Chapter Summaries

Ye Jingcheng watched Ye Xuefu refine a new Foundation Establishment Pill formula and recorded it, then began preparing for his own Foundation Establishment. After a year at Sand Cloud Mountain, he sensed that the Crimson Flame Fox had broken through.

• Ye Xuefu refined five Foundation Establishment Pills using a third-rank demon core, and gave Ye Jingcheng one intact pill and one flawed pill.
• Ye Jingcheng recorded the complex pill formula and studied the pills before deciding to prepare for Foundation Establishment.
• A month later, Ye Xingyu announced that he was attempting Foundation Establishment before reaching sixty.
• Ye Jingcheng continued hunting and training, eventually facing four wooden puppet constructs at once and strengthening his spiritual power.
• After spending a full year at Sand Cloud Mountain, Ye Jingcheng sensed that the Crimson Flame Fox had broken through.

Ye Jingcheng’s Crimson Flame Fox broke through to the second rank, giving him access to powerful fire spiritual energy through their Beast-Link Mark. After another month of training, Ye Jingcheng prepared to attempt Foundation Establishment.

• Ye Xueliang warned Ye Jingcheng to guard the Crimson Flame Fox’s breakthrough and check their Blood Pact, while Ye Xuefu gave him a Heavenly Wisdom Pill.
• The Crimson Flame Fox reached the second rank, gained the ability to create an illusionary double, and showed its affection for Ye Jingcheng.
• Ye Jingcheng drew on the fox’s liquid fire spiritual energy and discovered that it greatly strengthened his Fireball Technique but strained his meridians.
• Ye Xuefu gave Ye Jingcheng a jade slip of Foundation Establishment precautions and advised him to temper himself before trying to break through.
• Ye Jingcheng trained and hunted with the Crimson Flame Fox for another month, then prepared in his stone chamber for Foundation Establishment.

Ye Jingcheng attempted Foundation Establishment by condensing a Four-Aspect Spirit Platform and endured a dangerous illusion trial. He broke free of the illusions and successfully established his foundation.

• Ye Jingcheng used the Spirit Gathering Array, his Four-Aspect Heavenly Origin Scripture, and Foundation Establishment Pills to condense liquid spiritual power and form a Four-Aspect Spirit Platform.
• As the spirit patterns on the platform took shape, Ye Jingcheng was pulled into an illusion in which Ye Haiyi accused him of hiding a secret treasure.
• Ye Jingcheng recognized Ye Haiyi as a heart demon and dispelled the illusion by defending his integrity.
• Ye Jingcheng then relived a vision of his childhood, when the Old Town Chief saved him from starvation and later faced an attack by bandits.
• Ye Jingcheng resisted the illusion, conjured a fireball, and woke in his stone chamber with his Four-Aspect Spirit Platform intact, confirming that Foundation Establishment had succeeded.

Ye Jingcheng completed his Foundation Establishment breakthrough and cultivated a Four-Aspect Spiritual Platform, then tested his strengthened spiritual power and divine sense. He left seclusion to find his spirit beasts thriving and received a family feast as his reward, while Ye Jingyu still needed more time to adapt.

• Ye Jingcheng inspected his four-aspect spiritual power and cultivated the secret arts associated with his Four-Aspect Heavenly Origin Scripture.
• Ye Jingcheng discovered that his divine sense reached eighty zhang and could exert spiritual pressure on Qi Refinement cultivators.
• Ye Jingcheng spent another night consolidating his cultivation with pills, then left seclusion and reunited with his three spirit beasts.
• Ye Jingcheng found that the Golden-Scaled Beast had reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement and the Jade-Scale Snake was nearing the second rank.
• Ye Xuefu told Ye Jingcheng that Ye Jingyu needed longer to adapt and presented him with antelope spirit meal and spirit wine as a reward.

Ye Jingcheng shared spirit cuisine and wine with Ye Xingyu, then watched the family’s younger cultivators gather after Ye Jingyu reached Foundation Establishment. Ye Xuefu answered questions about the Ye Family’s hidden structure and coming advancement, leaving Ye Jingcheng to ask the final question.

• Ye Jingcheng and Ye Xingyu shared stabilizing spirit cuisine and Blue Wave Wine, and Ye Xingyu showed him a newly hatched Golden-Eyed Crow.
• Ye Jingcheng gave Ye Xingyu Azure Spirit Pills and Red Ganoderma Pills, while Ye Xingyu promised to prepare him a second-rank magic artifact.
• After half a month of cultivation, Ye Jingyu emerged at Foundation Establishment Early Stage, and the group shared spirit cuisine and wine.
• Ye Xuefu invited the younger cultivators to ask one question each and explained that the family had at least two Purple Palace cultivators, six Hides, and a concealed Hidden Peak whose members changed their appearance in market towns.
• Ye Jingyu asked when the Ye Family would become a Purple Palace family, and Ye Xuefu said the eldest granduncle had begun a breakthrough and awaited an opportunity.

Ye Jingcheng asked Ye Xuefu about the Ye Family’s future, and learned why it stayed hidden while investigating distant cultivation regions and the Mo Family. The family assigned the newly advanced cultivators to different peaks, while Ye Jingcheng stayed to deepen his alchemy training.

• Ye Jingcheng asked Ye Xuefu how the Ye Family would move forward, and Ye Xuefu explained the dangers of seeking territory or power while the Taiyi Sect and Green River Sect watched the region.
• Ye Xuefu said the family was investigating the Mo Family and searching ancient records for the Heavenly Sand and Icefield Cultivation Worlds, while avoiding attention around the Beast-Link Tower.
• Ye Jingyu and Ye Jingcheng chose to return to Soaring Cloud Peak, while Ye Xingyu stayed at Hidden Peak to raise the Golden-Eyed Crow and pursue artifact refining.
• Ye Xuefu gave Ye Jingcheng the Turtle-Breath Qi-Hiding Art and asked him to remain until his alchemy improved enough to become a second-rank alchemist.
• Ye Xuefu and Ye Xueliang shared a meal with the group and asked about family marriages and the population in the mortal towns.

Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingyu killed a second-rank Blackwater Python and recovered its inner core before preparing to leave the Taihang Mountain Range. At their farewell meal, Ye Xuefu gave Ye Jingcheng the Spirit-Raising Method and urged both men to be ruthless when necessary.

• Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingyu lured the Blackwater Python with the Jade Ring Rat and used their artifacts, formation, drum, and spirit beasts to kill it.
• Ye Jingcheng collected the Blackwater Python's inner core and shared its meat with the Mottled Cloud Tiger and Crimson Flame Fox.
• Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingyu returned the borrowed artifacts and formation to Ye Xueliang and Ye Xuefu before their departure.
• Ye Xuefu served the two men unnamed mountain spirit tea and advised them to protect what lay within and act ruthlessly when necessary.
• Ye Xuefu gave Ye Jingcheng a jade slip containing the Spirit-Raising Method and hoped he would soon refine mid-grade second-rank pills with pill fragrance.

Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingyu returned to Soaring Cloud Peak, where Ye Xingliu rewarded them for reaching Foundation Establishment and warned them about rising tensions around Taihang Mountain. Ye Jingcheng received a new cauldron and support for his alchemy and spirit-beast needs, then returned to his courtyard to discuss his spirit plants with Ye Jingyu.

• Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingyu returned to Soaring Cloud Peak and were summoned to meet Ye Xingliu.
• Ye Xingliu praised their Foundation Establishment breakthroughs and gave Ye Jingyu a Black Wind Banner and Ye Jingcheng an Origin-Suppressing Cauldron.
• Ye Xingliu told them the Chu Family, Chen Family, and Li Family were involved in growing tensions with the Ye Family, while the sect ignored the disputes.
• Ye Xingliu asked Ye Jingcheng to focus on refining spirit pills and promised the family would supply spirit beast meat and seek wood-attribute spirit beasts for him.
• Ye Xingliu advised Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingyu to conceal their cultivation, and Ye Jingcheng later returned to his courtyard.
• Ye Jingyu suggested Ye Jingcheng plant more spirit medicines, while he privately knew his plants were extraordinary because he had infused them with treasure light.

Ye Jingcheng tended his spirit field and spirit beasts after Ye Jingyu left, then discovered the Jade-Scale Snake was preparing to advance. He fed it the second-tier Blackwater Python’s meat and demonic core and settled it into seclusion as its Divine Soul grew stronger.

• Ye Jingcheng inspected the spirit field, collected twelve jin of spirit honey, and infused the Five Poison Bees, Spring Welcoming Tea trees, and Greenstone Bamboo with Treasure Radiance.
• Ye Jingcheng released the Crimson Flame Fox, Golden-Scaled Beast, and Jade-Scale Snake in his courtyard, where the Jade-Scale Snake showed unusual hunger and glowing scales.
• Ye Jingcheng recognized that the Jade-Scale Snake was about to advance and brought out the Blackwater Python’s corpse for it to eat.
• The Jade-Scale Snake cut the Blackwater Python into four sections, ate two, and began digesting after Ye Jingcheng infused it with Treasure Radiance.
• Ye Jingcheng prepared a separate room for the Jade-Scale Snake, then fed it the Blackwater Python’s demonic core and sensed its Divine Soul growing stronger.

Ye Jingcheng continued practicing Falling Flame Fire Feathers while reflecting on the need to strengthen his methods after reaching Foundation Establishment. Ye Jingteng visited the Stone Bamboo Grove and offered to help family members enter the Taiyi Sect to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills, especially noticing Ye Jingcheng’s ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivation.

• Ye Jingcheng practiced Falling Flame Fire Feathers at dawn but found that his technique still lacked its proper patterns and phoenix cry.
• Ye Jingcheng returned to his courtyard with the Crimson Flame Fox and reviewed his secret-art practice over spiritual tea.
• Ye Jingli told Ye Jingcheng that Ye Jingteng had returned with a chance to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingli visited Ye Xingqun and Ye Jingteng at the Stone Bamboo Grove, where Ye Jingcheng brewed them Spring Welcoming Tea.
• Ye Jingteng explained that Foundation Establishment Pills were easier to obtain through the sect and asked whether anyone in the family wanted to enter, paying particular attention to Ye Jingcheng’s cultivation.

Ye Jingteng tried to persuade Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingli to join him in building influence within the sect, but Ye Jingcheng refused and warned that the Chen and Li Families might target the Ye Family. Later, Ye Xingliu announced that he had to leave for Jade Dragon Valley, where trouble could erupt while the family’s elder was in secluded cultivation.

• Ye Jingteng urged Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingli to secure Foundation Establishment Pills and secretly strengthen their positions in the sect, but Ye Jingcheng declined.
• Ye Jingteng warned that the Chen and Li Families suspected the Ye Family’s great-granduncle was in secluded cultivation, then gave Ye Jingcheng Water Cloud Grass and accepted payment for it.
• Ye Xingqun demonstrated how to train Five Poison Bees, and Ye Jingcheng and Ye Jingli joined him for spirit wine and a meal as a storm passed over the courtyard.
• Ye Jingcheng’s family token summoned him to the council hall, where Ye Xingliu, Ye Jingyu, and the clan elders had gathered.
• Ye Xingliu said he had to go guard Jade Dragon Valley and might not return in time, so Fourth Uncle would manage family affairs with help from Ye Haiyi, Ye Jingcheng, and Ye Jingyu while the elder’s breakthrough remained a priority.

Two masked cultivators hired the Mad Corpse Twin Fiends to attack the Ye Family of Soaring Cloud Peak while its Foundation Establishment cultivators were away at Jade Dragon Valley. As Ye Jingcheng continued preparing for the coming crisis, Soaring Cloud Peak entered wartime readiness and Ye Xingliu departed for the valley.

• Two black-robed cultivators offered the Mad Corpse Twin Fiends a millennium blood ganoderma and formation-breaking talismans to attack the Ye Family and preserve its beast-taming inheritance and secret treasure.
• The black-armored corpse demanded an oath, and the employers swore that Taiyi Sect would not intervene; the Mad Corpse Twin Fiends agreed to take the job, with an exception if the Ye Family had a Purple Palace cultivator.
• Ye Jingcheng tended the Poison Thorn Fruits, studied pill formulas, practiced Falling Flame Fire Feathers, and maintained his spirit beasts and plants.
• Nine days later, Ye Xingliu's spirit boat left Soaring Cloud Peak as the Ye Family began its war-readiness preparations.
• The next day, Ye Xingliu's spirit boat returned briefly to check for trouble, then set off again for Jade Dragon Valley while Ye Jingcheng watched Ye Haicheng's secluded cultivation site.

As the Li Family and Chen Family’s attack on Soaring Cloud Peak began, Ye Jingcheng and the Ye Family fought a horde of corpse puppets while Ye Haiyun directed the defense. The Ye Family held the advantage at first, but stronger second-order puppets shifted the battle, and two hidden figures prepared to break the formation.

• Ye Jingcheng sent his Five Poison Bees to scout the rain-soaked area around Soaring Cloud Peak, then prepared for a possible attack after Ye Haiyun told him to stay ready.
• After two days of heavy rain, an emergency defense order and nine warning bells announced an attack, as corpse puppets slaughtered the Ye Family’s spirit beasts and charged the mountain.
• Ye Haiyun rallied the Ye Family cultivators and ordered the late Qi Refinement cultivators to hold back the first-order corpse puppets before their blood contaminated the formation.
• The Blue-eyed Hanging-eyed Tiger and Five-Colored Venom Lizard fought second-order corpse puppets, but a middle-stage second-order humanoid puppet turned the battle against the Ye Family.
• Ye Haiyun summoned twelve mountain-cleaving spirit blades, killing many first-order corpse puppets as the stronger puppets defended themselves or burrowed underground.
• Two figures hiding nearby confirmed that the Ye Family had no other Foundation Establishment cultivators, then one of them used a formation-breaking talisman against the formation.

The Ye Family fought the Mad Corpse Twin Fiends after their mountain-protecting formation was shattered, then began restoring it while their spirit beasts overwhelmed the corpse cultivators. From afar, two black-robed figures suspected Ye Xingliu had secretly obtained Foundation Establishment Pills and plotted to kill him, while wondering what treasure let the Ye Family produce so many second-rank demon beasts.

• The Mad Corpse Twin Fiends broke several array foundations, and the thin cultivator attacked Ye Haiyun before the Mottled Cloud Tiger and Ye Jingyu's Hurricane Banner forced him back.
• Ye Jingcheng revealed his Crimson Flame Fox and fought the plump cultivator, whose coffin absorbed the fox's fireballs and whose blood blade nearly struck it.
• Ye Haiyun placed three more array bases as the Five Poison Lizard, Blue-eyed Hanging-eyed Tiger, and Ye Family's other beasts gained the upper hand against the second-rank corpse cultivators.
• Two black-robed figures concluded that Ye Xingliu had secretly bought the two Foundation Establishment Pills and suspected the Ye Family had breached Jade Separation Valley of the Chu Family.
• The black-robed figures decided Ye Xingliu could not be allowed to live and wondered what treasure had produced the Ye Family's many second-rank demon beasts.

The Ye Family fought Heaven Fiend and Earth Fiend while Ye Haiyun’s formation trapped Earth Fiend under a coordinated assault. Elsewhere, two intruders discovered the Ye Family’s spirit vein had advanced and found themselves trapped in a strange grassland illusion.

• Ye Haiyi destroyed the black spider corpse puppet with an Explosive Fire Talisman as the cultivators and spirit beasts battled the remaining corpse puppets.
• Earth Fiend used a blood secret technique to charge Ye Haiyun, but Ye Haiyun trapped him in a quicksand formation.
• Ye Jingcheng deceived Heaven Fiend with the Crimson Flame Fox’s phantom fireballs, then defended himself against Heaven Fiend’s blood blade and concealed silver needle.
• Ye Jingyu, Ye Haiyun, the Mottled Cloud Tiger, and the Crimson Flame Fox overwhelmed Earth Fiend with tornadoes, attacks, and flames.
• Two intruders realized the Ye Family’s spirit vein had advanced and suspected Ye Haicheng had reached the Purple Palace realm, so they tried to flee.
• The intruders found themselves inside an immense grassland illusion, and their formation-breaking talismans failed to alter it.

Ye Jingcheng and the Ye Family defeated Heaven Fiend at Soaring Cloud Peak, while a hidden observer and an elderly man pursued separate plans. The green-haired corpse survived and vowed revenge against the Ye Family.

• Heaven Fiend tried to escape after Ye Jingcheng evaded his Blackwood Coffin’s suction, but the Ye Family’s beasts and spirit insects overwhelmed his corpse-refined puppets.
• Heaven Fiend scattered explosive spirit talismans and attempted to flee, but Ye Jingcheng’s drum and the restored formation pinned him down, and a long tongue pierced his throat.
• A figure in a Spirit-Isolating Robe watched from nearby, decided not to approach Soaring Cloud Peak, and vanished after checking whether anyone followed him.
• An elderly man concealed transparent spirit eggs, mentioned Sea-Sky Leeches and the Mo Family, and told Old Turtle to protect Haicheng.
• A green-haired corpse fed on a Dense Forest Pig in a mountain cave, revealed a lucid and handsome face, and vowed to settle his debt with the Ye Family.

Ye Jingcheng and his spirit beasts fought a green-furred refined corpse that concealed a powerful talisman treasure, and he finally destroyed it after narrowly surviving its attacks. He treated his badly wounded beasts and found a jade bracelet deeper in the cave.

• The green-furred corpse ambushed Ye Jingcheng’s Red Thousand-Mile Mouse with corpse needles, but the Origin-Suppressing Cauldron blocked most of them while the Golden-Scaled Beast drove it from the cave.
• The corpse vanished into shattered coffin fragments and launched a corpse spear that pierced the Golden-Scaled Beast and Crimson Flame Fox before striking Ye Jingcheng’s shoulder.
• Ye Jingcheng used the Spirit-Shocking Drum to disrupt the corpse’s talisman treasure, then attacked it with his beasts and artifacts until it fell and its spear became a yellow spirit talisman.
• Ye Jingcheng burned and tore the corpse apart repeatedly to make sure it was dead, then set an array at the cave entrance and treated his wounded spirit beasts with Treasure Radiance.
• Ye Jingcheng searched the cave and found a jade bracelet in its depths.

After the Ye Family counted its losses and divided the spoils from the battle, Ye Jingyu was ordered to confront the Li and Chen Families at Taihang Marketplace. Ye Jingcheng recovered enough to tend to his spirit beasts and began binding the storage jade bracelet.

• Ye Haiyi reported the Ye Family's losses, casualties, and spoils, and Ye Haiyun arranged compensation and let Ye Jingyu and Ye Jingcheng choose magic artifacts.
• Ye Haiyun ordered Ye Jingyu to reach Taihang Marketplace first and demand a meeting with the Li and Chen Family leaders over the attack on the Ye Family's ancestral mountain.
• Ye Jingyu chose the Shadowless Needle and Crimson Blood Hook, then collected medicine for himself and the injured Mottled Cloud Tiger.
• After a day of recovery, Ye Jingcheng fed pills and a nourishing spiritual meal to the Golden-Scaled Beast and Crimson Flame Fox while the Jade-Scale Snake continued its breakthrough.
• Ye Jingcheng examined the storage jade bracelet and began binding it with his spiritual sense.

Ye Jingcheng searched the storage jade bracelet and found valuable artifacts, pills, and the rare Heavenly Soul Art, which could strengthen his divine sense by cultivating an Earth Soul. He also uncovered information about corpse refinements and the Heavenly Corpse Sect before discovering a Heavenly Corpse Token.

• Ye Jingcheng found a second-rank artifact, escape talismans, and pills in the storage bracelet, including a pill he suspected had fueled Heaven Fiend and Earth Fiend’s final outburst.
• Ye Jingcheng read the Heavenly Soul Art and learned it could cultivate an Earth Soul to strengthen his divine sense, though the jade slip lacked the method for forming a Heavenly Soul.
• Ye Jingcheng inferred that Heaven Fiend and Earth Fiend had been split souls of the green-haired corpse, which could have recreated them if they had escaped.
• Ye Jingcheng read jade slips describing corpse-refinement ranks and the Heavenly Corpse Sect’s Blood Pact for controlling corpse refinements.
• Ye Jingcheng found a Heavenly Corpse Token in the corner of the storage space.

Ye Jingcheng examined the treasures recovered from the Heavenly Corpse Sect cultivator and reported his gains to the Ye Family elders. The elders praised his contribution, returned spoils from the Mad Corpse Twin Fiends, and told him he could claim the benefits of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

• Ye Jingcheng found spirit stones, a mysterious spirit map, a talisman treasure, and the Green Corpse Needle among the recovered possessions, while the coffins held only unfinished corpse puppets.
• Ye Jingcheng went to the council hall and gave Ye Haiyun and Ye Haiyi the Heavenly Corpse Token and a secret-art jade slip.
• Ye Haiyun and Ye Haiyi recognized the secret art as valuable and said the family head would assess its contribution value when he returned.
• Ye Haiyun and Ye Haiyi could not identify the spirit map and advised Ye Jingcheng to wait for other family members to examine it.
• Ye Haiyun gave Ye Jingcheng the Blackwood Coffin and blood saber as spoils from the Mad Corpse Twin Fiends.
• Ye Haiyun told Ye Jingcheng he could claim a new courtyard, spirit fields, formations, missions, and updated benefits after reaching Foundation Establishment.