Chapter Summaries

Jiang Chen used the Nine-Abyss Return-Flow Cup to weaken the sandstorm and then destroyed it with Summon Spring Thunder. He captured a powerful, intelligent Baleful Ghost that tried to escape and sealed away its strength with the Primordial Unity Great Hand Seal.

• Jiang Chen sent the nine dragons of the Nine-Abyss Return-Flow Cup into the Sand Sea, where they trapped the sandstorm and weakened it.
• Jiang Chen struck the weakened sandstorm with Summon Spring Thunder, cleaving the tornado apart and killing many Baleful Ghosts.
• The people on Lark-Grasping Mountain watched Jiang Chen destroy the sandstorm and celebrated his power.
• Jiang Chen spotted a near-third-tier Baleful Ghost fleeing through the dust and used the Primordial Unity Banner to seize it.
• Jiang Chen sealed the Baleful Ghost's strength with the Primordial Unity Great Hand Seal, preventing its escape.

Jiang Chen quelled the sandstorm and used the Nine-Abyss Return-Flow Cup to create Buried-Sand Lake, transforming Lark-Grasping Mountain’s surroundings and establishing Cloud-Grasping City. As the city prospered, Bai Cangzi learned of Jiang Chen’s powerful unusual soul and planned to claim it when the opportunity arose.

• Jiang Chen used the Nine-Abyss Return-Flow Cup to gather the desert’s water veins, form Buried-Sand Lake, and bring rain and greenery to the region.
• Nian Hua asked Jiang Chen to name the city, and Jiang Chen named it Cloud-Grasping City.
• Jiang Chen withdrew as cultivators expanded the city’s formations, spirit fields, and lake plans.
• Bai Cangzi watched the sandstorm battle and became interested in Jiang Chen’s unusual soul as a source of power.
• Xin Yi confronted Bai Cangzi over his failed plan, and Bai Cangzi resolved to obtain the Yellow Heaven Dao Palace before targeting Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen studied the Baleful Ghost’s memories and weighed the risks of using yin qi to strengthen his divine soul, deciding instead to grow stronger by devouring ghosts. As he kept the Baleful Ghost alive, Taoyao began building a third-order formation beneath Lark-Grasping Mountain to suppress the foul qi and secure its spiritual currents.

• Jiang Chen searched the Baleful Ghost’s soul and learned that ghosts cultivated with yin qi, while the Baleful Ghost had few personal memories and seemed driven largely by instinct.
• Jiang Chen considered whether the sandstorm and the Baleful Ghosts’ attack had been a coincidence or a scheme, then resolved to focus on strengthening his foundation and completing a third-order grand formation.
• Jiang Chen chose to keep the Baleful Ghost alive, judging that devouring ghosts would strengthen his divine soul without deepening its yin nature as direct yin-qi cultivation would.
• Taoyao extended its roots through Lark-Grasping Mountain and began constructing the Spirit-Locking Return to Origin formation to suppress foul qi rising from the depths.

Jiang Chen completed the Hundred Rivers Meridian Traversal Method through his Mist Flood Dragon body, greatly strengthening it and deepening its affinity with water. He assigned the dragon to transform Buried-Sand Lake while his true body began cultivating the method, leaving him with plans to develop the lake and the dragon further.

• Lark-Grasping Mountain's residents welcomed the spring rain and praised Jiang Chen for calling clouds and summoning rain for their new spiritual fields.
• Jiang Chen used the Mist Flood Dragon body to draw on Buried-Sand Lake's water veins and complete the Hundred Rivers Meridian Traversal Method.
• The Mist Flood Dragon grew from thirty zhang to forty zhang, became far stronger, and gained the ability to turn its claw into flowing water.
• Jiang Chen realized his new water affinity could help him transform Buried-Sand Lake and potentially develop a water-element treasure body.
• Jiang Chen sent the Mist Flood Dragon into Buried-Sand Lake to transform it and refine the Nine-Abyss Return-Flow Cup, then began tempering his true body with water-element power.

Old Huang devised and built a Duckweed Spirit Field on Buried-Sand Lake to overcome the difficulties of cultivating Roselight Rice. Jiang Chen recognized the field’s potential and considered Old Huang one of his most promising subordinates.

• Old Huang noticed that water and fire qi had stabilized around Buried-Sand Lake and concluded that the area could be suited to growing Roselight Rice.
• Old Huang proposed making floating spirit fields from Duckweed Spirit Grass and lakebed silt, then reported his plan.
• Red Jade backed Old Huang, and he completed the first Duckweed Spirit Field after half a month of work.
• As the field formed, Old Huang sensed the workings of water and wood and fell into enlightenment.
• Jiang Chen examined the field, understood how its water-and-wood cycle could overcome Western Region soil limitations, and considered expanding it.

Old Huang completed the Duckweed Spirit Field, reached Qi Refinement consummation, and began planting Roselight Rice as his bloodline moved toward becoming an Evergreen Deer. Meanwhile, Jiang Chen ordered the spirit field developed across Cloud-Grasping City, while Profound Flood Dragon ordered Blackwater City to find a suspected patch of Yin Soil as the Mind-Ravaging Seed within him grew unchecked.

• Old Huang’s work on the Duckweed Spirit Field sparked a bloodline mutation, brought him to Qi Refinement consummation, and gave him hope of becoming an Evergreen Deer.
• Old Huang began planting Roselight Rice, while Jiang Chen watched and recognized that he possessed unusual hidden talent.
• Jiang Chen ordered Cloud-Grasping City to develop Duckweed Spirit Fields, accelerating plans for farming on the lake and raising fish beneath it.
• Jiao Ze suspected that a patch of Yin Soil near Blackwater City was attracting ghosts, and Profound Flood Dragon ordered the cultivators to find it.
• Profound Flood Dragon compared himself unfavorably with Jiang Chen, and the Mind-Ravaging Seed in his heart broke free of its restraints and began growing wildly.

Jiang Chen used the God-Usurping Method to take control of Profound Flood Dragon’s mind and uncovered how Gu Lingxiao gave him a True Dragon Life Bone. He realized the Dragon-Snake Society was pursuing a secret tied to the dragon race and decided to keep Profound Flood Dragon alive while considering what to tell Teacher Yuan Gang.

• Jiang Chen took control of Profound Flood Dragon’s mind and searched its deepest memories.
• Jiang Chen saw that Gu Lingxiao had given Profound Flood Dragon a True Dragon Life Bone, which transformed him into a rare genius.
• Jiang Chen concluded that the Life Bone and Profound Flood Dragon’s cultivation could lead him to become a true dragon, while Teacher Yuan Gang’s inheritance might further strengthen him.
• Jiang Chen inferred that the Dragon-Snake Society sought Teacher Yuan Gang’s inheritance and a secret connected to the dragon race, possibly a true dragon treasure trove.
• Jiang Chen decided to keep Profound Flood Dragon alive for now and considered telling Teacher Yuan Gang what he had learned.

Jiang Chen discovered that combining an inner demon, Soul Disruption, and the Soul-Devouring True Demon Art let him access Profound Flood Dragon’s cultivation insights, and he named the technique the Dao Heart Demon-Seeding Method. He could not steal the Impermanence Sect’s protected inheritance, but the dragon nature he gained suggested a way to strengthen his Heavenly Dipper True Form.

• Jiang Chen realized that the inner demon, Soul Disruption, and his soul-devouring nature had let him perceive Profound Flood Dragon’s cultivation insights.
• Jiang Chen circulated the Soul-Devouring True Demon Art and gained a deep understanding of the Myriad Forms Transforming Dragon Scripture.
• Jiang Chen judged that the insight-stealing method had strict conditions and named it the Dao Heart Demon-Seeding Method.
• Jiang Chen examined the dragon silhouette within his One-Qi Primordial Embryo and recognized that he had gained only what Profound Flood Dragon had personally comprehended, not the protected inheritance.
• Jiang Chen valued the trace of dragon nature he had obtained and realized it could help refine his dragon-type forms through the Heavenly Dipper True Form.

Jiang Chen studied the Blood Moon Mark that made Baleful Ghosts difficult to destroy and devised a new way to challenge it by nurturing their spirituality. He began feeding the Baleful Ghost his divine soul power, while Profound Flood Dragon set out to search for Yin Soil.

• Profound Flood Dragon left Blackwater City to find Yin Soil, while Jiang Chen hoped the search would yield useful knowledge about ghosts.
• Jiang Chen examined the Baleful Ghost and found a Blood Moon Mark embedded in its soul, which served as its fatal weakness and seemed to suppress its spirituality.
• Jiang Chen concluded that forcibly controlling Baleful Ghosts would not work and decided to strengthen their spirituality to oppose the Blood Moon Mark.
• Jiang Chen nourished the Baleful Ghost with his divine soul power, and it gradually calmed as its spirituality slowly grew.

Xin Yi confronted Bai Cangzi about delaying his attack on Jiang Chen, while Bai Cangzi urged patience and suggested other forces might oppose Cloud-Grasping City. After Xin Yi left, Bai Cangzi revealed that the Sand Sea turmoil had injured him while he sought the Yellow Heaven Dao Palace, and decided to use Grand Derivation True Gold to divert Xin Yi's attention.

• Xin Yi pressed Bai Cangzi to eliminate Jiang Chen before he could pass the True Disciple Trial, but Bai Cangzi said the time was not right and warned that others might act against Cloud-Grasping City.
• Bai Cangzi revealed that his cultivation had improved, and Xin Yi questioned him about the Sand Sea's recent turmoil and its earth veins.
• Xin Yi told Bai Cangzi to act soon and promised to help send him out of Yuhuan Continent if he killed Jiang Chen, then departed.
• After Xin Yi left, Bai Cangzi admitted that he had been injured while trying to seize the Yellow Heaven Dao Palace and had obtained a wisp of Yellow Heaven Qi instead.
• Bai Cangzi decided to give up Grand Derivation True Gold to tempt Xin Yi and divert her attention from him.

Jiang Chen completed the Hundred Rivers Meridian Traversal Method and reached Dao Foundation Perfection, then decided to attempt cultivating gang qi. He also considered the growing Sand Sea earth-vein disturbances and assessed Taoyao’s progress and Lark-Grasping Mountain’s new formation.

• Mist Flood Dragon sensed a violent earth-vein tremor beneath Buried-Sand Lake and concealed its disturbance from the outside world.
• Jiang Chen completed the Hundred Rivers Meridian Traversal Method, strengthening his spiritual body and easing the future formation of a treasure body.
• Jiang Chen formed his twelfth jade tower and reached Dao Foundation Perfection, bringing his spiritual power to its utmost quality.
• Jiang Chen decided to attempt cultivating gang qi before entering the Purple Mansion realm, judging that his divine soul and One-Origin Qi could help him bear the risks.
• Jiang Chen noticed that Sand Sea earth-vein disturbances had begun affecting Cloud-Grasping City and ordered an investigation.
• Jiang Chen observed Taoyao’s mid-stage Dao Foundation cultivation and the Spirit-Locking Return-to-Origin Grand Formation, noting that Lark-Grasping Mountain lacked a third-tier spiritual vein to unleash the formation’s full might.

Xin Yi investigated Golden Spirit Mountain after its sudden reappearance, hoping to find Grand Derivation True Gold for her Golden Centipede Sword. She entered the dangerous ruins and blocked other seekers, leaving her to pursue the treasure alone.

• A golden phenomenon erupted from the buried battlefield, prompting speculation that Golden Spirit Mountain had reappeared with its valuable ores.
• Xin Yi recognized the sharp golden aura and decided to search for Grand Derivation True Gold to help refine her sword into a pellet.
• Xin Yi used Thousand-Mark Sword Eyes to find a route through the unstable void and entered Golden Spirit Mountain.
• A group of human cultivators, demons, and ghosts approached the mountain, but Xin Yi's sword marks unleashed a Sword Qi storm that killed them.
• Xin Yi declared Grand Derivation True Gold hers and broke through a restriction, while later arrivals hesitated or abandoned the search.

Bai Cangzi used Grand Derivation True Gold to lure Xin Yi into Golden Spirit Mountain so he could search for the Yellow Heaven Dao Palace. Rat Prodigy followed a bloodline call into the mountain and discovered the remains of an elder of its Gold-Biting Rat clan.

• Bai Cangzi confirmed that Xin Yi had entered Golden Spirit Mountain, swallowed a pill to steady his aura, and vanished into the Great Void to locate the Yellow Heaven Dao Palace.
• Rat Prodigy sensed a call stirring its bloodline while searching the Western Region for spirit mines and followed it toward Golden Spirit Mountain.
• Rat Prodigy cautiously approached the mountain, recognized an uncanny sense of familiarity, and entered safely by following its bloodline's guidance.
• Rat Prodigy sensed a Gold-Biting Rat clan elder within the mountain, saw the elder's dead silhouette through the restrictions, and grieved.
• Rat Prodigy used its Gold Fangs talent to pass through hidden gates in the mountain's restrictions and reached the summit.

Xin Yi discovered that Golden Spirit Mountain’s apparent treasure at the summit was a trap and entered a hidden mine shaft where a battle erupted. Rat Prodigy found the body and inheritance of a former Gold-Biting Rat clan chief, accepted the duty of restoring the clan, and awakened the Rat King’s crown.

• Xin Yi identified the summit treasure as a dangerous trap and located a hidden mine shaft that might contain Grand Derivation True Gold.
• Xin Yi entered the mine shaft, triggering a powerful eruption and strange roars that shook Golden Spirit Mountain.
• Rat Prodigy followed unseen guidance into the mountain’s interior and found the body of a former Gold-Biting Rat clan chief.
• Rat Prodigy endured the Rat King’s pressure, approached the body, and received its memories and inheritance.
• Rat Prodigy vowed to succeed the old king and restore the Gold-Biting Rat clan, causing the Rat King’s crown to shine.

Xin Yi escaped Golden Spirit Mountain after discovering its Grand Derivation True Gold vein had been exhausted, and the mountain’s remaining value soon collapsed. In Cloud-Grasping City, Jiang Chen guided the newly formed Ghost Infant as the Blood Moon Curse Mark tried to overwhelm it.

• Xin Yi fought off the Sand Lizard Demon King, then fled when the Three-Yin Poison Dove arrived and joined the pursuit.
• A Ghost King investigated the mine and confirmed that its mineral vein had run dry.
• Cultivators learned that Golden Spirit Mountain’s veins were exhausted, and the mountain’s growing turmoil subsided.
• Jiang Chen watched the Ghost Infant take form beneath Buried-Sand Lake as the Blood Moon Curse Mark erupted.
• Jiang Chen connected with the Ghost Infant and guided its new spirituality to suppress the Blood Moon Mark methodically.

Jiang Chen watched the Blood Moon Curse Mark erase the ghost infant’s spirituality, then used Soul-Calming Immortal Light and his insight into the fading curse to replace its role as the soul’s pivot. His new mark stabilized the ghost infant’s soul beneath a rising star, leaving it alive and growing more resilient.

• The Blood Moon Curse Mark erupted with bloodlight and erased the ghost infant’s spirituality after suppressing its attempted resistance.
• Jiang Chen realized the fading curse had exhausted its power and used Soul-Calming Immortal Light to keep the ghost infant’s soul from collapsing.
• Jiang Chen studied the ghost infant’s soul and discovered that the Blood Moon Curse Mark acted as its pivot, holding the soul together.
• Jiang Chen formed a new dharma seal from Soul-Calming Immortal Light and sent it into the ghost infant’s soul as the Blood Moon Curse Mark vanished.
• A star rose in place of the blood moon, and its light stabilized the ghost infant’s soul and made it more resilient.

Jiang Chen turned the mindless Baleful Ghost into a puppet using the Star Puppet Seal and possessed it to explore the Sand Sea. After learning Rat Prodigy had vanished near Golden Spirit Mountain and that Xin Yi held the Grand Derivation True Gold, he set out to investigate while his true body continued cultivating.

• Jiang Chen realized the Blood Moon's influence had erased the Baleful Ghost's sentience, so he named his soul-controlling technique the Star Puppet Seal and decided to use the ghost as a puppet.
• Jiang Chen received word that Rat Prodigy had found something unusual and vanished, though their soul connection showed it was safe and thriving.
• Jiang Chen connected Rat Prodigy's disappearance to Golden Spirit Mountain and considered seeking the Grand Derivation True Gold that Xin Yi had obtained.
• Jiang Chen sent a sliver of his consciousness into the Baleful Ghost and used its Yellow Heaven Curse to merge with the Sand Sea and travel away.
• Jiang Chen's true body returned to cultivation, continuing to gather resources for his approaching breakthrough to the Purple Mansion.

Xin Yi escaped her pursuers by returning to Golden Centipede City and taking shelter in its grand formation, while Bai Cangzi continued searching for the Yellow Heaven Dao Palace. In the sea of sand, Jiang Chen studied the Yellow Sand Curse and sensed a dragon-type demon beast beneath the ground.

• Xin Yi returned to Golden Centipede City, where its grand formation drove the Sand Lizard Demon King, the Three-Yin Poison Dove, and another Purple Mansion cultivator to retreat.
• After the pursuers left, Xin Yi spat blood, recognized that her injuries needed treatment, and entered the city to suppress them.
• Bai Cangzi concluded that Xin Yi would be occupied by her injuries and resumed following the Yellow Heaven Qi toward the Yellow Heaven Dao Palace.
• Jiang Chen studied how Baleful Ghosts used the Yellow Sand Curse to draw on the dead stillness of the land and formed a golden spirit body from the sand.
• Jiang Chen sensed a dragon-type demon beast beneath the ground, transformed into Quicksand, and headed toward it.

Jiang Chen discovered a Dragon Earthworm clan living in a fortified underground cavern and began planning how to seize its resources. Meanwhile, Rat Prodigy completed its transformation into a Wishful Treasure Body through the Hundredfold Gold-Forging divine power.

• Jiang Chen identified a Dragon Earthworm and marked it so he could follow it to its lair.
• Jiang Chen tracked the Dragon Earthworm for three days and found its clan’s underground cavern beneath the sea of sand.
• Jiang Chen discovered the cavern had powerful formations, three Dao Foundation cultivators, and an ancestor whose aura neared the Purple Mansion threshold.
• Jiang Chen considered using his Dragon-Fishing Rod and the power of his true body to overcome the clan’s defenses, then left surveillance measures and withdrew.
• Rat Prodigy endured the Rat King’s Hundredfold Gold-Forging divine power as its body was reforged from spirit ores.
• Rat Prodigy formed the Gold-Biting Rat clan’s Dao Foundation-level Wishful Treasure Body, and its aura surged.

Rat Prodigy inherited the Gold-Biting Rat Clan’s treasure furnace and learned the Mouse King had extracted Golden Spirit Blood from Golden Spirit Mountain. With the ancestor’s preparations easing the danger, Rat Prodigy began refining the blood to improve his foundation and carry on the clan’s legacy.

• Rat Prodigy awoke to the Mouse King’s inherited memories and resolved to preserve the Gold-Biting Rat Clan.
• Rat Prodigy claimed the Gold-Fusing Treasure Furnace, which recognized his royal bloodline and accepted him as its master.
• The furnace revealed that the Mouse King had hidden Golden Spirit Blood within it and preserved the clan’s complete inheritance.
• Rat Prodigy learned the Mouse King had used the war five hundred years earlier to smelt Golden Spirit Mountain and extract the blood for the clan.
• Rat Prodigy absorbed the furnace’s gentle power, sensed his foundation improving, and began carefully refining the Golden Spirit Blood.