter. He found two newly cycling medium-sized Spirit Ruins, Canglan and Exorcism, and was left deciding between them.

• Zhu Yu absorbed Life Essence, identified the short old man's Dao Foundation as a Golden Needle Artifact Embryo, and stored it with the old man's mid-grade artifact.
• A green-robed young man investigated the battlefield, found traces suggesting a True Person had attacked Senior Sister Long, and departed after obscuring the damaged site.
• Zhu Yu arrived at the Samsara Tower in the Affiliated Spirit Ruins and found that only a little over one hundred of its more than ten thousand arrays still worked.
• Zhu Yu used the tower's sphere to learn about two medium-sized Spirit Ruins that had begun cycling anew: Canglan and Exorcism.
• Zhu Yu learned that Exorcism had grown from a small Spirit Ruins after many Split Spirits and true bodies perished there, then wondered which Spirit Ruins to enter.

Zhu Yu chose to enter the Canglan Spirit Ruins after the Six-Armed Naga urged him toward it, then realized most entrants were forming alliances. Ruan Yu'an invited him to join a group because Zhu Yu had angered Long Yan by killing her Sword Puppet, but the chapter ended as the group smelled blood and rust.

• Zhu Yu considered entering the Celestial Master Spirit Ruins, but the Six-Armed Naga repeatedly urged him to choose Canglan.
• Zhu Yu paid ten thousand Contribution Points to register for the Canglan Spirit Ruins, which was due to open in two hours with 1,080 entrants.
• Zhu Yu noticed most entrants had formed groups and decided against asking Wu Yang, Lu Wanrong, and Xing Sidao to take him in.
• Ruan Yu'an approached Zhu Yu with two companions and a maidservant, then invited him to explore Canglan with them and offered to sign a Blood Pact.
• Ruan Yu'an said the group sought Zhu Yu because he had angered Long Yan by killing her Sword Puppet, and they then smelled rust and blood.

Zhu Yu left the tower after Long Yan tried to buy him from Ruan Yu'an, then prepared to hide from the people pursuing him. His Split Spirit entered the Affiliated Spirit Ruins and awoke in the hands of a Snake-man in an underwater cave.

• Long Yan offered Ruan Yu'an a Great Weird and then Sanyuan City in exchange for Zhu Yu, but Zhu Yu left without accepting her offer.
• Long Yan asked the duty disciple to make an exception, but the old man told her to leave, and she departed with her companions.
• Zhu Yu deployed his Ring into the formation, then built a shelter and raised a barrier while considering how to escape through Yinming.
• Zhu Yu's Split Spirit entered the Affiliated Spirit Ruins and awoke in a Snake-man's hands inside an underwater cave.

Zhu Yu awakened in the body of Milo, a young Six-Armed Naga princess, and encountered Roland and her former maid Yali Hall. After Yali recognized her return, Milo said she was hungry, and Yali carried her out of the cave.

• Zhu Yu discovered that she inhabited the body of Milo, a young member of the Naga Royal Clan.
• His Highness Roland entered the cave, sensed Milo's returning life force, and left without speaking.
• Yali Hall arrived to accompany Milo in her supposed eternal slumber, then learned from Feier that Milo was alive.
• Milo regained awareness as Yali embraced her and identified herself as the princess's maid and guard captain.
• Milo told Yali she was hungry, and Yali protected her and hurried out of the cave.

Zhu Yu entered Storm Nest with Yali and awakened the Thunder Pool within the bronze tower, confirming his identity as the thunder-aligned prince Milo Storm Helstota. He emerged with new power but was overcome by hunger, and Yali took him to wait for a meal in his luxurious residence.

• Yali carried Zhu Yu into Storm Nest, where the Shark-Man knights and Naga residents recognized and saluted him.
• Yali brought Zhu Yu to the bronze tower, where accumulated thunder energy awakened his Thunder Pool and raised his cultivation.
• Yali stopped curious Fishman maids from disturbing Zhu Yu and ordered the kitchen to prepare food for him.
• Zhu Yu emerged from the tower, examined his status panel, and formed a Thunder Spear before hunger weakened him.
• Yali carried Zhu Yu to his residence and went to hurry the chefs while he waited and noticed the Thunder Crystals in the ceiling.

Zhu Yu discovered that the Storm Nest was fated to fall to Otto Goebel and the Huasha Mermen in fifty-five years, leaving him to consider fleeing rather than fighting. He enjoyed a lavish meal and fell asleep while Yali vowed to protect him.

• Zhu Yu found a seven-colored Thunder Crystal and learned it would be a valuable First-Order Upper Grade spiritual item outside the Canglan Spirit Ruins.
• Zhu Yu searched his memories and discovered that Otto Goebel would lead the Huasha Mermen to conquer the Storm Nest in fifty-five years.
• Zhu Yu concluded that he would be too weak to resist Otto Goebel and decided there was still time to plan an escape.
• Yali arranged a feast of spiritual dishes and personally fed Zhu Yu.
• Zhu Yu ate until he was full, then fell asleep while Yali lifted him and vowed that anyone who wanted to harm him would have to step over her corpse.

Zhu Yu, now recognized as Milo, was welcomed back by the Naga of Storm Nest after awakening her bloodline. Gregor Helstota reunited with her and granted her the Forest of Lin as her territory.

• Gregor Helstota ordered Roland to accept that Milo had only fallen into slumber because her bloodline was too concentrated and told him to stay until he saw her.
• The Naga of Storm City spread the news of Milo's return and celebrated her awakening.
• Yali dressed Zhu Yu in royal clothes and carried her to meet Gregor and Roland.
• Gregor gently lifted Zhu Yu into his palm and asked whether she still recognized him as her grandfather.
• Gregor welcomed Milo home and gave her the Forest of Lin as her territory.

Zhu Yu received the Forest of Lin as his territory from Gregor and planned to recruit retainers to protect it. He returned to the Bronze Tower with the Storm Crown, which he discovered was a Spirit Artifact that could not leave the Changlan Spirit Ruins, and began examining it with his Divine Sense.

• Gregor gave Zhu Yu the Forest of Lin and welcomed him as his grandson.
• After Zhu Yu left the palace, Yali decided to protect his interests and sent a Fishman guard away to summon help.
• Zhu Yu confirmed that the Storm Crown could not be taken out of the Changlan Spirit Ruins and imprinted it with his aura.
• Zhu Yu asked Yali to have her father, the Rock-Steel Snake-man clan chief, visit the next day to discuss making the clan his retainers.
• Back at the Bronze Tower, Zhu Yu sent his Divine Sense into the Storm Crown and received a massive flood of information.

Zhu Yu gained the Helstota Family’s Storm Thunder inheritance and decided to cultivate the Heart of Wind and Thunder alongside Qi Refining. After escaping the bizarre Yinming, he returned to the Underworld Grounds and confirmed that time passed far faster in the Canglan Spirit Ruins.

• Zhu Yu received the Storm Crown’s Storm Thunder inheritance and learned the Heart of Wind and Thunder could help him build a second foundation and transform his bloodline.
• Zhu Yu decided to pursue Bloodline Demonization and left the Immortal Grave Spirit Ruins with Black Tiger, taking four streams of light from the shattered formation.
• A green-robed figure emerged from a building in the Affiliated Spirit Ruins, cursed Zhu Yu, and then flew away in the opposite direction.
• Seven days later, Zhu Yu and Black Tiger escaped Yinming after encountering monsters that could not be killed and whose touch harmed them.
• Zhu Yu traveled through the Yin-Underworld Grotto and the Underworld Grounds, where the black-robed people and cultivators watched him respectfully.
• Zhu Yu connected with his Split Spirit and discovered that one day in the Immortal Grave Spirit Ruins equaled one year in the Canglan Spirit Ruins.