Chapter Summaries

Yang Yi learned that the white fox he had rescued was a fox demon named Yue Jian, who taught him cultivation methods before leaving. As he returned home, he learned that his world was a shattered fragment divided into mortal and spirit domains, and that Yue Jian had come there seeking its Source Crystal.

• Yang Yi’s aunt urged him to sell the white fox to help pay for Yang Yong’s engagement, while Yang Ya secretly gave him a flatbread.
• Yang Yi and the white fox caught a hare, and he told the fox to leave so it would not be sold and killed.
• The white fox revealed herself as Yue Jian, thanked Yang Yi for saving her, and offered to teach him cultivation.
• Yue Jian passed cultivation methods and other knowledge into Yang Yi’s mind, left him a cloth bag, and departed.
• Yang Yi learned that the world had been shattered into separate mortal and spirit domains, and that Yue Jian had lost her strength after the Source Crystal backlashed against her.
• On his way home, Yang Yi focused on a speck of Golden Light inside his consciousness.

Yang Yi discovered that the Golden Light in his mind contained the damaged Source Crystal of the Mortal Domain and suspected it could repair both the crystal and his body. After beginning Yue Jian’s Body Tempering Technique, he realized its heavy food demands could hinder his training, even as the Golden Light’s restorative power offered hope for rapid progress.

• Yang Yi recognized the white crystal inside the Golden Light as the damaged Source Crystal and wondered how it had come to him when he saved Yue Jian.
• Yang Yi began practicing Yue Jian’s Body Tempering Technique, completing its sixty-four movements but exhausting himself and suffering hidden injuries.
• Yang Yi confirmed the Source Crystal’s crack had shrunk and suspected the Golden Light was repairing it, which could eventually restore spiritual energy to the Mortal Domain.
• Yang Yi woke with his injuries healed and suspected the Golden Light had repaired his body, but worried he could not afford the nourishing food needed to keep training.

Yang Yi and Yang Yong were robbed by Black Wind Stronghold bandits while carrying pelts to sell, and Yang Yong was injured. On the way home, they discovered the bandits’ horses and overheard their plans; as Black Bear approached their hiding place, Yang Yi attacked him, but began to lose control of the struggle until Yang Yong appeared with a large stone.

• Yang Yi and Yang Yong set out for Greenstone City to sell their pelts but were stopped by four bandits from Black Wind Stronghold.
• The bandits stole Yang Yong’s two sable pelts, knocked him down, and left him with a gash on his face.
• Yang Yi took Yang Yong to Willow Creek Town for treatment, where they sold the remaining pelts and were left with ten copper coins.
• The brothers took a small path home and found two horses belonging to the bandits tethered beneath a tree.
• Yang Yi hid Yang Yong in a ditch and concealed himself in bushes when Black Bear approached to relieve himself.
• Yang Yi ambushed Black Bear, but began losing his hold until Yang Yong arrived with a large stone.

Yang Yi and Yang Yong escaped the bandits after Yang Yong helped kill Black Bear, then concealed what happened from their family. The next day, Yang Yi recovered the stolen purple sable pelts and century-old ginseng, and discovered he could use the Golden Light to heal his injuries and practice the Body Tempering Technique more often.

• Yang Yi restrained Black Bear while Yang Yong struck him repeatedly with a rock, killing him, and the brothers fled with a bundle from his body.
• Yang Yi warned Yang Yong to keep the killing secret, then brought his shaken brother home and told their family only that they had encountered bandits.
• Yang Yi returned to Crouching Ox Mountain, opened the hidden bundle, and found the stolen purple sable pelts and a century-old mountain ginseng.
• After eating part of the ginseng and practicing the Body Tempering Technique, Yang Yi guided the Golden Light to heal his injuries and learned that doing so consumed his mental energy.
• Yang Yi realized he could practice the technique three times a day, provided he had enough dietary supplements.

After Yang Yi broke through a bottleneck in the Body Tempering Technique, Iron Eagle and other mountain bandits arrived at his uncle’s home and threatened the family. As a bandit tried to abduct Yang Ya, an unseen attacker intervened, and Iron Eagle pursued the attacker into the darkness.

• Yang Yi felt his strength, speed, and eyesight improve after a breakthrough in his cultivation, and he snapped a thick tree with one punch.
• Yang Yong told Yang Yi that the Huang family had called off his engagement because of his scars, and he admitted that he was still troubled by nightmares.
• Iron Eagle arrived with armed mountain bandits and accused Yang Yi of killing Black Bear, while Yang Yi hid his reaction and considered how to protect his family.
• A bandit dragged Yang Ya from her home, and Yang Yong tried to stop him but was kicked aside by Iron Eagle.
• A throwing knife killed the bandit holding Yang Ya, and Iron Eagle recognized Qiao Wuwang’s voice and ordered his men to chase him.

Yang Yi tracked Iron Eagle's bandits and intervened when they attacked the injured Qiao Wuwang, killing several and helping Qiao Wuwang finish the fight. After Qiao Wuwang recognized him, Yang Yi treated his wounds, leaving the two alive and allied for the moment.

• Yang Yi left Yang Family Hollow with a bandit's corpse as a pretext and tracked Iron Eagle's group through the woods.
• Yang Yi found Iron Eagle's bandits surrounding the injured Qiao Wuwang and killed Iron Eagle with one punch.
• Yang Yi attacked the bandits, whose formation collapsed, while Qiao Wuwang killed another attacker and pursued the last fleeing survivor.
• Qiao Wuwang recognized Yang Yi after he removed his face covering and joked that Yang Yi might kill him to silence him.
• Yang Yi treated Qiao Wuwang's wounds, and Qiao Wuwang said he trusted Yang Yi not to harm him.

After killing Iron Eagle and his men, Yang Yi accepted Qiao Wuwang’s offer to bring his family to Qiao Family Fort for safety. The family reached Willow Creek Town at dawn and prepared to travel to the fort by carriage with Qiao Wuwang.

• Qiao Wuwang introduced himself as the third young master of Qiao Family Fort and offered Yang Yi a place there, along with protection for his family.
• Yang Yi accepted Qiao Wuwang’s offer and went to retrieve the old mountain ginseng and marten pelt before returning home.
• Yang Yi told his eldest uncle’s family they would leave for Qiao Family Fort, and they quickly packed their belongings.
• Yang Yi led his family to Willow Creek Town, where Qiao Wuwang had arranged a carriage for them.
• Qiao Wuwang and Yang Yi took the driver's seat together, and Qiao Wuwang agreed to drive when Yang Yi admitted he had never driven a carriage.

Yang Yi and the Yang family reached Qiao Family Fort, where Qiao Wuwang arranged lodging for them before reporting to Qiao Yaoyao. After hearing how Yang Yi had saved Qiao Wuwang, Qiao Yaoyao agreed to make him a Grade-B Attendant and ordered an investigation into his background.

• Qiao Wuwang left Yang Yi and the Yang family at an inn in Qiao'an City, promising to fetch Yang Yi the next day.
• Yang Yi reassured Uncle Yang's family that Qiao Family Fort was safe, and they shared an abundant meal provided on Qiao Wuwang's orders.
• Qiao Yaoyao scolded Qiao Wuwang for staying away, then discovered his unhealed injuries and demanded to know what had happened.
• Qiao Wuwang told Qiao Yaoyao that Yang Yi had saved him from Iron Eagle and said he wanted to recruit Yang Yi as an Attendant.
• Qiao Yaoyao approved Yang Yi for Grade-B Attendant treatment and ordered someone in the shadows to investigate him in Yang Family Hollow.

Yang Yi demonstrated his Mistblood strength to Qiao Yaoyao and joined Qiao Family Fort as a Grade-B Attendant, with his family allowed to move into the Inner Fort. The chapter ended when Qiao Yaoyao objected to giving the newly arrived Shen Qian the same vacant residence she had assigned to Yang Yi.

• Qiao Wuwang brought Yang Yi to meet Qiao Yaoyao in the Inner Fort, where she confirmed that his background was clean and asked him to demonstrate his strength.
• Yang Yi struck Tie Shan with all his strength, and Tie Shan confirmed that Yang Yi had reached the Mistblood Realm.
• Qiao Yaoyao offered Yang Yi a Grade-B Attendant position with monthly silver and provisions, and Yang Yi accepted.
• Qiao Wuwang suggested Cuiwei Residence for Yang Yi, and Qiao Yaoyao approved the choice.
• Second Uncle Qiao arrived with Shen Qian, head of the Shen Lineage in Clearwind City, and announced that Shen Qian would join the Qiao Household as a Grade-B Attendant.
• When Second Uncle Qiao said he had arranged for Shen Qian to move into Cuiwei Residence, Qiao Yaoyao objected and asked him to choose another place.

Yang Yi avoided a proposed spar with Shen Qian and accepted a place in Bamboo Garden instead of Cuiwei Residence. He brought his eldest uncle’s family into the Qiao Household’s Inner Fort and settled them into their new home with servants and supplies.

• Second Uncle Qiao proposed a spar between Shen Qian and Yang Yi to decide who would stay in Cuiwei Residence, but Yang Yi declined to fight.
• Qiao Yaoyao assigned Shen Qian to Cuiwei Residence and Yang Yi to Bamboo Garden, and Qiao Wuwang showed Yang Yi his new residence.
• Yang Yi fetched his eldest uncle’s family from the Outer Fort and brought them to Bamboo Garden, where they marveled at the large courtyard.
• Chief Steward Qiao Yingquan delivered eight male servants, eight maids, and Yang Yi’s supplies, and Yang Yi gave him two sable pelts.
• Yang Yi’s eldest aunt watched him speak confidently with Qiao Yingquan and wondered at how much he had changed.

Yang Yi continued cultivating and found that his strength and mental stamina seemed to improve his training efficiency. Qiao Wuwang warned him that entering the Mistblood Realm at sixteen could limit his future, then taught him the realm divisions and gave him a Qi-Blood Circulation Technique to study.

• Yang Yi completed several rounds of cultivation and suspected his breakthrough had increased both his cultivation speed and mental strength.
• Qiao Yaoyao asked Tie Shan about Yang Yi, and Tie Shan judged that Yang Yi's Body Tempering Art was exceptionally profound despite his recent entry into the Mistblood Realm.
• Qiao Wuwang told Yang Yi that cultivating before the body matured could leave hidden dangers and make further advancement difficult.
• Yang Yi privately realized that he still felt clear progress during cultivation, contrary to Qiao Wuwang's warning.
• Qiao Wuwang explained the Mistblood, True Blood, and Blood Dragon realms, then gave Yang Yi a Qi-Blood Circulation Technique from the Martial Hall.

Yang Yi learned to control his qi and blood with the Qi-Blood Circulation Technique, then went with Qiao Wuwang to the Martial Hall to choose three martial techniques. He returned to Bamboo Garden with Shadowless Formula, Mountain Suppression, and Shatter Mountains and Rivers, eager to cultivate them.

• Yang Yi mastered the Qi-Blood Circulation Technique and used it to sharpen his vision.
• The next morning, Qiao Wuwang took Yang Yi to the Martial Hall and explained that he could choose three martial techniques as a Grade-B Attendant.
• Yang Yi chose the difficult Shadowless Formula after learning that stronger techniques demanded greater qi-blood quality and control.
• Qiao Wuwang selected Mountain Suppression for defense and Shatter Mountains and Rivers for offense.
• Yang Yi registered the three techniques and returned to Bamboo Garden while Qiao Wuwang went to attend to his own cultivation.

Yang Yi spent more than half a month cultivating martial skills at Bamboo Garden and reconciled with Aunt Yang over their family ties. The chapter ended with Qiao Yingquan telling him that the young lady wished to see him.

• Yang Yi studied and practiced the Shadowless Formula, Mountain Suppression, and Shatter Mountains and Rivers, using Golden Light to heal the injuries caused by cultivation.
• Yang Yi devoted himself to cultivation for more than half a month without leaving Bamboo Garden.
• Aunt Yang brought Yang Yi breakfast and apologized for how harshly she had treated him in the past.
• Yang Yi reassured Aunt Yang that he remembered how she and Uncle Yang had raised him and that they were family.
• Aunt Yang asked whether Yang Yong could practice martial arts with Yang Yi, but Yang Yi put off answering when a servant announced Qiao Yingquan's arrival.
• Qiao Yingquan told Yang Yi that the young lady wished to see him.

Qiao Yaoyao asked Yang Yi to trade his three-hundred-year-old mountain ginseng, which she believed he had taken from Black Wind Stronghold, for cultivation supplies and support for the Yang Household. Yang Yi rejected her initial offer and demanded a hundred bottles of Myriad-Treasure Dew each month, leaving Qiao Yaoyao weighing the request.

• Yang Yi met Qiao Yaoyao in Xiude Hall, where she asked about his life in the Inner Fort and his cultivation.
• Qiao Yaoyao revealed that she had detected the ginseng on Yang Yi and connected it to Black Wind Stronghold’s search for a lost treasure.
• Yang Yi showed Qiao Yaoyao the partially consumed ginseng, and she confirmed it was more than three hundred years old.
• Qiao Yaoyao offered thirty portions each of Myriad-Treasure Dew and Hundred Herbs Liquid monthly for ten years, unlimited Bamboo Garden supplies, and a shop for the Yang Household to manage.
• Yang Yi refused the offer and asked for a hundred bottles of Myriad-Treasure Dew each month, leaving Qiao Yaoyao uncertain whether to agree.

Yang Yi traded his Body Tempering Technique to the Qiao Household for access to the Martial Hall and a chance to enter the Yin-Yang Pool. After Tie Shan confirmed the technique’s value, Qiao Yaoyao brought old mountain ginseng to her ailing grandfather, Qiao An.

• Yang Yi agreed to provide three years of Myriad-Treasure Dew and offered the Qiao Household his Body Tempering Technique.
• Yang Yi negotiated free access to the Martial Hall and entry to the Yin-Yang Pool in exchange for teaching the technique.
• Yang Yi demonstrated the technique to Tie Shan, who confirmed it refined qi and blood far better than the Furnace and Cauldron Tempering Method.
• Qiao Yaoyao upheld their agreement, promised Yang Yi supplies and access to the outer fort’s shops, and said she would arrange entry to the Yin-Yang Pool.
• Qiao Yaoyao took the old mountain ginseng to her grandfather, Qiao An, whose cold poison and declining health had worsened.

Qiao Yaoyao presented Qiao An with a three-hundred-year-old ginseng and showed him the powerful blood qi produced by Yang Yi’s Body Tempering Technique, which Yang Yi had offered to the Qiao Household. Yang Yi was promoted to Grade-A Attendant and learned he would enter the Yin-Yang Pool in three days, then encouraged Uncle’s family to choose a shop in the Outer Fort.

• Qiao An recognized the wild mountain ginseng as a valuable gift and examined the pure blood qi Tie Shan had produced after one circulation of Yang Yi’s Body Tempering Technique.
• Qiao Yaoyao told Qiao An that Yang Yi had offered the technique to the Qiao Household in exchange for free access to the Martial Hall and entry into the Yin-Yang Pool.
• Qiao Wuwang told Yang Yi he would cultivate the new technique, gave him a Grade-A Attendant badge, and said someone would lead him into the Yin-Yang Pool in three days.
• Yang Yi reassured Uncle and Auntie that he had traded with the Qiao Household for a shop and invited Yang Ya to choose one for the family.
• Yang Yi told Uncle’s family they could operate the shop as they wished and use the family’s capital without worrying.

Yang Yi taught Yang Yong the Body Tempering Technique and let Yang Ya stay with him, then entered the Qiao Household’s Yin-Yang Pool for a ten-day cultivation session. He ended the chapter standing on the platform where the pool’s blue and red waters met.

• Yang Yi agreed to teach Yang Yong cultivation and let Yang Ya stay, while explaining that she was too young to cultivate.
• Yang Yi taught Yang Yong the sixty-four-movement Body Tempering Technique, and Yang Yong completed one exhausting set before going to recover in a medicinal bath.
• Three days later, Qiao Yingquan escorted Yang Yi to the Yin-Yang Pool and explained how to request supplies during his seclusion.
• Yang Yi opened the massive door, entered the cave, and shut himself inside to begin ten days of cultivation.
• Yang Yi examined the supplies and leapt onto the stone platform at the center of the Yin-Yang Pool.

Yang Yi discovered that the Yin-Yang Pool doubled his qi-and-blood gains and contained a marvel that restored his spirit. He realized the Source Crystal could command the pool’s powers and began adjusting them to maximize his cultivation.

• Yang Yi cultivated in the Yin-Yang Pool and found its opposing ice and fire forces more than doubled his qi-and-blood gains.
• Yang Yi noticed a white aura in his consciousness restoring his spirit and traced its sudden increase to a glimmer from the Source Crystal.
• Yang Yi realized the Yin-Yang Pool was a land of creation whose marvels the Source Crystal could command.
• Yang Yi resumed the Body Tempering Technique and intensified the pool’s ice and fire forces through the Source Crystal.
• Yang Yi adjusted the forces until they reached the strongest level he could barely endure.

Yang Yi discovered that the Yin-Yang Pool greatly increased his cultivation gains but also made him consume Myriad-Treasure Dew at a rapid rate. Qiao Yaoyao arranged more supplies for him, while Shen Qian learned that Yang Yi had delayed his access to the pool and took his grievance to her.

• Yang Yi used the Source Crystal to recover between cultivation sessions and exhausted his supply of Myriad-Treasure Dew in less than two days.
• Yang Yi asked a guard to retrieve the remaining Myriad-Treasure Dew from Bamboo Garden and request next month's share from Qiao Yaoyao.
• Qiao Yaoyao ordered Tie Shan to collect one hundred bottles of Myriad-Treasure Dew for Yang Yi.
• At the Medicine Pavilion, Shen Qian learned that Tie Shan was collecting the dew for Yang Yi, and the shopkeeper told Shen that the remaining stock had been requisitioned.
• Shen Qian, already angry that Yang Yi had taken his Yin-Yang Pool opportunity, went to Xiude Hall to demand an explanation from Qiao Yaoyao.

Yang Yi cultivated relentlessly in the Yin-Yang Pool while Qiao Yaoyao discussed the Qiao Household’s plan to reclaim Clearwind City. He discovered that using the Source Crystal’s power of creation added cracks to it, then decided to limit its use as he continued improving his qi and blood.

• Tie Shan delivered one hundred and sixty bottles of Myriad-Treasure Dew to Yang Yi, who collected them without pausing his cultivation.
• Qiao Yaoyao told Tie Shan that the Qiao Household needed to reclaim Clearwind City and discussed Shen Qian’s role in the plan.
• Qiao Yaoyao asked Tie Shan to go to Clearwind City, but he refused because he had been ordered to stay by her side, so she considered recalling Lü E.
• After three days of intense cultivation, Yang Yi heard a crack and discovered that the Source Crystal had gained another crack.
• Yang Yi suspected that using the Source Crystal to mobilize the power of creation damaged it, so he resolved to use its power sparingly while continuing to cultivate.