Chapter Summaries

Ning Fa unlocked all five Divine Thunders of the Five Elements and sensed that he could establish his foundation once his mana reached the ninth level. He safely left the Primordial Spirit Secret Realm with valuable gains, while the surviving disciples gathered on Broken Mountain.

• After consuming the Five Elements Spirit Lotus, Ning Fa activated the origins of all five Divine Thunders and learned that their power could grow stronger.
• Ning Fa sensed that reaching the complete ninth level of cultivation would let him establish his foundation without a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• As the secret realm closed, Ning Fa was teleported back to Broken Mountain and reunited with Duanmu Hong, who confirmed that Little Thunder had survived with non-serious injuries.
• Ning Fa asked to keep a thousand-year Ice Marrow Crystal Stone, and Duanmu Hong let him keep it without requiring Contribution Points before collecting two other items from his Storage Bag.
• Ning Fa realized that the Black Spirit Relic, triangular token, and Heavenly Puppet Brain remained among his gains, while fewer than fifty of the Huayu Sect's one hundred and twenty entrants had returned.
• Feng Chi and Xie Heng greeted Ning Fa, while Yun Miaomiao looked at him and snorted.

Huayu Sect and Myriad Laws Sect disciples submitted their secret-realm treasures to settle the wager between Chou Zheng and the Chai Family Golden Core Cultivator. Ning Fa’s valuable haul secured Huayu Sect’s victory, and Chai handed over the Golden Winged Sculpture beast egg.

• Chou Zheng gathered the disciples of both sects to tally their secret-realm gains for the wager.
• Fu Yang presented nearly thirty spirit herbs and some spirit ore, giving the Chai Family Cultivator hope that Myriad Laws Sect would win.
• Zhang Zhilong submitted more than twenty valuable spirit herbs, including five thousand-year herbs, and Chou Zheng praised his haul.
• Li Tieniu produced nearly twenty spirit herbs, including one thousand-year herb, before Ning Fa revealed more than twenty spirit medicines and several spirit ores, including eight thousand-year medicines.
• The remaining Myriad Laws Sect disciples submitted modest gains, confirming Huayu Sect’s victory, and Chou Zheng claimed the Golden Winged Sculpture beast egg from the Chai Family Cultivator.

After the secret realm expedition, Ning Fa returned to Huayu Sect and received forty thousand Sect Contribution Points for his exceptional harvest, while his deal with Duanmu Ling promised to double their value. The chapter ended with Golden Core Elders gathering at the General Affairs Hall to inspect the disciples’ gains, and Ning Fa looking forward to Foundation Establishment the next day.

• Ning Fa noticed Ning Daozhen, Cao Xian, and Senior Brother Pang were missing after the secret realm expedition and suspected they had died inside.
• Ning Fa calculated that his secret realm gains would earn tens of thousands of Contribution Points, doubled through his agreement with Duanmu Ling, plus rewards for ranking first.
• Ning Fa noticed Ling Yue and Zhang Zhilong watching him as the disciples traveled back to Huayu Sect.
• Chou Zheng recorded the disciples’ gains at Puling Peak’s General Affairs Hall, where Li Tieniu received eleven thousand Contribution Points and Ling Yue received five thousand.
• Zhang Zhilong received twenty-eight thousand Contribution Points, while Chou Zheng rounded Ning Fa’s total up to forty thousand.
• Several Golden Core Elders arrived to assess the disciples’ gains, and Chou Zheng took Li Tieniu aside to discuss his reward.

After earning a Foundation Establishment Pill and a wealth of Contribution Points, Ning Fa focused on preparing for a breakthrough. He successfully reached Foundation Establishment in a third-grade cultivation chamber.

• Ning Fa received a special token and a Foundation Establishment Pill, then learned Duanmu Ling wanted to meet him and thank him.
• At Cloud Fragrance Residence, Ning Fa told his friends he planned to attempt Foundation Establishment and asked about places with rich spirit veins.
• Ning Fa returned to the sect, cultivated for two months, and reached Peak Qi Condensation.
• Ning Fa rented Chamber B-6, a third-grade high-tier spirit vein chamber, and began cultivating within it.
• After more than ten days, Ning Fa emerged from a Five-Colored Lightning Cocoon and successfully became a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

After establishing his foundation, Ning Fa assessed the major gains to his lifespan, mana, physical strength, and divine sense. He also discovered that his Five Elements Thunder Body and its divine thunder origins had advanced, leaving two close to the second tier and the others at the first-tier mid-grade.

• Ning Fa sensed that Foundation Establishment had doubled his lifespan and greatly increased the quantity and quality of his mana.
• Ning Fa found that his physical body could withstand ordinary top-grade offensive magical artifacts, while his divine sense now reached over eight hundred zhang.
• Ning Fa summoned and fused the five elemental divine thunders, discovering that his connection to the Five Elements Thunder Mark had become as natural as moving his own arm.
• Ning Fa learned that his Supreme Wood and Supreme Water Divine Thunder origins had reached consummate One Hong, while his other three origins were more than halfway through One Hong.
• Ning Fa realized that breakthroughs and refining pure Five Elements Spiritual Materials could strengthen his divine thunder origins, and credited the Five Elements Spirit Lotus for his rapid progress.

After reaching Foundation Establishment, Ning Fa learned what rare resources and rituals his Five Elements Thunder Body would require to advance to the Golden Core Realm. He also discovered his new innate abilities, including Lightning Transformation, which gave him a powerful means of escape.

• Ning Fa learned that reaching the Golden Core Realm required three types of divine thunder at Two Hong, rare high-grade Five Elements spiritual materials, and special breakthrough rituals.
• Ning Fa realized that the Five Elements Spirit Lotus he had consumed was likely a thousand-year Jade Five Elements Spirit Lotus, which had helped him activate all five divine thunders.
• Ning Fa examined the Five Elements Thunder Rune Pattern and tested Lightning Transformation, turning into silver lightning and racing through the chamber.
• Ning Fa learned Lightning Transformation could be used once a month for sixty breaths, enhanced with divine thunder source power, and strengthened as he advanced.
• Ning Fa identified Lightning Avoidance as another innate ability, granting him constant resistance to Lightning Attribute attacks, and saw a third mysterious rune remained.

After establishing his foundation, Ning Fa learned that his Five Elements Thunder Body had gained the Thunder Devouring ability and set out from Yuelu Hall while planning his cultivation. He left the chapter intending to develop his techniques, body cultivation, alchemy, and puppet crafting, while considering advancement to the inner sect.

• Ning Fa examined Thunder Devouring, an Innate Divine Ability that absorbed lightning attacks to restore his mana and could later draw down heavenly lightning.
• Several days later, Ning Fa left Yuelu Hall with spirit stones returned by its steward and flew north using his Foundation Establishment mana.
• Ning Fa considered upgrading the Nine Revolutions Purple Yuan Powder for body cultivation and gathering the scarce, costly ingredients it required.
• Ning Fa planned to cultivate the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture and Moon God Art, pursue the Moon God Heart, and begin learning puppet crafting with his Heavenly Puppet Heart and Brain.
• Ning Fa resolved to gather Five Elements Spiritual Materials, learn to refine Second-grade Pills, and consider joining one of Huayu Sect's nine inner peaks.

Ning Fa considered which inner peak to join and chose Yun Cang Peak after meeting Duanmu Ling at Falling Star Peak. Duanmu Ling agreed to recommend him, but abruptly sent him away before explaining why.

• Ning Fa decided to avoid peaks dominated by the Disciple Faction and chose to seek a place among the Family Faction's peaks.
• Duanmu Ling thanked Ning Fa for obtaining two Primal Qi Lotuses and increased his debt to sixty thousand Contribution Points.
• Duanmu Ling offered Ning Fa access to the Spirit Gathering Pool and proposed a Dao Companion from her family, while identifying Yun Cang Peak and Star Luo Peak as options.
• Duanmu Ling was astonished to learn Ning Fa had achieved Foundation Establishment and remarked on his unusual strength.
• Ning Fa chose Yun Cang Peak, and Duanmu Ling agreed to speak on his behalf while again urging him to consider a Duanmu Family Dao Companion.
• Duanmu Ling's expression suddenly changed, and she told Ning Fa to leave and apply to the inner sect through the normal process.

After establishing his foundation, Ning Fa completed the application to enter the inner sect and visited Ning Huarong and Liu Qinghui, where he met Lu Qianqian and Cheng Susu. He learned more about Yun Cang Peak and its prominent families as he awaited his assignment.

• Little Thunder tried to follow Ning Fa after he left, but Duanmu Ling caught it and complained that it could not decide who its master was.
• Ning Fa reflected on Ling Yue's foundation establishment without a pill, her choice of Chu Bingyun as her master, and Chu Bingyun's recent breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm.
• Ning Fa submitted his inner-sect advancement application at the General Affairs Hall on Puling Peak and expected to be assigned to Yun Cang Peak.
• At Cloud Fragrance Residence, Ning Fa met Ning Huarong and Liu Qinghui again, along with Lu Qianqian and Cheng Susu.
• Liu Qinghui introduced Lu Qianqian and Cheng Susu, and Ning Fa learned about their family ties and positions on Cuiwei Peak and Yun Cang Peak.

Ning Fa learned that Yun Cang Peak was preparing for an unprecedented push into the Cloud Wasteland Great Marsh and reconnected with Liu Qinghui. After Liu Qinghui left, the spirit in her Jade Pendant revealed that Ning Fa possessed the other half, setting her on a course to obtain it and pursue a great opportunity.

• Liu Qinghui told Ning Fa that the sect planned to commit its forces and affiliated groups to a major expansion into the Cloud Wasteland Great Marsh.
• Ning Huarong sensed that Ning Fa had grown stronger and hurried away after her jade pendant summoned her, promising to challenge him later.
• Liu Qinghui suggested that she and Ning Fa work together on Yun Cang Peak and discuss Second-grade Pills, while Ning Fa recognized her interest in him.
• After Liu Qinghui left, the spirit in her half of the Jade Pendant confirmed that Ning Fa held the other half and urged her to secure it to reach a mysterious place.
• Liu Qinghui admitted that she was no match for Ning Fa, and the spirit advised her to outwit him and continue cultivating with him.

Ning Fa reunited with Meng Ruoqi after achieving Foundation Establishment, while Yun Ying and Yun Jian planned to seek their clan’s secret hoard. Chu Bingyun arrived at the Small Bamboo Pavilion and announced that she intended to take Meng Ruoqi as her disciple.

• Liu Qinghui left after the aged voice warned her that the opportunity she sought could lead to Nascent Soul Formation.
• Ning Fa met Yun Ying, Yun Jian, and Meng Ruoqi at the Small Bamboo Pavilion, where Meng Ruoqi warmly congratulated him on his Foundation Establishment.
• Yun Ying urged Yun Jian to restrain his feelings for Meng Ruoqi, and Yun Jian decided to seek a Foundation Establishment Pill before heading with her to the Cloud Wasteland Great Marsh.
• Ning Fa overheard the siblings’ plans and promised to help Meng Ruoqi achieve Foundation Establishment, despite her incomplete Pure Spirit Bamboo Body.
• Chu Bingyun visited Ning Fa and Meng Ruoqi, thanked Ning Fa for saving Ling Yue, and declared her intention to take Meng Ruoqi as her disciple.

Chu Bingyun thanked Ning Fa with a Nether Thunder Crystal and arranged for Meng Ruoqi to become her disciple. Three days later, Ning Fa joined Yun Cang Peak as an Inner Disciple and learned about his improved sect benefits.

• Ning Fa learned that Chu Bingyun wanted to take Meng Ruoqi as her disciple because of her talent in array formations, and he approved.
• Chu Bingyun gave Ning Fa a Nether Thunder Crystal in thanks for helping her form her core and saving Ling Yue.
• Meng Ruoqi swore she would never reveal the Thunder Derivation Profound Scroll, reassuring Ning Fa before Chu Bingyun departed.
• Three days later, Ning Fa reported to Yun Cang Peak, where Li Huo welcomed him and helped him join the peak.
• Ning Fa received an Inner Disciple robe, a reward of spirit stones and Essence Refining Pills, and learned about his stipend, cave dwelling, and access to Golden Core lectures.

Ning Fa joined Yun Cang Peak and waited with its Foundation Establishment disciples for Peak Master Duanmu Hong’s announcement about a major sect operation. He reunited with Cao Xian and met several notable cultivators, then greeted Liu Qinghui and Cheng Susu as they arrived.

• Li Huo explained Yun Cang Peak’s organization and told Ning Fa to stay for a gathering called by Duanmu Hong.
• Cao Xian arrived, revealed that he had survived the Primordial Spirit Secret Realm and achieved Successful Foundation Establishment, and joined Yun Cang Peak.
• Ning Fa met Yun Cang Peak’s Young Commander and learned of his strength, ambitions, and ties to Duanmu Hong’s family.
• Cao Xian said the gathering would likely concern the sect’s plans for the Southern Reach of the Cloud Wasteland Great Marsh.
• Ning Fa recognized Liu Qinghui and Cheng Susu among the arriving female cultivators and greeted them.

Ning Fa attended his welcome ceremony at Yun Cang Peak, where he learned the sect had canceled the inter-peak competition and was preparing a full-scale Southern Reach into the Cloud Wasteland Great Marsh. The chapter left him hearing that the campaign might be driven by the discovery of an enormous mineral region, possibly including a high-grade Spirit Stone Mine.

• Liu Qinghui rejected Senior Brother Duanmu's advances, and Ning Fa suspected she had staged the encounter to provoke a reaction from him.
• Duanmu Hong and Cheng Ziyi arrived, and Duanmu Hong welcomed Ning Fa before the Yun Cang Peak disciples.
• Duanmu Hong announced that the inter-peak competition had been canceled and that each peak had to send at least eighty percent of its Foundation Establishment disciples to the Southern Reach within three months.
• Duanmu Hong revealed that the sect was offering generous Contribution Points and access to rare resources, and that Southern Reach performance would weigh heavily in promotion to True Disciple.
• Cao Xian told Ning Fa that a rich mining region, possibly containing a high-grade Spirit Stone Mine, had been discovered in the Cloud Wasteland Great Marsh.

Ning Fa learned that Huayu Sect’s Southern Reach expansion centered on a vast high-grade Spirit Stone Mine and would intensify both the struggle with Myriad Laws Sect and the rivalry between the sect’s factions. After settling into his new cave residence, he received invitations from Wei Shiqin, Duanmu Ling, and Liu Qinghui, leaving him to consider several meetings as the expansion approached.

• Cao Xian told Ning Fa that Huayu Sect and Myriad Laws Sect were mobilizing for the Southern Reach over a rich Spirit Stone Mine, while the expansion would also determine the influence and resource allocations of the Family Faction and Disciple Faction.
• Ning Fa left Yun Cang Peak and settled into his secluded cave residence on Cloud Peak, whose strong spirit vein and peaceful surroundings pleased him.
• Wei Shiqin contacted Ning Fa from White Feather Marketplace, congratulated him on his Foundation Establishment, and invited him to discuss cooperation and an upcoming auction.
• Ning Fa worried that the Southern Reach campaign would prevent him from working with Wei Shiqin, but she reassured him that she had come to discuss the matter and had a solution in mind.
• Duanmu Ling invited Ning Fa to Falling Star Peak, and Liu Qinghui invited him to her cave residence to discuss alchemy, prompting him to wonder about her enthusiasm.

Ning Fa met Liu Qinghui and learned that her admirer Duanmu Tai was pursuing her, then visited Duanmu Ling to learn why the sect was preparing to expand into the Cloud Wasteland Great Marsh. Duanmu Ling explained that the newly discovered mineral wealth had made the expansion a fierce contest for resources and influence, including within her own family.

• Ning Fa ignored Ning Jing'an's invitation and visited Liu Qinghui at her cave abode on Cloud Peak.
• Ning Fa and Liu Qinghui became intimate before a Sound Transmission Talisman announced Duanmu Tai's arrival.
• Liu Qinghui introduced Duanmu Tai to Ning Fa, who described himself as her clansman, and Ning Fa left the cave abode.
• Ning Fa visited Duanmu Ling on Falling Star Peak the next day, and she told him that the sect was preparing to expand south into the Cloud Wasteland Great Marsh.
• Duanmu Ling explained that a rich mining region and a vast Spirit Stone Mine had been discovered, making the expansion important to both sect factions and a contest among the great families.
• Duanmu Ling said her performance in the expansion could determine her standing among the Duanmu Family's younger generation and her prospects for family support.

Duanmu Ling recruited Ning Fa to lead a team under her command in the sect’s southern expansion, offering doubled Contribution Points and a chance to undergo a lightning baptism. Ning Fa accepted, and later learned Ouyang Tianzong had also tried to recruit him through Ning Jing'an.

• Duanmu Ling explained that the southern expansion would divide into routes led by competing factions and invited Ning Fa to join her side.
• Duanmu Ling promised to double Ning Fa’s Contribution Points and take him to a Thunderflame Sea baptism site that could help his cultivation.
• Duanmu Ling revealed she had already told her competitors that Ning Fa had agreed to join her, and Ning Fa accepted her offer.
• Duanmu Ling advised Ning Fa to prepare early and use his Contribution Points to obtain practical items from the sect treasury.
• Ning Fa met Ning Jing'an at the Cloud Valley Marketplace, where his clan uncle relayed Ouyang Tianzong’s recruitment offer.
• Ning Fa found Ouyang Tianzong’s terms less generous than Duanmu Ling’s, despite the offer of Ouyang Family ties and possible marriage prospects.

Ning Fa rejected Ouyang Tianzong’s recruitment and went to the Sect Treasury to spend his Contribution Points before the Southern Reach campaign. There, he turned down further recruitment attempts and noticed that Bai Yeming’s strength was difficult to assess.

• Ning Fa declined Ouyang Tianzong’s inferior offer, reaffirming that he had already agreed to join Duanmu Ling.
• Ning Fa visited the Sect Treasury on Green Feather Peak and browsed its resources, quickly passing through the first and second floors.
• On the third floor, the Young Commander tried to recruit Ning Fa, but Ning Fa said he had already agreed to join Duanmu Ling.
• Zhang Zhilong greeted Ning Fa before returning to study the Treasury’s offerings.
• Bai Yeming congratulated Ning Fa and invited him to Hidden Heart Peak, but Ning Fa declined.
• Ning Fa found that he could not sense Bai Yeming’s precise realm and suspected that Bai Yeming might be stronger than Zhang Zhilong.

Ning Fa browsed the sect treasure vault and chose the Star Martial Battle Suit, a powerful Spirit Artifact set made for body cultivators. He exchanged Contribution Points for a lightning-attribute refining material, hoping to eventually upgrade the Cloud-Breaking Spear.

• Ning Fa considered buying an Essence Gathering Pill but set it aside to focus on finding a suitable Spirit Artifact.
• Ning Fa examined several Spirit Artifacts and discovered the Star Martial Battle Suit, which matched his body-cultivation abilities.
• Ning Fa decided to acquire the Star Martial Battle Suit despite its high cost and considered upgrading the Cloud-Breaking Spear with spiritual materials.
• Ning Fa searched for lightning-attribute materials and exchanged five thousand Contribution Points for a Thunder Falcon Beast's claw.

Ning Fa exchanged for a Qianyuan Bowl Magic Treasure Fragment after the Mysterious Scroll reacted to it, and obtained the Star Martial Battle Suit with Duanmu Ling’s help. Back in his cave abode, he used the scroll to transform the fragment into two masses of viscous silver liquid.

• Ning Fa found that the treasure vault had no suitable essence soul for upgrading the Cloud-Breaking Spear, then noticed the scroll react to a Qianyuan Bowl Magic Treasure Fragment and exchanged for it.
• Ning Fa asked Duanmu Ling to use her Contribution Points to exchange for the Star Martial Battle Suit, and she agreed to advance him the extra points he needed.
• Duanmu Ling and Feng Jue obtained the Star Martial Battle Suit for Ning Fa, and Feng Jue praised its suitability for him.
• Ning Fa returned to his cave abode and activated the Mysterious Scroll, which displayed images of precious Third-tier Spiritual Materials related to the fragment.
• Ning Fa sent his divine sense into one of the scroll’s images, and the scroll transformed the Qianyuan Bowl Magic Treasure Fragment into two masses of viscous silver liquid.