Chapter Summaries

Ning Fa sold pills and bought talisman supplies and a Guardian Spirit Array to protect himself. After activating the array, he used the Mysterious Scroll to trace the Fragment of the Heavenly Splendor Treasure Scripture to its source, the Heavenly Mechanism Scroll, and learned about rare spiritual roots, spirit bodies, and Dao bodies.

• Ning Fa sold his Essence Replenishing Pills at Jinchang Island Market and bought talisman-making supplies and beginner talisman scriptures.
• Ning Fa bought the Guardian Spirit Array at the Ancient Spirit Pavilion, then visited Yun Chang Island to thank Ning Shaohong but learned she was away at Tianshui Market.
• Ning Fa installed and tested the Guardian Spirit Array in his pill room, confirming that it blocked divine sense perception.
• Ning Fa activated the Mysterious Scroll with the Jade Slip, and the scroll traced the scripture fragment to the Heavenly Mechanism Scroll before sending its image into his forehead.
• After three hours, Ning Fa learned about many rare spiritual roots and physiques, including the Mystic Dragon Physique and the Great Five Elements Thunder Body.

Ning Fa read the Heavenly Mechanism Scroll’s account of the Great Five Elements Thunder Body and realized that the mysterious rune in his dantian identified him as its possessor. He suspected his body had once been incomplete and that few cultivators in the Lower Realm knew the truth.

• The Heavenly Mechanism Scroll described the Mystic Dragon Physique and Great Five Elements Thunder Body as rare physiques with a strong chance of reaching the Mahayana Realm.
• The scroll explained the Great Five Elements Thunder Body’s command of the Five Elements Divine Thunders, resistance to heavenly tribulations, and difficult awakening into the Wuji Thunder Body.
• The scroll said most recorded bearers had an incomplete body, which left their cultivation aptitude extremely poor and limited them to Foundation Establishment.
• Ning Fa recognized the mysterious Thunder Rune Pattern in his dantian as the Five Elements Thunder Rune Pattern and realized he possessed the Great Five Elements Thunder Body.
• Ning Fa suspected he had previously possessed an incomplete version and that ordinary cultivators in the Lower Realm, including his family’s expert Hermit of East Valley, did not know about the physique.

After learning that he possessed the Great Five Elements Thunder Body, Ning Fa discovered that its high Mana requirements outmatched his current technique and decided not to reveal his constitution to the clan. He used the Mysterious Scroll to trace the Primordial Thunder Art back to its source and uncovered the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture.

• Ning Fa learned from the Heavenly Mechanism Scroll that he possessed the Great Five Elements Thunder Body and discovered the wider realms beyond the Human Realm.
• Ning Fa realized his Thunder Body required more Mana to advance than the Primordial Thunder Art could provide, so he needed a higher-grade lightning-element technique.
• Ning Fa considered telling the Ning Clan about his Thunder Body but rejected the idea to avoid drawing attention and possible attacks from the Xue Family.
• Ning Fa used the Mysterious Scroll to trace the Primordial Thunder Art back to its source.
• The Mysterious Scroll revealed a blue-black manual titled Ancient Source Thunder Scripture.

Ning Fa learned that the Mysterious Scroll had traced the Primordial Thunder Art to the powerful Ancient Source Thunder Scripture, a demanding body-and-law cultivation technique that required a Lightning Spiritual Root. He decided to cultivate it despite its resource costs and incomplete instructions, then lay down to rest before beginning.

• The Mysterious Scroll sent the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture into Ning Fa's forehead, revealing its first six layers and its limit of Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
• Ning Fa learned that the scripture tempered the body and allowed cultivators to open Lesser Thunder Sources that increased Mana reserves and spellcasting speed.
• Ning Fa realized the technique demanded abundant cultivation resources and that his current spirit vein was far too weak to meet its needs.
• Ning Fa decided that the scripture's power and its potential to address his Great Five Elements Thunder Body's Mana needs outweighed its difficulties.
• Ning Fa considered using the Mysterious Scroll to advance as a Pill Master and gain family standing to obtain the rare body-tempering materials.
• Ning Fa chose not to cultivate while shaken by the night's revelations and fell asleep on his meditation cushion.

Ning Fa cultivated the Main Thunder Source in a month, then continued refining pills and preparing for further cultivation. After learning that Ning Shaohong had returned to Yun Chang Island, he went there to meet with her.

• Ning Fa successfully cultivated the Main Thunder Source, which the Five Elements Thunder Rune Pattern refined into a stronger silver Thunder Source.
• Ning Fa failed to break through to Qi Condensation Mid-stage because his Mana was still insufficient, and decided to cultivate Lesser Thunder Sources.
• Ning Fa refined Essence Replenishing Pills for his family’s monthly duty and planned to earn Contribution Points for the Travelogue of Yun Songzi.
• Ning Fa received Ning Xiuying’s message that Ning Shaohong had returned, then traveled to Yun Chang Island to visit her.
• Ning Xiuying told Ning Fa that Ning Shaohong had instructed her to let him come in.

Ning Fa thanked Ning Shaohong for defending him and agreed to refine Essence Replenishing Pills for her friend’s trading firm, while she encouraged him to learn two more pill formulas. He then learned the formulas from Wei Chengzong and left the Alchemy Hall, where Liu Qinghui heard that he was quickly mastering alchemy.

• Ning Fa visited Ning Shaohong, who asked him to refine ten additional batches of Essence Replenishing Pills each month using materials supplied by her friend’s trading firm.
• Ning Shaohong asked Ning Fa to learn to refine Qi Replenishing Pills and Spring Return Pills, and he agreed to call her Aunt Hong.
• Ning Fa went to the Alchemy Hall and refused Wei Chengzong’s offer to move in, citing the risk of being attacked by Ning Ruiming.
• Wei Chengzong taught Ning Fa the methods for refining Qi Replenishing Pills and Spring Return Pills, and Ning Fa grasped their key points quickly.
• Liu Qinghui entered the pill chamber, and Wei Chengzong told her that Ning Fa was making rapid progress in alchemy.

Ning Xiuying delivered spirit materials for Ning Fa to refine Essence Replenishing Pills, then teased him before leaving. Liu Qinghui visited afterward with osmanthus cake, and Ning Fa pretended to welcome her when he spotted Ning Chuanwei watching, hoping gossip would reach Ning Ruiming; once alone with her, he grew suspicious of her motives.

• Ning Xiuying delivered enough spirit materials for ten batches of Essence Replenishing Pills and said she would return next month to collect them.
• Ning Xiuying teased Ning Fa by suggesting he might touch her if he became a First-grade Mid-rank Pill Master, then left.
• Liu Qinghui visited Ning Fa with homemade osmanthus cake, but he told her he was fine and tried to shut the door.
• Ning Fa spotted Ning Chuanwei watching and pretended to welcome Liu Qinghui inside so Ning Chuanwei would spread gossip.
• After Ning Chuanwei ran off, Ning Fa treated Liu Qinghui coldly, while she remarked that he had changed and offered him the cake.
• Ning Fa began to suspect Liu Qinghui had come for more than reconciliation.

Liu Qinghui tried to reconcile with Ning Fa and used their old Jade Pendant to test whether he still possessed it, but he rejected her. After leaving, she discussed Ning Fa’s sudden alchemy progress with the voice inside her pendant and resolved to make him fall for her again.

• Liu Qinghui offered to stop Ning Ruiming from troubling Ning Fa and help him move into the Alchemy Hall, but he refused her help.
• Liu Qinghui showed Ning Fa her half of their Jade Pendant and asked whether he still had his, but he claimed he had thrown it away and told her to leave.
• After Liu Qinghui left, the aged voice inside her Jade Pendant said it could not sense the other half and suggested Ning Fa no longer possessed it.
• Liu Qinghui wondered how Ning Fa had improved so quickly at alchemy, and the aged voice suggested he might have gained sudden enlightenment.
• Liu Qinghui rejected the suggestion to capture and interrogate Ning Fa, then declared she could make him fall for her again.

Ning Fa found the half of the Jade Pendant Liu Qinghui had been searching for, and the Mysterious Scroll revealed that it was connected to another jade pendant but could not trace it fully. Meanwhile, Ning Ruiming suspected Liu Qinghui was helping Ning Fa and decided to ask Uncle Liu to restrain her.

• Ning Fa realized Liu Qinghui had been anxious about his half of the Jade Pendant and searched his pill room after activating the Guardian Spirit Array.
• Ning Fa found the pendant buried beneath a stone slab with keepsakes from his former relationship with Liu Qinghui.
• The Mysterious Scroll reacted to the pendant and showed a phantom of a differently styled green Jade Pendant, but lacked the energy to reveal more.
• Ning Fa resolved to focus on reaching Qi Condensation Mid-stage and improving his pill-refining skills before uncovering the pendant's secret.
• Ning Ruiming heard that Liu Qinghui had visited Ning Fa and reacted furiously, but Ning Jinghong reminded him of her standing in the family.
• Ning Ruiming suspected Liu Qinghui had taught Ning Fa and told the mustached man to inform Uncle Liu so he could restrain Qinghui.

Ning Fa continued his cultivation, pill refining, and practice with talismans and thunder-element spells, relying on the Mysterious Scroll to recover materials from a failed Thunderball Talisman. As he opened the door to Ning Xiuying, she looked at him with an unusually strange expression.

• Ning Fa failed to complete a Thunderball Talisman, and the Mysterious Scroll traced back the scraps into fresh talisman paper and spiritual ink.
• Ning Fa reviewed his daily routine, prioritizing cultivation and refining Essence Replenishing Pills while reserving a little time for talismans and spells.
• Ning Fa made smooth progress opening a Lesser Thunder Source at the Tianfu Acupoint in his right arm and continued improving his pill-refining skills.
• Ning Fa nearly reached Major Mastery in the Lightning Flash Technique after practicing it for an hour a day.
• Ning Fa opened the door to Ning Xiuying, who stared at him with a strange expression.

Ning Fa received payment for his Essence Replenishing Pills and planned to take over his family shop to sell pills himself. Three months later, he cultivated the Ancient Source Thunder Scripture, linking four Lesser Thunder Sources to his Main Thunder Source.

• Ning Xiuying delivered Ning Fa ten portions of spirit materials and four hundred and fifty spirit stones, including a bonus for the exceptional quality of his pills.
• Ning Xiuying envied Ning Fa’s earnings and asked him to treat her to a meal at Cloud Fragrance Residence, and he agreed.
• Ning Fa decided to reclaim his father’s shop when its lease expired and run it with help from his eldest uncle and Ning Zifeng.
• Three months later, Ning Fa stabilized a Lesser Thunder Source at his left-leg Liangqiu Acupoint and connected it to three other Lesser Thunder Sources and his Main Thunder Source.

Ning Fa refined his first One Dao Mark Essence Replenishing Pill, learned that it could aid breakthroughs, and began producing more through alchemy. After two more months of cultivation, he neared opening the fifth Lesser Thunder Source and finally left his home.

• Ning Fa opened his fourth Lesser Thunder Source but found that he still had not reached the Qi Condensation Mid-stage bottleneck.
• Ning Fa refined a One Dao Mark Essence Replenishing Pill and discovered that it had several times the potency of an ordinary pill and could loosen his breakthrough bottleneck.
• Ning Fa tried to break through after consuming the pill, but realized he had not yet reached the threshold.
• Ning Fa understood how to reproduce the pill and began refining about one One Dao Mark Pill every ten furnaces, consuming them to boost his cultivation.
• After two more months, Ning Fa's fifth Lesser Thunder Source at the Shanzhong acupoint was nearly open, and he stepped out of his home after half a year in seclusion.

Ning Fa visited his maternal uncle’s family on Shiyang Island for his nephew’s hundred-day feast and prepared a generous gift. He noticed Xu Changtai and Xu Guanting were troubled and injured, and resolved to learn what had happened after the celebration.

• Ning Fa rented a spirit boat to Shiyang Island, paying the elderly ferryman Ning Cunli despite the man’s reluctance to accept payment.
• Ning Fa arrived at the Xu Family courtyard and saw Xu Changtai and Xu Guanting looking worried; Xu Guanting was visibly injured, but Xu Changtai claimed it was an accident.
• Ning Fa greeted the Xu Family cultivators, then heard Uncle Zhen begin to suggest asking him for help before Xu Changtai stopped him.
• Lü Xia brought out her infant son, Xiao Wu, and Ning Fa held and played with his nephew.
• Ning Fa announced that he had brought a modest gift for Xiao Wu and produced more than ten pill bottles.

Ning Fa gave his relatives a lavish gift of pills at Xu Guanting’s son’s hundred-day banquet, but two cultivators from the Wenchang Island branch arrived and demanded the Xu Family transfer its water territory. When Xu Guanting protested, Ning Jinguang attacked him with a spell.

• Ning Fa gave Xu Changtai and Xu Guanting bottles of valuable pills, which they accepted after he insisted they were his heartfelt gift.
• Two cultivators from the Wenchang Island branch entered the banquet, alarming the Xu Family members.
• Ning Jinguang offered a grain of spirit sand as an insulting gift and presented Xu Changtai with a contract to transfer the water territory for a hundred spirit stones.
• Xu Guanting protested that the territory contained spirit fish and had already been transferred once, and Ning Jinguang struck him with the Vine Willow Technique.

Ning Fa retaliated after Ning Jinguang injured Xu Guanting, then faced Ning Jinguang in a spell duel. Ning Fa’s powerful Thunderball Technique surprised his opponent, but Ning Jinguang’s counterattack left Ning Fa in danger.

• Ning Fa struck Ning Jinguang with a Silver Lightning Ball after Ning Jinguang injured Xu Guanting.
• Ning Jinguang attacked Ning Fa with a green wooden sword, but Ning Fa’s Thunderball Technique matched its power.
• Ning Fa hurled two more lightning balls, and Ning Jinguang dodged them with a swift movement technique.
• Ning Jinguang split his sword into three and launched two Flame Arrows at Ning Fa, who hesitated and failed to react in time.

Ning Fa defeated Ning Jinguang by using his powerful lightning techniques, but Ning Jinguang’s uncle, a Late Qi Condensation cultivator, intervened. Ning Fa stood his ground and told the man he would protect Xu Changtai because he was his uncle.

• Xu Changtai prepared to intervene as Ning Fa faced Ning Jinguang’s attacks, but Ning Fa blocked the Azure Wood Sword and replenished his depleted mana through his Thunder Sources.
• Ning Fa destroyed Ning Jinguang’s two split swords and badly damaged the main Azure Wood Sword, causing Ning Jinguang to spit blood.
• Ning Jinguang tried to activate a blood-red talisman, but Ning Fa blinded him with the Lightning Flash Technique and sent two Silver Lightning Balls at him.
• Uncle Yong intercepted the lightning balls with his saber, while Ning Fa recognized that his combat experience and divine sense were limited.
• Ning Jinguang demanded another fight, but Uncle Yong stopped him and asked Ning Fa whether he truly meant to interfere; Ning Fa answered that he would not stand by while Xu Changtai was bullied.

Ning Fa drove off the Wenchang Island branch’s enforcers but learned that the Xu Family’s newly valuable fish-breeding waters were still under threat. After weighing the risks of confronting the branch and its Eighth Elder, he left to seek Ning Shaohong, hoping he had found another way to help.

• Ning Fa defeated Ning Jinguang, but the coarse man invoked the Eighth Elder’s approval and gave the Xu Family a month to accept the transfer in exchange for eight hundred spirit stones.
• Xu Changtai explained that the Wenchang Island branch wanted the Xu Family’s breeding waters after Red Coral Stone emerged there, making it possible to raise more valuable spirit fish with Red Coral Grass.
• Ning Fa considered asking Ning Shaohong to intervene, but decided the cost of making enemies of the branch and the Eighth Elder’s faction was too great.
• Ning Fa told Xu Changtai to wait, then rented Ning Cunli’s spirit boat and hurried to Yun Chang Island.
• Ning Fa went to Spirit Embroidery Hall and met Ning Shaohong, who had become increasingly fond of him.

Ning Fa showed Ning Shaohong a One Dao Mark Essence Replenishing Pill and offered her fifteen within a year in return for helping his eldest uncle’s family. Ning Shaohong revealed that she also wanted the Red Coral Stone and planned to inspect it before deciding how to proceed.

• Ning Shaohong examined Ning Fa’s pill and was astonished that he could repeatedly refine One Dao Mark Essence Replenishing Pills.
• Ning Fa offered Ning Shaohong fifteen pills in exchange for help with the trouble facing his eldest uncle’s family.
• Ning Fa explained that the Xu Family was facing a dispute over a lake where Red Coral Stone had appeared.
• Ning Shaohong said the Red Coral Stone mattered to her too, but promised to offer the Xu Family a satisfactory price rather than seize it by force.
• Ning Shaohong planned to inspect the lake in about three days and said she would help the Xu Family even if the Red Coral Stone did not meet her needs.

Ning Shaohong sought Ning Weidong’s support for Ning Fa, whose talent for refining Dao Patterned Pills could benefit their branch and the Ning Clan. Ning Weidong refused to invest heavily in Ning Fa’s cultivation before he advanced to mid-stage Qi Condensation, but warned Shaohong to keep his alchemy talent secret.

• Ning Shaohong used a message paper to summon Wei Shiqin, then went to Ning Weidong’s residence to discuss the Red Coral Stone and her plan to help the Xu Family.
• Ning Weidong agreed that Wei Shiqin was worth befriending and promised to stop Eighth Brother from interfering.
• Ning Shaohong showed Ning Weidong the One Dao Mark Essence Replenishing Pill and revealed that Ning Fa had refined several Dao Patterned Pills.
• Ning Shaohong urged Ning Weidong to help Ning Fa overcome his Incomplete Lightning Spiritual Root so his alchemy could strengthen their branch and the clan.
• Ning Weidong declined to make another major investment until Ning Fa reached mid-stage Qi Condensation, but told Ning Shaohong to keep his pill-refining ability secret.

Ning Shaohong brought Wei Shiqin to inspect a stretch of Red Coral Stone, which Wei approved for a lease by the Xudong Merchant Guild. Ning Fa learned Wei was the guild’s representative in Tianshui Market and received a VIP Token from her.

• Ning Fa and the Xu Family cultivators met Wei Shiqin and her five guards aboard a Jade Flying Boat near Shiyang Island.
• Wei Shiqin and Ning Shaohong inspected the Red Coral Stone underwater with their companions.
• Wei Shiqin approved the site, explained she planned to plant another spirit herb there, and arranged to lease the waters for the Xudong Merchant Guild.
• Ning Shaohong introduced Ning Fa to Wei Shiqin as the clan’s newly advanced alchemist.
• Wei Shiqin gave Ning Fa a merchant guild VIP Token that granted a ten-percent discount at Tongbao Pavilion and access to certain special items.