Chapter Summaries

Qin Huaian sold his latest Qi Recovery Pills to Rosy Cloud Pavilion and prepared to attend the sect recruitment with Wang Baole. The chapter ended as the two set out for the inner city before dawn to take the spiritual root aptitude test.

• Qin Huaian sold thirty-seven bottles of Qi Recovery Pills to Shopkeeper Xue and received spirit stones and more refining herbs.
• Qin Huaian delivered another batch of pills, discussed the upcoming sect recruitment with Shopkeeper Xue, and learned about the sects recruiting at Cloudfield Market.
• Wang Baole asked Qin Huaian to attend the recruitment with him, and Qin Huaian agreed.
• Qin Huaian reviewed his cultivation progress and wealth, then rested while his mirror body continued cultivating.
• Wang Baole arrived before dawn, and Qin Huaian set out with him for the inner city.

Qin Huaian and Wang Baole underwent spirit root testing at the sect recruitment grounds, where Xiao Yi’s Supreme Water Spirit Root attracted the attention of Yellow Mountain Sword Sect elders. Wang Baole tested as an eighteen-year-old with an Upper-grade Spirit Root, while Qin Huaian’s test revealed a Middle-grade Spirit Root.

• Qin Huaian waited in the recruitment line with Wang Baole as cultivators received their spirit root results.
• Xiao Yi tested as having a Supreme Water Spirit Root, and Elder Zhou invited him to join the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect.
• Wang Baole tested as an eighteen-year-old with an Upper-grade Spirit Root and earth and wood dual spirit roots.
• Qin Huaian tested as a twenty-three-year-old with a Middle-grade Spirit Root and wood, fire, and water attributes.

Qin Huaian and Wang Baole explored the sect recruitment plaza and chose to join the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect. They became provisional disciples and were told to return in five days, while Qin Huaian planned to settle his affairs and say goodbye to Shopkeeper Xue.

• Qin Huaian and Wang Baole learned about the recruitment requirements of Soaring Cloud Hall and other sects in the plaza.
• Qin Huaian decided to try for the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect after comparing its requirements with those of the other sects.
• Wang Baole joined the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect as an inner disciple, while Qin Huaian joined as an outer disciple.
• Ling Shan registered Qin Huaian and the other recruits and gave them identity tokens as provisional disciples.
• The Yellow Mountain Sword Sect instructed the recruits to return in five days, and Qin Huaian planned to visit his rented cave dwelling and bid Shopkeeper Xue farewell.

Qin Huaian said farewell to Shopkeeper Xue and Xue Lingyun before boarding a flying vessel with the other new outer sect disciples. After a three-day journey, he arrived at the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect, where the chapter ended as the disciples were told to disembark.

• Qin Huaian told Shopkeeper Xue that he had joined the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect, while Shopkeeper Xue revealed that Xue Lingyun had become an elder’s personal disciple.
• Qin Huaian comforted Xue Lingyun and said farewell to her and Shopkeeper Xue before returning to his cave dwelling.
• Qin Huaian boarded the sect’s flying vessel with more than two hundred outer sect disciples and spent the three-day journey cultivating in a cramped cabin.
• The flying vessel reached Yellow Mountain, where Elder Zhou passed through the sect’s formation gateway and landed at a vast plaza.
• Qin Huaian felt the richer spiritual energy inside the sect as the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator told the outer sect disciples to follow him off the vessel.

Qin Huaian officially became an outer sect disciple of the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect and received a cave abode on East Dawn Peak. After studying the disciple guide, he realized that the sect offered lavish resources but made it difficult for ordinary cultivators to remain.

• Lu Xun handed the Cloudfield Market recruits over to He Zhiping, who explained that new outer sect disciples would spend their first ten years under East Dawn Peak’s management.
• Qin Huaian received his official identity plaque, marked East Dawn Peak, Qin Huaian, 2333.
• He Zhiping led the new disciples to their cave abode district and told them to gather at East Dawn Plaza in three days.
• Qin Huaian used his plaque to enter cave abode 2333 and found a disciple guide and two sets of sect robes inside.
• Qin Huaian recorded the guide’s contents in his memory and concluded that the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect was wealthy but hard for ordinary cultivators to remain in.

Qin Huaian settled into life at East Dawn Peak, learned how the sect’s resources, missions, and competitions shaped outer disciples’ futures, and advanced his cultivation. At the peak’s welcome gathering, Peak Master Han encouraged the new disciples, and Elder Meng prepared to explain the East Dawn Grand Competition.

• Qin Huaian reviewed the outer disciples’ benefits and advancement requirements, then cultivated with a Qi Recovery Pill and found that his progress had increased.
• On his third day at the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect, Qin Huaian met his neighbor Lin Qingxuan and walked with her to East Dawn Plaza.
• He Zhiping introduced Peak Master Han, Elder Meng, and Elder Mo to the gathered disciples.
• Peak Master Han urged disciples not to be discouraged by ordinary spiritual roots and said that half the sect’s Golden Core cultivators had middle- or low-grade roots.
• Peak Master Han asked Elder Meng to explain the East Dawn Grand Competition.

Elder Meng and He Zhiping explained how new disciples could enter the inner sect and introduced East Dawn Peak’s facilities and resources. Qin Huaian visited the Library Pavilion and discovered he could record its books in the Seed Space, beginning with a book on spirit-beast postpartum care.

• Elder Meng announced that 500 new disciples could enter the inner sect through the peak competitions, and that Trial Tower rankings also offered a path in.
• He Zhiping described the Affairs Hall, disciples’ starting supplies, the Library Pavilion, and opportunities to earn Sect Contribution Points through missions.
• Qin Huaian went to the Library Pavilion instead of joining the crowded line at the Affairs Hall, while Lin Qingxuan went to collect her resources.
• The old man at the Library Pavilion explained the contents of its three floors and let Qin Huaian read on the first floor for a day.
• Qin Huaian discovered that a book could enter the Seed Space and recorded Postpartum Care for Spirit Beasts.

Qin Huaian recorded valuable cultivation knowledge in the Library Pavilion and discovered that the Cultivation World had no recorded ascensions in five thousand years. He then collected his monthly resources and a wood-attribute cultivation art, and headed to the Item Trading Counter.

• Qin Huaian recorded books in the Library Pavilion, resting when the information exhausted his mental energy.
• Qin Huaian found the Elixir Compendium and recorded knowledge of pills, formations, talismans, artifacts, and nearby factions.
• Qin Huaian learned from the records that cultivators had not ascended in five thousand years and that sects had grown weaker.
• Qin Huaian left the Library Pavilion when his Identity Token signaled that his visit had ended, then went to the Affairs Hall.
• Qin Huaian collected 600 low-grade spirit stones and his newly inducted disciple set, choosing a wood-attribute cultivation art.
• Qin Huaian left the Resource Collection Counter and walked toward the Item Trading Counter.

Qin Huaian proved his alchemy skills at the mission office, earned sect contribution points, and bought spirit herbs before leaving the Affairs Hall with Lin Qingxuan. As they walked out, a young man approached and asked Qingxuan who Qin Huaian was.

• Qin Huaian learned that the trading office paid less for Qi Recovery Pills than the mission office, which required sellers to prove they were alchemists.
• Qin Huaian refined a batch of Qi Recovery Pills at the mission office, impressing the onlookers and proving he was a first-tier alchemist.
• Qin Huaian submitted five bottles of Qi Recovery Pills and received thirty-eight sect contribution points after the spirit herb cost was deducted.
• Qin Huaian bought nineteen portions of spirit herbs at the trading office and left the Affairs Hall with Lin Qingxuan.
• A young man approached Qin Huaian and Lin Qingxuan and asked Qingxuan who Qin Huaian was.

Qin Huaian met Lin Qingxuan’s cousin Fu Jingwen, then returned to his cave dwelling to study cultivation and refine pills. He used the Mirror Body to learn the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect’s Basic Swordsmanship and began practicing its thirteen forms.

• Lin Qingxuan introduced Qin Huaian to her cousin Fu Jingwen, who learned that Qin Huaian could refine first-rank pills and decided to look into him.
• Qin Huaian returned to his cave dwelling and considered how spirit roots, comprehension, cultivation methods, and resources affected cultivation.
• Qin Huaian recorded the Spirit Drawing Art (Wood Attribute) and Basic Swordsmanship, then spent 1,000 spirit stones having the Mirror Body deduce the swordsmanship to beginner level.
• Qin Huaian refined six batches of Qi Recovery Pills each day while the Mirror Body practiced Basic Swordsmanship.
• After two days, Qin Huaian practiced the thirteen sword forms with his flying sword and spent 2,000 spirit stones to deduce the swordsmanship to proficient level.

Qin Huaian turned in Qi Recovery Pills, spent his contribution points studying the Library Pavilion’s second floor, and continued refining pills and cultivating until he had enough points to enter the third floor. He recorded every cultivation manual there and left for his cave abode after meditating until dawn.

• Qin Huaian submitted thirty bottles of Qi Recovery Pills for 240 Sect Contribution Points and bought seventy sets of spiritual herbs.
• Qin Huaian spent a day reading and recording books on the Library Pavilion’s second floor, including the Phantom Sword Art.
• Qin Huaian returned to refining pills and cultivating, submitting pills and buying herbs several more times over the next month.
• Qin Huaian entered the Library Pavilion’s third floor with 1,040 Sect Contribution Points and recorded all the Mystic-rank and Yellow-rank cultivation techniques.
• Qin Huaian meditated on the third floor until dawn, then bowed farewell to the old man and headed toward the cave abode district.

Qin Huaian asked Lin Qingxuan to help sell his Qi Recovery Pills through her family’s shop in New Peace City, and the two traveled there together. They arrived in the city’s southern district, where Lin Qingxuan was about to take him to the shop.

• Qin Huaian invited Lin Qingxuan into his cave dwelling, where she served him Spirit Vein Jade Tea.
• Qin Huaian asked Lin Qingxuan how to sell his Qi Recovery Pills, and she offered to take them to her family’s shop in New Peace City.
• Qin Huaian and Lin Qingxuan set out for New Peace City after she changed into her sect uniform and they left through the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect’s gate.
• Qin Huaian and Lin Qingxuan reached New Peace City and entered through its gates.
• Lin Qingxuan explained the city’s districts as she led Qin Huaian through the southern district toward her family’s shop.

Qin Huaian sold pills and bought medicinal herbs at Lin Family Elixirs in New Peace City. After deciding to stay in the city for a while, he asked Lin Qingxuan what she planned to do, and she noticed his change in how he addressed her.

• Lin Qingxuan brought Qin Huaian to Lin Family Elixirs and introduced him to her fifth uncle, Lin Zhenglan.
• Lin Zhenglan offered to buy Qi Recovery Pills for seventy-five spirit stones per bottle, with a higher price for long-term partners, and Qin Huaian agreed.
• Qin Huaian sold sixty bottles of Qi Recovery Pills for four thousand five hundred spirit stones and bought herbs for Qi Recovery Pills and Essence Cultivation Pills.
• Fu Jingwen arrived and asked whether Qin Huaian had found lodging, while Lin Zhenglan offered him a place in the back courtyard if a room was available.
• Qin Huaian said he planned to remain in New Peace City, then asked Lin Qingxuan what she would do; she resented that he now called her Junior Sister Lin instead of Junior Sister Qingxuan.

Qin Huaian settled into a rented cave abode in New Peace City and focused on refining Qi Recovery Pills to earn Spirit Stones for his cultivation plans. After seven days, he delivered forty-one bottles to Lin Zhenglan and asked whether Fu Jingwen and Lin Qingxuan were at the shop.

• Lin Zhenglan warned Lin Qingxuan to be cautious around Qin Huaian, then told her that her father hoped to match her with Fu Jingwen; Lin Qingxuan rejected the idea and went to the rear courtyard.
• Fu Jingwen advised Qin Huaian to trade pills for sect contribution points and suggested renting a cave abode, but Qin Huaian chose to sell pills in the city and cultivate there.
• Fu Jingwen led Qin Huaian to a rental office, where Qin Huaian chose a three-room cave abode and paid three months' rent.
• Qin Huaian reviewed his cultivation progress and planned to learn the Yi Wood True Formula and deepen his swordsmanship by earning Spirit Stones from pill refining.
• Qin Huaian refined forty-one bottles of Qi Recovery Pills over seven days and sold them to Lin Zhenglan for 3,075 Spirit Stones.
• Qin Huaian asked Lin Zhenglan whether Fu Jingwen and Lin Qingxuan were in the shop.

Qin Huaian advanced the Yi Wood True Formula and sold his Qi Recovery Pills, but found himself short of the Spirit Stones needed to buy a Breakthrough Essence Pill. After Fu Jingwen explained where to seek the rare Essence-Breaking Herb, Qin Huaian realized he could check the sect trading hall for one.

• Qin Huaian spent Spirit Stones to deduce the Yi Wood True Formula to minor accomplishment, then refined his remaining Qi Recovery Pills and accumulated 101 bottles.
• Qin Huaian reached Qi Refining Sixth Layer, 99/100, and learned that a Breakthrough Essence Pill cost 12,000 Spirit Stones and was difficult to obtain.
• Qin Huaian sold 100 bottles of Qi Recovery Pills at the Lin Family Pill Shop and asked the assistant about Breakthrough Essence Pills.
• Fu Jingwen told Qin Huaian that Essence-Breaking Herbs were scarce, usually kept by pill shops, and might be found at Rogue Cultivator market stalls.
• Fu Jingwen suggested Qin Huaian look for an Essence-Breaking Herb in the sect trading hall, where purchases required Sect Contribution Points.

Qin Huaian left New Peace City for the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect, but a pursuit between a Tian Family cultivator and three robbers drew him into a fight. He killed all three pursuers and took their storage pouches before continuing on his way.

• Qin Huaian bought Spirit Grass, left the city, and began deducing the Breakthrough Essence Pill while traveling toward the sect.
• Tian Zhen begged Qin Huaian for help as three Qi Refining Sixth Layer cultivators pursued him, but Qin Huaian fled.
• After Tian Zhen revealed his identity, the pursuers killed him and sent one man after Qin Huaian.
• Qin Huaian used the Seven-Star Bone-Piercing Needle to kill the first pursuer in a sword fight.
• Qin Huaian blasted the second pursuer with a Fireball Technique, finished him with his sword, and took his storage pouch.
• Qin Huaian chased down the wounded, one-armed pursuer, killed him, and took his storage pouch.

After returning to the Yellow Mountain Sword Sect, Qin Huaian collected his allocations and searched the belongings of the cultivators he had killed. He discovered a technique that could cultivate Divine Sense and began arranging to derive it while keeping his Breakthrough Essence Pill derivation active.

• Qin Huaian took the dead cultivators' Dharma Artifacts and boots, returned safely to the sect, and collected two months of allocations.
• At the Affairs Hall, Qin Huaian learned the sect exchanged Breakthrough Essence Pills and Essence-Breaking Herbs for Sect Contribution Points, then considered selling pills for profit.
• Qin Huaian searched the four Storage Bags and found Spirit Stones, pills, and a jade slip in the Tian Family cultivator's Intermediate Storage Bag.
• The Seed Space recorded the jade slip as the Spirit Tempering Formula, which Qin Huaian learned was a technique for cultivating Divine Sense.
• Qin Huaian ordered the Seed Space to derive the Spirit Tempering Formula, then chose not to stop the ongoing Breakthrough Essence Pill derivation.

Qin Huaian deduced the Spirit Tempering Formula and began cultivating it, then set the Mirror Body to deduce the Yi Wood True Formula to mastery. After Lin Qingxuan invited him to the Trial Tower, they reached Pagoda Peak's Trial Plaza and prepared to enter.

• Qin Huaian completed the entry-level deductions of the Breakthrough Essence Pill and Spirit Tempering Formula, then learned the formula's meditation method and cultivated his divine sense.
• Qin Huaian discovered that the Mirror Body could cultivate the Spirit Tempering Formula while idle, but chose to have it deduce the Yi Wood True Formula to mastery instead.
• Lin Qingxuan visited Qin Huaian and invited him to go to the Trial Tower with her.
• Qin Huaian and Lin Qingxuan arrived at Pagoda Peak's Trial Plaza, where they saw Chen Yuan ranked forty-seventh among Qi Refining Stage disciples.
• Qin Huaian and Lin Qingxuan walked to the Trial Tower entrance together.

Qin Huaian entered the Trial Tower, cleared its first two arenas, and withdrew when the third arena’s puppet overwhelmed him. After learning his rank and reuniting with Lin Qingxuan at Trial Plaza, he was called by Wang Baole.

• Qin Huaian and Lin Qingxuan entered the Trial Tower and were separated in a vast Gobi wasteland, where Qin Huaian found stairs leading to nine arenas.
• Qin Huaian defeated the first arena’s puppet and received an insight into the fundamentals of swordsmanship.
• Qin Huaian cleared the second arena and received another swordsmanship insight, then struggled through the third flight of stairs.
• Qin Huaian could not withstand the third arena’s puppet and crushed his jade token, receiving a rank of 6,556th among Qi Refinement cultivators.
• Qin Huaian met Lin Qingxuan outside the tower and learned she had ranked 10,225th, then Wang Baole called out to him.

Qin Huaian reunited with Wang Baole, learned about the inner sect’s resources and cultivation methods, and continued sparring with Lin Qingxuan. After Wang Baole left, Qin Huaian received mastery-level insights into the Yi Wood True Formula.

• Wang Baole met Qin Huaian outside the Trial Tower and introduced him to two inner sect disciples, whose dismissive attitude Qin Huaian chose to overlook.
• Qin Huaian returned to his cave abode and continued refining Qi Recovery Pills and cultivating the Spirit Tempering Formula.
• Lin Qingxuan visited Qin Huaian each morning to practice swordsmanship, and her skill improved through their daily sparring.
• Wang Baole visited Qin Huaian, met Lin Qingxuan, and awkwardly wondered whether he had interrupted something before learning they had been practicing swordsmanship.
• Wang Baole told Qin Huaian about the inner sect’s generous monthly resources and his Earth Mother True Formula, while Qin Huaian declined his offer of Spirit Stones.
• After Wang Baole left, Qin Huaian received the completed mastery-level deduction of the Yi Wood True Formula.