Chapter Summaries

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Wen, now known as Extreme Yin, refuses Zhou Siyi's offer of Hidden Soul Jade, revealing he has a Nether Fox spirit beast whose bone is used to make the jade.
• Extreme Yin decides to keep the Nether Fox alive, using it to conceal his soul fluctuations instead of killing it for its bone.
• Extreme Yin and Zhou Siyi leave the cave dwelling, heading to East Birch Market. Extreme Yin provides Zhou Siyi with a veil to conceal her identity and a storage ring containing useful items.
• Extreme Yin leaves Zhou Siyi in the market and goes to the Mountain Ravine Ghost Market to inquire about Golden Core-stage cultivation techniques.

Character Developments

• Extreme Yin shows compassion by keeping the Nether Fox alive, honoring his promise despite not being bound by a soul oath.
• Zhou Siyi is grateful for Extreme Yin's help and offers to assist him in raising the Shadow Gu's strength.
• Extreme Yin demonstrates his trust in Zhou Siyi by giving her valuable items from his storage ring.

Significant Themes

• Trust and Compassion: Extreme Yin shows trust in Zhou Siyi and compassion towards the Nether Fox, highlighting his growing moral compass.
• Identity and Disguise: Both Extreme Yin and Zhou Siyi use veils and aliases to conceal their true identities, emphasizing the importance of secrecy in their current circumstances.

Character Interactions

• Extreme Yin and Zhou Siyi establish a friendly, cooperative relationship, with Zhou Siyi addressing him as 'Junior Brother Extreme Yin' and offering to help him with the Shadow Gu.
• Extreme Yin and the Nether Fox have a tense interaction, with the Nether Fox initially bristling in anger but later relaxing when Extreme Yin shows no intention of killing it.
• Extreme Yin interacts with a shop attendant in the Ghost Market, using a disguise to gather information about Golden Core-stage cultivation techniques.

Chapter Summary

Song Wen seeks a cultivation technique

Using the alias Cui Huo, Song Wen meets Lei Feiguang, a late-Foundation Establishment cultivator managing a shop in the Mountain Ravine Ghost Market. In a private tea room, Song Wen explains that he is a Rogue Cultivator who previously lived in the Nine Palaces Sect’s territory. Although he possesses a Golden Core technique obtained there, it is demonic in nature and conflicts with his original wood-element technique, the Wood Spirit Life-Rebirth Scripture. He therefore asks Lei Feiguang to help purchase a wood-element Golden Core cultivation technique.

Lei Feiguang proposes an alliance

Lei Feiguang claims that obtaining such a technique will be difficult and suggests that Song Wen join the Lei Clan, which is backed by a Nascent Soul ancestor and possesses substantial resources. Song Wen politely refuses, preferring to remain unaffiliated. To secure Lei Feiguang’s assistance, he gives him two Superior Spirit Stones as an advance and promises ten times that amount if the transaction succeeds, in addition to paying for the technique itself. They exchange communication jade slips before parting.

Lei Clan’s recent crisis

The following day, Lei Feiguang reports to Lei Mingxu, an elder of the Lei Clan. The clan is suffering the consequences of recent events: Lei Weiyue betrayed the clan and rescued Zhou Siyi, undermining Ancestor Lei Yue’s life-extension plan. Lei Yue punished the dungeon guards, launched a search for the fugitives, and later discovered that Zhou Siyi’s Soul Lamp could not be used to track her because the fugitives possessed a treasure that concealed their soul fluctuations. Lei Yue has now begun searching for a replacement for Zhou Siyi.

Lei Mingxu’s guilt and temperament

Lei Mingxu is under pressure because he previously encountered the unidentified Nascent Soul cultivator who helped Lei Weiyue and Zhou Siyi escape. Although he might have intervened, he was intimidated by the cultivator’s aura and failed to act. He feels guilty and senses Ancestor Lei Yue’s dissatisfaction. Despite this, he is also portrayed as a cruel hunter who enjoys ambushing Rogue Cultivators—especially talented individuals and attractive female cultivators—while Lei Feiguang is primarily motivated by profit.

A dangerous discovery

Lei Feiguang tells Lei Mingxu that he has encountered a wealthy “fat sheep”: a Golden Core Rogue Cultivator who offered a large reward for help finding a cultivation technique. Lei Mingxu initially shows no interest, but becomes immediately attentive when Lei Feiguang reveals that the cultivator practices the Wood Spirit Life-Rebirth Scripture. His sudden reaction suggests that the technique is highly valuable or connected to the Lei Clan’s current schemes, placing Song Wen in significant danger.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Song Wen remains cautious, independent, and financially prepared. He refuses factional protection despite Lei Feiguang’s offer, while using generous payment and a communication jade slip to establish a useful connection.
• Lei Feiguang appears courteous and business-minded in public, but privately participates in attacks on Rogue Cultivators. His greed and eagerness to exploit Song Wen’s wealth lead him to expose Song Wen to Lei Mingxu.
• Lei Mingxu is shown as both guilty and predatory: he regrets failing during the escape of Lei Weiyue and Zhou Siyi, yet is also eager to prey upon promising Rogue Cultivators. His intense response to the Wood Spirit Life-Rebirth Scripture marks a major turning point.
• The interaction between Lei Feiguang and Lei Mingxu shifts the chapter from a seemingly ordinary request for help into a potential conspiracy against Song Wen.

Significant Themes

• Independence versus factional security: Song Wen chooses freedom over the resources and protection offered by the Lei Clan.
• Greed and betrayal: Lei Feiguang’s desire for profit causes him to reveal valuable information, while the Lei Clan’s internal betrayal and ruthless punishments expose its corrupt power structure.
• Predation in the cultivation world: Rogue Cultivators are treated as targets by stronger factions, particularly when they possess rare techniques or resources.
• The danger of valuable knowledge: Song Wen’s cultivation method, once mentioned, transforms him from a customer into a potential target.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lei Mingxu suspects a conspiracy behind Cui Huo's appearance and decides to involve the clan ancestor, Lei Yue.
• Lei Yue, Lei Jun, and Lei Mingxu discuss strategies to deal with Cui Huo, deciding to invite Fellow Daoist Mi He to help eliminate the threat.
• Lei Feiguang communicates with Song Wen (disguised as Cui Huo) to set up a trade for a wood-element cultivation technique at the Ghost Market.
• The Lei Clan sets up an ambush and trapping formation in the valley, but Cui Huo doesn't show up.
• Cui Huo sends a message changing the meeting location to Emerald Mountain Lake, indicating he's aware of the ambush.
• Lei Yue decides to proceed to Emerald Mountain Lake to confront Cui Huo.

Character Developments

• Lei Mingxu shows initiative and suspicion, realizing the potential conspiracy.
• Lei Yue demonstrates his strategic thinking and confidence in his abilities.
• Lei Feiguang shows fear and anxiety, worried about Cui Huo's potential retaliation.
• Cui Huo (Song Wen) displays cunning and caution, avoiding the Lei Clan's ambush and changing the meeting location.

Significant Themes

• Revenge and Hatred: Cui Huo's actions are driven by a grudge against the Lei Clan, while the Lei Clan seeks revenge for past wrongs.
• Trust and Deception: Both parties use deception and manipulation to gain an advantage, highlighting the lack of trust between them.
• Power and Confidence: Lei Yue's confidence in his abilities and the Lei Clan's power is evident in his decision to confront Cui Huo.

Character Interactions

• Lei Mingxu and Lei Yue: Mingxu seeks Lei Yue's help and follows his instructions, showing deference to his ancestor.
• Lei Yue, Lei Jun, and Lei Mingxu: They discuss strategies together, demonstrating unity and mutual respect among the clan's leadership.
• Lei Feiguang and Song Wen: They communicate through messages, with Feiguang trying to maintain a facade of honesty while Song Wen remains cautious and manipulative.
• Cui Huo (Song Wen) and the Lei Clan: Their interactions are marked by deception and mutual suspicion, with each side trying to gain an advantage over the other.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lei Yue, Lei Mingxu, and seven other Golden Core cultivators, including Lei Feiguang, arrive at Emerald Mountain Lake on a flying ship.
• Song Wen emerges from the lake, revealing himself to Lei Yue.
• Lei Yue attempts to attack Song Wen with a powerful lightning art, but Song Wen blocks it using a blood barrier.
• Song Wen attacks the flying ship with a pillar of blood, breaking its defensive array and injuring the six Golden Core cultivators.
• Lei Yue orders the others to leave on the flying ship while he stays to face Song Wen.
• Song Wen chases the flying ship with the Void-Breaking Blade, but Mi He intervenes, saving the ship.

Character Developments

• Lei Yue underestimates Song Wen's strength initially but later realizes his mistake.
• Song Wen demonstrates the power of his blood-path magical treasure, the Blood Sea Seal.
• Mi He arrives to aid the Lei Clan, showing her loyalty and power.

Significant Themes

• The power of underestimation: Lei Yue initially underestimates Song Wen's strength, leading to a more challenging battle.
• The importance of magical treasures: Both Song Wen and Lei Yue rely on powerful magical treasures to gain an edge in battle.
• Loyalty and alliance: Mi He's timely arrival highlights the importance of alliances and loyalty to one's clan.

Character Interactions

• Lei Yue and Song Wen: They engage in a battle of strength and strategy, with each trying to outmaneuver the other.
• Lei Yue and Mi He: Though not directly interacting in this chapter, Mi He's arrival shows her loyalty to the Lei Clan and her willingness to aid Lei Yue.
• Song Wen and the Lei Clan: Song Wen's actions show his determination to obtain the Longevity Hall's secret arts, leading to his conflict with the Lei Clan.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Mi He, a Nascent Soul Cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect, arrives to help Lei Yue kill Song Wen.
• Song Wen reveals himself and claims to be a Rogue Cultivator named Cui Huo.
• Mi He offers to mediate, but Song Wen declines and refuses to join the Beast Taming Sect.
• Mi He and Lei Yue attack, but Song Wen uses the Blood Escape Technique to evade and captures Lei Clan members.
• Song Wen demands the texts and cultivation techniques of Longevity Hall in exchange for the Lei Clan members' lives.

Character Developments

• Mi He is introduced as a calm, collected, and strategic cultivator who prioritizes her sect's interests.
• Song Wen demonstrates his cunning and ruthlessness, using the Lei Clan members as bargaining chips.
• Lei Yue shows concern for his clansmen's lives, indicating a level of responsibility and care.

Significant Themes

• Power Dynamics: The chapter explores the power dynamics between cultivators, with Song Wen using his unique abilities to gain the upper hand against stronger opponents.
• Loyalty and Belonging: The theme of loyalty is evident in Mi He's dedication to her sect and Lei Yue's concern for his clansmen.
• Cunning vs. Force: The chapter contrasts brute force (used by Mi He and Lei Yue) with cunning and strategy (used by Song Wen).

Character Interactions

• Mi He and Lei Yue initially work together to defeat Song Wen but later find themselves at odds due to Song Wen's demands.
• Song Wen manipulates the situation, using the Lei Clan members as leverage against Lei Yue and Mi He.
• There's a tense standoff between the three cultivators, with each trying to outmaneuver the others.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Wen captures Lei Feiguang, a Lei Clan steward, and kills him despite pleas from Lei Yue, the Lei Clan ancestor.
• Mi He, a Supreme Elder of the Beast Taming Sect, attacks Song Wen, killing six Lei Clan members in the process.
• Song Wen uses the Blood Escape Technique to flee, leaving behind a blood mist.
• Mi He and Lei Yue split up to search for Song Wen. Mi He detects a blood mist trace and signals Lei Yue.
• Song Wen ambushes Mi He with nine Soul-Concentrating Spikes, causing her to pause her pursuit.

Character Developments

• Song Wen demonstrates his ruthlessness and cunning, using the situation to his advantage and fleeing when necessary.
• Mi He shows her disregard for the lives of others, prioritizing her own sect's interests above all else.
• Lei Yue struggles with his loyalty to his clan and his fear of Mi He, ultimately following her orders despite his misgivings.

Significant Themes

• The struggle between personal interests and moral obligations (Lei Yue's dilemma).
• The ruthlessness and cunning of cultivators in the face of adversity (Song Wen's actions).
• The power dynamics between sects and the consequences of alliances (Mi He's disregard for the Lei Clan members).

Character Interactions

• Song Wen and Lei Yue: Enemies, with Song Wen mocking and provoking Lei Yue.
• Mi He and Lei Yue: Allies, but Mi He shows no concern for Lei Yue's feelings or the lives of his clansmen.
• Song Wen and Mi He: Enemies, with Mi He attempting to kill Song Wen and Song Wen ambushing her with a spiritual sense attack.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Mi He reveals her Wind-Scale Beast, a mid-fourth-rank demonic beast, to chase Song Wen.
• Lei Yue pursues Song Wen, but Song Wen uses a blood mist technique to evade and counterattack with divine-sense-powered blades, injuring Lei Yue.
• Mi He arrives and attacks Lei Yue, revealing she plans to kill him and take the Bronze Key Coffin for herself.
• Song Wen watches the fight, mocking Lei Yue and revealing Mi He's true intentions.

Character Developments

• Song Wen: Shows improved divine-sense skills and strategic thinking, but recognizes he's outmatched and needs to retreat.
• Mi He: Reveals her ambition and willingness to betray allies for personal gain.
• Lei Yue: Initially loyal to Mi He, he becomes suspicious and defensive when she attacks him.

Significant Themes

• Ambition vs. Loyalty: Mi He's ambition leads her to betray Lei Yue, while Lei Yue struggles with his loyalty to her and his clan.
• Power Dynamics: The relationship between the Beast Taming Sect, the Lei Clan, and the Corpse Demon Sect is complex and driven by power dynamics.

Character Interactions

• Mi He and Lei Yue: Their relationship turns hostile as Mi He reveals her true intentions, and Lei Yue questions her actions.
• Song Wen and Mi He/Lei Yue: Song Wen watches their fight, mocking them and revealing Mi He's plans, but also recognizing the danger they pose to him.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Mi He joins forces with Song Wen to defeat Lei Yue, aiming for the Bronze Key Coffin and the Longevity Hall's cultivation arts respectively.
• Lei Yue is killed, and his Nascent Soul is destroyed, causing his soul and spirit to scatter.
• Song Wen and Mi He divide Lei Yue's belongings, with Song Wen keeping the empty storage ring.

Character Developments

• Mi He: Shows cunning and ambition, willing to join forces with Song Wen to achieve her goals.
• Lei Yue: Dies after a failed attempt to escape and resist Song Wen's spiritual sense attacks.
• Song Wen: Proves his power and ruthlessness, taking what he wants without hesitation.

Significant Themes

• Ambition and betrayal: Characters join forces for mutual gain but remain wary of each other.
• Power dynamics: The stronger party takes what they want, while the weaker party yields to avoid conflict.

Character Interactions

• Mi He and Song Wen: Form a temporary alliance to defeat Lei Yue, then divide his belongings.
• Lei Yue and Mi He: Engage in a battle, with Mi He ultimately betraying Lei Yue.

Summary

Key plot points

• Song Wen and Mi He divide the treasures found in the Longevity Hall. Mi He claims the Bronze Key Coffin, which Song Wen recognizes as identical to a coffin he already owns, though he does not reveal that connection.
• Song Wen examines the blood-colored Jade Slip. It contains the Longevity Art up to Spirit Transformation and an advanced Devouring Essence Array capable of extending life by up to 180 years by consuming Longevity Art cultivators. Neither is what he is seeking.
• They split the remaining treasures and copy the Jade Slips. Song Wen obtains nearly two hundred Superior Spirit Stones, Lei Yue’s lightning-attribute short lance, the final five Thunder Arts, and the Thunder Codex.
• The Thunder Arts reach from Spirit Transformation through Tribulation Transcendence—realms beyond what cultivators can attain in the Heavenly Origin Realm. Their presence, alongside the Longevity Art’s Spirit Transformation method, strikes Song Wen as suspicious.
• Song Wen asks Mi He for the Longevity Hall’s location. She demands the Soul-Concentrating Spike cultivation method in return. Song Wen refuses that price and instead proposes exchanging it for the Beast Taming Sect’s third- and fourth-tier pill recipes and alchemists’ notes.
• Mi He agrees to provide thirty third-tier recipes and ten fourth-tier recipes. They arrange to trade at noon in three days on Azure Mountain.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Wen is cautious and strategic: he conceals his prior ownership of a matching coffin, checks whether Mi He has withheld any Jade Slips, and carefully sets the number of recipes in the deal to prevent her from reneging. He also reveals his longer-term need for advanced recipes to develop stronger Blood Spirit Pills, since his current pills no longer help him much after reaching Nascent Soul.
• Mi He is guarded about the Longevity Hall’s location but willing to bargain for knowledge. She initially presses for Song Wen’s Soul-Concentrating Spike method, then accepts his counteroffer.
• Their exchange remains polite but wary. Both keep their private motives secret, and their negotiation ends in a firm agreement rather than mutual trust.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and mistrust: Both cultivators withhold their reasons for seeking the Longevity Hall and watch for possible deception.
• Pragmatism and bargaining: Knowledge and treasures are treated as commodities, with each side weighing their usefulness and cost.
• Ambition and limits: Song Wen seeks resources to continue advancing, while the realm’s cultivation ceiling makes the higher-level techniques found in the ruins puzzling and ominous.

Key plot points

• After leaving Mi He, Song Wen disguises himself and travels to Commonfolk City, the Lei Clan’s stronghold. The city and clan compound appear calm because the clan has concealed the death of its ancestor, Lei Yue.
• Song Wen contacts clan head Lei Jun, demanding the Essence Sea Fruit in exchange for the identity of Lei Yue’s killer.
• At the clan’s main hall, Lei Jun and the clan’s eleven surviving Golden Core cultivators debate their next steps. Without their only Nascent Soul cultivator, they fear attacks, the loss of their holdings, and the possibility that their protective formation may fail.
• Song Wen’s message confirms their worst fears. He warns that the Lei Clan is on the brink of destruction and gives Lei Jun little time to decide.
• Suspecting Mi He or the Beast Taming Sect may be involved, Lei Jun orders the clan to gather valuable resources and prepare for evacuation through underground passages.
• Lei Jun meets Song Wen at the north gate and gives him the Essence Sea Fruit. Song Wen then reveals that Mi He killed Lei Yue.

Character developments and interactions

• Lei Jun shifts from confusion and indecision to urgent action. His fear that the Beast Taming Sect might be responsible drives him to prepare the clan to flee before the truth is confirmed.
• Song Wen controls the exchange through secrecy and pressure. He denies killing Lei Yue but withholds the answer until he receives the fruit.
• Lei Jun and the clan elders disagree over whether to seek the Beast Taming Sect’s help, surrender territory, or prepare for an attack. Their debate reveals both their desperation and their mistrust of potential allies.
• Song Wen and Lei Jun negotiate entirely through message Jade Slips, allowing the clan to keep Lei Yue’s death secret from those nearby.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: The Lei Clan’s security collapses with the death of its sole Nascent Soul cultivator.
• Fear and mistrust: The clan cannot tell whether its supposed ally, the Beast Taming Sect, might actually be its greatest threat.
• Deception and bargaining: Song Wen uses concealed identity, carefully limited truths, and the Essence Sea Fruit as leverage.
• Survival over pride: Lei Jun prepares to abandon holdings and evacuate rather than risk the clan’s destruction.

Plot points and events

• Lei Yue asks Song Wen for proof that Mi He murdered the Lei Clan’s head. Song Wen provides an Image-Recording Stone showing Mi He killing Lei Yue and destroying his soul.
• Lei Jun realizes the Lei Clan is now in danger, then asks whether Song Wen killed his son, Lei Tianyu. Song Wen admits it and challenges him to seek revenge, but Lei Jun acknowledges he is no match for a Nascent Soul cultivator. Song Wen leaves.
• Song Wen searches Azure Mountain, finds little, and hides two Shadow Gu there before retreating to a distant cavern to recover.
• Three days later, Mi He arrives at the mountain for their exchange. She verifies Song Wen’s Soul-Concentrating Spike cultivation method and gives him pill recipes.
• The two exchange further Jade Slips: Song Wen receives pill-refining insights and the location of the Longevity Hall Secret Realm, while Mi He receives the refining methods for three pills required by the cultivation method.
• Mi He discovers that many required ingredients are unfamiliar or apparently extinct. Song Wen claims the method came from an ancient ruin and says he found the finished pills there too. He advises her to search other ruins for the missing ingredients, then tries to leave. Mi He calls after him again.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Wen remains calculating and guarded. He admits to Lei Jun that he killed Lei Tianyu, but uses the disparity in their strength to taunt him. During the trade, he carefully checks Mi He’s Jade Slip and conceals the true circumstances of his knowledge.
• Lei Jun is devastated by proof of Mi He’s crime and fears for his clan, yet restrains his desire for vengeance because Song Wen is overwhelmingly powerful.
• Mi He is pragmatic and cautious, checking the cultivation method before trading. Her suspicion grows when the recipes require missing ingredients, but Song Wen’s argument leaves her without an easy objection.
• The chapter’s key interactions center on transaction and mistrust: Song Wen and Lei Jun exchange proof and accusations, while Song Wen and Mi He negotiate valuable information and challenge each other’s claims.

Significant themes

• Vengeance versus power: Lei Jun’s grief and anger cannot overcome the reality of his weakness.
• Deception and guarded trust: Both major exchanges involve verification, selective disclosure, and suspicion.
• The costs of ambition: Mi He gains the means to pursue a powerful cultivation technique, but its rare ingredients may make it unusable.
• Leverage through information: Song Wen’s evidence and knowledge give him control in both encounters.

Plot points and events

• Song Wen, still using the identity of Cui, asks Mi He about the Lei Clan. She says most of the clan was executed after several Golden Core cultivators escaped with some talented members to demonic territory. Mi He gives Song Wen her communication jade slip, expecting they may trade again.
• After a month of recovery, Song Wen returns to East Birch Market in disguise and visits Zhou Siyi. He proves his identity by recalling the Shadow Gu he had left with her.
• Zhou Siyi reports that Mysterious Dew Flower strengthened the Gu, though she spent nearly all the Spirit Stones Song Wen supplied while testing different herbs. Song Wen leaves the Gu with her to continue raising.
• Song Wen gives Zhou Siyi an Essence Sea Fruit obtained from the Lei Clan and offers to guard her while she repairs her shattered dantian.
• They travel to a remote mountain, where Zhou Siyi undergoes the dangerous treatment. After three months, her dantian is fully healed and stronger than before.

Character developments

• Song Wen remains cautious, recovering before returning in disguise. He shows concern for Zhou Siyi by providing the rare fruit and guarding her through the treatment.
• Zhou Siyi demonstrates a sharp talent for raising Gu, independently discovering what strengthens the Shadow Gu. She endures the painful repair process with discipline and succeeds.
• Mi He maintains a practical but cooperative relationship with Song Wen, anticipating future dealings.

Significant themes

• Devastating consequences of clan conflict: The Lei Clan’s destruction is described matter-of-factly, underscoring the scale of violence behind political victories.
• Trust and mutual support: Song Wen and Zhou Siyi rely on one another, with Song Wen supplying resources and protection while Zhou Siyi contributes her specialized knowledge.
• Perseverance and recovery: Zhou Siyi’s painful treatment shows the cost of restoring her cultivation—and the possibility of emerging stronger.

Character interactions

• Mi He and Song Wen exchange communication jade slips and discuss the Lei Clan’s fate.
• Song Wen reunites with a wary Zhou Siyi, then entrusts her with the Shadow Gu and supports her research.
• Zhou Siyi is grateful for the Essence Sea Fruit, while Song Wen reassures her and stands guard during her recovery.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Song Wen returns to East Birch Market after finding Longevity Hall empty.
• He decides to leave East Birch Market with Zhou Siyi for Anzhou City.
• They encounter the chaotic and lawless Forgotten World Ridge and Witch's Resentment Market.
• At the market, they witness a dispute between a customer and a stall owner over fake goods, leading to a fight and the stall owner's death. The stall is looted, and the body is claimed by a demonic cultivator.

Character Developments

• Song Wen shows interest in the lawless and chaotic environment of Witch's Resentment Market, finding it appealing.
• Zhou Siyi, despite being a righteous-path cultivator, remains calm and composed in the face of such chaos.

Significant Themes

• Freedom vs. Order: The market represents freedom from sect rules and restrictions, but this leads to chaos and disorder.
• Survival of the Fittest: In this lawless environment, only the strong survive, and even the weak can fight back when cornered.

Character Interactions

• Song Wen and Zhou Siyi travel together, with Zhou Siyi choosing to follow Song Wen despite the risks.
• The interaction between the customer and the stall owner highlights the lawless nature of the market, with no rules or authorities to enforce justice.

Summary

Plot Points & Events

• Song Wen and Zhou Siyi enter Witch's Resentment Market, aiming to settle there for cultivation due to its freedom and resources.
• They visit a shop specializing in spiritual herbs, where Zhou Siyi spots a third-rank Demon Spirit Grass.
• The shop attendant tries to scam them by dropping the jade box containing the herb, intending to increase the price due to 'damage'.

Character Developments

• Zhou Siyi shows excitement and eagerness upon finding the Demon Spirit Grass, revealing her inexperience in market dealings.
• Song Wen demonstrates calmness and caution, suspecting the attendant's intentions and preventing Zhou Siyi from using her spiritual power to catch the falling jade box.

Significant Themes

• The theme of deception and exploitation in markets is introduced, with the shop attendant attempting to swindle the duo.
• The freedom and potential of Witch's Resentment Market for Rogue Cultivators is highlighted.

Character Interactions

• Song Wen and Zhou Siyi display a level of trust and understanding, with Song Wen protecting Zhou Siyi from potential exposure of her Golden Core Cultivator status.
• The shop attendant and shopkeeper exhibit arrogance and greed, attempting to exploit the duo's apparent inexperience.

Plot points and events

• A burly shopkeeper and her attendant try to extort Song Wen and Zhou Siyi, demanding five thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Song Wen calmly claims he can pay with fifty Superior Spirit Stones. When he identifies the shopkeeper as a mid-Foundation Establishment body cultivator, his manner and overwhelming pressure reveal that he is far more powerful—apparently a Golden Core cultivator.
• The pair kneel and beg for mercy. The shopkeeper says her aunt, Fairy Fu Mei, is a powerful Golden Core cultivator. Song Wen doubts her claim and dismisses her identity token as proof.
• He demands that Fu Mei come in person if they want to be spared. Because she is over a thousand li away, the shopkeeper sends her attendant, Xiao Si, to fetch her.
• Song Wen senses Xiao Si intends to flee and places a spell inside him that will explode if he does not return within an hour. Xiao Si leaves by flying boat, while onlookers gather outside and take satisfaction in seeing the shopkeeper humbled.

Character developments

• Song Wen shifts from an apparently vulnerable customer to a composed, intimidating force. He uses his knowledge, cultivation pressure, and a coercive spell to control the situation.
• Zhou Siyi remains beside Song Wen and shares his ignorance of Fairy Fu Mei, but otherwise plays a quiet, observant role.
• The shopkeeper goes from confident extortionist to terrified supplicant, relying on her aunt’s reputation to save her.
• Xiao Si appears frightened and tries to use his errand as an escape, but Song Wen’s spell forces him to obey.
• The shopkeeper’s declaration that she and Xiao Si will “grow old together” contrasts humorously with their striking difference in size and demeanor.

Significant themes

• Power and intimidation: Apparent vulnerability gives way to a stark hierarchy once Song Wen reveals his strength.
• Consequences of exploitation: The shopkeeper’s attempt to cheat customers turns against her, and the crowd’s reaction suggests she has victimized others.
• Trust and proof: Song Wen refuses to accept the shopkeeper’s claim about her influential relative based only on an ordinary-looking token.
• Coercion and control: Song Wen’s spell prevents Xiao Si from escaping, showing how completely he dominates the encounter.

Character interactions

• Song Wen calmly confronts the shopkeeper and attendant, then forces them to kneel through sheer pressure.
• The shopkeeper invokes Fairy Fu Mei as protection; Song Wen challenges her to produce Fu Mei in person.
• The shopkeeper orders Xiao Si to fetch her aunt, but Song Wen warns him against fleeing by placing a timed spell in his body.
• The gathered cultivators watch the confrontation, their satisfaction revealing the shop’s bad reputation.

Chapter Summary

Plot and events

Song Wen scares away the cultivators outside the shop and questions the burly female cultivator about the source of Demon Spirit Grass. He and Zhou Siyi learn that the grass comes from Fairy Fu Mei of Azure Gauze Mountain. Xiao Si successfully brings Fu Mei to the shop within an hour. Fu Mei apologizes for her niece and offers twenty stalks of Demon Spirit Grass as compensation, but Song Wen instead proposes an ongoing purchase of at least one hundred stalks annually. Fu Mei demands an inflated price of two thousand low-grade spirit stones per stalk, using her monopoly over the supply to pressure him. When Song Wen implies that her niece will still pay for her offense, Fu Mei attacks him. Song Wen counters with a single punch, destroying her arm, severely injuring her, and accidentally killing the burly cultivator and Xiao Si in the backlash. He then traps Fu Mei inside a barrier formed from Origin-Returning Sha Qi. Realizing that Song Wen is actually a Nascent Soul cultivator, Fu Mei begs for mercy, but Song Wen considers her repentance too late. He sends Zhou Siyi outside while preparing to deal with Fu Mei.

Character development

Song Wen displays both confidence and overwhelming physical strength, refusing to be manipulated by Fu Mei’s supposed monopoly. His statement that she is “not worthy” of calling him a fellow cultivator emphasizes the vast difference between their realms. Although he initially seeks a peaceful business arrangement, he responds decisively when Fu Mei attacks. Zhou Siyi remains practical and composed, immediately gathering the shop’s spirit herbs and spirit stones during the fight to prevent their destruction. She also demonstrates her trust in Song Wen by leaving without questioning his intentions. Fu Mei shifts rapidly from an arrogant negotiator to a terrified subordinate once she recognizes Song Wen’s true cultivation.

Character interactions

Song Wen and Zhou Siyi cooperate in investigating the Demon Spirit Grass supply. Fu Mei attempts to protect her niece while exploiting Song Wen’s need for the herb, but Song Wen turns the negotiation into a warning about consequences. Their verbal confrontation escalates into a brief but devastating fight, with Fu Mei’s attack utterly overwhelmed by Song Wen’s counterpunch. Fu Mei’s relationship with her niece is shown through her willingness to intervene, though her protection ultimately fails.

Significant themes

The chapter emphasizes the cultivation world’s harsh hierarchy, where strength determines authority and even business negotiations. It also highlights the consequences of arrogance and misjudging an opponent. Song Wen’s demand for respect, Fu Mei’s reliance on monopoly power, and the sudden reversal of their positions reinforce the theme that hidden strength is more important than appearances. Practical preparation and mutual trust are also evident in Zhou Siyi’s quick actions during the battle.

Plot points

• Song Wen kills Fu Mei by devouring her soul and blood essence, then leaves her shop with Zhou Siyi. A fire soon destroys the shop, and rumors spread that two Golden Core cultivators killed Fu Mei.
• The pair travel to Azure Gauze Mountain, where Song Wen uses the formation disk to disable its powerful defensive formation. He declares the mountain and its assets theirs.
• The mountain’s workers explain that Fu Mei controlled extensive spiritual fields and five profitable shops. She had kept the workers obedient through cruelty and, in many cases, monthly doses of antidote for Cold Chi Powder.
• Song Wen orders the shop managers summoned. Zhou Siyi asks about Demon Spirit Grass production and learns that the fields produce only fifty two-hundred-year-old stalks annually, at roughly five hundred spirit stones per stalk—far less efficiently than her sect.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Wen shifts quickly from killing Fu Mei to taking control of her territory. He treats the workers calmly, telling them they need not kneel, but immediately begins assessing the mountain’s resources.
• Zhou Siyi takes an active role in investigating the Demon Spirit Grass supply. Her surprise at the low yield and high cost reveals her familiarity with cultivation practices at the Beast Taming Sect.
• Quan Qiu, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, identifies herself as the workers’ leader and reports on Fu Mei’s businesses. Yu Bai, who oversees the spiritual fields, provides details about herb production.
• The guards and workers initially approach Song Wen and Zhou Siyi cautiously, then submit after Song Wen announces Fu Mei’s death. The workers’ hope for better treatment contrasts with the abuse they endured under Fu Mei.

Significant themes

• Power and coercion: Fu Mei maintained control through violence and poison; Song Wen inherits her authority, leaving open whether his rule will be different.
• Violence as a route to wealth: Fu Mei’s death gives Song Wen and Zhou Siyi access to her land, businesses, and labor force.
• Practical economics of cultivation: Herb yields depend on resources and techniques, and accelerated growth can be costly—making the mountain’s fields less valuable than their abundance might suggest.

Plot points

• Song Wen and Zhou Siyi establish themselves at Azure Gauze Mountain under the aliases Xing Chang and Zhou Shuang. Song Wen tells the seven resident Foundation Establishment cultivators to keep operations running and promises them freedom in fifty years, claiming he can provide a true antidote to Cold Chi Powder.
• Song Wen plans to leave for an important task. He assures Zhou Siyi that the mountain’s defensive formation will protect her from all but a Nascent Soul cultivator, and tells her to prioritize her safety and maintain only the businesses she can manage.
• He gives Zhou Siyi a collection of pill formulas and alchemy notes, along with his own research, and asks her to develop a Blood Qi Pill-like medicine with much greater potency.
• After leaving her with substantial funds and her Shadow Gu, Song Wen travels to Anzhou City, a prosperous trade hub under the Nine Palaces Sect.
• Disguised as a middle-stage Golden Core rogue cultivator, he hires a broker to find someone who can provide information on the sect’s internal affairs. The broker takes him to a discreet, unprotected information-trading shop. Song Wen asks its intermediary about Yan Yiwen.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Wen demonstrates strategic control and concern for Zhou Siyi’s safety, while continuing to use deception to manage the Azure Gauze Mountain cultivators. His request for a stronger blood-consuming pill suggests he has a specific, undisclosed use for it.
• Zhou Siyi accepts responsibility for the mountain and its businesses and agrees to pursue the difficult alchemical project without pressing Song Wen about his motives.
• The seven cultivators comply with Song Wen’s orders, grateful for the promised eventual release.
• Song Wen deals cautiously with the broker and shopkeeper, reassuring the nervous intermediary that he is not there to cause trouble before naming Yan Yiwen.

Significant themes

• Deception and control: Song Wen relies on aliases, concealed intentions, and a fabricated antidote promise to secure cooperation.
• Trust and responsibility: He entrusts Zhou Siyi with his base, resources, and a demanding research task, while emphasizing her survival.
• Power and information: Anzhou City’s diverse trade reflects the Nine Palaces Sect’s openness to many cultivation paths, while Song Wen’s search shows the value—and risks—of covert intelligence.

Plot and events

• Song Wen questions an elderly information broker about Yan Yiwen, a secluded Golden Core cultivator and disciple of Tai He, a Nascent Soul elder of the Nine Palaces Sect.
• He learns that Yan appeared within the sect a year ago, though her current cultivation is unknown. Tai He is about 650 years old, has been at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage for 130 years, and is famous for drawing Minor Teleportation Talismans. There is no known sign that he has advanced further.
• Song Wen recalls that Tai He took Yan as a disciple intending to use her yin essence to break through to the Nascent Soul Late Stage. He reasons that Yan may now be powerful enough for this purpose, but Tai He may not yet have reached the right bottleneck—or may simply not have acted.
• Song Wen offers a Superior Spirit Stone for further intelligence. The broker refuses to ask his Nine Palaces Sect contact to investigate Tai He, saying the contact cannot do so. He then reports that, more than seventy years earlier, Yan captured corpse-path cultivators, including Golden Core rogues, and once caused a dispute with the Corpse Demon Sect that Tai He had to resolve.
• Song Wen pays the broker with a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone instead, then directs his hired guide to the Nine Palaces Sect’s Secret Lore Pavilion. He enters its most expensive section for person-finding information.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Wen is methodical and guarded, using the broker’s information to assess the danger Tai He might pose and the uncertainty surrounding Yan. He shows little emotion, pays selectively, and does not pressure the broker when his request proves impossible.
• The broker is cautious and pragmatic: he refuses a task beyond his contact’s reach, but offers another lead. Song Wen’s unreadable manner makes him wary.
• Yan Yiwen remains an elusive figure. Her past campaign against corpse-path cultivators adds a new, unexplained element to her history.
• Tai He is presented as a powerful, calculating elder whose ambition may involve exploiting his disciple.

Significant themes

• Information and uncertainty: Rumors provide clues but no firm answers about either cultivator’s present status or intentions.
• Power and self-preservation: Song Wen evaluates Tai He’s cultivation chiefly in terms of whether he could escape a confrontation.
• Exploitation beneath mentorship: Tai He’s relationship with Yan may conceal an intention to use her for his own advancement.
• Caution in unequal relationships: The broker carefully weighs the risks of helping a dangerous senior, while Song Wen avoids forcing the issue.

Plot points and events

• Song Wen visits the Secret Lore Pavilion seeking information on Blood Brow, a cultivator who supposedly began cultivating anew after taking over another body and is skilled in blood- and corpse-path techniques. The pavilion has no record of her.
• Song Wen then asks the pavilion to find a fourth-tier artifact refiner who can turn Lei Yue’s former natal lance into a high-grade lightning treasure.
• The pavilion’s steward, Kang Jiang, explains that the only suitable refiner is Patriarch Hao Kong, a Nascent Soul cultivator and the sect’s sole fourth-tier artifact refiner.
• Rather than pay with spirit stones, Song Wen offers a low-grade soul-defense treasure. Kang Jiang recognizes its value and agrees to pass the proposal to Hao Kong.
• Wary of a possible trap at the pavilion, Song Wen leaves his communication jade slip instead of meeting Hao Kong there.
• Hao Kong contacts him within an hour and requests to inspect the soul-defense treasure. Song Wen proposes a meeting at Flat Creek Waterfall, away from Anzhou City, and Hao Kong agrees.

Character developments and interactions

• Song Wen remains cautious and controlled: he tests the pavilion’s information service, negotiates with a rare treasure as payment, and avoids revealing his location or risking an ambush inside the city.
• The female cultivator begins confidently but becomes deferential when she realizes Song Wen’s request involves a Nascent Soul-level treasure; she directs him to the steward.
• Kang Jiang is respectful and commercially alert. He recognizes the soul treasure’s significance and sees the commission as an opportunity, while understanding why Song Wen prefers a safer meeting arrangement.
• Hao Kong communicates directly and cautiously, insisting on examining the offered treasure before committing.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and uncertainty: Blood Brow’s hidden identity and Song Wen’s guarded dealings emphasize how difficult information-gathering can be in the cultivation world.
• Power and status: The characters’ reactions reveal the vast divide between cultivation levels and the prestige attached to rare treasures and specialist skills.
• Trust tempered by caution: The potential value of the deal encourages cooperation, but Song Wen and Hao Kong both take precautions before meeting or agreeing.