Chapter Summaries

Ning Fa discovered that the Mysterious Scroll could trace Magic Treasure Fragments and Second-grade Pills back to their materials by consuming First-Tier Origin Points, though its power remained limited. After refining the Star Martial Battle Suit, he gained confidence in facing Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivators and in the upcoming Southern Reach expedition.

• Ning Fa learned that tracing a Magic Treasure Fragment cost one hundred First-Tier Origin Points and revealed Mithril as one of its materials.
• Ning Fa realized the scroll’s Origin Points recovered slowly and decided to ask Ling Yue where she had obtained her Moonstone.
• Ning Fa traced a second-grade low-rank Jinlu Pill into its materials at a cost of twenty First-Tier Origin Points, and considered using defective pills to reduce expenses.
• Ning Fa refined the Star Martial Battle Suit and tested its fit, strength, and interaction with his lightning abilities.
• Ning Fa judged that the suit could let him challenge a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator and increase his confidence in the Southern Reach expedition.

Shi Shaoyang survived a deadly ambush and flew south, while Ning Fa traveled to White Feather Marketplace to meet Wei Shiqin. He found her at Tongbao Pavilion, where their reunion began.

• Shi Shaoyang sacrificed his blood essence to empower his flying sword, killed two attackers, and defeated the dark-faced man after the man's Magic Tool Fragment shattered.
• Ning Fa traveled to White Feather Marketplace and entered without paying the fee because he belonged to the Huayu Sect.
• Ning Fa visited Tongbao Pavilion and met its shopkeeper, Yan Guang.
• Wei Shiqin entered and told Yan Guang that Ning Fa had come to see her, then reunited with Ning Fa.

Wei Shiqin discussed continuing her alchemy partnership with Ning Fa and considered managing Tongbao Pavilion in the new immortal city at the Cloud Wasteland Great Marsh front line. She agreed to supply him with second-tier pill recipes and materials, leaving him poised to prepare for the journey and attend the auction.

• Wei Shiqin congratulated Ning Fa on reaching Foundation Establishment and asked whether he would continue alchemy; Ning Fa assured her that he would.
• Wei Shiqin explained that Huayu Sect was building a third-grade immortal city at the Cloud Wasteland Great Marsh front line and said she was considering managing Tongbao Pavilion there to continue working with Ning Fa.
• Ning Fa told Wei Shiqin he was preparing to refine the Essence Refining Pill, and she offered him a Jade Slip containing more than ten second-grade pill recipes.
• Ning Fa chose the Clear Gloom Pill and Qi Gathering Pill, and Wei Shiqin promised to prepare spiritual materials for him before he departed.
• Ning Fa asked about Wei Shiqin's promised surprise, and she waved her hand to reveal several gleaming spiritual materials.

Wei Shiqin prepared rare Lightning Attribute materials and an artifact-refining master to help Ning Fa upgrade his Cloud-Breaking Spear into a spirit artifact. Ning Fa learned that a suitable Thunder Flood Dragon Essence Soul would be auctioned and sold mithril to prepare for the bidding.

• Wei Shiqin gave Ning Fa precious artifact-refining materials and arranged for Master Rong He to upgrade his Cloud-Breaking Spear.
• Wei Shiqin told Ning Fa that a late Second-tier Thunder Flood Dragon Essence Soul would be auctioned as a suitable artifact spirit, and offered to lend him spirit stones.
• Ning Fa decided to sell some of his possessions to raise money for the auction.
• Ning Fa showed Wei Shiqin a piece of mithril, and she offered ninety thousand spirit stones for it or proposed auctioning it for a potentially higher price.

Ning Fa sold mithril and other spoils at Tongbao Pavilion, learned that the Ning Clan was suffering heavy losses, and searched the market for useful materials. He then recognized a disguised cultivator as Liao Wuyin and considered capturing him for information and Sect Contribution Points.

• Ning Fa sold Wei Shiqin the mithril for ninety thousand Spirit Stones and other spoils for fifteen thousand, then received a letter from Shao Hong.
• Wei Shiqin told Ning Fa that the Ning Clan had been assigned to a dangerous area in the Cloud Wasteland Great Marsh and had suffered considerable losses.
• Ning Fa asked Wei Shiqin to search for materials, then browsed shops for Magic Treasure Fragments and flawed high-rank medicinal pills.
• Ning Fa spotted a sallow-faced cultivator and suspected he was Liao Wuyin in disguise.
• Ning Fa considered capturing Liao Wuyin to earn Sect Contribution Points and uncover the secret of the Black Spirit Relic.

Ning Fa lost track of Liao Wuyin, who was plotting with Venerable Peng to abduct Cheng Susu as a sacrifice. At the auction, Ning Fa accompanied Cheng Susu and sensed a hidden divine sense bearing malice toward her.

• Ning Fa pursued the sallow-faced man into a shop but lost his trail, while Liao Wuyin watched him from a nearby pavilion.
• Liao Wuyin showed Venerable Peng a Black Square Seal and stressed the importance of sacrificing Cheng Susu; Venerable Peng revealed his plan to lure her outside White Feather Marketplace after the auction.
• Liao Wuyin worried that the marketplace's Golden Core Cultivator might disrupt their scheme and discussed luring him away.
• Ning Fa read Ning Shaohong's letter, wrote a reply, and went to Baoguang Hall for the auction.
• Cheng Susu invited Ning Fa to join her in the VIP area, and he accepted as they entered the hall with a green-clad old woman.
• Ning Fa sensed a concealed, malicious divine sense directed at Cheng Susu, though the old woman did not detect it.

Ning Fa attended a high-class auction with Cheng Susu, where Fiery Fiend Hermit opened proceedings by presenting the Sword Demon’s Geng Metal Sword Art. The auction began amid fierce interest, while Cheng Susu shared rumors that the Sword Demon may have survived his supposed death.

• Ning Fa followed Cheng Susu into Baoguang Hall and saw the many powerful cultivators gathered for the auction.
• Fiery Fiend Hermit began the auction and introduced the mid-grade earth-rank Geng Metal Sword Art as its first item.
• Fiery Fiend Hermit recounted the Sword Demon’s deadly rise, his battles with Golden Core cultivators, and his eventual capture and supposed death.
• Cheng Susu told Ning Fa that her grandfather believed the Sword Demon had escaped and that Giant Sword Fortress might have secretly helped him.
• Cultivators in the hall grew eager to bid for the Geng Metal Sword Art.

Ning Fa watched the auction as rare items drew fierce bidding, including Mithril that sold for one hundred thousand spirit stones. Cheng Susu secured the Youthful Appearance Pill formula with Fire Rock Jade, while Ning Fa’s unease returned as he recalled the malicious divine sense at the venue entrance.

• A Golden Core Cultivator bought the Geng Metal Sword Art for one hundred and twenty thousand spirit stones, and the Changyuan Sword later sold for five thousand.
• A female Golden Core stage cultivator won the Mithril for one hundred thousand spirit stones, and Ning Fa noted its price exceeded ninety thousand.
• Fiery Fiend Hermit announced that the Youthful Appearance Pill formula could only be exchanged for Fire Rock Jade.
• Cheng Susu bid fifteen pieces of Fire Rock Jade and won the formula, then returned to the private room delighted.
• Ning Fa recalled the malicious divine sense he had sensed at the venue entrance and furrowed his brows.

Ning Fa won the Thunder Flood Dragon's essence blood and essence soul at the White Feather Marketplace auction, securing the materials to upgrade his Cloud-Breaking Spear. After sensing that Cheng Susu had left the marketplace instead of returning to the sect, he decided to follow her, suspecting she was in danger.

• Cheng Susu received a message and left the auction with the green-robed elderly woman, prompting Ning Fa to secretly mark her with the Chasing Moon Technique.
• Fiery Fiend Hermit auctioned the Thunder Flood Dragon's body, essence blood, inner core, and essence soul in four separate lots.
• Ning Fa won the essence blood for thirty thousand spirit stones, then used a Foundation Establishment Pill to help pay for the essence soul, which he won for one hundred and ten thousand spirit stones.
• Ning Fa concluded he had gathered the materials needed to upgrade his Cloud-Breaking Spear and left the auction after detecting that Cheng Susu had gone east from the marketplace.
• Ning Fa suspected someone was targeting Cheng Susu and decided to follow her despite the danger.

Ning Fa decided to rescue Cheng Susu to earn the Cheng Family’s favor and followed her trail to a hidden valley, where she and an old woman were trapped by Venerable Peng and Liao Wuyin. Cheng Susu escaped with a Minor Teleportation Talisman, but Venerable Peng revealed he could still track her using a mark on the Youthful Appearance Pill formula.

• Ning Fa pursued Cheng Susu after deciding that saving her could earn him the Cheng Family’s favor.
• Venerable Peng and Liao Wuyin trapped Cheng Susu and the old woman in a sinister formation and attacked them with demonic artifacts.
• Cheng Susu realized the Youthful Appearance Pill formula had been used to lure her into the trap.
• The old woman spent her vitality empowering her umbrella artifact so Cheng Susu could escape with a Minor Teleportation Talisman.
• Venerable Peng revealed that a mark on the formula would let him track Cheng Susu within a hundred li.

Aunt Tan self-destructed her Blue Umbrella Spirit Artifact to stop Liao Wuyin and Venerable Peng, but the two survived and resumed their pursuit of Cheng Susu. Cheng Susu activated a third-rank Golden Armor Talisman to hold them off while she waited for help, and the pursuers began looking for a way to break through it.

• Venerable Peng tracked Cheng Susu with a gray beetle, and Liao Wuyin ordered the others to keep Aunt Tan occupied while he went after her.
• Aunt Tan transformed into her youthful form and self-destructed her Blue Umbrella Spirit Artifact, flattening the valley and killing the two black-robed cultivators.
• Liao Wuyin survived behind a barrier of Black Spiritual Flame, while Venerable Peng lost much of his left arm and shoulder before recovering with an Essence Gathering Pill.
• Liao Wuyin and Venerable Peng followed the beetle northeast and caught up with Cheng Susu as she fled west toward White Feather Marketplace.
• Cheng Susu descended into a mountain forest and activated her Golden Armor Talisman, hoping to hold out until help arrived.
• Liao Wuyin and Venerable Peng reached Cheng Susu and began seeking a way to break her third-rank defensive talisman.

Ning Fa arrived just as Liao Wuyin and Venerable Peng broke Cheng Susu’s defenses, and he used Thunder Cloud Break to drive them back before carrying her off. Liao Wuyin’s black ring trapped Ning Fa, and Venerable Peng unleashed his skull saber, surrounding them with a Black Ghost Domain.

• Liao Wuyin and Venerable Peng empowered the Black Bone Dagger and attacked Cheng Susu’s Golden Armor Talisman shield.
• Ning Fa arrived and struck Liao Wuyin and Venerable Peng with Thunder Cloud Break, but the Black Bone Dagger broke Cheng Susu’s shield.
• Ning Fa reached Cheng Susu and carried her away, but Liao Wuyin bound him with the black ring’s shadows.
• Liao Wuyin rejected Ning Fa’s attempt to claim familiarity and ordered Venerable Peng to attack.
• Venerable Peng unleashed his black skull saber, filling the area with black mist and forming a Black Ghost Domain.

Ning Fa used the Star Martial Battle Suit and his lightning techniques to break Venerable Peng’s ghost domain and withstand his spirit artifact. After Liao Wuyin’s soul attack was repelled by the Moon God Art’s Full Moon, Ning Fa remained injured as Venerable Peng attacked again.

• Ning Fa donned the Star Martial Battle Suit, freed himself from the Black Ring Shadow, and knocked Venerable Peng’s black saber away with the Cloud-Breaking Spear.
• Ning Fa blasted apart the Black Ghost Domain with Silver Lightning Balls and tried to escape with Cheng Susu.
• Venerable Peng powered up his saber with essence blood, and Ning Fa countered its Blood Saber Shadow with a star-and-lightning fist strike, suffering light injuries.
• Liao Wuyin sent the Black Bone Dagger into Ning Fa’s Sea of Consciousness as a Divine Soul Attack, but the Full Moon from the Moon God Art damaged the dagger and forced it to retreat.
• Liao Wuyin was injured by the damaged dagger, while Venerable Peng chased Ning Fa and attacked again as Ning Fa struggled to stand.

Ning Fa used the Evil-Repelling Divine Thunder to counter Venerable Peng’s attacks, but Venerable Peng prepared a massive bone saber to finish him and Cheng Susu. Cheng Susu’s aunt arrived and shattered the saber, forcing Liao Wuyin and Venerable Peng to flee, and Venerable Peng began to self-destruct when escape seemed impossible.

• Ning Fa mixed Evil-Repelling Divine Thunder into his lightning arcs and dissolved Venerable Peng’s Shadow Blades.
• Venerable Peng sacrificed three fingers to empower his Black Skulls, which raised bone arms and formed a giant Bone Saber.
• Ning Fa prepared to defend Cheng Susu from the Bone Saber as Cheng Susu’s aunt raced toward them.
• Cheng Susu’s aunt’s Purple Flying Needle shattered the Bone Saber, and Liao Wuyin and Venerable Peng fled.
• Liao Wuyin used his black ring to slow Venerable Peng, who began to self-destruct rather than be captured.

Ning Fa helped Cheng Ziyi rescue Cheng Susu from the Black Spirit Church, earning the Cheng Family’s gratitude, but failed to find an available artifact refiner in White Feather Marketplace. After learning that his own peak’s deputy peak master, True Person Zihua, was a renowned refiner, he said he was confident he could persuade her to help.

• Cheng Ziyi incapacitated Venerable Peng and failed to catch the fleeing Liao Wuyin before returning to Ning Fa and Cheng Susu.
• Cheng Ziyi thanked Ning Fa for saving Cheng Susu, gave him an Essence Gathering Pill, and learned that the old woman who had accompanied Cheng Susu had died.
• Cheng Ziyi took Cheng Susu back to the sect while Ning Fa remained in White Feather Marketplace, reflecting on his new connection to the Cheng Family and the threat posed by the Black Spirit Church.
• Wei Shiqin gave Ning Fa the spirit materials he needed but told him that Master Wang Rong and the other local artifact refiners were unavailable.
• Wei Shiqin told Ning Fa that True Person Zihua was a renowned third-rank Artifact Refining Master, and Ning Fa said he was confident he could persuade her to forge an artifact.

True Person Zihua learned that Cheng Susu’s secret had been exposed and ordered her to stay in the sect, while Ning Fa spent two months mastering the Essence Refining Pill. Ning Fa learned that his upgraded spirit artifact was ready, but Cheng Susu’s growing affection left him troubled.

• True Person Zihua killed Venerable Peng after discovering that the Black Spirit Church knew about Cheng Susu’s hidden condition, and she told Cheng Susu to investigate possible leaks.
• Cheng Susu recounted how Ning Fa had saved her, and True Person Zihua lamented that the Cheng Family lacked promising successors before telling Cheng Susu to remain in the sect.
• Ning Fa spent two months refining Essence Refining Pills at Flame Foothill Hall and brought his success rate to nearly twenty to thirty percent.
• True Person Zihua sent Ning Fa a message that his spirit artifact had been forged, and Cheng Susu invited him to try her new pastries.
• Ning Fa hesitated over Cheng Susu’s invitation because he understood her feelings but already had several beloved women and resisted becoming involved with the Cheng Family.

Ning Fa received a powerful upgraded spear from True Person Zihua and learned that the Xia Family planned to join the Huayu Sect. Cao Xian revealed that three of Jiang Kingdom’s Ten Great Cultivation Families had defected to the Black Spirit Church, leaving the Xia Family’s arrival poised to shift the sect’s factional balance.

• True Person Zihua gave Ning Fa a quasi-High-grade Cloud-Breaking Spear, and Ning Fa renamed it the Dragon-Breaking Spear.
• True Person Zihua warned Ning Fa not to distract Cheng Susu from cultivation, while Ning Fa recalled that Susu had given him the Youthful Appearance Pill formula and ingredients.
• Ning Fa flew to Cloud Valley Marketplace to meet Cao Xian and see off Yun Jian and his sibling after Yun Jian established his foundation.
• Cao Xian told Ning Fa that the powerful Xia Family would merge into the Huayu Sect, likely strengthening the Family Faction and weakening the Cheng Family’s standing.
• Cao Xian revealed that the Tang Family, Shi Family, and Zhao Family had defected to the Black Spirit Church, shocking Ning Fa.

Ning Fa learned more about the Southern Reach campaign and saw Yun Ying and Yun Jian off as they left Cloud Valley Marketplace. As the Huayu Sect prepared to absorb the Xia Family, Ning Fa still faced the problem of finding someone to manage Small Bamboo Pavilion during his coming expedition.

• Cao Xian told Ning Fa that three families had defected from the Black Spirit Church and that the Myriad Laws Sect had brought the Jiang Family into its ranks.
• Ning Fa found Ling Yue at Small Bamboo Pavilion, but she left quickly to avoid appearing too close to Meng Ruoqi’s Dao Companion; Ning Fa wondered if her reaction meant she had feelings for him.
• Yun Jian thanked Ning Fa for giving him a Foundation Establishment Pill, and Yun Ying thanked him before the siblings departed with Ning Fa and Meng Ruoqi escorting them from Cloud Valley Marketplace.
• After the Yun siblings left, Meng Ruoqi teased Ning Fa about Yun Ying, and Ning Fa worried about finding someone to manage Small Bamboo Pavilion during his expedition.
• The Huayu Sect announced the Xia Family’s incorporation and began preparations to absorb its nearly ten million mortals, more than a thousand cultivators, several dozen Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and two Golden Core Ancestors.

The Huayu Sect welcomed the Xia Family with major concessions, shifting the balance among its factions, while Ning Fa prepared to join Duanmu Ling’s expedition to the Cloud Wasteland Great Marsh in the Southern Reach. The expedition’s flying ship headed south with Ning Fa and a carefully selected group of Foundation Establishment cultivators aboard.

• The Huayu Sect granted the Xia Family land, an inner sect peak, and three hundred Inner Disciple slots as the family’s cultivators joined the sect.
• At the welcome ceremony, Ning Fa and Cao Xian discussed Xia Xinlan’s rare gifts and Xia Mingyang’s talent, while elders of the Disciple Faction and Cheng Family appeared displeased by the concessions.
• The Huayu Sect delayed its Southern Reach campaign briefly, then began dispatching personnel to open up the Cloud Wasteland Great Marsh.
• Duanmu Ling gathered Ning Fa and nineteen other Foundation Establishment cultivators aboard a flying ship and promised to honor the terms she had offered them.
• Ning Fa noticed Wu Zesheng’s hostility, while recognizing his former allies Pan Jiao and Cui Hong among the expedition members.
• The flying ship departed Falling Star Peak and traveled south toward the Cloud Wasteland Great Marsh.

Ning Fa and Duanmu Ling’s group arrived at Black Marsh Immortal City, where the rival factions’ leading young cultivators gathered. The chapter ended as Ouyang Tianzong joined Duanmu Ling and Ji Qingqing’s exchange about their wager.

• Ning Fa recalled how Cui Hong avenged Xie Qing and Shen Lian, earning severe punishment before transferring to Star Luo Peak.
• After traveling for more than half a month, Ning Fa and Duanmu Ling’s group reached Black Marsh Immortal City near Rift Canyon.
• Duanmu Ling told her followers to explore the city while they waited for her notice.
• Ji Qingqing challenged Duanmu Ling over their wager on their factions’ expansion progress and the precious materials at stake.
• Ouyang Tianzong arrived and suggested that he join the wager, while Cao Xian drew Ning Fa’s attention to him.