Chapter Summaries

Su Shi'er and Venerable Tianhong faced the Phantom Star Sect elders over Su Shi'er's claim to join the sect as an elder through the Heavenly Evolution Token. The elders challenged his Foundation Establishment cultivation, leaving Venerable Tianhong increasingly isolated as Su Shi'er silently assessed the opposition.

• Venerable Tianhong found the Sect Master and Shen Tianyin absent from the Assembly Hall, while the Sect Master had left the token's decision to the council of elders.
• A hostile long-faced cultivator questioned Su Shi'er's character and hinted that the sect needed to scrutinize the newcomer bearing the Heavenly Evolution Token.
• Venerable Tianhong defended Su Shi'er, explaining that he was Shen Tianyin's martial brother and that the Sect Master had already been informed of his arrival.
• Li Yunwen and other elders argued that Su Shi'er's Foundation Establishment cultivation did not qualify him for an elder's position, despite the token.
• Su Shi'er observed that most elders opposed Venerable Tianhong and remained calm while little Feng Fei trembled in his arms.

The Phantom Star Sect elders disputed whether Su Shi'er should receive an elder's position for possessing the Heavenly Evolution Token, and he agreed to enter the outer sect first. Venerable Tianhong exposed the elders' history of secretly admitting their own connections, leaving Situ Zhen under the other elders' disapproving stares.

• Venerable Tianhong rebuked Situ Zhen and insisted that Su Shi'er receive a Guest Elder position despite the usual Golden Core requirement.
• Situ Zhen argued that Su Shi'er should join the outer sect first, while Venerable Tianhong used his aura to enforce his position.
• Su Shi'er said he preferred to gain experience in the outer sect and focus on cultivation, and Venerable Tianhong accepted his choice.
• Situ Zhen directed Su Shi'er to take a Spiritual Root test and outer sect assessment, and asked him to leave the Heavenly Evolution Token behind.
• Venerable Tianhong accused Situ Zhen and other elders of secretly arranging sect admissions for their own connections, prompting the elders to fall silent and look at Situ Zhen with disapproval.

Venerable Tianhong exposed Situ Zhen’s past misconduct and forced him to accept an arrangement for Su Shi'er to enter the outer sect as a disciple. After Tianhong was summoned to the Secret Pavilion, Duo Tiangong escorted Su Shi'er and Feng Fei to the outer sect, where Yan Donghai was testing new arrivals’ spiritual roots.

• Venerable Tianhong rebuked Situ Zhen for covering up his great-grandson’s crimes and challenged him to appeal through proper channels.
• Duo Tiangong proposed that Situ Zhen recommend Su Shi'er as a nephew so he could gain experience as an outer sect disciple, with the Heavenly Evolution Token to be honored when he reached the Golden Core stage.
• Situ Zhen wrote the recommendation letter and gave it to Duo Tiangong after Venerable Tianhong accepted the arrangement.
• Duo Tiangong relayed Senior Leng’s summons from the Secret Pavilion, and Venerable Tianhong left after asking him to escort Su Shi'er.
• Duo Tiangong carried Su Shi'er and Feng Fei to the outer sect, where Yan Donghai examined candidates’ spiritual-root aptitude and decided who could stay.

Su Shi'er, Duo Tiangong, and Feng Fei arrived at the Phantom Star Sect’s recruitment platform, where their Spiritual Roots were tested. After Yan Donghai learned that Su Shi'er had a recommendation from Situ Zhen, he reversed his rejection and eagerly welcomed him into the outer sect.

• Su Shi'er, Duo Tiangong, and Feng Fei landed on the platform, and the testing devices revealed Duo Tiangong's dual Metal-Fire Spiritual Root, Su Shi'er's Mixed Spiritual Roots, and Feng Fei's Wind Spiritual Root.
• Duo Tiangong privately judged Su Shi'er's prospects poor but considered arranging an elder's position for him because of his relationship with Tianyin.
• Yan Donghai initially objected to accepting Su Shi'er because of his weak aptitude, while praising Feng Fei's rare Wind Spiritual Root.
• Duo Tiangong told Yan Donghai that Situ Zhen had ordered Su Shi'er's admission and handed him a recommendation letter.
• After reading the letter and learning that Su Shi'er was Situ Zhen's nephew, Yan Donghai changed his attitude and praised Su Shi'er as a promising cultivator worthy of joining the outer sect.

Su Shi'er secured immediate entry into the Phantom Star Sect and received the sect’s finest outer-sect dwelling, White Cloud Mountain, provoking resentment among the other cultivators. He arrived there with Feng Fei and began settling into his new home.

• Duo Tiangong departed after confirming that Su Shi'er’s matter was settled, and Yan Donghai offered to arrange his Identity Token.
• Su Shi'er gave his name as Wang Su, and Yan Donghai admitted him as an outer sect disciple without requiring him to take the examination.
• Yan Donghai gave Su Shi'er the token and map to White Cloud Mountain, drawing envy and hostility from the gathered cultivators.
• Yan Donghai sent Su Shi'er and Feng Fei to inspect the mountain and promised to deliver his Identity Token and explain the sect’s benefits later.
• Su Shi'er and Feng Fei landed on White Cloud Mountain, where he told her it would be their temporary home.

Su Shi'er reassured Feng Fei that she would learn to protect herself, then surveyed the mountain residence and discovered cultivators preparing a plaza for an outer sect assessment reward. Their conversation revealed Shen Miaoyin’s exceptional talent and standing in the Phantom Star Sect, leaving Su Shi'er worried that he would fall behind her before he could take revenge on the sect.

• Su Shi'er told Feng Fei to study and cultivate so she could protect herself, and she vowed to protect him and her grandfather.
• Su Shi'er noticed figures at the mountain residence and led Feng Fei up to the summit to inspect the area before settling in.
• Three Foundation Establishment cultivators discussed how Cheng Jingfeng was favored to win the outer sect assessment and receive the residence.
• The cultivators described Shen Miaoyin’s five high-grade Spiritual Roots, array expertise, Heavenly Evolution Token, and privileged position in the Phantom Star Sect.
• Su Shi'er worried that his gap with Shen Miaoyin would grow and hoped the Spirit Sculpting Pill could improve his aptitude as he pursued revenge against the Phantom Star Sect.
• Su Shi'er and Feng Fei reached the summit, where the three cultivators noticed them.

Su Shi'er claimed the White Cloud Mountain cave abode with his token, won the builders’ favor with ten Top-grade Gathering Yuan Pills, and set Feng Fei to studying while he prepared the mountain. He spent more than ten days laying formations, ending with a powerful sword formation that drew the attention of nearby cultivators.

• Su Shi'er showed the three cultivators his cave abode token, and they welcomed him after learning the cave abode had been assigned to him.
• Su Shi'er gave each of the three a bottle of Gathering Yuan Pills, and they later discovered all ten pills in each bottle were Top-grade.
• Su Shi'er brought Feng Fei into the pavilion, set out books, food, and medicinal pills for her, and told her to read while he made arrangements.
• Su Shi'er spent more than ten days installing defensive, illusion, maze, and offensive formations across White Cloud Mountain.
• Su Shi'er used the Tai'a Seven Star Sword and eighty other flying swords to complete a third-grade sword formation, whose display lasted three days and three nights and attracted cultivators.

Su Shi'er inspected his new cave dwelling and discovered that Tan Fengchen's Spirit Beast Bag held a ferocious Essence Devouring Bloodworm. He learned from the Myriad Beasts Art that the insect was one of the Cultivation World's ten deadliest insects and considered how to control it.

• A late Foundation Establishment man and a woman on nearby peaks assessed Su Shi'er's occupation of White Cloud Mountain before returning to their cave dwellings.
• Su Shi'er inspected his cave dwelling, activated its Spirit Gathering Formation, and sorted his resources.
• Su Shi'er opened Tan Fengchen's Spirit Beast Bag, but an Essence Devouring Bloodworm broke free and threatened to escape.
• Su Shi'er froze the bloodworm and used five Ice Soul Spiders to keep it restrained.
• Su Shi'er consulted the Myriad Beasts Art and learned that Essence Devouring Bloodworms were among the Cultivation World's ten deadliest insects and were best controlled with Spirit, Blood, or Soul Contracts.

Su Shi'er studied beast-taming methods and spirit-herb cultivation, then bound three Essence Devouring Bloodworms with different contracts. After learning how to grow rare plants, he crushed the Zhongyuan Xutu Earth into a room's soil.

• Su Shi'er concluded that mutual benefit and emotional bonds were preferable for taming beasts, but chose contracts to control the vicious Essence Devouring Bloodworms.
• He placed a Soul Contract, a Spirit Contract, and a Blood Contract on the three bloodworms, then subdued them when they broke free and attacked.
• Su Shi'er put the bloodworms in separate Spirit Beast Bags and released the Ice Soul Spiders and Spirit Devouring Rat to roam White Cloud Mountain.
• He studied Jiang Xueyan's Spirit Herb Cultivation Insights for three days and learned about identifying, planting, and accelerating the growth of spiritual plants.
• Su Shi'er crushed the Zhongyuan Xutu Earth Jiang Xueyan had gifted him and scattered it into the soil of one room in the spirit herb chamber.

Su Shi'er tested how Spirit Stones and Thousand Year Jade Marrow Liquid accelerated spirit-herb growth in a newly made Spirit Field. He then planted his Six Bends Spirit Ginseng in another Spirit Field and, after pouring in a large amount of the liquid, finally made it begin to grow.

• Su Shi'er turned a room into a Spirit Field and planted five Spirit Nourishing Flowers and five Calming Grass to test cultivation methods.
• He used Spirit Stones to accelerate the herbs, then diluted Thousand Year Jade Marrow Liquid to multiply them to more than twenty of each kind.
• Su Shi'er prepared a second room as a Spirit Field and carefully planted his Six Bends Spirit Ginseng.
• He found that a mid-grade Spirit Stone and diluted Jade Marrow Liquid mostly restored the ginseng's color without speeding its growth.
• Su Shi'er poured out one-fifth of the Thousand Year Jade Marrow Liquid, and the Six Bends Spirit Ginseng began growing visibly.

Su Shi'er spent years cultivating spirit plants and refining pills while settling into life as an outer sect disciple of the Phantom Star Sect. With the Nine Bends Spirit Ginseng ready and the Spirit Sculpting Pill’s main ingredient in hand, he decided he needed a Spiritual Artifact-grade pill furnace before attempting the dangerous refinement.

• Su Shi'er planted rare spirit plants, attached the Thousand Year Ganoderma to the Bodhi Tree on White Cloud Mountain, and protected them with an array.
• An outer sect steward’s messenger delivered Su Shi'er's Identity Token and explained the sect’s resources, missions, rules, and Scripture Pavilion.
• Three years later, Su Shi'er refined batches of Spirit Nourishing Pills in eight furnaces, then used the Heaven and Earth Furnace to upgrade the failed pills into top-grade Spiritual Pills.
• Su Shi'er noted that the Nine Bends Spirit Ginseng had matured and produced a three-bends subsidiary body, but his furnaces could not safely handle fourth-grade pills.
• Su Shi'er considered borrowing a furnace from the Alchemy Pavilion or asking Duo Tiangong at the Weapon Forging Platform to forge one, then had a sudden flash of inspiration.

Su Shi'er uncovered the Li Fire Furnace inside an old stone shell and found it could boost his alchemy, then arranged nine furnaces to begin refining the Spirit Sculpting Pill. The chapter ended as he started the complex process using the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Alchemy Technique.

• Su Shi'er struck the stone furnace, revealing a powerful Li Fire Furnace with grooves for Spirit Stones.
• Su Shi'er activated the Li Fire Furnace and refined ten Mid-grade Spirit Nourishing Pills, confirming its ability to improve pill quality.
• Su Shi'er decided not to risk tempering the Li Fire Furnace before refining the Spirit Sculpting Pill.
• Su Shi'er arranged nine Pill Furnaces in the Nine Palaces formation, placing the Li Fire Furnace at the center.
• Su Shi'er began refining the Spirit Sculpting Pill with the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Alchemy Technique.

Su Shi'er completed the three-month refinement of the Spirit Sculpting Pills, producing nine pills that appeared ruined but had succeeded. As the final fusion began, Feng Fei absorbed Purple Qi and broke through to Qi Refining Stage Four, while Su Shi'er hoped the pills could improve his Spiritual Root aptitude.

• Su Shi'er released the Ageless Spring energy from the Strange Stone, then combined its mist with the Nine Bends Spirit Ginseng and Thousand Year Ganoderma in the Li Fire Furnace.
• Su Shi'er spent three months refining the ingredients in nine furnaces, replacing materials when problems arose in two of them.
• Feng Fei absorbed Purple Qi while cultivating and broke through from Qi Refining Stage Three to Stage Four.
• Su Shi'er sent the medicinal liquids from the eight outer furnaces into the central Li Fire Furnace and fused them with the ingredients inside.
• A rainbow beam burst from the furnace, and Su Shi'er found nine black, pitted Spirit Sculpting Pills that he recognized as successful and hoped would improve his Spiritual Root aptitude.

Su Shi'er swallowed top-grade Spirit Sculpting Pills refined by the Heaven and Earth Furnace and awakened to a dramatic improvement in his Spiritual Root aptitude. He confirmed that his roots had reached Low-grade Five Spiritual Roots, then hesitated over whether to take the four pills he had left.

• Su Shi'er placed nine ruined Spirit Sculpting Pills into the Heaven and Earth Furnace, which refined them into top-grade pills over a month.
• Su Shi'er swallowed the pills one after another and, in a vision, watched a clear spring nourish the five plants representing his Spiritual Roots.
• Su Shi'er awoke as his body absorbed Spiritual Qi far faster than before and realized that his Spiritual Root aptitude had improved.
• Su Shi'er used a testing stone and discovered that his Spiritual Roots had reached Low-grade Five Spiritual Roots.
• Su Shi'er considered how the change compared with Shen Miaoyin's High-grade Five Spiritual Roots, then hesitated before swallowing the four remaining pills.

Su Shi'er used Spirit Sculpting Pills to strengthen his wood and metal Spiritual Roots, but consuming nine in succession flooded his body with Pill Toxin. He expelled the toxin with help from Demonic Yuan tied to his spirit body, then tried to destroy the dangerous black qi with lightning.

• Su Shi'er focused the first Spirit Sculpting Pill's power on his wood Spiritual Root and found that it improved but remained low-grade.
• Su Shi'er swallowed the remaining three top-grade Spirit Sculpting Pills, strengthening his wood and metal Spiritual Roots and drawing in spiritual qi with ease.
• Su Shi'er was overcome by Pill Toxin, which disrupted his True Yuan and left him unable to move.
• Demonic Yuan surfaced within Su Shi'er and restrained the Pill Toxin, allowing him to expel both from his body.
• The expelled Pill Toxin absorbed spiritual qi and spread black threads across the secret chamber, so Su Shi'er used the Five Thunders Orthodox Method to attack it.
• Su Shi'er's lightning broke apart the black threads, but a head-sized mass of black qi remained and began spreading them again when the lightning stopped.

Su Shi'er discovered that the Thousand Evil Sword could absorb the fourth-grade Pill Toxin, then sealed the unstable sword and spent six months cultivating until he reached the peak of late Foundation Establishment. A sudden disturbance in Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi drew him out of seclusion, where he met Feng Fei on White Cloud Mountain.

• Su Shi'er found that neither Lightning Law nor the Myriad Soul Banner could remove the Pill Toxin, but the Thousand Evil Sword absorbed it and released dangerous evil energy.
• Su Shi'er suppressed the sword with the Five Thunders Orthodox Method, sealed it with lightning talismans, and planned to seek Duo Tiangong's methods to cleanse its evil qi.
• Su Shi'er consumed more than ten thousand Top-grade Gathering Yuan Pills during six months of secluded cultivation and reached the peak of late Foundation Establishment.
• Su Shi'er sensed that Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi had become restless and was converging elsewhere, so he left his cultivation chamber.
• Su Shi'er reached the summit of White Cloud Mountain and found Feng Fei there; he told her he had come to investigate the abnormal spiritual qi.

Su Shi'er explained to Feng Fei that a Golden Core above Grade 7 could trigger the Five Qi Towards Primordial phenomenon, as a tremendous disturbance in spiritual qi drew cultivators to White Cloud Mountain and Qingfeng Mountain. After seven days of waiting beneath the continuing phenomenon, a powerful pressure descended across the region.

• Feng Fei reasoned that an outer sect disciple forming a Golden Core had likely caused the strange movements in Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, and Su Shi'er explained the Five Qi Towards Primordial phenomenon.
• A vast display of rosy light and five-colored clouds appeared, stirring spiritual qi across a hundred li and drawing hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators toward White Cloud Mountain.
• The gathered cultivators dismissed Su Shi'er's chances of forming a Golden Core and speculated that Cheng Jingfeng, whose cave abode was on Qingfeng Mountain, had triggered the phenomenon.
• Feng Fei angrily defended Su Shi'er, who told her that strength mattered more than the crowd's insults and warmly acknowledged her loyalty.
• As the phenomenon continued, inner sect disciples and elders gathered near Qingfeng Mountain, and Su Shi'er took Feng Fei to read while they waited.
• Seven days later, a pressure descended from the heavens and blanketed the land within a hundred li.

Cheng Jingfeng and Tang Zhuying triggered heavenly phenomena as they broke through to the Golden Core stage on neighboring mountains. After forming his Golden Core, Cheng Jingfeng showered the gathered cultivators with pills and invited them to a future exchange gathering, winning their admiration.

• Su Shi'er watched two spiritual energy vortices form over Qingfeng Mountain and Ping Mountain as Cheng Jingfeng and Tang Zhuying began breaking through to the Golden Core stage.
• Cultivators identified Ping Mountain's master as Tang Zhuying, a former renowned rogue cultivator who had joined the Phantom Star Sect with Cheng Jingfeng.
• Cheng Jingfeng formed his Golden Core and appeared in the sky above Qingfeng Mountain, drawing congratulations and gifts from the crowd.
• Cheng Jingfeng gave every cultivator present three hundred Top-grade Gathering Yuan Pills and announced a cultivation exchange gathering for three months later.
• The cultivators praised Cheng Jingfeng's generosity and pledged to attend his gathering or offer him their support.

Wan Jianyi of the Disciplinary Hall confronted Cheng Jingfeng over suspicions about his motives for joining the Phantom Star Sect. When Cheng Jingfeng refused to go with him, Wan Jianyi attacked, and the chapter ended with his sword shadows closing in.

• Su Shi'er suspected Cheng Jingfeng was trying to win support but chose to focus on his own cultivation.
• Wan Jianyi arrived and ordered Cheng Jingfeng to come to the Disciplinary Hall because he suspected his intentions were impure.
• Cheng Jingfeng denied wrongdoing, while several Golden Core cultivators challenged Wan Jianyi's accusation and methods.
• Wan Jianyi insisted his Heavenly Eye had seen through Cheng Jingfeng, and Cheng Jingfeng challenged him to a sparring match.
• Wan Jianyi launched his azure flying sword, which multiplied into countless shadows and enveloped Cheng Jingfeng.

Cheng Jingfeng battled Wan Jianyi with the Nine Rivers Zither, then manipulated the scattered sword qi to turn the crowd against Wan Jianyi. The chapter ended with Wan Jianyi launching another attack that Cheng Jingfeng barely appeared to deflect.

• Wan Jianyi attacked Cheng Jingfeng with the Faluo Sword Net, and Cheng answered with the Nine Rivers Zither as nearby Golden Core cultivators warned him of the danger.
• Cheng and Wan exchanged over a hundred moves before Wan unleashed the Heavenly Law Sword Net.
• Cheng scattered Wan’s sword qi toward the onlookers, pretended to protect them, and suffered a staged injury that made the crowd blame Wan.
• Cheng feigned surrender and pleaded for Wan to spare the others, then used the Nine Rivers Zither to provoke Wan’s anger.
• Wan launched another wave of sword lights at Cheng, who narrowly deflected it with his zither-generated tides.