Chapter Summaries

Ye Jingcheng returned to Soaring Cloud Peak with Chu Yanqing and prepared to refine Purple-Condensing Spirit Liquid and Purple Palace Jade Liquid while strengthening the family’s defenses. After half a month in seclusion, his Golden-Scaled Beast and Peachwood Demon advanced, and the Peachwood Demon gained the ability to produce more potent lifespan-extending peaches.

• Ye Jingcheng brought Chu Yanqing and the others back to Taichang Market, then returned to Soaring Cloud Peak and ordered Ye Xingqun to watch Ye Jinghe and make Cloud-Spreading Mountain seem like a likely assignment.
• Ye Jingcheng began warming the Heavenly Bell Furnace and studying the recipes for Purple-Condensing Spirit Liquid and Purple Palace Jade Liquid before entering seclusion.
• The Golden-Scaled Beast, Soil-Turning Earthworm, and Peachwood Demon completed their advancements, while Ye Jingcheng felt his cultivation loosen as his earth aspect filled in.
• Ye Jingcheng had the Golden-Scaled Beast spar with the Crimson Flame Fox, which defeated it with a powerful fireball after evading its spells.
• The Peachwood Demon told Ye Jingcheng it could now produce four or five spirit peaches that extended life by twenty years, and Ye Jingcheng gave it the Supreme Clarity Spirit-Guarding Art to practice.

Ye Jingcheng strengthened his spirit beasts and encouraged the Jade Ring Rat to cultivate, then went to the Ye Family's Alchemy Pavilion to prepare for refining Purple-Condensing Spirit Liquid and Purple Palace Jade Liquid. After practicing with lower-tier pills and teaching Ye Qingyan, he finally took out the herbs for the Purple-Condensing Spirit Liquid.

• The Peachwood Demon cultivated the Supreme Clarity Spirit-Nourishing Art, while the newly advanced Soil-Turning Earthworm began consuming sinking iron to produce second-rank spirit soil.
• Ye Jingcheng encouraged the Jade Ring Rat to learn the Golden-Scaled Beast's breathing technique and cultivate step by step, then promised the Crimson Flame Fox it could devour the Azure Sun Flame if it refined the spirit liquids first.
• The Golden-Scaled Beast demonstrated that it could cast the Golden Light Earth Spike Array ten times in succession, and Ye Jingcheng urged it to continue studying its breathing technique.
• Ye Jingcheng left the cave-heaven and headed to the family's Alchemy Pavilion, where Ye Xingming activated the Spirit-Gathering Formation for his earthfire chamber.
• Ye Jingcheng practiced refining first-rank and second-rank pills while Ye Qingyan watched, then prepared the spirit herbs needed for Purple-Condensing Spirit Liquid.

Ye Jingcheng successfully refined Purple-Condensing Spirit Liquid and Purple Palace Jade Liquid with the Crimson Flame Fox’s help, completing his preparations to break through to the Purple Palace realm. Outside, Ye Qingyan worried that he had angered Ye Jingcheng, then resolved to train as an alchemist and serve at Taihang Marketplace.

• Ye Jingcheng restored his strength, then used the Heavenly Bell Furnace and the Crimson Flame Fox’s flames to refine a substantial portion of Purple-Condensing Spirit Liquid.
• Ye Qingyan asked Ye Xingming whether he had angered Ye Jingcheng, and Ye Xingming reassured him while correcting how he should address the family head.
• Ye Qingyan said he wanted to choose a fire-attributed spirit beast and serve at Taihang Marketplace, and Ye Xingming told him to refine Azure Spirit Pills first.
• Ye Jingcheng carefully refined Purple Palace Jade Liquid with the Crimson Flame Fox, completing the two spiritual liquids he needed for his breakthrough.
• Ye Jingcheng told the Crimson Flame Fox that he would let it devour the Azure Sun Flame when they returned to the courtyard and that they would face the outcome together.

Ye Jingcheng helped the Jade-Scale Flood Dragon begin its breakthrough to the third rank and enabled the Crimson Flame Fox to devour and imprison the Azure Sun Flame, prompting its own breakthrough toward the peak of the second rank. With both spirit beasts protected in seclusion, he left the mountain disguised as an ordinary traveler to prepare for his Purple Palace breakthrough and visit the Ye Family’s lands.

• The Wood Demon fed the Jade-Scale Flood Dragon, and Ye Jingcheng supplied it with Silver Moon Python meat, its inner core, and Treasure Radiance until it began breaking through to the third rank in the spirit lake.
• Ye Jingcheng killed the Verdant Sun Bird and waited for the Azure Sun Flame to weaken before the Crimson Flame Fox swallowed it.
• The Crimson Flame Fox’s bloodline formed a spirit diagram that confined the Azure Sun Flame, which appeared on one of its tails and could be fired as a flame attack.
• After displaying its new ability, the Crimson Flame Fox began breaking through to the peak of the second rank, and Ye Jingcheng arranged Arrays to protect it and the Jade-Scale Flood Dragon.
• Ye Jingcheng left the Grotto-Heaven, disguised himself with a Bone-Transforming Pill and ordinary clothes, and set out for White Cloud Town.

Ye Jingcheng wandered through towns selling candied hawthorns, finding peace in ordinary life and adding the clan’s peace to his Dao heart before returning to a familiar valley. There, the Jade-Scale Flood Dragon broke through to the third rank, Ye Jingcheng reached peak Foundation Establishment, and the Crimson Flame Fox began its own breakthrough.

• Ye Jingcheng visited the quiet White Cloud Town, made candied hawthorns at the Immortal Hall, and helped bring life back to its streets.
• Ye Jingcheng traveled through the Ye Family’s towns selling candied hawthorns and speaking with children, gradually embracing a peaceful mortal routine and the clan’s peace.
• Ye Jingcheng entered a familiar valley and found its pavilions empty, but then sensed that the Jade-Scale Flood Dragon had broken through.
• The Jade-Scale Flood Dragon emerged as a third-rank beast, and Ye Jingcheng rewarded it while the breakthrough also raised his cultivation to peak Foundation Establishment.
• Ye Jingcheng fed the anxious Golden-Scaled Beast and gave the Crimson Flame Fox a third-rank inner core, causing it to begin breaking through.

Ye Jingcheng returned to Soaring Cloud Peak, learned that Xu Xiuqing had joined the Ye Family, and began breaking through to the Purple Palace realm at Soaring Cloud Lake. After the Crimson Flame Fox reached the third rank, he formed a Four-Aspect Purple Palace, but visions appeared just as his divided soul was about to merge.

• Ye Jingcheng returned to Soaring Cloud Peak and learned that Ye Xinghan had reached Foundation Establishment and Xu Xiuqing had become a Ye Family guest elder.
• Ye Jingcheng hid at Soaring Cloud Lake and spent months condensing spiritual power for his Purple Palace breakthrough.
• The Crimson Flame Fox advanced to the third rank, gained the ability to speak, and revealed that its Azure Sun Flame could devour life force.
• Ye Jingcheng split his soul into four, formed four Heavenly Abodes, opened his Purple Palace Dao veins, and fused the abodes into a Four-Aspect Purple Palace.
• Illusions appeared as Ye Jingcheng's divided soul was about to merge.

Ye Jingcheng overcame an illusory heart demon tribulation and broke through to the Purple Palace, then concealed his new cultivation while consolidating his weaker aspects. He returned to family affairs and discovered that the Jade Ring Rat had begun developing a breathing method, while Ye Jinghe’s assignment hinted that a hidden force was about to act.

• Ye Jingcheng saw through the illusion of Tianfu True Person refining the Ye Family and passed his heart demon tribulation with the help of Purple Palace Jade Liquid.
• Ye Jingcheng formed the Four-Aspect Purple Palace, gained powerful divine sense, and noticed two spirit shadows within its fire and water aspects.
• Ye Jingcheng declined to hold a Purple Palace ceremony or choose a Dao title, deciding to keep his breakthrough secret while he prepared to strengthen his cultivation and the family’s resources.
• Ye Jingcheng read the family reports, learned that Ye Jingyu had abandoned her attempt at Foundation Establishment and that Ye Jinghe had applied to guard a mortal town outside Cloud-Spreading Mountain.
• Ye Jingcheng found that the Jade Ring Rat had begun developing a breathing method, then spent ten days consolidating his wood and earth aspects and hiding his Purple Palace cultivation.
• Ye Jingcheng entered the Grotto-Heaven after finishing his consolidation.

After two years in seclusion, Ye Jingcheng emerged having reached great completion of the Purple Palace and visited his expanded Grotto-Heaven, where he rewarded his spirit beasts and plants. Jade Ring Rat sensed Ye Xingqun approaching despite Ye Jingcheng concealing his breakthrough, leaving Ye Jingcheng impressed by its growing perception.

• Stone Spirit welcomed Ye Jingcheng with spirit rain, while Peachwood Demon congratulated him and showed how greatly it had grown after monopolizing the Spirit Eye Spring’s nourishment.
• Ye Jingcheng learned that Stone Spirit had advanced to the late second rank and suspected the Grotto-Heaven’s spirit vein was nourishing it in return for expanding the realm.
• Golden-Scaled Beast demonstrated its breathing technique and strengthened spells, so Ye Jingcheng fed it first and reminded it that it needed to reach the third rank before its bloodline advancement.
• Ye Jingcheng fed his other spirit beasts in turn, corrected Jade-Scale Flood Dragon for its laziness, and nourished the Grotto-Heaven’s spirit plants with Treasure Radiance.
• Ye Jingcheng gave Jade Ring Rat two Spirit Nurturing Pills, and it sensed Ye Xingqun approaching despite Ye Jingcheng’s concealment technique.

Ye Jingcheng traveled to Cloud-Spreading Mountain after discussing the Ye Family’s position amid the conflict between the Taiyi Sect and Green River Sect. On the journey, he discovered that his Purple Palace spirit shadow could nurture the Azure Swan Sword, then learned that Ye Xinghan had developed a spiritual liquid that strengthened Wood Demons and helped spirit plants grow.

• Ye Jingcheng and Ye Xingqun discussed the Taiyi Sect’s worsening situation, the Wan Family’s proposed marriage alliance, and a spirit beast exchange gathering.
• Ye Jingcheng departed for Cloud-Spreading Mountain and refined Xu Xiuqing’s Azure Swan Sword, discovering that his Purple Palace spirit shadow could enter it and enhance its power.
• Ye Jingcheng entered Cloud-Spreading Mountain in disguise and visited Ye Xinghan’s courtyard.
• Ye Xinghan showed Ye Jingcheng a spiritual liquid and its formula, explaining that it could enhance Wood Demons and accelerate their growth.
• Ye Xinghan revealed that two Floating Cloud Tea plants had reached the second rank after he watered them with the spiritual liquid.

Ye Jingcheng’s clan exposed Ye Jinghe’s betrayal and stopped four infiltrators from attacking Cloud-Spreading Mountain, but the infiltrators’ souls self-destructed before he could learn who sent them. His search then revealed concealed insect eggs among spirit plants, leaving him facing a possible threat to the mountain.

• Ye Jinghe secretly planted an array disk in the tea valley while asking Ye Qingping about the Ye Family’s spirit-boat visits.
• Four cultivators in Spirit-Isolating Robes planned to exploit Ye Jinghe’s cooperation and attack Cloud-Spreading Mountain to seize its spirit herb garden or a supposed spirit stone mine.
• Chu Yanqing asked Ye Jingcheng whether he wanted to restore the Chu Family, and he avoided giving her the hope she wanted.
• Ye Xinghan and other Ye Family members confronted Ye Jinghe, who admitted he had acted for a chance to establish his foundation, and Ye Xinghan bound him.
• Ye Jingcheng intercepted Heavenly Crane, Yellow Crane, Mystic Crane, and the fourth infiltrator, but all four destroyed their own souls before he could question them.
• Ye Jingcheng found concealed insect eggs among spiritually imbued plants near Cloud-Spreading Mountain.

Ye Jingcheng discovered that Spirit-Extinguishing Locusts had been planted near Cloud-Spreading Mountain and warned the Ye Family and Taiyi Sect that the infestation could trigger a beast tide amid the coming war with Green River Sect. After Master Tianzhen arrived to coordinate the response, Ye Haicheng told Ye Jingcheng that Second Ancestor might reach Golden Core in about half a year and that Ye Jingcheng would go to the Azure Cloud Sea Region.

• Ye Jingcheng identified the insect eggs as Spirit-Extinguishing Locusts, found more in the Heavenly Yellow Four Cranes’ pouches, and burned the eggs near Cloud-Spreading Mountain.
• Ye Jingcheng ordered Ye Xinghan to search for eggs and gather insect-eating spirit beasts, while the family dealt with Ye Jinghe according to clan rules.
• Ye Jingcheng contacted Taihao Master and inspected the four rogue cultivators’ storage pouches for treasures to present to him.
• Master Tianzhen arrived, examined the locust threat, and left for Taihang Marketplace after Ye Jingcheng promised the Ye Family would send spirit beasts to help exterminate them.
• Ye Jingcheng returned to Soaring Cloud Peak, where Ye Haicheng told him Second Ancestor might break through to Golden Core in about half a year and Ye Jingcheng would go to the Azure Cloud Sea Region.

Ye Jingcheng received resources and instructions from Ye Haicheng and Turtle Ancestor, then organized the Ye Family’s response to the Spirit-Extinguishing Locust plague in Taihang Commandery. He arrived at Taihang Marketplace and joined Master Tianzhen, Master Jiang, and other Foundation Establishment cultivators to discuss containing the infestation.

• Ye Haicheng explained that the Ye Family had hidden its Golden Core breakthrough plans in the outer sea, gave Ye Jingcheng two third-order demon cores, and told him to prepare the family before entering seclusion.
• Turtle Ancestor hinted that Ye Jingcheng should use his Grotto-Heaven to nurture spirit minerals, while Ye Haicheng offered to help forge Ye Jingcheng’s bonded artifact.
• Ye Jingcheng assigned Ye Xingqun and the Demon Hunting Hall cultivators to Taihang Marketplace, ordered Ye Jingli to guard the clan mountain, and tasked Ye Jinghu with coordinating clansmen whose spirit beasts could combat insects.
• Ye Jingcheng led more than twenty cultivators to Taihang Marketplace, where a local cultivator reported severe locust infestations across the Yuan Family’s territory and several other counties.
• Ye Jingcheng entered the auction hall and joined Master Tianzhen, Master Jiang, and the gathered Foundation Establishment cultivators to discuss containing the plague.

Ye Jingcheng helped Taiyi Sect and the Ye Family combat Spirit-Extinguishing Locusts, discovered the Stone Spirit’s power to cause slight spatial displacement, and refrained from taking the locust eggs for himself. Meanwhile, Ye Xingqun and Ye Xing shui detected Spirit-Isolating Robes approaching the Ethereal Mountain Range and suspected their target was Earth Dragon Valley.

• Master Tianzhen assigned the families to search their territories for Spirit-Extinguishing Locusts and hostile rogue cultivators, and Ye Jingcheng’s Ye Family was sent to the Yuan Family’s lands.
• Xu Xiuqing declined Ye Jingcheng’s invitation to dinner, and Ye Jingcheng beast-linked the Stone Spirit before discovering its spiritual power caused slight spatial displacement.
• Taiyi Sect sent three Purple Palace Masters, and Master Tianzhen led Ye Jingcheng and the Ye Family to Flourishing County to confront swarms of Spirit-Extinguishing Locusts.
• Ye Jingcheng and the others killed locusts and searched for their eggs, while Ye Jingcheng noticed some eggs could advance but chose not to seize them.
• Ye Xingqun and Ye Xing shui spotted several Spirit-Isolating Robe figures on their sensing formation, shut it down, and suspected the group was heading for Earth Dragon Valley.

Ye Haicheng, Turtle Ancestor, and the Golden Falcon intercepted the Yuan Family cultivators before they could use the Demon-Luring Grass to provoke a beast tide and steal the Earth Dragon Demon King's Heavenly Dragon Tree. Yuan Yongcai was killed, and Ye Haicheng seized the Spirit-Releasing Net and the grass.

• Ye Xingqun learned that six Yuan Family cultivators were approaching and sent the Golden Falcon to Earth Dragon Valley while he stayed behind to watch for more intruders.
• Yuan Yongcai's group reached a valley near Earth Dragon Valley and began preparing to use the two-thousand-year Demon-Luring Grass to draw out demon beasts.
• The Golden Falcon attacked, and Ye Haicheng descended on the group, smashing Yuan Yongcai's flying sword with his turtle-shell-covered fists.
• Yuan Yongcai trapped Ye Haicheng in a Spirit-Releasing Net and tried to attack him, but the Golden Falcon and Turtle Ancestor intervened.
• Turtle Ancestor crushed Yuan Yongcai, while the Golden Falcon and Turtle Ancestor pursued the fleeing cultivators.
• Ye Haicheng put away the Spirit-Releasing Net and took the Demon-Luring Grass, which had three and a half leaves.

Ye Jingcheng and the Ye Family arrived at Stability County after the Spirit-Extinguishing Locusts had devastated it, then defeated the swarm and discovered evidence that someone was selectively breeding and controlling the insects. He collected a cache of golden-specked locust eggs and set out to rendezvous with Master Tianzhen, leaving the hidden insect master’s identity unresolved.

• Ye Jingcheng warned Ye Jinghu that the locust attacks appeared timed to exhaust rescuers, and the two suspected that the Yuan Family was being used to draw Taiyi Sect’s attention.
• Ye Jingcheng and the Ye Family arrived after the locusts breached Stability County’s formation, then used spirit beasts and spells to destroy most of the swarm and save the surviving townspeople.
• Several hundred golden-glimmering, late first-rank locusts attacked, but Ye Jingcheng used the Red Sun Disk to burn many of them while the rest fled.
• Lizard Elder and several other Ye Family spirit beasts broke through after feeding on the locusts, while Ye Jingcheng helped Lizard Elder digest its meal and gave it Spirit Nurturing Pills.
• Ye Jingcheng tracked the marks he had placed on ordinary locusts and found five or six hundred golden-specked Spirit-Extinguishing Locust eggs beneath a dead tree.
• Ye Jingcheng collected and destroyed the egg site, then headed to rendezvous with Master Tianzhen rather than confront the hidden cultivator himself.

Ye Jingcheng and Master Tianzhen helped eradicate the Spirit-Extinguishing Locusts and traced the plague to a poisonous mountain. There, a mysterious cultivator accused Ye Jingcheng of betraying their connection and unleashed a powerful swarm of Golden Light Spirit-Extinguishing Locusts.

• Master Tianzhen and the Ye Family burned the locusts at the ruins, then cleared their eggs to prevent them from multiplying.
• Ye Jingcheng reported that spiritual liquid had accelerated the spirit eggs’ hatching and that the locusts were likely test subjects for a more dangerous breeding effort.
• Master Tianzhen questioned Yuan Haomiao on Granary Mountain, then led the cultivators to the location indicated by Ye Jingcheng’s spirit disk instead of the Yuan Family’s suggested addresses.
• Ye Jingcheng piloted the Mysterious Shadow Azure Cloud Boat toward a poisonous mountain and sent his Five Poison Bees to test the miasma.
• A cultivator emerged from the miasma, claimed he had given Ye Jingcheng an insect-controlling art, and released over a thousand Golden Light Spirit-Extinguishing Locusts, including more than a dozen second-rank insect kings.

Ye Jingcheng and Master Tianzhen fought off a locust swarm and Blood King Valley cultivators, while Taiyi Sect Masters arrived to confront Blood Gold True Person. Three Origins True Person’s second sword wounded Blood Gold True Person and revealed the overwhelming power of a Golden Core law-nurturing divine ability.

• Ye Jingcheng used the Evergreen Sword and Red Sun Disk against the Golden Light Spirit-Extinguishing Locust formation, but discovered that the locusts resisted fire and were vulnerable to cold.
• Ye Jingcheng’s array flags and icy dragons scattered the locusts, prompting Tianchong Master to attack with blood awls and trap the group in a blood-curtain formation.
• Master Tianzhen countered the formation, but Spirit-Isolating Robe cultivators attacked until Three Origins True Person, Master Luoyuan, Qian He, and Mingyuan arrived to support them.
• Three Origins True Person identified Blood Gold True Person, who admitted that he had accepted a sect and a third-rank small world as payment to attack Taiyi Sect.
• Three Origins True Person unleashed his second sword, Sun Slash, and wounded Blood Gold True Person, leaving Ye Jingcheng astonished by the power of a Golden Core law-nurturing divine ability.

Taiyi Sect was attacked by spirit puppets, but Purple Extremity True Lord emerged from his dojo and destroyed the assailant, restoring the sect’s confidence and forcing Green River Sect’s forces to withdraw elsewhere. Meanwhile, Ye Jingcheng endured a devastating gong attack in Taihang Commandery and returned to Soaring Cloud Peak, uncertain which sect had prevailed in Taichang Commandery.

• Chen Yunzi and Miaofa True Person confronted a spirit puppet that attacked Purple Peak and killed law enforcement disciples.
• A second puppet used a fifth-stage array-breaking talisman to breach the mountain array, then the first puppet self-destructed and severely damaged Purple Extremity Hall.
• Purple Extremity True Lord destroyed the puppet with a massive purple palm, and the Taiyi Sect cultivators hailed him as their protector.
• Purple Extremity True Lord ordered Miaofa and Chengxuan to arrange a longevity celebration in twenty years and invite the Green River Sect cultivator who had provoked him.
• After sensing the True Lord’s emergence, Red Sun True Person and Blue Water True Person withdrew from the spirit-vein confrontation in Taiqing Commandery, while Blood Gold True Person called off the fighting in Taihang Commandery.
• Blood Gold True Person struck an imitation Heaven-Shaking Gong, injuring the gathered cultivators; Ye Jingcheng shielded the Ye Family clansmen, pretended to be hurt, and steered the spirit boat back to Soaring Cloud Peak.

After Taiyi Sect’s victory eased the pressure on the Ye Family, Ye Jingcheng received aid and guidance from Ye Haicheng and learned that his Purple Palace contained rare palace spirits. He was given a carefully prepared rogue-cultivator identity to use in the Azure Cloud Sea Region, where the family was expanding its influence.

• Ye Jingcheng feigned severe soul injuries before meeting Master Tianzhen, who treated him as a fellow disciple and gave him a Soul-Returning Pill.
• Master Tianzhen reported that the Taiyi Sect’s True Lord had emerged from seclusion and would hold a birthday celebration in twenty years.
• Ye Haicheng told Ye Jingcheng that he had intercepted Yuan Family cultivators and gave him a Spirit-Releasing Net, a third-rank formation array plate, and evidence linking the Yuan Family to the Green River Sect.
• Ye Jingcheng chose not to expose the Yuan Family and asked Ye Haicheng about the spirit shadows in his Purple Palace.
• Ye Haicheng identified the firebird and water wyrm as palace spirits, praised their potential, and urged Ye Jingcheng to gather materials for his magical treasures.
• Ye Haicheng gave Ye Jingcheng a single-use jade slip explaining the new rogue-cultivator identity prepared for his work in the Azure Cloud Sea Region.

Ye Jingcheng arranged exchanges with Ye Jingteng and considered how to use his Taiyi Sect ties for the Ye Family before waiting for Ye Jingyun’s Foundation Establishment breakthrough. As Ye Jingyun succeeded, Ye Jingcheng urged the dispirited Ye Jingyu to keep pursuing cultivation.

• Ye Jingteng visited Ye Jingcheng, described Purple Extremity True Lord’s return, and exchanged sect medicines for Ye Jingcheng’s tea and other treasures.
• Ye Jingcheng agreed to send promising Ye Family clansmen into Taiyi Sect and asked Ye Jingteng to obtain spirit materials for Ye Jingli.
• After Ye Jingteng left, the Ye Family’s marketplace earnings fell as the Yuan Family grew more obedient, the Wei Family expanded, and Taichang Market’s profits rose.
• Ye Jingcheng sensed Ye Jingyun gathering spiritual energy for a breakthrough and went to wait outside his courtyard with the gathered clansmen.
• Ye Jingcheng encouraged Ye Jingyu to keep trying and pointed to Ye Xinghan’s breakthrough as proof that age did not make success impossible.
• Ye Jingyun’s Foundation Establishment aura swept outward, and Ye Jingyu reconsidered Ye Jingcheng’s words about the Great Dao not favoring despair.