Chapter Summaries

Ye Jingcheng and Ye Haiyi left the auction without buying Foundation Establishment Pills, while other families secured pills and prepared for the coveted Purple Palace Jade Liquid. Elsewhere, Ye Xingyu and Ye Xingqun received confirmation from the family head and began the next stage of their plan.

• Ye Jingcheng and Ye Haiyi failed to obtain any of the ten Foundation Establishment Pills, then left the auction with a Rogue Cultivator who handed over the herb Ye Jingcheng needed for the Jade-Scale Pill.
• Ye Haiyi told Ye Jingcheng to return to their rooms and rest, while Ye Jingcheng planned to replenish his funds and inspect Taichang Market’s shops.
• Xu Wencheng told Xu Haoshui to focus on buying the Purple Palace Jade Liquid, which the Xu Family needed to establish a new Purple Palace cultivator.
• Li Yufu’s group bought two Foundation Establishment Pills and left by a detour, disguising themselves as Rogue Cultivators to avoid being targeted.
• The six Purple Palace families at Taihang Marketplace negotiated over six Foundation Establishment Pills, but their talks remained tense as each family sought its share.
• Ye Xingyu and Ye Xingqun learned that the family head had killed their Five Poison Bees and Blackwood Ants, then began their plan by preparing to release poison mist around the blockade.

The Ye Family launched a surprise assault on the Chu Family at Jade Separation Valley, using poison bees, spirit beasts, and formations to overwhelm the defenders. Ye Xueliang ambushed Chu Xifeng and then attacked Chu Xixu, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Chu Family cultivators Mingde and his companion discovered the Ye Family's raised Blackwood Ants, but poison bees killed them and attackers damaged Jade Separation Valley's formation.
• The Ye Family broke through the valley's concealment formation and confronted Chu Xifeng and Chu Xixu, while Chu Xifeng revealed the Blood Hawk and the Color-Changing Venom Lizard was exposed by ink.
• The Ye Family sent poison bees and spirit beasts against the Chu Family, throwing their ranks into chaos as the Water-Fire Formless Grand Array conjured two serpent spirits.
• Chu Xifeng bound and wounded the Blood Hawk, while Chu Xixu suppressed the Five-Colored Venom Lizard.
• Ye Xueliang ambushed Chu Xifeng with an azure awl, pierced his chest, and then pressed his attack on Chu Xixu as the venom lizard hurled poisoned spikes.

The Ye Family wiped out the Chu Family forces at Jade Snow Mountain, concealed their secret strength, and seized the Chu Family’s valuables and resources. Meanwhile, Chen Family cultivators launched a planned attack on the Ye Family’s spirit stone mine, unaware that a larger trapping formation had risen around them.

• Ye Xueliang and the Ye Family’s spirit beasts killed Chu Xixu and the remaining Chu Family cultivators.
• An old man intercepted and killed a cultivator searching for an underground river, then disposed of his body and took his storage bag.
• Ye Xingyu ordered the Ye Family cultivators to conceal what happened, gather the Chu Family’s storage bags and Fire-Pattern Rabbits, and burn the site after collecting valuables.
• Ye Xingqun found a nearly mature second-tier Three-Star Fire-Pattern Fruit, and Ye Xingyu confirmed that the area was a valuable cultivation site.
• A Chen Family Foundation Establishment cultivator led disguised clansmen to break the Ye Family’s mine formation and charge inside, while a larger trapping formation sealed off the surrounding mountains.

Chen Haobin discovered that the Ye Family had emptied and abandoned the spirit mine, then returned to report his suspicions. At the auction’s settlement, Ye Xingliu and Chu Xiyu accused Chen Xuanzhou’s family of attacking their lands, leaving Chen Xuanzhou cornered by demands for justice and compensation.

• Chen Haobin found the Ye Family’s spirit mine exhausted and empty, suspected they had sold their spirit stones to buy Purple Palace Jade Liquid, and ordered his group back.
• A withered cicada carrying a recording jade slip watched Chen Haobin return to investigate before it flew away after nightfall.
• At Taihang Marketplace, the families received their auction proceeds, including two thousand spirit stones for the Ye Family.
• Chu Xiyu revealed that his family’s spirit valley had been seized, and Ye Xingliu showed footage of attackers breaking into a Ye Family spirit ore mountain.
• Li Muhe swore he had no involvement, so Ye Xingliu and Chu Xiyu demanded that Chen Xuanzhou swear an oath or face a fight.
• Chu Xiyu presented a charred robe as evidence, while Jiang Jinghe warned Chen Xuanzhou that the dispute could reach higher authorities.

The Chu Family’s purchase of Purple Palace Jade Liquid disrupted the dispute over Jade Separation Valley, while Ye Jingcheng searched Taichang Market for rare ingredients for his pills. The chapter ended with Ye Haiyi warning Ye Jingcheng that the Ye Family needed to leave early because the Chu Family had acquired the treasure.

• Chen Xuanzhou admitted the Chen Family’s attack on the Ye Family and agreed to pay ten thousand spirit stones and provide a Jade Purity Peach Tree.
• Chu Xiyu learned that Old Master Chu had left Idle Cloud Peak, stopped pursuing the Chen Family, and hurried back to examine a robe.
• Ye Jingcheng put away his stall and visited Jin's Treasure Tower to search for spiritual herbs.
• Ye Jingcheng bought Fox Red Grass, a main ingredient for the second-rank Crimson Flame Pill, and concealed his interest in other herbs.
• Ye Haiyi told Ye Jingcheng that the Chu Family had acquired Purple Palace Jade Liquid and that they needed to leave early.

Ye Jingcheng and Ye Haiyi returned safely to Soaring Cloud Peak after completing their mission at Taichang Market, earning substantial contribution points and bringing news of suspicious cultivators. Back home, Ye Jingcheng tended his spirit plants and beasts, then began cultivating with spirit honey and a Red Ganoderma Pill, discovering that the honey neutralized pill toxins.

• Ye Jingcheng and Ye Haiyi traveled west by carriage, then left it in the wilderness and continued by spirit boat toward Soaring Cloud Peak.
• Ye Haiyi reported that cultivators from other Lineages had probed them at Taichang Market, while Ye Xingliu awarded him twenty thousand contribution points and Ye Jingcheng fifteen thousand.
• Ye Jingcheng returned to his courtyard, collected spirit honey, tended his purple illusion flowers, tea tree, bamboo, and spirit beasts, and used Treasure Radiance on his plants.
• Ye Jingcheng rested after the exhausting return journey, then visited members of the Lineage with gifts from Taichang Market.
• Ye Jingcheng began cultivating with spirit honey and a Red Ganoderma Pill and found that the honey prevented the stinging sensation caused by pill toxins.

Ye Jingcheng successfully refined a Jade-Scale Pill for the Jade-Scale Snake, then prepared the snake to break through after the Ye clan’s spirit vein was upgraded. The Jade-Scale Snake swallowed the pill and entered seclusion.

• Ye Jingcheng used the Four-Part Alchemy Method to refine a Jade-Scale Pill, with the Crimson Flame Fox controlling the fire.
• Ye Jingcheng collected the finished pill and promised to give it to the eagerly waiting Jade-Scale Snake after channeling Treasure Radiance into it.
• Ye Haiyi announced that the grand formation was being upgraded as the Ye clan began transforming its spirit vein, strengthening the mountain’s protective barrier and increasing its spiritual energy.
• Ye Jingcheng replaced the spirit field’s low-grade spirit stone with a mid-grade one and gave the Jade-Scale Snake Treasure Radiance and two Azure Water Pills.
• The Jade-Scale Snake swallowed the Jade-Scale Pill, glowed with jade light, and told Ye Jingcheng it was entering seclusion, so he shut down the formation to isolate the Five Poison Bees.

Ye Jingcheng witnessed the Jade-Scale Snake break through and then formed a Beast-Link with it, gaining a powerful infusion of water-aspect spiritual power. He ended the chapter absorbing spiritual energy at an accelerated pace as dawn broke.

• Ye Jingcheng cultivated as Soaring Cloud Peak’s spiritual energy improved, and he watched his pill toxins dissipate while the weather cleared.
• The Jade-Scale Snake broke through, gaining jade scales, whiskers, flight, a stronger tail blade, and a powerful devouring ability.
• Ye Jingcheng fed the hungry Jade-Scale Snake two Azure Cloud Wolf corpses, then tended his spirit field and expanded his plantings.
• Ye Jingcheng spent a month refining pills before entering seclusion and forming a Beast-Link with the Jade-Scale Snake.
• Ye Jingcheng absorbed the resulting surge of water-aspect spiritual power, which strengthened his body and increased his cultivation speed, then took two pills to fuel his cultivation.

Ye Jingcheng reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement and discovered that his bond with the Jade-Scale Snake had granted him powerful Mist Escape abilities. After tending to his spirit beasts and fields, he went to visit Ye Haiyun, hoping to learn more about Foundation Establishment and the Ye Family’s secrets.

• Ye Jingcheng broke through to the ninth level of Qi Refinement and considered how to prepare for Foundation Establishment.
• Ye Jingcheng tested the Jade-Scale Snake’s enhanced abilities and found that Mist Escape Technique greatly improved his speed and let him fly briefly.
• Ye Jingcheng fed his spirit beasts, collected spirit honey and tea, and observed the flourishing spirit flowers and Five Poison Bees.
• Ye Jingcheng learned that Ye Jingyu and Ye Xingyu had entered seclusion, then went to Ye Haiyun’s courtyard to seek guidance.

Ye Jingcheng met with the Ye Family elders, learned that his pill formula could test and stimulate fire-attributed spirit beasts, and received 5,000 contribution points. After testing his alchemy skills, Ye Haiyun explained that the family had Foundation Establishment Pill formulas and second-tier alchemists, and urged Ye Jingcheng to prepare for Foundation Establishment.

• Ye Jingcheng entered Ye Haiyun’s courtyard and discovered Ye Xingliu, Ye Haitian, and several other clan elders gathered there.
• The elders noticed Ye Jingcheng’s new breakthrough and praised the fragrance of the Spring Welcoming Tea he served.
• Ye Xingliu explained that the family had tested Ye Jingcheng’s pill formula on spirit beasts, finding it could stimulate bloodlines but could kill beasts unable to endure it.
• The Ye Family awarded Ye Jingcheng 5,000 contribution points, while Ye Xingliu said the family would eventually supply the Crimson Flame Fox’s spiritual medicines itself.
• After the other elders left, Ye Haiyun tested Ye Jingcheng’s alchemy knowledge and revealed the family possessed a Foundation Establishment Pill formula and second-tier alchemists.
• Ye Haiyun urged Ye Jingcheng to cultivate his alchemy skills and prepare for Foundation Establishment, which he called Ye Jingcheng’s fastest path forward.

Ye Jingcheng continued developing his alchemy and spirit beasts while preparing to offer the Golden Scale Pill formula to the Ye Family. A secret nighttime operation began, and he joined three other cultivators aboard a concealed spirit boat bound for the Taihang Mountain Range.

• Ye Haiyun gave Ye Jingcheng the Fire Sincerity Pill formula and explained how he had deduced it, then warned him not to enter seclusion before the family’s sect arrangements.
• Ye Jingcheng visited the Treasure Pavilion, sold his accumulated pills, refreshed his courtyard, and began refining Spirit Nurturing Pills for his spirit beasts.
• Ye Jingcheng trained nearly one hundred Five Poison Bees, which grew larger and more vicious, while continuing to study pill formulas and planning to contribute the Golden Scale Pill formula.
• Ye Jingcheng received an Assemble message on his family token, packed his spirit beasts and Five Poison Bees, and entrusted his Poison Thorn Fruit and spirit fields to the family.
• Ye Jingcheng met Ye Xingyu, Ye Jingyu, Ye Haiyi, and an unidentified Foundation Establishment cultivator at the Treasure Pavilion, then boarded the cultivator’s black spirit boat for a demon hunt in the Taihang Mountain Range.

Ye Jingcheng and his relatives traveled into the Taihang Mountain Range and reached the Ye Family’s hidden base at Sand Cloud Mountain. There, Patriarch Ye Xuefu asked Jingcheng to demonstrate his alchemy by refining an Azure Spirit Pill.

• Ye Xueliang introduced himself as the Ye Family’s Dark Hall leader, warned the younger cultivators about the family’s powerful enemies, and urged them to reach Foundation Establishment.
• Ye Haiyi gave Ye Jingcheng, Ye Xingyu, and Ye Jingyu jade slips about the Taihang Mountain Range, and Ye Jingcheng studied its dangers and the family’s mission.
• Ye Xueliang led the group through concealed mountain routes, where Black-Armored Scorpions guarded Sand Cloud Mountain and the party took Black Scorpion Pills.
• Ye Xuefu welcomed the group at the hidden underground hall, identified Ye Jingcheng, and led him to an earthfire chamber.
• Ye Xuefu asked Ye Jingcheng to refine an Azure Spirit Pill, and Jingcheng began the demonstration.

Ye Jingcheng practiced alchemy under Ye Xuefu’s harsh guidance and learned he would need to train daily to qualify for Foundation Establishment. He entered the Qi-and-Blood Gate with his three spirit beasts to begin its trial.

• Ye Jingcheng refined eight Azure Spirit Pills, four of them fragrant, but Ye Xuefu criticized his furnace warming, fire control, herb fusion, and pill formation.
• Ye Xuefu demonstrated alchemy, producing ten pills, including four with pill patterns and six with rich pill fragrance, then ordered Ye Jingcheng to practice every day for half a year.
• Ye Jingcheng studied the Azure Elephant Furnace and took notes on its formation patterns while practicing furnace warming.
• Ye Jingyu told Ye Jingcheng that he had to challenge the gravity formation daily, hunt spirit beasts every three days, and complete the trials even if he refined pills.
• Ye Jingcheng entered the Qi-and-Blood Gate with the Crimson Flame Fox, Golden-Scaled Beast, and Jade-Scale Snake.

Ye Jingcheng tested a gravity-and-puppet formation with his three spirit beasts, then trained inside it himself before tending to their injuries. Later, Ye Xueliang gave him and the others information about establishing their foundations, nearby hunting grounds, and second-rank spirit beasts available for bonding.

• Ye Jingcheng sent the Crimson Flame Fox, Golden-Scaled Beast, and Jade-Scale Snake into the composite formation and watched them face its gravity and regenerating wooden puppets.
• Ye Jingcheng entered the formation himself, using his shield and techniques to withstand the puppets until the beasts were exhausted and he dispelled the formation.
• Ye Jingcheng treated and encouraged his injured spirit beasts with pills and food, then promised the Jade-Scale Snake they could return to the chamber the next day.
• Ye Xueliang summoned Ye Jingcheng, Ye Jingyu, and Ye Xingyu and explained the Foundation Establishment rules, contribution costs, and family support.
• Ye Xueliang gave them a jade slip listing nearby hunting targets and second-rank spirit beasts available for exchange and bonding, and Ye Jingcheng read it with delight.

Ye Jingcheng hunted demon beasts around Sand Cloud Mountain and observed Ye Xuefu refining a batch of second-tier Purple Sun Pills. The chapter ended with Ye Xuefu testing whether Ye Jingcheng had learned the pill formula.

• Ye Jingcheng killed a Blood-Patterned Leopard with help from his beasts and collected its corpse.
• Ye Jingcheng recalled his half-month of hunting, during which he had slain several powerful demon beasts, including a peak-grade Azure-Scaled Python.
• Ye Jingcheng fed Spirit Feeding Pills to the Black-Armored Scorpions, whose Scorpion King ruled Sand Cloud Mountain.
• Ye Xueliang told Ye Jingcheng that Ye Xuefu had a task for him, and Ye Jingcheng went to watch the alchemist refine pills.
• Ye Xuefu refined five Purple Sun Pills using a second-tier furnace and advanced alchemy techniques.
• Ye Xuefu asked Ye Jingcheng to describe the Purple Sun Pill formula.

Ye Jingcheng learned pill refinement and successfully nourished the Azure Elephant Furnace before Ye Jingyu and Ye Xingyu returned injured from an encounter with a Golden-Eyed Crow. Ye Xuefu confirmed the crow was a powerful peak second-rank beast and prepared the family to hunt it, noting its inner core could help the Crimson Flame Fox advance.

• Ye Jingcheng recorded Ye Xuefu's second-order pill formula, and Ye Xuefu instructed him to observe and document future refinements while warning that he could not annotate the Foundation Establishment Pill formula.
• Ye Jingcheng successfully nourished the Azure Elephant Furnace and then left the Earthfire Chamber.
• Ye Jingcheng found Ye Jingyu and Ye Xingyu injured; they explained that a Golden-Eyed Crow had chased the Golden Armor Pig and that the bird seemed weakened after laying eggs.
• Ye Xueliang reported that the Golden-Eyed Crow was a peak second-rank demonic beast that might reach the third rank and had come to the outskirts because it could not subdue enemies deeper inside.
• Ye Xuefu agreed to prepare an operation against the Golden-Eyed Crow and suggested its likely inner core could give the Crimson Flame Fox a chance to advance.

Ye Xuefu and the others decided not to attack the Golden-Eyed Crow in its nest, instead preparing to lure it into a battle near its territory. After five days of waiting, they used Plum Feather Crane to provoke the bird by stealing one of its eggs, and the enraged Golden-Eyed Crow pursued it toward them.

• Ye Jingyu and Ye Jingcheng advised against pursuing the Golden-Eyed Crow into its nest, and Ye Xuefu approved a plan to lure it out and gather help.
• The group waited near the Golden-Eyed Crow's nest for five days, killing other demon beasts that approached while remaining concealed.
• Ye Xuefu sent Plum Feather Crane out with a spirit pill, and the group prepared their magic artifacts for the coming fight.
• Plum Feather Crane returned carrying a black egg in its talons, with the furious Golden-Eyed Crow chasing close behind.

The Ye Family used a formation and coordinated attacks to kill a late-stage second-rank Golden-Eyed Crow. Ye Xueliang collected the crow and a black spirit egg, then set off toward the forest and distant mountains while Ye Xuefu led the others in cleaning up.

• The Golden-Eyed Crow attacked Plum Feather Crane, and Ye Xuefu warned the group not to look into its eerie golden eyes.
• Ye Xuefu's eye technique failed, but Ye Xueliang wounded the crow with his spear, and Ye Xuefu and Ye Jingyu trapped it in a water-attributed formation.
• The Ye Family and their spirit beasts attacked the trapped crow, wearing it down with feather arrows, flames, venom, and other assaults.
• Ye Xueliang struck the crow through the heart with a black triangular spike, killing it, then collected its corpse and the black spirit egg.
• Ye Xueliang handed the collected items to Ye Xuefu and headed toward the forest and mountains, while Ye Xuefu ordered the others to clean up and return.

Ye Jingcheng and the others returned to Sand Cloud Mountain after defeating a Golden-Eyed Crow and divided their rewards. Ye Jingcheng acquired the crow’s body and inner core to help the Crimson Flame Fox advance, while Ye Xingyu bought its spirit egg, leaving Ye Jingcheng preparing to support the fox’s breakthrough.

• Ye Xueliang returned to Sand Cloud Mountain with the Golden-Eyed Crow’s spirit egg, and the group secured the mountain with its formation and Black-Armored Scorpions.
• Ye Xuefu awarded contribution points to the group and explained the exchange prices for the Golden-Eyed Crow’s body, inner core, and spirit egg.
• Ye Jingcheng spent seven thousand contribution points on the Golden-Eyed Crow’s body and inner core, hoping to help the Crimson Flame Fox advance.
• Ye Xingyu spent three thousand contribution points on the Golden-Eyed Crow’s spirit egg and asked Ye Jingcheng about buying spirit pills later.
• Ye Jingcheng returned to his room, released the Crimson Flame Fox, and prepared pills while planning to focus his resources on its breakthrough.

Ye Jingcheng helped the Crimson Flame Fox absorb the Golden-Eyed Crow’s demon core and began hunting Green Jade Toads to gather contribution points and materials. He then learned that the Foundation Establishment Pill ingredients had been collected and followed Ye Xueliang to watch Ye Xuefu begin refining the pill.

• Ye Xuefu activated a fire-attributed Spirit Gathering Array so the Crimson Flame Fox could advance and refine pills without worry.
• Ye Jingcheng used treasure radiance on the Crimson Flame Fox, which ate the Golden-Eyed Crow’s demon core and body before beginning its breakthrough inside the array.
• Ye Jingcheng and his spirit beasts captured and killed a Green Jade Toad, then returned with its valuable materials.
• Ye Jingcheng told Ye Xingyu and Ye Jingyu that his recent hunts had brought him about sixteen thousand contribution points.
• Ye Xueliang announced that the Foundation Establishment Pill ingredients had been gathered and brought Ye Jingcheng to Ye Xuefu’s earthfire chamber to observe the refining.