Chapter Summaries

Jiang Lu and the disciples were trapped behind Elder An’s barrier while a nearly sixth-rank Magic Beast attacked. After the barrier broke and Fu Yao ordered the disciples to form an array, the Magic Beast recognized the Spirit Pearl aura on Jiang Lu and lunged at her.

• Elder An arrived and warned Fu Yao that the Magic Beast was nearly sixth rank and he could not defeat it alone.
• Ren Haotian told Fu Yao that his group had disturbed the Magic Beast in its cave after getting lost while gathering spirit plants.
• As the Magic Beast battered Elder An’s barrier, Jiang Lu realized arrays could be used defensively to protect cultivators.
• The Magic Beast shattered the barrier, wounded Elder An, and forced Fu Yao to order the disciples to form an array.
• The Magic Beast sensed its Spirit Pearl’s aura on Jiang Lu, recognized her as the one who had ruined its plans, and pounced at her as she ran.

Jiang Lu fled a fifth-rank Magic Beast while cultivators watched, then used the battle to slip away toward its lair. She entered the lair with the Treasure-Seeking Mouse, hoping to claim its treasures while the beast was occupied.

• Jiang Lu ran from the Magic Beast, which accused her of stealing, and the cultivators speculated about her strength and Medicine King Pavilion ring.
• Elder An warned the cultivators not to provoke Jiang Lu, and several arriving auras dispersed the Demonic Qi around them.
• Jiang Lu threw offensive artifacts at the Magic Beast, evaded its counterattack, and led it toward the Flowing Cloud Sect disciples.
• Elder An and other cultivators engaged the Magic Beast while Fu Yao ordered the disciples to retreat, and Jiang Lu escaped with them.
• Jiang Lu sensed the Treasure-Seeking Mouse had found treasure, separated from the Flowing Cloud Sect disciples, and entered the Magic Beast's lair.

Jiang Lu took the treasures from the Magic Beast’s nest and fled toward the outskirts of the Illusory Forest as the inner-region demon beasts grew restless. Elder An and the others found the nest emptied, suspected the missing cultivator had taken the treasures, and ordered Fu Yao’s group to wait for her.

• Jiang Lu and Chi Li found the Magic Beast’s treasure hoard, and Jiang Lu stored it all away while leaving behind items contaminated by Demonic Qi.
• Jiang Lu abandoned her attempt to follow Liu Qingqing’s group and hurried toward the outskirts when she sensed the inner-region demon beasts stirring.
• Jiang Lu hid in her space as Elder An, Fu Yao, Ren Haotian, and the others reached the nest and found its usable treasures gone.
• Elder An suspected the missing cultivator had taken the hoard and ordered Fu Yao’s group to keep watch for several days.
• Fu Yao agreed to wait, though she remained convinced the missing cultivator had only been at the Qi Refinement stage.

Jiang Lu discovered that Jianmu had sprouted in her space and learned it could gather spiritual energy and restore life. After organizing her treasures, she disguised herself and left, only to find fresh traces of Liu Qingqing’s group nearby and immediately depart.

• Jiang Lu entered her transformed space, where Linglong told her the sapling was Jianmu, a source of spiritual energy and vitality.
• Jiang Lu arranged her treasures on shelves and stored rare spirit plants and magical artifacts.
• Jiang Lu put on a mask and cultivation-concealing ring, disguising herself as an ordinary first-level Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• Fu Yao led her group away after they had waited several days for the missing cultivator, while Liu Qingqing wondered why her intuition had brought her there.
• Jiang Lu emerged, detected signs that Liu Qingqing’s group had stayed nearby, and left after scanning the surroundings with her Divine Sense.

Jiang Lu searched for Black Mystic Iron, but a vine-covered area trapped her and revealed an injured Yue Clan disciple. Yue Mengting told her that a great age threatened the Immortal Cultivation Realm and that a person carrying Chaos Qi might be its hope; she offered Jiang Lu a chunk of Black Mystic Iron.

• Jiang Lu hunted a Bewildering Rabbit and shared the meal with Chi Li, Cangchen, and Cutie.
• Jiang Lu traveled south to find Black Mystic Iron for a natal spirit sword and encountered rapidly growing Majianci vines.
• Jiang Lu was caught by vines using an injured cultivator as bait, then escaped with help from Chi Li and Cangchen and rescued the woman.
• The woman introduced herself as Yue Mengting, a collateral disciple of the hidden Yue Clan, and explained that the clan had sent disciples to investigate a coming crisis.
• Yue Mengting revealed that her Grand Elder foresaw a great age that could collapse the Immortal Cultivation Realm unless someone bearing Chaos Qi restored fate.
• Yue Mengting gave Jiang Lu a large chunk of Black Mystic Iron.

Jiang Lu rescued Yue Mengting from the Majianci, received Black Mystic Iron and a Clan Jade Token, and parted from her under the false name Jiang Ye. She then followed her Spirit Beasts to a Level Three Netherfang Python guarding a Star-Violet Condensed Bloom, where Chi Li and Cangchen began attacking it.

• Jiang Lu accepted Black Mystic Iron from Yue Mengting, cut a path through the Majianci, and escorted her to safety.
• Jiang Lu gave Yue Mengting the false name Jiang Ye, and Yue Mengting left her a Clan Jade Token before departing.
• Jiang Lu urged Chi Li and Cangchen to train, then followed them and Cutie toward a nearby demon-beast nest.
• Jiang Lu discovered that a Level Three Netherfang Python guarded a Star-Violet Condensed Bloom and planned to circle behind it to pick the plant.
• The Netherfang Python spat venom at Chi Li and Cangchen, who dodged and attacked it with water and fire, breaking its scales.

Jiang Lu and her spirit beasts killed a Netherfang Python and collected its core and the Star-Violet Condensed Bloom. She followed two cultivators into a cold, sinister part of the Illusory Forest, where Cutie sensed a great fortune that could raise their strength.

• Jiang Lu, Chi Li, and Cangchen attacked the Netherfang Python together, and Jiang Lu struck its vital spot with an artifact to kill it.
• Jiang Lu gathered the Star-Violet Condensed Bloom into her space, where Lingxi planted it, then took the python's purple crystal core and left.
• Jiang Lu reflected on her Medicine King Pavilion pill quota and her stalled progress at the Qi Refinement Middle Stage as she continued through the forest.
• Jiang Lu overheard two young cultivators searching for something to help their clan and followed them deeper into the Illusory Forest.
• Cutie sensed a great fortune ahead that could help raise their strength.

Jiang Lu followed Chi Li’s sensed treasures into a hidden cavern and discovered the story of a Divine Beast betrayed by its master and a ruined Lineage. She met the injured creature bound to an altar, which revealed it could not harm her but might trap her.

• Jiang Lu followed the cries deeper into the hidden region while two weaker men stayed behind at a fork, hoping she would return with resources for their Lineage.
• Jiang Lu descended into a cavern and read carvings describing how a master extracted a Divine Beast’s bloodline for the Lineage’s disciples, causing the disciples and Lineage to perish in backlash.
• Jiang Lu reassured Chi Li and Cangchen that she considered them family and would never exploit them.
• Jiang Lu reached an altar bound by nine chains, where a black figure with blue eyes warned her to leave.
• The figure learned the outer formation had broken and lamented that it could no longer recover from its injuries, then asked whether Jiang Lu wanted the magical treasures.
• The figure told Jiang Lu that although it could not harm her, it could still trap her in the cavern.

Jiang Lu watched Chi Li destroy the demonic Azure Luan and collect the treasures it had guarded, including an Ice Bed that Cangchen absorbed. When Jiang Lu questioned Chi Li and Cangchen about their unusual powers, they admitted they were Divine Beasts from the Upper Realm who had lost their cultivation after being ambushed.

• The Azure Luan offered its cultivation to Chi Li, but Chi Li recognized its demonic corruption and told Jiang Lu to step back.
• The Azure Luan activated the altar and attacked Chi Li, who burned its soul away and gained its Golden Core as the cave’s cold disappeared.
• Jiang Lu and Cutie gathered the treasures behind the altar, while Cangchen absorbed the Ice Bed’s energy.
• Jiang Lu questioned Chi Li and Cangchen about their extraordinary abilities, and they revealed that they were Divine Beasts from the Upper Realm who had lost their cultivation after an ambush.

Jiang Lu discovered a hidden crystal cave beneath the Ice Bed, where she broke through to the Seventh Level of Qi Refinement and comprehended the Divination Art. After collecting the cave’s treasures, she found the two people connected to the opportunity and revived them with pills.

• Jiang Lu accepted Chi Li and Cangchen as Divine Beasts and promised to rely on them for protection.
• Jiang Lu blasted open the Ice Bed and entered a blue-lit cave, where its spiritual energy surged around her.
• Cutie collected the cave’s crystals while Chi Li and Cangchen helped, and Jiang Lu advanced to the Seventh Level of Qi Refinement.
• A blue orb entered Jiang Lu’s glabella, and she gained a connection and comprehended the Divination Art.
• Jiang Lu stored the cave’s crystals and blue lights in her space, then recognized a karmic connection to two people on the stone steps.
• Jiang Lu gave the two unconscious people medicinal pills, and they gradually recovered and opened their eyes.

Jiang Lu agreed to help the Chen Family of Lower River Village save their injured ancestor and used a Jianmu leaf to restore his vitality. She left after telling the family he would awaken the next day.

• Two Chen Family cultivators asked Jiang Lu to help preserve their Qi Refinement lineage by treating their injured elder.
• Jiang Lu warned them against entering the stone steps, where dangerous yin-cold aura remained, and agreed to accompany them back to their lineage.
• Chen Hao and Chen Ming explained that their ancestor, a Ninth Level of Qi Refinement cultivator, had been gravely wounded fighting over resources, leaving the family vulnerable to rival lineages.
• Jiang Lu recognized the worried woman beside the ancestor as the auntie who had introduced her to the Immortal Cultivation Realm.
• Jiang Lu said the ancestor could be saved, and the Chen Family cultivators asked her to use their stroke of fortune to do so.
• Jiang Lu fed the ancestor a Jianmu leaf, restoring his vitality, and said he would awaken the next day.

Jiang Lu gave Auntie a spirit plant after helping the Chen Family ancestor recover, then left and realized she needed to conceal Jianmu’s life force. Meanwhile, Elder Ye defeated a Magic Beast but delayed returning to his disciple while he stabilized his foundation.

• Jiang Lu gave Auntie a second-rank spirit plant to improve the purity of a child’s Spiritual Roots, then left without explanation.
• Chen Ming and Chen Hao told Auntie that their ancestor would wake the next day, and Chen Ming vowed to keep Jiang Lu’s visit secret.
• Rival lineages learned that the Chen Family ancestor had recovered and suspected a visiting cultivator had helped, but their followers lost Jiang Lu’s trail.
• Jiang Lu changed her face and clothes, realized she must not reveal or freely use Jianmu’s life force, and sensed that her karma with the Chen Family had dissipated.
• Jiang Lu let her three Spirit Beasts out of the Spirit Beast pouch, and Chi Li explained how a master and contracted beasts could strengthen one another.
• Elder Ye killed the Magic Beast after it mocked him, collected its resources, and set off to stabilize his slightly shaken foundation before returning to Jiang Lu.

After months training in the Illusory Forest, Jiang Lu arrived in Myriad New City to attend the Medicine King Pavilion auction and continue her journey toward Void City. She entered using her elder’s personal disciple identity token and settled into a private room, where she awaited the auction.

• Jiang Lu defeated a demonic beast, gave its crystal core to Cutie, and decided she needed to find an artifact refiner to forge her natal sword.
• After emerging from the Illusory Forest, Jiang Lu headed to Myriad New City for the Medicine King Pavilion auction and planned to travel toward Void City afterward.
• A disciple at the auction entrance asked Jiang Lu for an invitation, but she presented her identity token and was recognized as an elder’s personal disciple.
• The disciple escorted Jiang Lu to Room Five, a private room reserved for Medicine King Pavilion elders and personal disciples.
• Jiang Lu learned that no other pavilion elders or personal disciples had arrived, then asked for the auction catalog.

Jiang Lu realized she had no need for anything in the auction and watched the crowd gather, unaware that her illuminated private room had drawn the factions’ attention. The auction began with Qi-Replenishing Pills, then a highly sought-after Realm-Breaking Pill sparked fierce bidding.

• Jiang Lu reviewed the auction listings, concluded her own resources surpassed the offerings, and celebrated her wealth while her three little beasts ate spirit fruits.
• Cultivators, including Jian An and other faction representatives, noticed Jiang Lu’s illuminated private room and sent people to investigate her identity.
• Lingling greeted the crowd and opened the auction with a bottle of fifth-tier, high-grade Qi-Replenishing Pills, which sold for thirty-one High-grade Spirit Stones.
• Lingling presented a fifth-tier Realm-Breaking Pill, and cultivators eagerly drove its bid from thirty to fifty High-grade Spirit Stones.

At the auction, Jiang Lu recognized that Cutie wanted the Thunder Stone and learned that the seller sought a Scarlet Flame Flower in exchange. Linglong revealed that Jiang Lu had one, and her bid drew attention to the Medicine King Pavilion’s reserved room, leaving the hall wondering who had arrived.

• The Realm-Breaking Pill sold for 101 High-grade Spirit Stones to a cultivator in a second-floor private room.
• Lingling introduced the Thunder Stone and announced that its seller wanted a Scarlet Flame Flower rather than Spirit Stones.
• Cutie urged Jiang Lu to pursue the Thunder Stone, and Linglong told her that Lingxi’s herb garden had a Scarlet Flame Flower.
• Jiang Lu placed the Scarlet Flame Flower on her table and rang the bell to make an offer.
• Lingling and the cultivators at the auction noticed the signal from Jiang Lu’s reserved room and speculated about the important guest inside.

Jiang Lu traded a Scarlet Flame Flower for a Thunder Stone at the Medicine King Pavilion auction and met its Pavilion Master, Shi Yan. After he recognized her as Ye Qing’s direct disciple and addressed her as the Little Martial Uncle, Jiang Lu returned her attention to the auction.

• Jiang Lu rang the bell to win the Thunder Stone by trading a Scarlet Flame Flower, and a maid explained the pavilion’s payment arrangements.
• Pavilion Master Shi scolded a servant for not telling him sooner that Jiang Lu was there, then accompanied the maid to deliver the Thunder Stone.
• Jiang Lu inspected the Thunder Stone and let Cutie confirm it was genuine before putting it into her spatial storage.
• Shi Yan asked about Jiang Lu’s identity, recognized Ye Qing’s name and jade pendant, and realized she was the Little Martial Uncle.
• Jiang Lu declined to bid on anything else for the moment, and Shi Yan left after saying they could talk once the auction ended.

Jiang Lu met Myriad New City's City Lord, Jian An, and asked for help finding an artifact refiner to forge her bonded sword. She insisted on avoiding favors and prepared to negotiate for the service herself.

• Jiang Lu spent several days in the Scripture Pavilion while Shi Yan considered how to approach her.
• Shi Yan introduced Jiang Lu to Jian An as the Medicine King Pavilion's Little Martial Uncle, and both men treated her with unusual deference.
• Jiang Lu asked Shi Yan whether the pavilion had a sword suited to become her bonded magic artifact, and he recommended forging a new one.
• Jian An identified Zhao Hu, a Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator and skilled artifact refiner, and offered to introduce them.
• Jiang Lu accepted the possibility of meeting Zhao Hu but asked whether Jian An had any needs, making clear she did not want to owe either man a favor.

Jiang Lu learned that Crazy Rock Vines had blocked the meridians of Jian An’s young clan members and agreed to help in exchange for being taken to the hidden barrier and having her spirit sword properly refined. She revealed three Yellow Spirit Fruits that could treat their condition, leaving Jian An and Shi Yan astonished.

• Jian An asked Jiang Lu for a spirit plant or pills to help Qi Refinement cultivators break through bottlenecks, explaining that several young clan members had been injured by Crazy Rock Vines.
• Jian An told Jiang Lu and Shi Yan that the clan members had entered a hidden barrier full of resources and dangers, where Crazy Rock Vines had blocked their meridians despite attempts to treat them.
• Jiang Lu asked whether Jian An could find the barrier again, and she agreed to go there in exchange for proper spirit-sword refinement and the materials aside from the Thunder Stone.
• Jian An accepted Jiang Lu’s conditions and promised her a favor, while Jiang Lu took three Yellow Spirit Fruits from her space as a remedy for the Qi Refinement cultivators.
• Lingxi panicked after noticing fruit had gone missing, then realized Jiang Lu had taken it; Jian An and Shi Yan were stunned that Jiang Lu possessed the rare fruits.

Jiang Lu received a top-grade spirit sword forged by Jian An and named it the Qianming Sword. After leaving the Medicine King Pavilion to avoid visits from other lineages, she followed Jian An’s map to a range of towering stone mountains where an entrance was said to lie.

• Jiang Lu gave Jian An three Yellow Spirit Fruits, a Thunder Stone, and Black Mystic Iron to forge into a spirit sword.
• Jian An and Shi Yan forged Jiang Lu a spirit sword, adding valuable Snow Mountain Ice Marrow and incorporating the Thunder Stone.
• Jiang Lu bonded with the top-grade spirit artifact and named it the Qianming Sword.
• Jiang Lu tested the Qianming Sword at the practice grounds while the disciples congratulated her.
• Jiang Lu left the Medicine King Pavilion and followed Jian An’s map to the stone mountains, where she sought the hidden entrance.

Jiang Lu followed Liu Qingqing and the other disciples into a secret realm, where the mask concealing her face lost its power. She found an open stone coffin containing four ancient books suited to her interests and stored them away.

• Jiang Lu followed Liu Qingqing’s group to the secret realm entrance, then entered after them and was separated from the others.
• Jiang Lu overcame an illusion with a Clear-Mind Pill and followed Cutie, Chi Li, and Cangchen through the realm.
• Jiang Lu discovered that the mirror-like walls had restored her original appearance after the mask’s power vanished.
• Jiang Lu crossed a ripple into a circular platform and found an open stone coffin containing four ancient books.
• Jiang Lu stored the books in her spatial storage while Cutie drooped its head.