Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “What Great Partners”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu and the scholar arrive at a poisonous mist swamp, where Chen releases a Fourth-Layer Golden Core vengeful spirit to attack everything alive inside.
• Releasing the spirit greatly improves Chen’s physical condition, though he still bears the burden of nearly ten thousand Devil Race cultivator vengeful spirits.
• The scholar identifies the enemies as disciples of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, a powerful poison-cultivating sect ranked seventy-eighth in the Great Xia Sect Rankings. Their Grand Elder is a Mid-Stage Golden Core cultivator.
• Concerned that survivors could report their identities and invite retaliation, Chen orders the complete extermination of everyone in the swamp.
• Chen unleashes nearly ten thousand Devil Race vengeful spirits. Since they have no physical bodies, the poisonous mist cannot harm them, allowing them to overwhelm the poison cultivators.
• The scholar explains that his weakened spiritual energy and damaged flying sword prevent him from fighting as he did in Windward City.
• Chen devises an unconventional method: attaching lightning talismans to the scholar’s flying sword and dropping them over enemies from above. He gives the scholar the remaining Foundation Establishment Lightning-Drawing Talismans.
• The vengeful spirits slaughter the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect disciples, producing more than eighty new vengeful spirits.
• A surviving Golden Core cultivator attempts to escape, but the scholar intercepts and kills him with his flying sword, returning with the enemy’s Golden Core impaled on the blade.
• Chen is pleased with their cooperation, recognizing that the scholar’s sword is essential for retrieving Golden Cores—valuable cultivation resources Chen could not easily obtain alone.

2. Character Developments

• Chen Qiu: Demonstrates his increasingly ruthless and pragmatic nature by ordering the enemies’ total annihilation to prevent future retaliation. He also shows strategic creativity, finding an unconventional way to compensate for the scholar’s weakened combat ability.
• The scholar: Initially feels that his sword-cultivator identity is being undermined by Chen’s talisman-based strategy. Nevertheless, he accepts the method because it suits his current limitations and successfully uses it to kill the escaping Golden Core cultivator.
• The partnership: Their cooperation becomes more effective and mutually dependent. Chen supplies overwhelming forces and resources, while the scholar provides precision, mobility, and the ability to retrieve Golden Cores.

3. Significant Themes

• Pragmatism over tradition: Chen rejects rigid ideas about how a sword cultivator “should” fight, emphasizing results over orthodox methods.
• The value of teamwork: Their complementary abilities allow them to accomplish far more together than either could alone.
• Power and cost: Chen’s vengeful-spirit ability is extremely powerful but physically and mentally burdensome, especially when handling a Golden Core-level spirit.
• Moral ruthlessness and survival: The decision to kill every witness highlights the brutal logic of their cultivation world, where avoiding future threats takes priority over mercy.
• Resourcefulness: Damaged equipment and limited spiritual energy do not stop them; Chen repurposes ordinary talismans and the scholar’s flying sword into an effective weapon.

4. Character Interactions

• Chen reassures the scholar that his flying sword does not need to strike enemies directly to be useful.
• He gives the scholar his remaining talismans and promises to obtain stronger Golden Core talismans later, mixing practical support with casual humor.
• The scholar is bewildered by Chen’s unorthodox ideas but ultimately follows them.
• Chen’s final praise of their “great partnership” reflects his realization that the scholar’s abilities are crucial to converting victories into tangible cultivation gains.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Ten Thousand Poisons Sect disciples are wiped out in Poison Mist Marsh; none escape.
• The Barefoot Immortal wraith emerges carrying the corpse of a Golden Core poison cultivator, while thousands of Devil Race cultivators bring out hundreds of additional corpses.
• Chen Qiu, Fat Dragon, and the others thoroughly loot the bodies, taking storage rings, bags, spiritual treasures, shoes, and even clothing. Most of the spoils are placed in Chen Qiu’s “Mocking Heaven Sect” minor world, while Fat Dragon proudly hangs dozens of storage items from his body.
• Chen Qiu refrains from consuming the black Golden Core on his sword because doing so would combine its resentment with that of a nearby, heavily injured Fourth-Layer Golden Core wraith and overwhelm him. He plans to wait until the danger passes.
• Chen Qiu considers leaving behind a false message claiming that a Great Xia Attendant killed the poison cultivators, partly to retaliate against the Great Xia official who likely framed him after looting Heaven-Question Market. Fat Dragon points out that the deception is too obvious.
• The scholar jokingly suggests crediting the killings to White Robe, Great Xia’s foremost sword cultivator, but accidentally reveals his concern with fame rankings by mentioning both his own rank and Myriad Demon Child’s.
• Myriad Demon Child suddenly arrives in a blood-mist attack. Injured but excited by the corpses, he intends to consume them as “blood food” to restore his strength.
• Mistaking Chen Qiu’s group for corpse scavengers, Myriad Demon Child attacks them and dramatically declares his identity and revenge-driven ambition.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu remains calculating and cautious. He prioritizes survival over immediately gaining power from the Golden Core and shows his vindictive side by considering framing a Great Xia Attendant.
• Fat Dragon is portrayed comically as a gleeful hoarder. His overloaded body reflects both his greed and his genuine happiness at acquiring wealth, while he also serves as the practical voice who rejects Chen Qiu’s implausible framing plan.
• The scholar appears modest on the surface but is secretly attentive to his reputation. His knowledge of the Fame Leaderboard exposes a strong, if understated, desire for recognition.
• Myriad Demon Child is introduced as a vicious, wounded blood cultivator driven by survival and revenge. Despite his injuries, he remains arrogant and theatrically self-important.
• Barefoot Immortal continues acting as an eerie, obedient wraith, casually treating corpse collection as enjoyable work.

Significant Themes

• Survival and calculated restraint: Chen Qiu refuses a tempting increase in power because the spiritual resentment would be too dangerous.
• Greed and opportunism: The mass looting of the corpses emphasizes the cultivators’ willingness to exploit every opportunity, even stripping the dead of trivial possessions.
• Reputation and fame: The discussion of the Fame Leaderboard reveals how public rankings influence the characters, even when they claim not to care.
• Blame and revenge: Chen Qiu’s resentment toward the Great Xia Attendant reflects the dangers of being falsely blamed, while Myriad Demon Child openly frames his actions as part of a larger revenge scheme.
• Dark comedy amid violence: Grim events—mass death, corpse looting, and demonic cultivation—are presented through absurd humor, especially Fat Dragon’s storage-bag obsession and the scholar’s transparent concern for fame.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon interact as close companions: Chen Qiu tolerates Fat Dragon’s eccentric hoarding, while Fat Dragon offers blunt practical criticism.
• Chen Qiu and the scholar discuss how to manipulate the aftermath of the massacre, with the scholar inadvertently exposing his vanity.
• Fat Dragon mocks the scholar’s claim that he does not care about fame.
• Myriad Demon Child interrupts the group’s preparations, misjudges them as scavengers, and initiates a confrontation by threatening to turn them into blood food.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu and his companions encounter the legendary Myriad Demon Child, who appears badly wounded and far weaker than expected.
• A fourth-layer Golden Core resentful spirit emerges from the Poison Mist Marsh and strikes Myriad Demon Child from behind, instantly reducing him to a cloud of blood.
• The scholar initially refuses to believe Myriad Demon Child is dead, insisting that the notorious evil cultivator possesses several perfected escape techniques and had survived being killed three times before.
• Fat Dragon checks the Heavenly Dao Fame Leaderboard and confirms that Myriad Demon Child’s name has disappeared, proving that he is truly dead. The scholar is deeply shaken by this revelation and begins doubting his own past reputation.
• Chen Qiu comforts the scholar by explaining that Myriad Demon Child had already suffered severe injuries, likely from the scholar’s three previous attacks. He credits the scholar with having caused most of the damage that made the final blow possible.
• Chen Qiu collects the poison cultivators’ corpses using the Sect Leader’s Chair and stores them inside the small world hidden within it, intending to use them later as valuable resources or nourishment for evil cultivators.
• After cleaning up the battlefield, Chen Qiu, the scholar, and Fat Dragon travel to Mountain-Cleaving City, a prosperous cultivation city where Foundation Establishment cultivators are common and the main market is integrated into the city.
• Upon entering the city, they notice an old acquaintance: the itinerant Heavenly Maiden of the Flower-Offering Sect. Although she is surrounded by several people, her condition suggests that she is being held hostage.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu demonstrates caution and resourcefulness by recognizing the value of the poison cultivators’ corpses and preserving them in his hidden small world. He also shows concern for the scholar’s mental state by preventing Fat Dragon from further damaging his confidence.
• The scholar suffers a major blow to his pride and Dao heart. Myriad Demon Child’s unexpectedly easy death causes him to question whether he truly deserves his former title as Great Xia’s foremost sword cultivator.
• Fat Dragon remains blunt and unintentionally cruel, openly questioning whether the scholar really defeated Myriad Demon Child three times in the past. His remarks intensify the scholar’s self-doubt, though he also contributes practical observations.
• Myriad Demon Child is revealed to be far less invincible than his reputation suggests. His death implies that his accumulated injuries and pursuit had left him vulnerable.
• The Heavenly Maiden reappears in a weakened and apparently captive state, contrasting sharply with her former confident status.

Significant Themes

• Reputation versus reality: Myriad Demon Child’s terrifying legend contrasts with his actual fragile condition, while the scholar’s renowned status is challenged by the ease of the final kill.
• The fragility of confidence: The scholar’s identity is closely tied to his reputation, and the event exposes how quickly that confidence can collapse.
• Hidden strength and accumulated damage: Myriad Demon Child’s death shows that past wounds and unseen weaknesses can matter more than outward appearance or reputation.
• Pragmatism and resourcefulness: Chen Qiu treats the battlefield’s remains as valuable assets, emphasizing cultivation’s practical and opportunistic nature.
• Unexpected encounters and danger: The reunion with the Heavenly Maiden hints at a new conflict, as her apparent captivity raises questions about who has captured her and why.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu observes Myriad Demon Child’s condition and later reassures the scholar about his contribution to the death.
• The scholar urgently warns Chen Qiu not to relax, convinced Myriad Demon Child must have escaped.
• Fat Dragon challenges the scholar’s assumptions by checking the leaderboard and bluntly questioning his past achievements.
• Chen Qiu restrains Fat Dragon’s teasing to protect the scholar’s damaged Dao heart.
• In Mountain-Cleaving City, Fat Dragon recognizes the Heavenly Maiden, leading the group to notice her suspicious and apparently captive circumstances.

Chapter Summary: Stepping into Foundation Establishment Third Layer

Key Plot Points and Events

• In Mountain-Cleaving City, Fat Dragon notices a wandering celestial maiden from the Flower-Offering Sect—the same woman who once tormented him but later secretly delivered him a message. She signals for him not to intervene, apparently fearing that her companions will recognize him.
• Fat Dragon refuses to help, insisting that her past abuse cannot be forgiven simply because she once assisted him. Chen Qiu agrees to ignore the matter.
• A child sells Chen Qiu a recording stone containing footage of the “Nine Oxen butcher,” a famously lucky cultivator from Windward City who repeatedly gambled with his life against the Heavenly Dao. Chen Qiu buys the recording, hoping its luck might be useful in the future.
• Chen Qiu, Fat Dragon, and the others rent three Heaven-class rooms at an inn. After extensive recent battles and travel, Chen Qiu finally takes time to rest and assess his gains.
• Chen Qiu consumes Poison-Thunder Old Fiend’s First-Level Golden Core. He successfully controls the violent spiritual energy and uses it to break through from Foundation Establishment Second Layer (96%) to Third Layer (36%).
• Because the breakthrough leaves his cultivation unstable, Chen Qiu decides to remain in the city for a month to consolidate his realm and search for suitable spells and spiritual treasures.
• Upon reaching the new layer, the Heavenly Dao presents three traits: Single-Minded Devotion, World-Weary, and Peerless Beauty. Chen Qiu recognizes that the first two could combine with the third into an extremely profitable but morally horrifying system of manipulating and killing people who love him.
• Rejecting the demonic path, Chen Qiu chooses Peerless Beauty, which increases his attractiveness and may help him compete in the upcoming Fame Leaderboard.
• Meanwhile, Chen Qiu is unaware that his own name has appeared at the bottom of the Fame Leaderboard, while “White Robe’s” ranking is rapidly rising. Across various sects, disciples watch recordings of Chen Qiu’s spectacular battle against Devil Race cultivators.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu advances to the Third Layer of Foundation Establishment and gains greater awareness of his weaknesses. He plans to focus on stabilization, acquiring better techniques, and obtaining spiritual treasures suited to his fighting style.
• He continues to demonstrate strong self-control, both physically—by suppressing the Golden Core’s violent energy—and morally, by refusing traits that would reward cruelty and mass murder.
• Fat Dragon reveals lingering trauma and hatred toward the Flower-Offering Sect. His refusal to save the celestial maiden shows that he has not emotionally recovered from his abuse and remains unwilling to forgive his former tormentors.
• The Flower-Offering Sect maiden appears conflicted and afraid. Her secret signal suggests that she may still care about Fat Dragon or feel responsible for him, but she is also too frightened to openly acknowledge him.
• Chen Qiu’s growing reputation begins to spread beyond his immediate surroundings, even though he does not yet realize how visible he has become.

Significant Themes

• Moral restraint versus power: The three new traits offer enormous potential rewards but require exploiting love and committing repeated murders. Chen Qiu rejects power gained through such cruelty.
• The dangers of demonic cultivation: The chapter portrays how seemingly harmless economic traits could combine into a system that destroys empathy, conscience, and humanity.
• Trauma and resentment: Fat Dragon’s reaction to the Flower-Offering Sect illustrates how past oppression continues to shape present choices and relationships.
• Cultivation through risk and accumulation: Chen Qiu’s progress depends on absorbing the resources of defeated enemies, but each breakthrough becomes more difficult and destabilizing as his realm rises.
• Growing fame: Recordings, rumors, and public rankings transform private battles into spectacles, foreshadowing Chen Qiu’s increasing public prominence.

Character Interactions

• The interaction between Fat Dragon and the celestial maiden is tense and emotionally unresolved. She silently urges him not to act, while he interprets her gesture as presumptuous and refuses to help.
• Chen Qiu acts as Fat Dragon’s companion and observer, choosing not to interfere in the Flower-Offering Sect matter.
• Chen Qiu casually interacts with the recording-stone seller, showing his willingness to exploit even a strange opportunity if it may prove useful.
• His interaction with the Heavenly Dao system reveals his values: although he sees the strategic advantages of the trait combination, he ultimately rejects it because he cannot accept the emotional and moral cost.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Heavenward Sect watches a recording of Chen Qiu, a lightning spell cultivator, and White Robe, a powerful sword cultivator, fighting together. Their coordination and overwhelming combat ability leave the sect’s disciples and elders stunned.
• The elders initially consider copying their battle strategy for the upcoming Sect Disciple Martial Tournament, but quickly realize it is impossible. Chen Qiu’s seemingly limitless spiritual energy and mastery of lightning spells are extraordinary, while White Robe’s speed and sword techniques identify him as Great Xia’s former number-one sword cultivator.
• The Grand Elder suggests sending Zhao Yishi, the sect’s strongest young body cultivator, to compete in the tournament. The Sect Master rejects the idea for now, preferring to use Zhao as a decisive trump card who will only appear if he can win first place.
• Instead, the Sect Master focuses on recruiting Chen Qiu. Since Chen Qiu is a powerful rogue cultivator and a friend of Zhao Yishi, the Sect Master believes Zhao can naturally persuade him to join Heavenward Sect.
• The Sect Master also hopes to recruit White Robe and help restore his cultivation. He imagines Heavenward Sect eventually possessing three unparalleled talents: Zhao Yishi as a peerless body cultivator, Chen Qiu as a lightning spell cultivator, and White Robe as an invincible sword cultivator.
• He orders Zhao Yishi to leave the sect and search for Chen Qiu, instructing the elders not to reveal the recruitment plan and to let Zhao build a genuine friendship with him.
• Meanwhile, Zhao Yishi is secretly hiding in a mountain hot spring while several young women bathe nearby. Disguised and invisible, he enjoys the peaceful moment until an urgent sect mission arrives through his Voice-Transmission Ring. Despite his reluctance, he begins to emerge and obey the order.

Character Developments

• Heavenward Sect Master: Becomes increasingly ambitious and optimistic. He sees Chen Qiu, White Robe, and Zhao Yishi as the foundation of Heavenward Sect’s revival and imagines restoring the sect to unprecedented glory.
• Zhao Yishi: Is shown as powerful but simple-natured, obedient, and fond of quiet, carefree moments. His humorous attempt to hide in the hot spring contrasts with his importance as the sect’s potential tournament champion.
• Chen Qiu: Gains recognition as an exceptionally talented lightning cultivator whose spiritual reserves and relentless spellcasting appear abnormal even to experienced elders.
• White Robe: Is revealed or strongly identified as Great Xia’s former number-one sword cultivator. Although his cultivation has declined, his technique remains extraordinary, making him a potentially invaluable recruit.
• Heavenward Sect elders and disciples: Move from shock and disbelief to admiration, then to strategic planning as they recognize the significance of the recorded battle.

Significant Themes

• Extraordinary talent versus imitation: The sect realizes that Chen Qiu and White Robe’s strength cannot simply be reproduced through ordinary training or teamwork.
• Hope for sect revival: The chapter centers on the dream of restoring Heavenward Sect to prominence by gathering exceptional cultivators.
• Recruitment and relationships: The Sect Master understands that geniuses dislike being treated as tools, so he plans to use Zhao’s sincere friendship rather than openly pressure Chen Qiu.
• Ambition and delusion: The Sect Master’s grand vision is inspiring but also comically premature, as he already imagines future Golden Core experts and his own memorial stele before even recruiting them.
• Contrast between greatness and ordinary life: The discussion of peerless cultivators is juxtaposed with Zhao Yishi hiding in a hot spring and enjoying tranquility, creating much of the chapter’s humor.

Character Interactions

• The inner and outer sect elders discuss whether Chen Qiu and White Robe’s methods can be copied, with the outer elder explaining why both cultivators are virtually impossible to emulate.
• The Grand Elder proposes Zhao Yishi for the martial tournament, but the Sect Master prioritizes recruiting Chen Qiu instead.
• The Sect Master outlines his recruitment strategy to the elders, emphasizing that Zhao should interact naturally with Chen Qiu and avoid revealing any ulterior motives.
• Zhao Yishi has no direct conversation with the bathing women, but overhears their cheerful discussion while secretly hiding beneath them. His peaceful concealment is interrupted by the sect’s urgent mission order, ending the chapter on a comedic note.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhao Yishi releases several young women he had accidentally swallowed while drinking from a mountain stream. He thanks them for reminding him of an embarrassing survival experience in the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm, then departs in his enormous form, leaving them frightened and confused.
• After cultivating throughout the night, Chen Qiu reaches the Foundation Establishment Third Layer and successfully stabilizes the two breakthroughs he achieved in one day.
• Chen Qiu tests his improved spiritual control by manipulating a teacup with a thread of spiritual energy, demonstrating greater precision and confidence.
• He inventories the group’s recent spoils:
  • More than a thousand storage pouches containing various treasures worth over two thousand Spirit Stones.
  • More than three hundred unopened storage rings belonging to Devil Race cultivators and Ten Thousand Poisons Sect disciples.
  • Three rings from the master of Heaven-Question Market.
  • Two rings from the Golden Core cultivator Poison-Thunder Old Fiend.
  • Two rings from Myriad Demon Child, which may contain his powerful escape technique.
• Chen Qiu meets Fat Dragon, the scholar, and the scholar’s younger brother for breakfast. They discuss the winter solstice and plan to eat dumplings later.
• The scholar discovers that his ranking on the Fame Rankings has risen to 898th, while Chen Qiu has entered at 982nd.
• Chen Qiu finds that his ranking earned him a Foundation Establishment low-grade Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pill, which increases cultivation without the impurities normally caused by ordinary cultivation pills.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu becomes more powerful and self-assured after stabilizing his cultivation. His ability to control spiritual energy with precision reflects his progress.
• He also shows growing satisfaction with his wealth and resources, carefully evaluating the potential value of the group’s loot.
• Fat Dragon continues to provide Chen Qiu with companionship and emotional support, waiting cheerfully outside his room and encouraging the group to observe the winter solstice traditions.
• The scholar demonstrates extensive knowledge of cultivation pills and the Fame Rankings. His improved ranking reveals that his reputation and influence are growing.
• Zhao Yishi remains eccentric and overwhelmingly powerful, behaving absurdly despite his immense strength.

Significant Themes

• Cultivation and stability: Chen Qiu’s breakthrough is meaningful not merely because of increased power, but because he successfully stabilizes his Dao Foundation and avoids the dangers of chaotic spiritual energy.
• Rewards of fame: The Fame Rankings provide tangible benefits, showing how reputation in the cultivation world can directly lead to valuable resources.
• Efficiency versus long-term foundations: Ordinary cultivation pills offer rapid progress but leave impurities, while Spirit Stones provide purer cultivation. The Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pill is exceptional because it combines speed with purity.
• Comedic contrast: Zhao Yishi’s bizarre behavior contrasts with the serious cultivation developments, keeping the chapter’s tone humorous despite its focus on power and treasure.
• Companionship and ordinary life: Breakfast, winter-solstice customs, and Fat Dragon’s cheerful presence provide warmth and normalcy amid dangerous cultivation adventures.

Character Interactions

• Zhao Yishi speaks casually to the terrified young women, thanking them and giving them bizarre advice before leaving.
• Chen Qiu shares a comfortable, increasingly trusting relationship with Fat Dragon, appreciating his constant enthusiasm.
• The group eats together and discusses seasonal traditions, emphasizing their camaraderie.
• The scholar explains the benefits and drawbacks of cultivation pills to Chen Qiu, acting as an informed guide and highlighting the exceptional value of the Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pill.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Fat Dragon and the scholar explain the benefits of Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills. Though low-grade pills are only slightly better than Spirit Stones on their own, they contain no impurities and can be used alongside Spirit Stones, greatly increasing cultivation speed.
• Chen Qiu and the scholar discover that they both received the same reward—a low-grade Foundation Establishment Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pill—for their Fame Leaderboard rankings. Chen Qiu is ranked 898th, while the scholar is ranked 982nd.
• Chen Qiu consumes his pill and immediately gains 0.7% cultivation progress, reaching 36.8% of Foundation Establishment Realm, Level Three. The pill is absorbed within several breaths and does not destabilize his cultivation.
• Chen Qiu reflects that his Heavenly Dao-based foundation has allowed him to recover unusually quickly from his rapid breakthroughs and stabilize his aura within only a few days.
• The scholar explains that climbing the Fame Leaderboard is extremely difficult because most listed figures have built their reputations over many years. He suspects the leaderboard is temporary and may disappear before they can rise much further.
• Their sudden appearance on the leaderboard was likely caused by someone recording their battle in Windward City with a Projection Stone and spreading the footage among major sects and clans.
• Chen Qiu considers how to gain more fame without attracting the attention of powerful old cultivators. He wonders whether his new “Peerless Beauty” trait, which increases his charm toward women, could help build his reputation.
• A commotion breaks out nearby when several armed men drag away a skinny young man who allegedly duplicated and sold a Nine Ox Projection Stone to multiple families. The captive recognizes Chen Qiu’s group as members of the Windward City Sky-Blasting Gang and desperately calls for their help.
• The chapter ends with the armed men threatening the captive and warning him not to involve Chen Qiu and the others.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu becomes more aware of the value of fame as a source of Heavenly Dao Blessings, while also worrying about becoming too conspicuous. His cultivation continues to progress rapidly, and his Heavenly Dao foundation proves highly stable.
• Fat Dragon remains observant and cautious, reacting to the captive’s plea but waiting for Chen Qiu’s response.
• The scholar acts as Chen Qiu’s source of information about the Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills, the Fame Leaderboard, and historical changes to the Heavenly Dao system.
• The skinny young man is revealed to know of Chen Qiu and the Sky-Blasting Gang, suggesting that their reputation in Windward City has already spread significantly.
• The burly gang leader and his companions are portrayed as aggressive enforcers who are willing to use violence to punish the captive.

Significant Themes

• Fame as power: Reputation is no longer merely social status; it directly determines access to valuable Heavenly Dao rewards.
• The difficulty of controlled notoriety: Chen Qiu wants the benefits of fame without becoming a target for powerful enemies.
• Rapid growth and stability: Despite advancing quickly, Chen Qiu’s Heavenly Dao foundation protects him from the usual consequences of unstable cultivation.
• The temporary nature of opportunity: The Fame Leaderboard may vanish during an upcoming Heavenly Dao update, creating pressure to gain recognition quickly.
• Public reputation and unintended consequences: The Projection Stone recording made Chen Qiu famous, but the spread of his identity also draws unrelated trouble to him.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu and the scholar discuss cultivation methods, pill quality, and the mechanics of the Fame Leaderboard.
• The scholar warns Chen Qiu that fame is difficult to gain and may be temporary, prompting Chen Qiu to consider how he can increase his reputation.
• Chen Qiu, Fat Dragon, and the scholar share a quiet meal before being drawn into the conflict involving the captive.
• The captive appeals to them as fellow members of Windward City’s Sky-Blasting Gang, while his captors threaten him for seeking their assistance.

Chapter Summary: “What Are Mountain-Cleaving City’s Rules?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon worry that the young man they encountered may reveal that they are transmigrators, potentially attracting the attention of powerful Golden Core cultivators.
• After finishing their meal, Chen Qiu asks the stall owner about the gang members who abducted the young man. He learns they belong to the Fierce Tiger Gang, whose leader is a Foundation Establishment Third Layer cultivator.
• Chen Qiu, Fat Dragon, the scholar, and his younger brother follow the gang to a desolate forest, where the gang’s third-in-command threatens to kill the young man while lecturing him about obeying “Mountain-Cleaving City’s rules.”
• Chen Qiu’s group interrupts them and challenges the gang’s supposed rules. Fat Dragon mocks the gang leader’s boastful introduction, provoking him into attacking.
• The gang leader, a Qi Refinement Peak cultivator, launches a powerful broadsword strike at Fat Dragon. Fat Dragon effortlessly blocks it with a spiritual-energy barrier, revealing himself to be a Foundation Establishment expert.
• Terrified, the gang leader begs for his life and invokes the protection of his Foundation Establishment Third Layer boss. Fat Dragon, delighted to finally face an opponent weaker than himself, prepares to kill him.
• The supposedly rescued young man suddenly begs Fat Dragon not to kill the gang leader, claiming that the man is useful and asking for a hundred breaths to explain their past connection.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu remains cautious, pragmatic, and calculating. He recognizes the danger of their transmigrator identities being exposed and quickly investigates the gang before acting.
• Fat Dragon displays his impulsive, confrontational personality. He mocks the gang leader, eagerly accepts the fight, and takes obvious pleasure in overwhelming an opponent after repeatedly encountering enemies stronger than himself.
• The Fierce Tiger Gang’s third-in-command shifts from arrogant intimidation to abject terror once Fat Dragon reveals his Foundation Establishment cultivation. His pleas demonstrate how quickly he loses confidence when faced with someone more powerful.
• The thin young man becomes more mysterious. Although he was being threatened with death, he intervenes to save the gang leader and claims to have encountered Chen Qiu’s group previously in Windward City, where they killed Devil Race cultivators.

Significant Themes

• Power determines authority: The gang’s “rules” are revealed to be little more than intimidation backed by force. Once Fat Dragon displays superior cultivation, those rules lose their power.
• The reversal of predator and victim: The gang leader initially controls the situation, but the arrival of Chen Qiu’s group turns him into the one begging for mercy.
• Caution versus recklessness: Chen Qiu thinks strategically about potential consequences, while Fat Dragon focuses on enjoying a rare opportunity to dominate an opponent.
• Mystery and hidden connections: The young man’s familiarity with Chen Qiu’s group suggests that their past actions in Windward City may have created unexpected consequences.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu consults the shopkeeper and gathers information before confronting the gang.
• Fat Dragon ridicules the gang leader’s self-important speech, triggering the fight.
• The gang leader threatens Chen Qiu’s group through the Fierce Tiger Gang’s reputation, then begs for mercy when defeated.
• Fat Dragon prepares to execute him, but the young man interrupts and claims the gang leader has “great use.”
• The young man asks Chen Qiu’s group for a brief chance to explain how he knows them, ending the chapter on a suspenseful revelation.

Chapter Summary: “Seizing Xuzhou by Night”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu, Fat Dragon, and their group capture a burly man and a thin young man in the wild forest. Chen Qiu orders the thin man to explain himself while leaving the others behind.
• The burly captive briefly considers escaping, assuming the remaining two prisoners—a bearded brute and a crippled scholar—are weak. However, the bearded man reveals Foundation Establishment cultivation, immediately terrifying him into submission.
• Chen Qiu activates a Soundproof Talisman so the thin man can speak privately.
• The thin man introduces himself as Liu Zide, an Attendant of the Fortune City Wang Family and a fellow townsman of Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon.
• Liu reveals that he previously owned an MCN company in his former life, managing hundreds of marketing accounts and specializing in manipulating public attention and traffic.
• He explains that he organized the Nine Oxen Festival, which generated thousands of Spirit Stones and helped make Chen Qiu’s group famous.
• Liu has also recorded the festival on Image Recording Stones and distributed them through gangs in Windward City and Mountain-Cleaving City, successfully placing Chen Qiu’s group on the Heavenly Dao rankings.
• After discovering that the Heavenly Dao Blessing rewards ranked individuals with valuable Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills, Liu changes his strategy. Instead of selling the recordings, he proposes distributing them freely to maximize fame and ranking rewards.
• His plan is to manufacture fame for roughly three hundred people through sensational, exaggerated, and provocative recordings. If all of them remain under the group’s control, they could collectively obtain nearly a thousand Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills per day.
• Liu proposes rapidly taking control of the entire market in Xuzhou, beginning with all forty-seven major cities, before rival forces understand the opportunity and imitate them.
• He argues that controlling Xuzhou first will provide a massive population base for generating rankings while diverting powerful competitors toward other provinces rather than directly attacking them.

Character Developments

• Liu Zide is revealed to be an exceptionally capable strategist in publicity, marketing, and mass manipulation. His former-life experience gives him a unique advantage in exploiting the cultivation world’s lack of entertainment and understanding of fame.
• Liu shifts from a frightened captive to an energetic and ambitious entrepreneur once he recognizes Chen Qiu as a fellow townsman and realizes his proposal may be accepted.
• Chen Qiu gains new respect for Liu after learning that he created the Nine Oxen Festival. His interest changes from indifference to serious consideration of Liu’s business plan.
• Fat Dragon remains blunt and impatient, pushing Liu to stop hesitating and explain his ideas directly.
• The remaining captives’ fear emphasizes the overwhelming strength and authority of Chen Qiu’s group, particularly the Foundation Establishment cultivator among them.

Significant Themes

• Modern business methods in a cultivation world: Liu applies marketing, viral publicity, celebrity manufacture, and mass distribution to a society unfamiliar with such techniques.
• The power of fame: Public attention is treated as a resource that can be converted into Heavenly Dao rewards and enormous profits.
• Exploitation of untapped markets: Liu identifies entertainment and sensational spectacles as a completely undeveloped industry.
• Speed and first-mover advantage: The plan depends on seizing Xuzhou before rival factions recognize the value of the Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills.
• Morality versus profit: Liu’s proposed content is deliberately crude, provocative, and potentially exploitative, revealing how far the group may go to maximize attention.
• Cooperation among fellow townsmen: Shared knowledge from their former world creates trust, recognition, and a powerful strategic alliance.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu silently verifies Liu’s identity and protects the conversation with a Soundproof Talisman.
• Liu carefully flatters and appeals to Chen Qiu by explaining his role in the Nine Oxen Festival and presenting himself as a useful specialist.
• Fat Dragon acts as the impatient intermediary, encouraging Liu to speak plainly rather than offering vague hints.
• Liu presents his proposal directly to Chen Qiu as the group’s leader, seeking investment and partnership.
• The exchange establishes Liu as a potential new member of Chen Qiu’s inner circle and sets up an ambitious campaign to dominate Xuzhou’s fame economy.

Chapter Summary: “That Will Be an Absolute Kill!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Zide presents Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon with an ambitious plan to transform the fame landscape of Great Xia by mass-producing sensational public figures modeled after Wang Tiedan, a businessman who reached the Fame Leaderboard through sheer “alternative” publicity.
• Chen Qiu verifies that Wang Tiedan ranks higher than him, proving that unconventional fame can surpass even that earned through major military achievements.
• Liu’s plan involves rapidly expanding across Xuzhou through advertising, recruitment, flying boats, negotiations with local powers, and mass production of Image Recording Stones.
• He estimates that the operation will require approximately 15,000 Spirit Stones, most of it spent quickly to gain a dominant foothold before rivals or moral authorities can interfere.
• Chen recognizes that the plan is risky and morally questionable but also highly profitable and feasible, especially because Liu possesses unique talent in publicity and manipulation.
• Liu reveals that the Wang Family’s head abandoned the project after establishing only two cities, considering the methods too humiliating. Liu therefore seeks to continue independently.
• He asks Chen’s group to fund the venture, provide him with hired escorts, and grant him a share of the profits.
• Liu initially requests 10%, but when Chen hesitates, he lowers the demand to 5% to preserve his dignity and maintain the partnership.
• As an added service, Liu offers to boost Chen Qiu’s fame through staged rumors, paid storytellers, manipulated beauty rankings, public admiration, and fabricated praise from retired experts.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu is shown to be pragmatic and open-minded. Though disturbed by the enormous financial demand and dubious tactics, he acknowledges the plan’s potential and becomes seriously tempted to invest.
• Liu Zide reveals himself as a highly capable, ambitious publicity strategist. He is willing to reshape society through aggressive commercial and reputational manipulation, yet he is also practical enough to negotiate and compromise on his compensation.
• Fat Dragon serves as the skeptical voice, reacting with disbelief to the request for 15,000 Spirit Stones and highlighting how extravagant the plan is.
• The Wang Family head is characterized as respectable but overly concerned with appearances. He abandoned the project because he considered its methods humiliating, leaving Liu frustrated but determined.
• Chen’s reputation is reframed: despite his combat achievements, he ranks below Wang Tiedan, emphasizing that fame depends more on presentation and public perception than objective merit.

Significant Themes

• The power of publicity: Fame can be manufactured and may outweigh genuine accomplishments.
• Changing society versus adapting to it: Liu believes the world can be forcibly transformed through bold action, not merely endured.
• Risk and profit: The plan promises enormous returns but exposes its participants to financial loss, moral condemnation, and retaliation from powerful figures.
• Appearance versus substance: Public reputation is shown to be highly artificial, built through rumors, staged events, and manipulation rather than truth.
• Entrepreneurial ambition: Liu’s scheme resembles an aggressive business startup, requiring massive upfront investment, speed, expansion, and control of distribution.
• Morality and opportunism: The characters recognize that their methods are vulgar and potentially offensive, but they are willing to exploit them before opponents can react.

Character Interactions

• Liu passionately pitches the plan, successfully infecting Chen and Fat Dragon with his excitement.
• Chen carefully evaluates the proposal, comparing the potential profits with the danger of attracting powerful enemies.
• Fat Dragon challenges Liu’s financial expectations, emphasizing the absurd scale of the requested investment.
• Chen questions Liu about the source of the money earned from the Nine Oxen Festival and whether Liu is speaking on behalf of the Wang Family or himself.
• Liu clarifies that he is acting independently and explains why the Wang Family withdrew.
• Liu negotiates his compensation and attempts to prove his value by promising to elevate Chen’s reputation.
• His proposed publicity campaign for Chen—especially arranging admired beauties to reject and then be rejected by him, while having elders praise his superiority—provides the chapter’s humorous climax, ending with his emphatic claim that a unique secret technique would be “an absolute kill.”

Chapter Summary: “Wang Lao Qi, as the Jianghu Calls Him!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu agrees to fund Liu Zide’s plan, giving him 15,000 Spirit Stones, a Voice-Transmission Ring, and a one-tenth share of the eventual profits.
• Liu Zide is assigned the scholar and another companion to assist him for several days. Chen Qiu also spares the burly man from the Fierce Tiger Gang, giving him money and ordering him to have his gang purchase every Qi-Replenishing Pill in Mountain-Cleaving City.
• The Fierce Tiger Gang mobilizes hundreds of men to buy up the city’s supply. Although the gang considers fleeing with the money, its boss decides against it, recognizing that Chen Qiu is powerful and not someone they can easily betray.
• Liu Zide leaves with the scholar and another companion for Autumn Reach City. The scholar uses the Three-Foot Azure Edge as a flying sword, allowing them to travel far faster than a flying boat, though the technique consumes many Qi-Replenishing Pills.
• After their departure, Chen Qiu returns to Mountain-Cleaving City with Fat Dragon. He notices how much he depends on the scholar, especially because his inability to use movement techniques becomes more obvious without him.
• Chen Qiu seeks someone capable of breaking the restriction on a storage ring. A lawful shopkeeper refuses to do it openly but secretly directs him to an abandoned temple outside the city.
• Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon wait there at night. A masked man eventually arrives, claiming that his name in the jianghu is Wang Lao Qi, and asks them to hand over the storage ring.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu demonstrates increasing confidence as a leader and investor. He is willing to risk nearly all his resources on Liu Zide’s plan, but he also remains pragmatic, using money and intimidation to organize the pill-buying operation.
• He becomes more aware of his own weaknesses. Without the scholar, his poor mobility and dependence on others become clear, prompting him to use a Gale Talisman and resolve to compensate for every shortcoming.
• Liu Zide accepts the responsibility placed on him and promises to multiply Chen Qiu’s investment. His determination suggests he is eager to prove his worth within the Mocking Heaven Sect.
• The scholar, now recognized as the sect’s Second Elder, struggles emotionally with leaving Chen Qiu but regains his confidence when Chen Qiu entrusts him with the mission.
• Fat Dragon remains Chen Qiu’s familiar companion and source of information, though he is impatient while waiting for Wang Lao Qi.
• The Fierce Tiger Gang’s boss is shown to be cautious rather than reckless. He understands the danger of betraying Chen Qiu and chooses cooperation over greed.
• Wang Lao Qi is introduced as a mysterious, possibly illicit specialist skilled in breaking storage-ring restrictions.

Significant Themes

• Trust and cooperation: Chen Qiu’s success depends heavily on the people around him—Fat Dragon, the scholar, and now Liu Zide. He recognizes that his achievements were made possible through others’ knowledge and assistance.
• Risk and investment: Chen Qiu stakes his fortune on Liu Zide’s scheme, while the mass purchase of Qi-Replenishing Pills reflects the scale and urgency of their plan.
• Dependence and personal weakness: The scholar’s departure exposes Chen Qiu’s limitations, emphasizing that even a powerful cultivator must rely on allies and compensate for weaknesses.
• Fate and relationships: Chen Qiu reflects that many of his best decisions were shaped unconsciously by fate, particularly his encounters with Fat Dragon and the scholar.
• The hidden rules of the jianghu: Legal restrictions, secret merchants, gang networks, and coded identities reveal a world where legitimate and illicit dealings exist side by side.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu negotiates directly with Liu Zide, treating him as a partner while making clear that results are expected.
• He gives the scholar encouragement and responsibility, strengthening their bond and affirming the scholar’s role in the Mocking Heaven Sect.
• Chen Qiu intimidates and bargains with the Fierce Tiger Gang through a mixture of mercy, money, and authority.
• Fat Dragon comments on the sudden emptiness after the scholar leaves, reflecting both men’s sense of loss.
• The shopkeeper refuses Chen Qiu’s request publicly but discreetly helps him locate a forbidden specialist.
• At the end of the chapter, Wang Lao Qi’s guarded introduction creates suspense as Chen Qiu prepares to reveal the restricted storage ring.

Chapter Summary: “Love What You Do”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu brings more than thirty restricted storage rings to a masked middle-aged shopkeeper, asking him to break their restrictions.
• The shopkeeper enthusiastically analyzes and dismantles each restriction, identifying techniques from Xuzhou and criticizing their weaknesses. His expertise and pride become increasingly obvious.
• After the first batch is completed, Chen Qiu produces over three hundred additional storage rings, followed by Qi-Replenishing Pills to restore the shopkeeper’s spiritual energy.
• The shopkeeper works throughout the night, becoming physically exhausted but increasingly excited by the challenge.
• Near dawn, Chen Qiu reveals seven especially important storage rings: five belonging to Golden Core cultivators and two carrying the sinister aura of powerful demonic cultivators.
• Rather than refusing, the shopkeeper becomes even more determined. He carefully prepares himself with the Spring Rain Art before attempting to break the first Golden Core cultivator’s restriction.
• He discovers that the ring belonged to a poison cultivator and contains lethal restrictions designed to corrode the soul. Instead of being frightened, he is thrilled by the danger and complexity.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu is shown to be calm, resourceful, and deliberately generous with supplies. He recognizes the shopkeeper’s genuine passion and continues giving him increasingly difficult work.
• The middle-aged shopkeeper is revealed as a highly skilled restriction-breaker whose love of his craft outweighs concern for profit or fatigue. His confidence develops into near-ecstatic enthusiasm as he encounters rare and dangerous restrictions.
• Fat Dragon gains a new appreciation for the shopkeeper’s sincerity. Although he cannot understand the man’s obsession with dismantling restrictions, he respects that the shopkeeper truly loves his profession.
• The shopkeeper’s reputation and professional ethics are emphasized: he assures Chen Qiu that he never allows his divine sense to leave his body and that reputation is essential in his line of work.

Significant Themes

• Passion for one’s profession: The chapter’s central idea is that genuine enthusiasm can make exhausting work feel rewarding. The shopkeeper is more excited by solving restrictions than by earning payment.
• Mastery and craftsmanship: The shopkeeper takes pride in understanding the history, structure, and flaws of each restriction, treating every one as an intellectual challenge.
• Professional integrity and trust: His insistence on following the rules and protecting his reputation establishes him as dependable despite his eccentricity.
• The thrill of danger and discovery: The Golden Core cultivator’s poison restrictions demonstrate that true experts may actively seek rare, difficult, and hazardous challenges.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu politely calls the shopkeeper “sir,” allowing the older man to maintain his persona as an experienced senior.
• The shopkeeper confidently explains each restriction to Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon, criticizing inferior techniques and proudly showcasing his knowledge.
• Chen Qiu repeatedly surprises him with more storage rings, testing the limits of his endurance while also supplying pills so he can continue.
• Fat Dragon serves as an amused observer, contrasting the shopkeeper’s intense passion with his own bewilderment.
• Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon both come to admire the shopkeeper because his enthusiasm is sincere rather than an act.

Chapter Summary — The Young Master Is Generous

Key Plot Points and Events

• The middle-aged restriction-breaker spends an unusually long time removing the seal from another storage ring, taking three incense sticks and exhausting himself in the process.
• He admits that he cannot continue that night and asks Chen Qiu to return the following evening to finish the remaining rings.
• Chen Qiu pays him the agreed fee, along with thirty additional Spirit Stones as a reward for his effort and to establish goodwill.
• Pleased by the extra payment, the man changes how he addresses Chen Qiu from “young friend” to “Young Master,” prompting Fat Dragon to mock his quick change in attitude.
• Rather than returning to Mountain-Cleaving City, Chen Qiu brings Fat Dragon into the ruined small world containing the former Mocking Heaven Sect.
• Using the sect master’s chair, Chen Qiu can freely bypass the sect’s formations and restrictions, but he observes that restoring the ruined sect would require immense time and wealth.
• He and Fat Dragon settle in a relatively intact disciple dormitory, where Chen Qiu begins his nightly cultivation.
• Chen Qiu experiments with fine spiritual-energy control after recalling the middle-aged man’s remarkable ability to manipulate energy into extremely thin threads. Chen Qiu can only produce a thread as thin as a strand of hair, revealing that he still has much to learn.
• He sorts through the newly opened storage rings and discovers over nine thousand Spirit Stones, along with numerous low-grade talismans, pills, spirit treasures, and spells.
• The storage rings of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect disciples contain most of the wealth, while the Devil Race cultivators possess little besides bizarre and useless objects.
• Finally, Chen Qiu opens the storage ring belonging to the Golden Core poison cultivator, excitedly hoping to find treasures worthy of such a powerful cultivator.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu demonstrates generosity and practical wisdom by overpaying the exhausted restriction-breaker. He values long-term relationships and recognizes the usefulness of cultivating goodwill.
• He is becoming increasingly powerful and capable: the sect master’s chair grants him complete control over the Mocking Heaven Sect’s formations, and his spiritual-energy control is steadily improving.
• Chen Qiu also shows signs of laziness and dependence on conveniences, using Gale Talismans even for ordinary movement and noticing that walking now feels burdensome since Scholar’s departure.
• The middle-aged man is revealed to be genuinely exhausted rather than merely pretending. Although he presents himself as devoted to his craft, he is clearly delighted by material compensation and quickly adopts a more respectful form of address.
• Fat Dragon remains observant and sarcastic, teasing the restriction-breaker and commenting on his opportunistic behavior.

Significant Themes

• Generosity and goodwill: Chen Qiu’s extra payment reflects the value of rewarding skill and building useful alliances.
• Human nature and material desire: The chapter humorously challenges idealized notions of sages by emphasizing that ordinary people naturally appreciate Spirit Stones.
• Power and restoration: Chen Qiu possesses authority over the Mocking Heaven Sect’s ruins, yet repairing the sect remains a daunting task, contrasting ownership with the practical burden of rebuilding.
• Growth through cultivation: Chen Qiu’s attempt to imitate the restriction-breaker highlights his continuing development and the vast gap between basic competence and true mastery.
• Value versus uselessness: The storage rings contain both genuine resources and bizarre junk, underscoring the unpredictable contents of cultivators’ possessions.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu and the middle-aged man maintain a respectful business relationship, with Chen Qiu’s bonus payment strengthening their connection.
• Fat Dragon openly mocks the man’s quick shift from “young friend” to “Young Master,” while Chen Qiu responds pragmatically that liking Spirit Stones is simply part of being human.
• Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon travel together into the Mocking Heaven Sect’s small world and share the ruined disciple dormitory.
• The chapter ends with Chen Qiu’s eager anticipation as he prepares to inspect the Golden Core poison cultivator’s storage ring, setting up the discovery of potentially valuable treasures.

Chapter Summary — “Professional Ethics Maxed Out”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu examines Poison-Thunder Old Fiend’s storage ring and discovers that it is unusually vast and clearly valuable.
• The ring contains:
  • More than 8,000 Lower-Grade Spirit Stones.
  • Twenty-four Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, whose practical value is even higher because of their importance in formations.
  • Numerous poisonous herbs, medicinal ingredients, pills, and valuable treasures.
• Among the contents, Chen Qiu finds a Heavenly Dao Secret Realm jade slip containing the Foundation Establishment top-grade spell Nine-Poison Nether-Soul Method.
• He also discovers an Enlightenment Stone, which can raise a cultivation technique to Great Perfection.
• The jade slip reveals that cultivating the spell requires:
  1. Immersion in nine different poisons for twelve hours.
  2. Personally killing 330 people guilty of the Buddhist “seven evils.”
• Chen Qiu realizes he has already fulfilled the second requirement, apparently through killing more than 300 Ten Thousand Poisons Sect disciples in Poison-Thunder Marsh. This suggests that the sect may have deliberately sent morally corrupt disciples there for a hidden purpose.
• He reflects that Poison-Thunder Old Fiend spent years accumulating the treasures and preparing to master the spell, only to be killed by a powerful Fourth-Layer Golden Core wraith. Chen Qiu then inherited everything.
• After studying the spell, Chen Qiu decides to cultivate it immediately. He wakes Fat Dragon and begins preparing the Nine-Poison Bath, using the old fiend’s ingredients, balancing herbs, and antidote pills.
• Chen Qiu enters the steaming vat and instructs Fat Dragon to monitor him and administer antidotes if he loses consciousness or suffers complications.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu gains enormous wealth and resources, recovering from the financial strain caused by Liu Zide’s plan.
• He acquires a powerful second offensive technique, giving him a more varied combat style rather than relying on one primary attack.
• His opportunistic and pragmatic nature is emphasized: he views the old fiend’s death and accumulated treasures as an unexpectedly fortunate windfall.
• Chen Qiu also shows caution despite his excitement. He carefully studies the spell’s restrictions, prepares antidotes, and gives Fat Dragon clear emergency instructions before beginning cultivation.
• Poison-Thunder Old Fiend is characterized indirectly as a long-term schemer and collector who had nearly completed his preparations, only to lose everything at the final moment.
• Fat Dragon continues to act as Chen Qiu’s assistant and safeguard, helping prepare the dangerous cultivation ritual.

Significant Themes

• Fortune born from danger and violence: Chen Qiu’s immense gains come from defeating a powerful enemy, reinforcing the idea that cultivation rewards those willing to take risks.
• Inheritance and stolen opportunity: Poison-Thunder Old Fiend’s years of preparation become Chen Qiu’s immediate advantage, highlighting the instability of cultivators’ plans and possessions.
• Moral ambiguity: The spell requires killing people guilty of the seven evils, yet Chen Qiu’s qualification comes from slaughtering Ten Thousand Poisons Sect disciples. The chapter raises questions about whether they were truly victims, criminals, or participants in a larger scheme.
• Power versus preparation: Chen Qiu benefits not only from strength but also from the old fiend’s carefully gathered materials, showing how resources and preparation accelerate cultivation.
• The danger of specialized power: The Nine-Poison Nether-Soul Method attacks the body, protective spiritual energy, and divine soul, presenting poison cultivation as both terrifying and versatile.
• Professional ethics and trust: The shopkeeper’s refusal to covet Chen Qiu’s valuable storage ring is humorously praised as “professional ethics maxed out,” contrasting civilized conduct with the ruthless world of cultivation.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu internally praises the shopkeeper recommended by Scholar for remaining calm and honest despite seeing a weaker cultivator possess a priceless storage ring.
• Chen Qiu connects the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect disciples he killed with the spell’s requirement, reconsidering the purpose behind their presence in Poison-Thunder Marsh.
• He works directly with Fat Dragon, waking him and ordering him to prepare the furnace and Nine-Poison Bath.
• Before entering the vat, Chen Qiu entrusts Fat Dragon with his safety and explains exactly how to respond if the ritual goes wrong.
• The chapter ends with Chen Qiu beginning the dangerous cultivation process, while a promotional excerpt introduces Sun Xingzhe, a figure dedicated to hunting and repatriating disruptive transmigrators.

Chapter Summary: “Birds of a Feather”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu follows the Heavenly Dao Jade Slip’s instructions and undergoes a poison-tempering process in a medicinal vat. Although the enhanced pain caused by his “Man with a Missing Heaven” trait makes the process agonizing, he successfully cultivates the Nine-Poison Nether-Soul Method to Great Perfection.
• He emerges with a new offensive ability: a tiny but terrifyingly destructive green demon flame.
• While Chen Qiu cultivates, Scholar travels with Liu Zide and becomes increasingly amazed by Liu’s talent for creating fame and manipulating public attention.
• Liu Zide launches an enormous publicity campaign across Autumn Reach City and all of Xuzhou. He organizes actors, scripts, Image Recording Stones, copies, transportation, merchants, mines, brothels, and local powers to produce and distribute sensational scenes.
• The staged recordings feature dramatic archetypes and popular stories: righteous holy maidens captured by wicked cultivators, fallen demonic experts, sect masters making painful sacrifices, empresses, revenge-driven disciples, and other emotionally charged scenarios.
• Scholar stops Liu from filming a scene involving the current empress, warning that it could provoke disaster throughout Xuzhou.
• Liu’s spending creates a massive economic chain reaction. Image Recording Stone workshops, Soft Stone mines, flying vessels, pharmacies, brothels, and other businesses become overwhelmed with orders. Fifteen thousand Spirit Stones are rapidly injected into the grassroots economy.
• Within twelve hours, nearly a hundred new “internet celebrities” gain fame, and sixty-seven people earn places on the Fame Leaderboard. The highest-ranked individual reaches 829th place, yielding sixty-seven lower-grade Foundation Establishment Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills.
• Liu nearly exhausts the original fifteen thousand Spirit Stones and requests another ten thousand. Chen Qiu is shocked but, after reviewing Scholar’s detailed accounts and seeing the initial rewards, agrees to provide the additional funds.
• Liu immediately raises his payments to triple rates and intensifies the campaign, determined to increase production and distribution speed.
• Chen Qiu accepts the risk, hoping that the growing fame campaign will soon produce a much larger harvest.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu gains a significant new combat method through poison cultivation. He remains cautious and financially conscious, but his initial success convinces him to continue investing in Liu Zide’s plan.
• Liu Zide is revealed as an exceptionally capable strategist, director, propagandist, and organizer. His obsessive energy, vulgar commands, and willingness to spend enormous sums make him frighteningly effective.
• Scholar changes from skepticism to admiration for Liu’s abilities. He serves as the messenger and intermediary between Liu and Chen Qiu, while also recognizing how dangerous and extravagant Liu’s methods are.
• Fat Dragon remains blunt, emotional, and protective of Chen Qiu’s resources. He is outraged by Liu’s rapid spending and wants to confront him physically.
• The Zhao Clan Merchant Association and other local powers become enthusiastic collaborators after benefiting financially from Liu’s project. Their initial cooperation turns into eager support.
• Chen Qiu gains a deeper understanding of the Fortune City Wang Family’s previous bold investment: employing someone like Liu Zide requires committing enormous resources, but can potentially produce extraordinary returns.

Significant Themes

• Fame as power: Reputation can be deliberately manufactured through spectacle, emotional manipulation, repetition, and social proof.
• Money as a strategic weapon: Spirit Stones are used not merely for direct purchases but to mobilize entire industries and populations, accelerating the spread of influence.
• The economics of influence: Liu’s spending benefits ordinary workers, merchants, miners, performers, and local businesses, showing how concentrated wealth can stimulate a broad grassroots economy.
• Risk versus reward: Chen Qiu must decide whether Liu’s extravagant expenditures will produce enough Heavenly Dao rewards to justify the cost.
• Performance and identity: Characters in the Image Recording Stones adopt exaggerated personas—devoted widower, innocent holy maiden, fallen expert, revenge-seeking disciple—to create memorable public images.
• Birds of a feather: Scholar observes that Liu’s talent for making people famous perfectly complements Scholar’s own desire for recognition, suggesting that similar ambitions and abilities naturally draw people together.
• Relentless efficiency: Liu sacrifices sleep, food, comfort, money, and even basic dignity to achieve his goal before opponents can react.

Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon undergo the painful cultivation process together, with Fat Dragon acknowledging Chen Qiu’s determination.
• Scholar listens to Liu’s fame-building advice and becomes deeply impressed by his creativity, while the burly man beside him silently recognizes that Liu and Scholar share the same obsession with fame.
• Liu aggressively directs actors, correcting their performances and demanding emotionally convincing portrayals.
• Liu relies on Scholar, the Zhao Clan, local city powers, merchants, workshops, and workers to execute the campaign at unprecedented speed.
• Scholar confronts Liu’s reckless proposal to depict the empress, acting as a restraint on Liu’s ambitions.
• Scholar delivers Liu’s financial request to Chen Qiu and later brings Chen Qiu’s warning back to Liu.
• Despite Chen Qiu’s anger and Fat Dragon’s outrage, Chen Qiu ultimately trusts the recorded results and provides more funding, while Liu responds by redoubling his efforts.

Chapter Summary: “No Attacks on the Parents”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu realizes that the Heavenly Dao Low-Grade Cultivation Pills are exceptionally effective. Each pill increases his Foundation Establishment cultivation progress by 0.7%, with no impurities or side effects.
• He consumes enough pills to raise his cultivation from Foundation Establishment Third Layer, 36.9% to 83.8%, an astonishingly rapid advancement compared with ordinary cultivators.
• The shopkeeper arrives late but successfully removes the restrictions from the remaining six Golden Core storage rings before dawn.
• Chen Qiu examines the rings:
  • The poison cultivator’s ring is completely empty despite containing unusually complicated restrictions.
  • The two rings belonging to the evil cultivator, the Myriad Demon Child, contain nothing except notes identifying him.
  • The three rings belonging to the master of Heaven-Question Market contain limited Spirit Stones, pills, talismans, and three Trait Jade Slips.
• Chen Qiu discovers a powerful Purple Trait, Heaven-Mandated Dual Cultivation, which greatly increases the cultivation speed of dual cultivation techniques for someone possessing both Strength of Nine Oxen and Nine Yin Power.
• He gives the trait to Fat Dragon, believing it could help him rapidly improve his cultivation. However, Fat Dragon’s Never Misses trait makes ordinary dual cultivation dangerous because pregnancy is guaranteed.
• Chen Qiu also acquires Step-by-Step Precaution, a Gray Trait that enhances the movement art Shrinking Earth to Inches fivefold and removes its spiritual-energy cost, though it makes the destination and direction random.
• The final Trait Jade Slip is No Attacks on the Parents, a Green Trait that distributes attacks suffered by the user among their children while transferring attacks against their parents to the user.
• Fat Dragon considers using the dual-cultivation trait with female demons, since humans and demons supposedly cannot have children. Though disgusted by the idea, he reasons that he must seek strength rather than remain dependent on Chen Qiu.
• The next day in Mountain-Cleaving City, Chen Qiu examines a Blazing Seven-Kill Formation disk found in the market master’s storage ring. The mid-grade Golden Core formation can kill a Golden Core Fifth Layer cultivator, making Chen Qiu realize how narrowly he escaped death during the previous battle.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu continues to grow rapidly through rare treasures such as Golden Cores and Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills. His success makes him more aware of both his extraordinary luck and the dangers he has survived.
• He becomes increasingly interested in unusual Traits and practical methods of strengthening himself, especially movement techniques that can compensate for his weaknesses.
• Chen Qiu also shows concern for Fat Dragon’s future. Rather than keeping the Purple Trait for himself, he gives it to Fat Dragon because it suits him best.
• Fat Dragon shifts from cheerful dependence toward determination and self-reliance. He worries that he is falling behind Chen Qiu and the other Mocking Heaven Sect members, and he genuinely wants to reach the Nascent Soul Realm through his own efforts.
• Fat Dragon’s comedic ideas contrast with his sincere insecurity. Although he jokingly proposes dual cultivation with demons, he ultimately frames the potential sacrifice as a way to become useful and protect his dignity.
• The shopkeeper demonstrates expertise and professionalism by removing the complex restrictions from the storage rings, though the effort leaves him physically exhausted.

Significant Themes

• Fortune and danger in cultivation: Chen Qiu’s rapid progress depends on opportunities that ordinary cultivators may never encounter, but every major gain is accompanied by potentially fatal risks.
• The unpredictability of power: Traits can be extraordinarily powerful, yet their usefulness depends on highly specific prerequisites and may come with severe drawbacks.
• The cost of self-improvement: Fat Dragon is willing to endure humiliation and revulsion to avoid becoming a burden, highlighting the sacrifices demanded by the path to immortality.
• Luck versus preparation: Chen Qiu survives the battle largely because he acted quickly before the Blazing Seven-Kill Formation could be activated, emphasizing how narrow the margin between life and death can be.
• Comedic subversion of cultivation conventions: Traits involving dual cultivation, guaranteed pregnancy, demon reproduction, and damage-sharing create absurd situations while still influencing serious strategic decisions.
• Family and responsibility: The “No Attacks on the Parents” Trait turns children into defensive resources, presenting a deliberately absurd but disturbing interpretation of protection, lineage, and survival.

Character Interactions

• The shopkeeper and Chen Qiu cooperate professionally while opening the storage rings; Chen Qiu respects the shopkeeper’s skill and allows him to depart once the exhausting task is complete.
• Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon discuss the Purple Trait, with Chen Qiu presenting it as Fat Dragon’s opportunity and Fat Dragon initially expressing gratitude and excitement.
• Their conversation becomes awkward when Fat Dragon points out that Never Misses makes dual cultivation likely to produce children. Chen Qiu tries to find an alternative technique, but neither knows of one that avoids physical intimacy.
• When Fat Dragon proposes using female demons to bypass the reproductive consequences, Chen Qiu questions whether he should degrade himself so severely for cultivation.
• Fat Dragon’s confession about feeling useless and wanting to stop relying on Chen Qiu moves the exchange from comedy to genuine emotional support. Chen Qiu chooses not to mock him and quietly encourages him.
• The chapter ends with Chen Qiu reflecting on how close he came to death and wondering why the Heaven-Question Market master purchased such a devastating formation disk.

Chapter Summary: “Tenfold Casting”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Qiu spends the day cultivating inside the inn, increasingly aware that his low cultivation leaves him vulnerable in the dangerous world.
• Scholar returns at midnight with two storage pouches containing 283 low-grade Foundation Establishment Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills, a dramatic increase from the previous day’s harvest. Liu Zide’s Fame Leaderboard scheme is rapidly expanding, with 187 participants entering the rankings and Chen Qiu’s investment showing promise.
• Chen Qiu consumes twenty-four pills and breaks through to the fourth layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
• His new cultivation entry initially presents three choices: Swordheart, Parents as Targets, and an unknown entry. He chooses the unknown option and receives Dual Casting, allowing every spell to be cast one additional time at no cost.
• Fat Dragon arrives carrying dead rabbit demons, intending to share a meal and celebrate the help Chen Qiu gave him in purchasing a dual-cultivation technique. Chen Qiu initially assumes Fat Dragon brought demons he had used for dual cultivation and angrily beats him. After learning the truth, Chen Qiu apologizes, and the two reconcile over roasted rabbit meat and liquor on the inn roof.
• During their drunken conversation, the enormous Sky-Piercing Giant Zhao Yishi arrives, sent by his sect master to protect Chen Qiu because he may be in danger. Zhao is extremely hungry and consumes the rabbit demons, including thousands of corpses in Fat Dragon’s room, apparently unaware of their origin.
• Two powerful cultivators streak over Mountain-Cleaving City: the demonic cultivator Qiu Shan Old Ghost and Ji Taiping, Great Xia’s foremost sword cultivator. Qiu Shan throws down an attribute jade slip containing the Purple-grade “Tenfold Casting” attribute, which allows every spell to be cast ten additional times at no cost.
• The jade slip lands directly in Chen Qiu’s arms. Realizing Ji Taiping will search for it, Chen Qiu immediately summons Scholar and flees with his companions to Autumn Reach City.
• Ji Taiping returns to Mountain-Cleaving City, seals it with his Seven-Kill World-Destroying Sword formation, and searches for the stolen jade slip. He suspects Zhao Yishi, Chen Qiu, and Fat Dragon, especially recognizing Chen Qiu as the mysterious “White Robe.”
• In Autumn Reach City, Chen Qiu warns Zhao Yishi to return to his sect and remain hidden until reaching the Golden Core Realm. Zhao mentions the upcoming Prodigy Rankings Competition, but Chen Qiu declines to commit to attending.
• Concerned that Ji Taiping may trace the jade slip back to him through the innkeeper, Chen Qiu orders Liu Zide to stop expanding the Fame operation. Liu brings over the more than two hundred participants, whom Chen Qiu stores inside his small world.
• Chen Qiu, Scholar, Fat Dragon, and the others prepare to relocate to Scholar’s secluded former cave dwelling to cultivate and use the remaining Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills.

2. Character Developments

• Chen Qiu: Becomes more cautious and determined to increase his cultivation. His breakthrough to the fourth Foundation Establishment layer and acquisition of Dual Casting greatly strengthen him, while Tenfold Casting gives him an exceptionally powerful combat advantage. He also shows self-awareness and remorse after wrongly accusing Fat Dragon.
• Scholar: Demonstrates efficiency and pride in managing Liu Zide’s Fame scheme. He remains loyal and practical, quickly responding when Chen Qiu calls for protection and offering a secure retreat.
• Fat Dragon: Pursues a dual-cultivation technique to become stronger and makes an awkward but sincere attempt to repay Chen Qiu’s kindness. Despite being humiliated and beaten due to a misunderstanding, he forgives Chen Qiu and maintains their friendship.
• Zhao Yishi: Is revealed to be extremely powerful but comically gluttonous and socially unconventional. He accepts Chen Qiu’s warning and decides to return to his sect to cultivate until reaching the Golden Core Realm.
• Liu Zide: Shows strategic ambition by expanding the Fame scheme and believing it can continue generating profits. He ultimately obeys Chen Qiu’s order to halt the operation and accepts two thousand Spirit Stones as his share.
• Ji Taiping: Emerges as a terrifying and highly perceptive antagonist. He recognizes Chen Qiu’s connection to White Robe and decides to pursue him while also investigating Zhao Yishi and the Heavenward Sect.

3. Significant Themes

• The necessity of strength in a dangerous world: Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon both acknowledge that morally unpleasant choices may be unavoidable if they want to survive and complete their ambitions.
• Power and risk: Every increase in power brings greater attention and danger. Chen Qiu gains extraordinary casting abilities but immediately becomes a target of Ji Taiping.
• Friendship and loyalty: Chen Qiu, Fat Dragon, Scholar, and Zhao Yishi support one another despite their bizarre circumstances and frequent misunderstandings.
• Absurdity amid danger: The chapter combines deadly cultivation conflicts with comic events, particularly Fat Dragon’s rabbit-demonstration, Chen Qiu’s furious misunderstanding, and Zhao Yishi’s indiscriminate eating.
• Greed, opportunity, and strategic retreat: Chen Qiu’s Fame operation generates substantial rewards, but he recognizes that excessive expansion and public exposure could be fatal. Survival takes priority over maximum profit.
• Identity and reputation: Ji Taiping’s recognition of Chen Qiu as White Robe suggests that Chen Qiu’s public actions are beginning to expose his hidden identity.

4. Character Interactions

• Chen Qiu and Scholar: Discuss the success of the Fame Leaderboard strategy, the growing pill supply, and the need to flee after Chen Qiu obtains Tenfold Casting.
• Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon: Their conflict begins with Chen Qiu’s mistaken assumption that Fat Dragon brought him used rabbit demons. After Fat Dragon explains himself, the two apologize and bond over food, alcohol, and memories of their pasts.
• Chen Qiu, Fat Dragon, and Zhao Yishi: Zhao joins their rooftop gathering, eats their rabbit meat and demon corpses, and creates an awkward mixture of comedy and disgust. His appetite leaves both Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon emotionally overwhelmed.
• Chen Qiu and Zhao Yishi: Chen treats Zhao as a powerful but somewhat bewildering ally, giving him food and advising him to return to his sect for safety.
• Chen Qiu and Liu Zide: Chen praises Liu’s results but orders him to end the operation’s expansion. Liu accepts the reduced but guaranteed compensation of two thousand Spirit Stones.
• Ji Taiping and Chen Qiu: Though they do not meet directly, Ji Taiping’s pursuit of the Tenfold Casting jade slip places Chen Qiu in immediate danger and establishes a major future conflict between them.

Chapter Summary: “Great Xia Prison Cage”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Chen Qiu leaves Autumn Reach City, Ji Taiping, Great Xia’s foremost sword cultivator, arrives seeking an explanation from the Autumn Reach City Lord. However, the conspirators have already fled:
  • Chen Qiu and his companions escape to Xuzhou.
  • Liu Zide uses a Random Teleportation Talisman and disguises himself while traveling toward Fortune City.
• Although the group disperses, the events in Autumn Reach City—especially the recorded images and sensational rumors—spread rapidly throughout Xuzhou’s forty-seven great cities. Public discussion grows into a major storm, while even the authorities are captivated by the recordings rather than suppressing them.
• Chen Qiu’s group reaches a hidden canyon at the edge of Xuzhou. Scholar reveals the region’s geography and the dangers beyond Great Xia:
  • The Boundless Desert lies to the north.
  • The Boundless Sea lies to the east.
  • The Boundless Snow Mountains lie to the west.
  • The Boundless Ice Wastes lie to the south.
  • Powerful Nascent Soul beings are believed to exist beyond Great Xia’s borders.
• Scholar explains that Great Xia has no Nascent Soul cultivators despite possessing many Golden Core cultivators. Most city lords are “False Golden Cores,” who rely on Great Xia’s national fortune to maintain their cultivation.
• Great Xia compensates for the absence of Nascent Souls through the Great Xia Official Road, a vast national formation capable of killing an early Nascent Soul. The formation was constructed at enormous cost but has never been activated.
• Chen Qiu concludes that Great Xia resembles a “prison cage,” possibly preventing anyone within its borders from attaining the Nascent Soul Realm. The chapter raises the unresolved question of how this restriction might be broken.
• Scholar leads the group into a secluded canyon protected by strange clouds that freeze spiritual energy and sever the connection to flying swords. The location is effectively inaccessible and becomes their temporary cultivation base.
• Chen Qiu settles beside a stream and begins consolidating his newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivation before consuming more Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills.
• Fat Dragon and the others clean the abandoned cottage, review the Image Recording Stones, and roast fish by the stream, creating a rare atmosphere of peace and camaraderie.
• The chapter then shifts to the Boundless Desert, where a young brown bear attempts to grow spiritual rice in the sand using bear urine as fertilizer.
• This bear is revealed to be a transmigrator. He hopes to create a miracle that will unite the Demon Race, allowing it to resist Great Xia and eventually claim its fertile territory.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu: Becomes increasingly aware of the danger surrounding him and recognizes that rapid cultivation is essential for survival. Though he is only at the Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer, his supply of Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills gives him extraordinary growth potential.
• Scholar: Acts as the group’s guide and source of historical and geographical knowledge. His former identity as Great Xia’s foremost sword cultivator gives his explanations authority, while his nostalgic connection to the canyon reveals a quieter, more reflective side.
• Fat Dragon: Provides humor and practical companionship. His curiosity about the recordings and willingness to help prepare the hideout reinforce his role as a loyal and energetic member of the group.
• Ji Taiping: Though furious over the events in Autumn Reach City, he restrains himself out of respect for Great Xia’s political authority, showing discipline and awareness of the consequences of acting recklessly.
• Liu Zide: Demonstrates foresight and survival instincts by preparing a teleportation talisman and escaping before the situation worsens. His recordings become a major source of public attention.
• The Young Brown Bear: Introduced as an intelligent transmigrator with ambitions far beyond his current status. Despite being only at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, he possesses strong determination, a Green-grade “Bloodied Claws” Trait, and a grand plan to unite the Demon Race.

Significant Themes

• The illusion of security: Great Xia appears powerful because of its many Golden Cores and national formation, yet its lack of Nascent Souls exposes a fundamental weakness.
• The “prison cage” of Great Xia: The kingdom’s borders may be more than geographical boundaries; they may represent a supernatural restriction preventing higher realms of cultivation.
• Cultivation and political power: Great Xia strengthens itself by granting national fortune to cultivators, creating False Golden Cores and binding individual advancement to state authority.
• The unknown beyond civilization: Every direction outside Great Xia contains vast, dangerous territories and possibly Nascent Soul-level beings, emphasizing how small and enclosed the kingdom is.
• Rumor and information as power: The Image Recording Stones spread faster than official control can contain them, showing how stories and public discussion can destabilize established authority.
• Unity versus division: The young bear believes the Demon Race can survive only by uniting, but historical grudges, tribal divisions, and predator-prey relationships make unity extremely difficult.
• Peace amid danger: The hidden canyon provides a temporary paradise where the group can cultivate, eat, and interact peacefully despite the larger political and supernatural dangers surrounding them.

Character Interactions

• Ji Taiping respectfully asks the Autumn Reach City Lord for a discussion but receives no response because the relevant parties have fled.
• Scholar and Fat Dragon discuss Great Xia’s geography, the absence of Nascent Souls, the national formation, and the Demon Race, with Chen Qiu occasionally drawing important conclusions.
• The group cooperates in establishing the canyon hideout: Chen Qiu cultivates while Fat Dragon and the others clean the cottage and prepare food.
• Scholar and Fat Dragon bond over the outrageous Image Recording Stones, especially the bizarre scenes involving unusual Traits and impossible-looking breakthroughs.
• In the Demon Race section, the young brown bear debates his father, the clan chieftain. His father doubts that spiritual rice can grow in the desert and regards Demon Race unity as impossible, while the young bear insists that a miracle is necessary to achieve it.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Ji Taiping leaves Autumn Reach City, several inn guests demand refunds because a gigantic eyeball appeared outside their window during the night. The innkeeper is unable to defend the inn’s strange events.
• The injured wandering heavenly maiden of the Flower-Offering Sect arrives searching for Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon. She leaves a message for them, saying she has something important to tell them.
• When several men mock and leer at her, she lures them into the forest. Later, she returns healed, while their dried corpses remain behind, implying that she has drained their life force through cultivation.
• Chen Qiu stabilizes his cultivation and consumes 200 Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills, advancing from the Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer to the Fifth Layer. Because cultivation becomes harder at this level, each pill provides less progress than before.
• Upon reaching the Fifth Layer, Chen Qiu receives three possible traits:
  1. Nonsense Trait—gain cultivation by deceiving people, but lose all other cultivation methods.
  2. One-Day Golden Core Trait—reach Early Golden Core instantly, but gradually decline and eventually die.
  3. Guaranteed Cultivation Trait—advance automatically only when a major realm’s lifespan ends, with a limit of Early Golden Core.
• Chen Qiu chooses the Nonsense Trait because the other two cannot be removed. He tries to deceive Fat Dragon by claiming his name is Chen Ziyang, but Fat Dragon immediately sees through the lie, providing no cultivation benefit.
• Since the trait prevents him from gaining cultivation through pills, Chen Qiu decides to destroy it using his Self-Destruct Trait. He tests the resulting Golden Core Fifth Layer attack on a nearby rabbit demon, obliterating it and creating a massive crater.
• Chen Qiu and his companions return underground. He confirms that Dual Casting and Tenfold Casting cannot enhance the Self-Destruct Trait, but together they allow him to cast a spell eleven times without additional expenditure. He plans to consume more pills, acquire defensive spells and spiritual treasures, and avoid the Prodigy Rankings competition until reaching the Golden Core Realm.
• The rabbit demon is revealed to be July Cat, a transmigrator with the Blue Trait Nine Lives of the Cat. She has already lost several lives: first during a Devil Invasion, then to Chen Qiu’s lightning attack while inhabiting a Devil Race body, then when Fat Dragon killed and roasted her as a rabbit, and again when Chen Qiu accidentally destroyed her rabbit body.
• July Cat vows revenge, but immediately loses another life when Liu Zide kills and eats her in crow form while traveling back toward Fortune City.
• Liu Zide reflects on rejecting Chen Qiu’s offer. He believes remaining with his original master gives him greater authority and a better chance to build his own power base. He ends the chapter dreaming that his name will one day resound throughout the world.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu advances to the Foundation Establishment Fifth Layer but becomes frustrated by the limitations of his new traits. His ambitions remain focused on rapidly reaching Golden Core so he can dominate Great Xia with the power of his Self-Destruct Trait.
• Fat Dragon remains simple-minded and difficult to deceive, unintentionally undermining Chen Qiu’s new trait. He also realizes that his treatment of rabbit demons may have caused Chen Qiu’s apparent dislike of them.
• The Flower-Offering Sect’s heavenly maiden demonstrates her ruthlessness and seductive cultivation methods by using predatory men to recover from her injuries.
• July Cat is established as an unlucky but determined transmigrator. Despite possessing nine lives, she repeatedly dies through accidental encounters with the main cast and develops a strong desire for revenge.
• Liu Zide chooses independence and loyalty to his original master over joining Chen Qiu. He reveals considerable ambition, hoping to expand his influence from Fortune City and eventually establish his own reputation.

Significant Themes

• Ambition and self-determination: Chen Qiu and Liu Zide both want to “make a name” for themselves, but they pursue different paths—Chen Qiu through overwhelming power and enterprise, Liu Zide through political influence and gradual expansion.
• The cost of power: Every trait offers major advantages but also severe drawbacks. Chen Qiu’s choice gives him a potentially useful ability while blocking his preferred method of cultivation.
• Absurdity and unintended consequences: Chen Qiu destroys a rabbit demon merely as a convenient target, unaware that it is a sentient transmigrator who now considers him an enemy.
• Luck and misfortune: July Cat’s Nine Lives Trait appears powerful, but her repeated deaths show that survival depends as much on circumstance as on ability.
• Loyalty versus opportunity: Liu Zide’s decision reflects the conflict between joining a powerful rising figure and remaining loyal to the master who originally supported him.
• Predatory cultivation and moral ambiguity: The heavenly maiden, Fat Dragon, Chen Qiu, and Liu Zide all treat weaker beings as resources or obstacles, highlighting the harsh and often darkly comic logic of the cultivation world.

Character Interactions

• The innkeeper is pressured by refund-seeking guests and later questioned by the heavenly maiden about Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon.
• The heavenly maiden manipulates the lecherous men, drawing them into the forest before killing and absorbing them.
• Chen Qiu tests the Nonsense Trait on Fat Dragon, but Fat Dragon recognizes the deception and responds playfully.
• Chen Qiu, Scholar, and Fat Dragon discuss the underground base and witness the aftermath of Chen Qiu’s attack on the rabbit demon. Scholar is confused by the seemingly excessive force, while Fat Dragon suspects it relates to his own past behavior.
• July Cat repeatedly crosses paths with Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon without them recognizing her identity, turning their accidental killings into a one-sided vendetta.
• Liu Zide unknowingly kills July Cat again, then eats her while reaffirming his decision to pursue his own ambitions in Fortune City.

Chapter Summary: “If You Can’t Win, Flip the Table”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Heavenward Sect’s master questions Zhao Yishi about whether he took Ji Taiping’s jade slip. Zhao denies taking it, confirming that Chen Qiu likely possesses it.
• When Ji Taiping demands an explanation and wants to inspect the Heavenward Sect’s disciples’ Dao Foundations, the sect master refuses, mocking Ji’s accusations and invoking the sect’s powerful Supreme Elders. Ji leaves in anger.
• In a hidden gorge, Chen Qiu finishes absorbing fifty-nine Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills and advances to the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment, reaching 29% progress. He plans to absorb another batch at night and break through to the sixth layer.
• While eating Fat Dragon’s roasted yellow croaker, Chen Qiu notices one fish repeatedly leaping and swimming upstream as if guiding them. He follows it through a deep underwater passage into a vast underground cavern.
• The cavern is secretly controlled by the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect. Chen Qiu observes their disciples harvesting mysterious stalactites and orders his companions to collect the entire supply.
• A furious Golden Core cultivator arrives after the theft, revealing that the stalactites are Dragon Vein Stones—rare treasures used to forge powerful Spirit Treasures. Chen Qiu and his group escape immediately through Scholar’s younger brother.
• Scholar explains that Dragon Vein Stones are exceptionally valuable and that the coming Prodigy Rankings competition could allow Chen Qiu to obtain a Heavenly Dao Spirit Treasure. The top three competitors receive the chance to have the Heavenly Dao forge a perfectly compatible, growable natal Spirit Treasure.
• Although Chen Qiu had sworn never to enter Capital Province before reaching the Golden Core Realm, the prospect of obtaining such a weapon changes his mind. He decides to participate.
• In Great Ming City, Chen Qiu and Scholar stay at Apricot Blossom Tower while Fat Dragon gathers intelligence. Chen Qiu theatrically summons courtesans, mainly to tease Scholar, who insists that sword cultivators should not indulge in worldly pleasures.
• Fat Dragon returns with intelligence on dozens of formidable competitors. Among them is a puppet cultivator from the Mechanism Puppet Sect, whose Black Obsidian Stone puppet may strongly counter Chen Qiu’s abilities.
• Chen Qiu assesses his chances. Even after reaching the seventh or eighth Foundation Establishment level, he may struggle against the many elite prodigies, especially those at Early Golden Core. He begins contemplating an extreme solution: exploiting the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm’s rules so that he alone enters, guaranteeing first place.

Character Developments

• Chen Qiu grows more powerful and increasingly confident in using unconventional methods. His cultivation improves rapidly through Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills, but he recognizes the limits of his current strength.
• Chen Qiu also demonstrates his opportunistic and ruthless side by looting the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect’s hidden Dragon Vein Stone reserves without hesitation.
• His priorities shift when he learns about Heavenly Dao Spirit Treasures. Though cautious about entering Capital Province, he decides the opportunity is too valuable to miss.
• Scholar continues to act as Chen Qiu’s knowledgeable adviser, explaining the Prodigy Rankings and the value of Dragon Vein Stones. His devotion to sword cultivation remains comic, especially when Chen Qiu tries to send him to a courtesan.
• Fat Dragon proves useful both as a companion and an intelligence gatherer. He supplies information about Chen Qiu’s likely rivals and highlights the dangers of the competition.
• Scholar’s younger brother remains quiet and expressionless but serves as the group’s crucial escape mechanism.
• Ji Taiping is frustrated and humiliated by the Heavenward Sect’s refusal to cooperate, while the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect’s red-haired Golden Core cultivator becomes enraged after discovering the theft.

Significant Themes

• Opportunism and survival: Chen Qiu treats unexpected opportunities—whether a fish’s guidance or a forbidden treasure trove—as chances that must be seized immediately.
• Strength versus strategy: Chen Qiu recognizes that raw cultivation may not be enough to defeat the strongest prodigies, so he considers manipulating the rules instead of fighting fairly.
• The value of rare treasures: Dragon Vein Stones and Heavenly Dao Spirit Treasures emphasize how resources, equipment, and heavenly rewards can determine a cultivator’s future.
• Caution versus ambition: Chen Qiu’s fear of entering Capital Province conflicts with his desire for a weapon capable of greatly enhancing his power.
• Comedic irreverence: Serious cultivation matters are repeatedly undercut by humor, such as Chen Qiu’s casual theft of a sect’s treasures and his teasing of Scholar at the brothel.
• Fortuitous encounters and destiny: The yellow croaker’s guidance suggests that seemingly absurd events may lead to major opportunities, though Chen Qiu remains wary of relying on fate.

Character Interactions

• The Heavenward Sect master protects Zhao Yishi and rejects Ji Taiping’s accusations with sarcasm and defiance.
• Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon bond over food, though Chen Qiu notices the yellow croaker’s unusual behavior before Fat Dragon does.
• Chen Qiu relies on Scholar’s younger brother to provide an instant escape from the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect’s Golden Core expert.
• Scholar explains the significance of the Dragon Vein Stones and urges Chen Qiu to enter the rankings, while Chen Qiu debates whether the reward justifies the danger.
• Chen Qiu teases Scholar by sending him to a courtesan, exposing Scholar’s embarrassment beneath his stern sword-cultivator persona.
• Fat Dragon and Scholar’s younger brother return with intelligence about rival prodigies, allowing Chen Qiu to begin planning how to overcome the competition—or prevent anyone else from competing at all.