Chapter Summaries

Ye Jingcheng visited Ye Jingteng, arranging support for Ye Qingshuang and two other family members while withholding the Purple Palace Jade Liquid for now. After returning home and reuniting with Chu Yanqing, he prepared to pursue his next breakthrough, and the Crimson Flame Fox began breaking through to the late third tier.

• Ye Jingcheng toured his old courtyard, then met Ye Jingteng and urged him to help Ye Qingshuang compete for a chief disciple position and look after two new sect entrants.
• Ye Jingcheng promised to refine Purple Palace Jade Liquid for Ye Jingteng when he was free, but did not give it to him during their meeting.
• Ye Jingcheng inspected Soaring Cloud Peak with his spiritual sense and found no unusual threats, then decided to prepare for a breakthrough to the late Purple Palace Realm.
• Chu Yanqing emerged from seclusion, accepted Water Spirit Pearls from Ye Jingcheng, and gave him three second-tier peak spirit armors she had refined.
• Ye Jingcheng and Chu Yanqing picked spirit apricots and discussed their cultivation goals before he returned to Soaring Cloud Lake.
• The Crimson Flame Fox reached the peak of the mid-stage of the third tier, and Ye Jingcheng gave it spirit pills and Treasure Radiance to begin its breakthrough.

Ye Jingcheng oversaw the Sunflower Wood Demon’s advancement, strengthened the grotto-heaven’s spirit vein, and helped a new Star Pear Tree Demon settle in among its elders. After months of cultivation, the Golden-Light Malachite Stone Spirit was finally born and began producing golden spirit liquid, which Ye Jingcheng hurried to collect.

• The Sunflower Wood Demon advanced to the mid-second rank, gained its innate Sunflower Spirit Fire, and began cultivating the Mystic Wood Spirit-Replenishing Scripture.
• Ye Jingcheng built up the grotto-heaven’s spirit vein with a Spirit-Gathering Formation and high-grade spirit stones, then refined Frost Centipede Pills and Black Ant Pills.
• A Star Pear Tree Demon advanced to the mid-second rank, and Ye Jingcheng named it Star Seven and ordered Star One through Star Six to teach it.
• Ye Jingcheng formed a Beast Communion connection with Star Big, gave the Star Pear Tree Demons Treasure Radiance, and urged them to produce Star Pear Fruits without holding back.
• After two months of cultivation, Ye Jingcheng saw the Golden-Light Malachite Stone Spirit emerge and began collecting the golden spirit liquid it produced.

Ye Jingcheng tested the Peacock Stone’s golden body-tempering spirit milk, then spent years cultivating alongside his spirit beasts and demons. At eighty-five, he broke through to late Purple Palace and began looking toward peak Purple Palace and Golden Core.

• Ye Jingcheng gave the golden spirit liquid from the Peacock Stone to the Golden-Scaled Beast, which grew stronger and trained in the body-tempering formation.
• Ye Jingcheng watched Peachwood reach the peak of the second tier and begin advancing after receiving third-tier wood-formula spirit liquid.
• Ye Jingcheng gave the Grotto-Heaven Stone Spirit a damaged third-tier magical treasure; after reaching the peak of the second tier, it consumed third-tier stone formula and advanced.
• During Ye Jingcheng’s three years of seclusion, Star Seven’s sentience took shape and it mischievously roamed the grotto-heaven.
• Ye Jingcheng emerged from seclusion at eighty-five and announced that he had reached late Purple Palace.

After emerging from three years of seclusion, Ye Jingcheng surveyed his thriving Grotto-Heaven, rewarded its inhabitants, and tested the strength of his spirit beasts. He planned his next cultivation and alchemy work and resolved to improve the Grotto-Heaven’s strained spiritual energy supply.

• Ye Jingcheng emerged from seclusion and found that his spirit beasts, insects, and Wood Demons had grown stronger, while the Dragon Whisker Fruit plant had borne two nearly ripe fruits.
• Ye Jingcheng let the Golden-Scaled Beast challenge the Jade-Scale Flood Dragon, which defeated it with a frost-poisoned claw strike and sent it back to train.
• The Crimson Flame Fox showed Ye Jingcheng that its Purple Fire Heart Flame was beginning to transform into a powerful azure spirit flame.
• Ye Jingcheng rewarded Star Seven, Flesh Ganoderma, and the Star Pear Wood Demons, then gathered the fruits, seeds, and herbs that had ripened during his seclusion.
• Ye Jingcheng decided to refine more pills and magic treasures, and planned to obtain a better Spirit-Gathering Formation and spirit-drawing stone because the Grotto-Heaven’s spiritual energy was running short.

After five years in seclusion, Ye Jingcheng returned to find the Ye Family thriving, though the Jin Family had begun causing trouble and Spirit Rainbow Fairy had entered seclusion to pursue a breakthrough. He reviewed the family’s growth and resources, then prepared to travel to New An Marketplace for rare cultivation supplies.

• Ye Jingcheng emerged from seclusion and learned from Ye Qingfeng that the Jin Family had repeatedly troubled the Ye Family and Spirit Rainbow Fairy had entered seclusion.
• Ye Jingcheng saw Ye Qingwen leading the body-tempering formation and learned that he had reached Foundation Establishment.
• At the triennial Immortal Ascension Assembly, Ye Jingcheng bestowed generation names and oversaw the ancestral shrine’s recognition of the new clansmen.
• Ye Xingqun showed Ye Jingcheng the family’s growing finances and delivered the spirit herbs and materials he had requested.
• Ye Jingcheng learned that New An Marketplace would hold a third-rank auction and told Ye Xingqun to call Jinghu back from Hidden Valley.
• Ye Jingcheng left the council hall for his courtyard to spend time with Chu Yanqing and practice secret arts.

Ye Jingcheng refined pills for his spirit insects and fed sunflower seeds to the Crimson Flame Fox, which awakened the Sunflower Spirit Fire. He and Chu Yanqing left for Zhao Kingdom, and after Chu Yanqing advanced her Star Illusion Eye, they neared Profound Measure Mountain so Ye Jingcheng could investigate the Zhang Family’s territory.

• Ye Jingcheng refined first- and second-rank Black Sand Ant Pills and Dream-Devouring Pills, then fed one Dream-Devouring Pill to the Dream-Devouring Insect to help it advance.
• Ye Jingcheng fed all eighteen of his sunflower seeds to the Crimson Flame Fox, awakening the Sunflower Spirit Fire and causing three spirit flames to fuse on its forehead.
• Chu Yanqing returned, and Ye Jingcheng invited her to travel with him to Zhao Kingdom; he also gave her three Star Pear Fruits to improve her Star Illusion Eye.
• Ye Jingcheng and Chu Yanqing departed by spirit boat, visited Idle Cloud Mountain, and continued toward New Peace Commandery while Ye Jingcheng studied the Profound Wasteland Tyrant Body Secret Canon.
• After more than twenty days, Chu Yanqing achieved minor mastery of the Star Illusion Eye, and Ye Jingcheng told her that Profound Measure Mountain lay farther north.

Ye Jingcheng and Chu Yanqing investigated Profound Measure Mountain for the Zhang Family’s teleportation formation, but the mountain’s suspicious defenses left Ye Jingcheng unsure whether it was a trap. They reached New An Marketplace to seek formation treasures, where Ye Jingcheng found only a high-grade Spirit Gathering Array listed at Skyreach Pavilion.

• Ye Jingcheng planted Shadow Wood puppets near Profound Measure Mountain while Chu Yanqing used her Star Illusion Eye to scout the fog-covered mountain.
• Chu Yanqing spotted cultivators emerging from a cave, and Ye Jingcheng hid them beneath a Shadowless Bowl as Zhang Yuqing and Zhang Yuquan searched the area before leaving.
• After waiting three hours, Ye Jingcheng decided Profound Measure Mountain might be a decoy and took Chu Yanqing to New An Marketplace by a detour.
• Ye Jingcheng and Chu Yanqing entered the marketplace, explored its shops, and went to the Ling Family’s Skyreach Pavilion to look for high-tier formation plates.
• A Skyreach Pavilion attendant brought them to a private chamber, where Ye Jingcheng saw a third-tier high-grade Spirit Gathering Array listed but no supreme-grade array.

Ye Jingcheng learned that Zhao and Jin Kingdom had spent years secretly accumulating Spirit-Gathering Formations and Spirit-Guiding Stones, then traveled slowly with Chu Yanqing back to Soaring Cloud Peak. Their time together helped Chu Yanqing find joy beyond the burdens of her past, and she said she would no longer wait when they returned.

• Ye Jingcheng bought spirit medicines and reserved a supreme-grade Third Stage Spirit-Gathering Formation and a Spirit-Guiding Stone from Ling Shuiyun after learning their prices had risen amid widespread secret purchases.
• Ling Shuiyun told Ye Jingcheng that Zhao and Jin Kingdom had been collecting formations and stones for twenty years, prompting him to suspect that a powerful force was preparing to rise.
• Ye Jingcheng and Chu Yanqing attended the Purple Palace trade fair and auction, where Chu Yanqing bought a White Ganoderma Crane that Ye Jingcheng agreed to let her raise.
• Ye Jingcheng and Chu Yanqing spent more than three months leisurely traveling back toward Soaring Cloud Peak, enjoying the scenery and each other's company.
• Chu Yanqing told Ye Jingcheng that her life had been strictly planned since childhood and that she had never been allowed to play in the rain, then thanked him for giving her three carefree months.
• As they played in the rain, Chu Yanqing told Ye Jingcheng that she would not wait any longer when they returned.

Ye Jingcheng and Chu Yanqing’s dual cultivation strengthened their cultivation and revealed how his Treasure Radiance could benefit her. After entering the Grotto-Heaven, Ye Jingcheng witnessed the Peachwood Demon advance, harvested a Dragon Whisker Fruit, and made a major breakthrough in his Black Tortoise secret art, leaving him eager to return to the Azure Cloud Sea Region.

• Ye Jingcheng and Chu Yanqing dual-cultivated, deepening Ye Jingcheng’s Black Tortoise spirit image and improving both their cultivation; his Treasure Radiance also cleared Chu Yanqing’s accumulated pill toxins and hidden ailments.
• Two months later, Chu Yanqing left a Spirit Talisman saying she had entered seclusion to break through to the middle Purple Palace stage, while Ye Jingcheng realized that dual cultivation had passed his Treasure Radiance to her.
• Ye Jingcheng entered the Grotto-Heaven and watched the Peachwood Demon advance, gaining the ability to produce three spirit peaches that extended lifespan by fifty years each.
• The Dragon Whisker Fruit ripened, and Ye Jingcheng allowed the Jade-Scale Flood Dragon to eat one while storing the other; the flood dragon’s bloodline and cultivation began to improve.
• Ye Jingcheng practiced Black Tortoise Waters and summoned enormous waves and a Black Tortoise spirit image, then resumed cultivation as he neared the Purple Palace peak.

Ye Jingcheng forged the first layer of the Mystic Wild Tyrant Body and watched the Stone Spirit begin expanding his Grotto-Heaven. At Soaring Cloud Lake, Ye Haicheng warned him that a hidden force was gathering spirit stones across the Eastern Sea, and Ye Jingcheng realized the Zhang Family might be behind it.

• Ye Jingcheng completed the Profound Body, tested its strength, and continued his routine of body cultivation, feeding his spirit beasts, and strengthening his Divine Soul with the Dream-Devouring Insect.
• The Stone Spirit began absorbing spiritual energy and expanding the Grotto-Heaven, so Ye Jingcheng moved his spirit beasts outside and imbued the Stone Spirit with Treasure Radiance.
• Ye Jingcheng went to Soaring Cloud Lake, where Ye Haicheng congratulated him on reaching the late Purple Palace stage and gave him the concealed, soul-destroying God-Slaying Needle.
• Ye Haicheng reported that a hidden force was collecting spirit stones for Spirit-Gathering Formations across the Eastern Sea and warned Ye Jingcheng to prepare for a possible beast tide.
• Ye Haicheng said the Ye Family should stop investigating the Zhang Family, which might have multiple Golden Core cultivators, and revealed that the Zhang Family was suspected of leading the spirit-stone collection.
• Ye Jingcheng recalled the Zhang Family's teleportation array to the Far Western Sand Sea and concluded that it could be secretly building a spirit vein there.

Ye Jingcheng learned that the Ye Family was still under scrutiny and agreed to test his blood-contracting ability on an ordinary Demon King before attempting to control the Earth Dragon Demon King. After the Grotto-Heaven Stone Spirit broke through and revealed its spatial concealment art, Ye Jingcheng expanded and organized his grotto-heaven, then prepared to travel to New An Marketplace to buy a Spirit-Gathering Array and Spirit-Attracting Stones.

• Ye Haicheng gave Ye Jingcheng beast souls to strengthen his divine soul and proposed that the family find an outer-sea Demon King for him to test a blood contract on.
• Ye Jingcheng agreed to focus on reaching the peak of Purple Palace while the family prepared the trial.
• The Grotto-Heaven Stone Spirit broke through to the early third rank and demonstrated its Space-Hiding Art and stone-man form.
• Ye Jingcheng discovered that the grotto-heaven had grown to the size of a large county and began planning its lakes, valleys, and other habitats.
• Ye Jingcheng moved soil from nearby mountains, excavated three spirit lakes, and released his spirit beasts into the expanded grotto-heaven.
• Ye Jingcheng found the Ling Family's message on his token and left for New An Marketplace to purchase a Spirit-Gathering Array and Spirit-Attracting Stones, remaining alert to possible watchers.

Ye Jingcheng cautiously collected his ordered treasures from Ling Shuiyun and fled New An Marketplace, only to be pursued by two Purple Palace cultivators. He ambushed and killed the Heavenly Origin Dual Cultivators, though the battle revealed that someone had hired them to steal the treasures.

• Ye Jingcheng left Skyreach Pavilion after learning that others wanted the Spirit-Gathering Array and Spirit-Attracting Stones, then waited in a tavern for Ling Shuiyun to bring his order.
• Ye Jingcheng exchanged the treasures with Ling Shuiyun, slipped out through the window using the Wood Demon to open the formation, and fled on a spirit skiff.
• Ye Jingcheng used a Shadow Wood puppet to identify two Purple Palace pursuers, then lured them into a valley and trapped them in a formation.
• Ye Jingcheng recognized the pursuers as the infamous Heavenly Origin Dual Cultivators, Beiyuan and Dongyuan, and suspected that someone had hired them.
• Ye Jingcheng used the Five Elements Heavenly Pearl's Mystic Frost Domain and Dragonwood Fang against their attacks, then killed Beiyuan with his Soul-Extinguishing Needles and God-Slaying Needle.
• The Jade-Scale Flood Dragon killed Dongyuan and tore his body apart.

Ye Jingcheng uncovered evidence that the Zhang Family might be allied with descendants of Puppet Wasteland, then used the Ye Family’s high-grade spirit stones and captured treasures to strengthen his Grotto-Heaven and cultivate. The chapter ended with him reaching peak Purple Palace at age ninety-one and considering a breakthrough to Golden Core before turning one hundred.

• Ye Jingcheng evaded a cultivator wielding a Vajra Dharma Puppet and concluded that Puppet Wasteland and Artifact Wasteland might be cooperating in the Far Western Sand Sea.
• Ye Haisheng delivered two hundred high-grade spirit stones to Ye Jingcheng, who exchanged them for several third-rank spirit pills.
• Ye Jingcheng examined the defeated Heavenly Origin Dual Cultivators’ spoils, then used their Spirit-Gathering Formation and spirit-attracting stones with the spirit stones to raise his Grotto-Heaven’s spirit vein to peak third rank.
• After a year of secluded cultivation, Ye Jingcheng’s divine soul and divine sense reached peak third rank, and he harvested three ripe peach fruits from the Peachwood Demon.
• Three years later, Ye Jingcheng formed a Wasteland Body, broke through his body cultivation to Purple Palace, and then reached peak Purple Palace after a two-day breakthrough.

After consolidating his cultivation and surveying the growth of his Grotto-Heaven, Ye Jingcheng learned that the Ye Family faced pressure from the Jin Family and Jiang Jinghe in Taihang Marketplace. He prepared to confront them and began considering a new Lineage Head, while the chapter ended with Ye Xingqun delivering long-awaited advancement materials and reporting Qingshuang’s progress.

• Ye Jingcheng practiced the Great Wasteland Step, tended his Grotto-Heaven, tempered his divine soul with the Dream-Devouring Insect, and collected Water Spirit Pearls from the Moon Spirit Clams.
• Ye Xingqun reported that Ye Jinghu had reached Foundation Establishment Late Stage and updated Ye Jingcheng on the Ye Family’s growth, finances, and spirit beasts.
• Ye Xingqun explained that the Jin Family had stationed a Purple Palace cultivator in Taihang and that Jiang Jinghe was reclaiming marketplace shops and the Earthfire Hall.
• Ye Jingcheng ordered Ye Xingqun to arrange a Taihang Marketplace meeting and summon Tianzhen and Taihao, then asked Ye Jinghu to prepare to demonstrate the Ye Family’s strength.
• Ye Xingcheng discussed potential successors with Ye Xingqun and received materials for several spirit-beast advancement recipes; Ye Xingqun also reported that Qingshuang had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Ye Jingcheng reunited with Chu Yanqing after emerging from seclusion, then returned to Taihang Marketplace as the Ye Family faced pressure from the Jin Family. He began preparing a forceful response against those targeting the Ye Family and ended the night meeting with Jiang Jinghe.

• Ye Jingcheng returned from the council hall, and Chu Yanqing hinted that she hoped to bear him a child; he carried her into their room.
• Jin Yurong urged Jiang Jinghe to confront the Ye Family, but they agreed to convene a meeting and competition after learning Ye Jingcheng had emerged from seclusion.
• Jin Yurong revealed that another Jin Family member had reached Golden Core, while Jiang Jinghe worried about the shifting balance within Taiyi Sect.
• Ye Jingcheng arrived at Ye Family Restaurant with Ye Jinghu, Ye Jingli, Ye Qingyan, and Ye Qingwen, where Ye Jingfu reported the restaurant's decline and provided lists of rogue cultivators and bandits targeting the family.
• Ye Jingcheng sent Ye Jinghu, Ye Qingyan, and Ye Qingwen to deal with the listed targets, then waited for Jiang Jinghe to explain himself.
• Jiang Jinghe came to Ye Jingcheng's room that night and asked to be forgiven for arriving uninvited.

Ye Jingcheng confronted Jiang Jinghe over his past cooperation with the Jin Family, while Ye Family members hunted down cultivators who had spread rumors against them. After the crackdown unsettled Taihang Marketplace, Ye Jingcheng proposed that the sect help the Ye Family establish a merchant guild to sell their potentially second-rank Black Ganoderma Fish.

• Jiang Jinghe warned Ye Jingcheng about the Jin Family's strength and Purple Peak's support, offered compensation, and admitted his past involvement in the marketplace's affairs.
• Ye Jingcheng told Jiang Jinghe to resume organizing the Taihang Grand Competition and said he would not pursue the past, leaving Jiang free to choose what to do next.
• Ye Qingwen and Ye Qingyan tracked down and killed cultivators who had spread rumors against the Ye Family, while Ye Jinghu killed Chen Yuanqing after accusing him of killing a spirit pet and attacking in the marketplace.
• Within three days, the Ye Family executed most of the independent cultivators who had framed them, leaving Taihang Marketplace on edge.
• Ye Jingcheng hosted Ziyue, Master Tianzhen, Taihao Master, Ye Jingteng, and Ye Qingshuang, then proposed a sect-backed merchant guild to sell the Ye Family's advanced Black Ganoderma Fish, offering the sect seventy percent of the profits.

Ye Jingcheng negotiated a merchant association with Taiyi Sect and gave Ye Qingshuang Frost Centipede Pills. He then gave Ye Jingteng Purple Palace Jade Liquid, leaving his brother resolved to build the Ye Family’s influence within the sect.

• Ye Jingcheng showed Tianzhen and Ziyue a peak first-rank Black Ganoderma Fish and explained its promising growth, prompting them to agree to a merchant association.
• Tianzhen secured the sect and Sword Peak an eighty-percent share, with Taiyi Sect cultivators leading the caravans, while the Ye Family would supply fish and other goods.
• Ye Jingcheng gave Ye Qingshuang two Frost Centipede Pills after she reported that her centipedes had reached the peak of the first rank.
• Ye Jingteng worried that Purple Peak’s growing power was squeezing Illusion Peak, but Ye Jingcheng reminded him that Taiyi Sect still faced the Green River Sect.
• After Ye Jingteng admitted he had made little progress advancing Ye Qingshuang within the sect, Ye Jingcheng gave him Purple Palace Jade Liquid.
• Ye Jingteng vowed that after breaking through to the Purple Palace realm, he would secure a stable backing and channels for the Ye Family within Taiyi Sect.

The Ye Family and Jin Family faced off over Taihang Marketplace, with the Ye Family’s support from Illusion Peak and Sword Peak shocking the gathered cultivators. Ye Jinghu defeated Jin Xinhuo in the first youth match, and Ye Qingwen began the second match against Jin Xinyu.

• Wei Dazhong and Abbess Jingxin arrived at Severing Harmony Valley as cultivators gathered to watch the grand competition.
• Jin Yurong and Golden Jade Hall saw Ye Jingcheng arrive with Masters from Illusion Peak and Sword Peak, balancing the Jin Family’s backing from Purple Peak.
• Jiang Jinghe announced the competition’s rules and arranged the factions’ rankings and matches.
• Ye Jinghu overcame Jin Xinhuo’s fire techniques, soul-seizing mirror, and strength-boosting pill with lightning talismans, magic needles, and Thunder Rhinoceros Beetles.
• Jin Yurong sent Jin Xinyu into the second match, and Ye Qingwen answered her challenge by summoning a Red Moon Python.

Ye Qingwen lost his match against Jin Xinyu, making a Purple Palace battle unavoidable. Ye Jingcheng defeated Jin Yurong with an array of wood-based techniques and artifacts, while taking care to conceal the extent of his cultivation.

• Jin Xinyu used illusion blades and an external avatar to defeat Ye Qingwen, despite his Mystic Wild Tyrant Body and Red Moon Python.
• Jiang Jinghe declared Jin Xinyu the winner, and Ye Jingcheng prepared to face Jin Yurong in the Purple Palace match.
• Ye Jingcheng used Adamantine Vines and the Steadfast Spirit Armor to withstand Jin Yurong's opening attacks.
• Ye Jingcheng unleashed the Blackwood Disk's wood lightning and vines, then used a spirit talisman and Jade Poison Vine to bind and poison Jin Yurong.
• Ye Jingcheng defeated Jin Yurong and wondered whether he had revealed too much of his strength.

Ye Jingcheng secured the Ye Family’s control of Taihang Marketplace, then prepared to test a Blood Pact on a Twin-Headed Turtle Demon King. He left with Ye Haicheng and Ye Haiyan to join the others waiting for their expedition.

• Ye Jingcheng defeated Jin Yurong, and Jiang Jinghe declared the Ye Family the winner of the Taihang Marketplace tournament.
• Jin Yutang accepted the loss and left with the Jin Family, while Xiao Quanan and the Taiyi Sect cultivators departed.
• Ye Jingcheng told Ye Jinghu he was intended to become family head, answered his three questions about the Lineage, and urged him to prepare for the Ye Family’s goal of becoming a Nascent Soul Lineage.
• Ye Jingcheng instructed Ye Jinghu and Ye Jingfu to restore the Lineage’s reputation, then traveled to Earth Dragon Valley and gave the Earth Dragon Demon King gifts.
• Ye Jingcheng reached the Lineage’s teleportation-array valley, where Ye Haicheng and Ye Haiyan greeted him and said the others were ready to set out.