Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Wounded Zhiyun reaches Ji Yuan while fleeing Xuanweizi and Danxia. She tells him they have been secretly extracting Spirit Stones from the Spirit Vein and are trying to kill her because she caught them.
• Ji Yuan initially runs, unwilling to risk his life. Zhiyun is killed, and Xuanweizi absorbs a wisp of smoke from her corpse using something hidden in his sleeve.
• Fearing Zhiyun revealed their secret, Xuanweizi decides that Ji Yuan must also die. He and Danxia search for him, offering a payoff before turning to threats.
• Ji Yuan disguises himself with a Form-Changing Talisman, Yin Ghost Sect Ring, and burial shroud, appearing to be an overwhelmingly powerful Demonic Cultivator. He exploits their fear, then kills Xuanweizi with Yin Ghosts and a hidden flying-sword strike.
• Xuanweizi’s Black Sable, which can draw out Divine Souls, dies with him because they share a master-servant contract. Danxia reveals the location of their secret mining tunnel and the black-thread artifact they used to extract Spirit Stones. Ji Yuan kills her too, then collects both bodies and their lingering souls.
• Ji Yuan finds the concealed tunnel and uses the thread-like artifact to free a section of the Spirit Vein from its protective Formation. A system-like prompt appears: [Spirit Vein: Lv1 (Upgradeable)].

Character developments and interactions

• Ji Yuan acts out of self-preservation at first, but once he recognizes the artifact’s potential to help him build his own Spirit Vein, he methodically eliminates the threat. His disguise and bluffing prove effective, though he is careful to watch for real danger.
• Zhiyun places her last hope in Ji Yuan, but his refusal to intervene leaves her vulnerable. Before dying, she tries to expose the plot, partly to ensure her killers cannot escape consequences.
• Xuanweizi is ruthless and paranoid, ordering Zhiyun’s murder and deciding to kill Ji Yuan to protect the secret. He underestimates Ji Yuan’s disguise and dies when his soul-devouring attack fails.
• Danxia quickly abandons Xuanweizi when confronted with apparent danger, then bargains for her life by revealing the artifact and tunnel. Ji Yuan kills her despite her cooperation.
• The alliance between Xuanweizi and Danxia is shown to be fragile: she fears him and betrays him readily, while he privately considers abandoning her.

Significant themes

• Self-preservation and betrayal: Ji Yuan chooses not to risk himself for Zhiyun; Danxia likewise turns on Xuanweizi when threatened.
• Deception and appearances: Ji Yuan’s terrifying “senior” persona is a successful bluff built from disguise and aura-masking tools.
• Greed and secrecy: The illicit mining plot drives the murders and escalating attempts to conceal the truth.
• Pragmatic morality: Ji Yuan’s decisions are guided largely by survival and opportunity, culminating in killing even the informant who has just helped him.

Key plot points and events

• Ji Yuan’s Spirit Vein building activates and immediately produces Spirit Stones. He upgrades it to Level 2, improving the spiritual-energy boost and increasing its daily output. He plans to gather the required stones for a further upgrade.
• Ji Yuan finds a small, damaged section of the mine’s Spirit Vein containing many Spirit Stones. He decides to report the theft of the vein rather than conceal the whole affair, but first secretly removes most of the stones from the vein and from Xuanweizi’s and Danxia’s Storage Bags, leaving enough behind to make his actions less obvious.
• He also leaves Xuanweizi’s valuable Talisman Treasure untouched, judging that taking it would create unnecessary suspicion.
• Ji Yuan tells Liu Yuan that Zhiyun is dead and that he killed Xuanweizi and Danxia after they were involved in stealing from the Spirit Vein. He warns that the theft method could threaten the foundations of all six immortal sects.
• Liu Yuan contacts Soft Hands, who alerts the Water Dragon Sect’s leader and Elder Li Gang while keeping the other sects uninformed for the moment.
• When Xuanweizi and the Joy Palace disciples fail to emerge, Soft Hands removes Ji Yuan and Liu Yuan from the scene. Guizhen suspects Ji Yuan, while Lady Meiru recognizes that the Water Dragon Sect has gained the initiative and leaves to alert her own side.

Character developments

• Ji Yuan remains cautious and calculating: he weighs the risks of reporting the incident, secures much of the Spirit Stone bounty, and summons powerful sect elders before the other factions can control events.
• Liu Yuan moves from curiosity and shock to trusting Ji Yuan’s judgment, helping him keep the crisis contained.
• Soft Hands acts decisively to protect Ji Yuan and Liu Yuan and coordinate the Water Dragon Sect’s response.
• Lady Meiru proves politically perceptive, quickly recognizing the importance of Ji Yuan’s involvement and the danger of losing the initiative.
• Guizhen becomes suspicious and reactive, accusing Ji Yuan and then rushing to inform his own sect.

Significant themes

• Caution, self-preservation, and greed: Ji Yuan chooses the safest public course while still quietly profiting from the Spirit Stones.
• Power and resources: Spirit Veins underpin the sects’ authority, so a method for stealing their Spirit Stones threatens the balance of the entire cultivation world.
• Trust and secrecy: Ji Yuan shares the truth with Liu Yuan but withholds details from potentially implicated rivals until reinforcements arrive.
• Political maneuvering: The characters’ response is not only about the deaths, but also about which sect learns the truth first and controls the investigation.

Character interactions

• Ji Yuan and Liu Yuan coordinate through voice transmissions, with Liu Yuan accepting Ji Yuan’s instructions and helping summon reinforcements.
• Ji Yuan gives Liu Yuan the blunt news of the deaths and the Spirit Vein theft; Liu Yuan is shocked but recognizes the seriousness.
• Soft Hands shields Ji Yuan and Liu Yuan from Guizhen and Lady Meiru, telling the rival representatives to summon their own elders.
• Guizhen questions Danchengzi about the missing cultivators and speculates that Ji Yuan killed them; Lady Meiru focuses on the strategic consequences and acts to alert her sect.

Plot points and events

• Ji Yuan tells Soft Hands that Xuanweizi of Medicine King Valley and Danxia of Joy Palace were secretly devouring the Spirit Vein with a strange black-threaded object. He has killed them and kept the object and their Storage Bags.
• Soft Hands keeps the Water Dragon Sect’s group in camp while they await Golden Core reinforcements, wary that the other sects may have accomplices. Guizhen presses for answers but is turned away.
• Profound Water True Person and Many-Treasure True Person arrive. Ji Yuan recounts what happened, claiming a treasure from his master helped him defeat the two stronger cultivators. He asks that his role remain confidential, and Profound Water agrees.
• The Golden Core elders examine the black-threaded object and suspect the Spirit Vein thefts may be part of a wider pattern. They inspect the mine, despite Guizhen and Lady Meiru’s reminder that the Three-Sect Pact requires representatives of all three sects to witness such an entry.
• Divine Void True Person of Joy Palace arrives and insists on investigating. He brushes aside Guizhen’s objection, and the Golden Core cultivators enter the mine.
• Li Changhe tells Ji Yuan that the Li Family has a financial stake in the sect’s Spirit Veins, then shares Li Family knowledge of locations suited to forming distinctive Sword Embryos.
• After Medicine King Valley’s leader arrives, the elders decide mining will continue but the guards will be replaced. Ji Yuan and the others return to their sect.

Character development and interactions

• Ji Yuan remains cautious and strategic: he conceals details, frames his victory carefully, and asks the elders to keep his involvement quiet. He also uses the waiting period to cultivate with the recovered Spirit Stones and plans for his next Sword Embryo.
• Soft Hands takes charge of security and shows approval of Ji Yuan’s plan to summon powerful reinforcements.
• Liu Yuan learns from Ji Yuan’s discretion and becomes more aware of how to handle sensitive discoveries.
• Li Changhe shows gratitude and trust toward Ji Yuan, sharing valuable family knowledge in return.
• The elders react with anger to the apparent Spirit Vein theft and take control of the investigation. Divine Void’s forceful manner contrasts with the more cautious approach required by the pact.

Significant themes

• Caution and secrecy: Ji Yuan’s survival depends not only on strength but on limiting who knows what.
• Power and institutional politics: The investigation must navigate sect rivalries and the Three-Sect Pact.
• Wealth and obligation: Spirit Veins are valuable assets shared among powerful interests, making theft a threat to both the sect and the Li Family.
• Cultivation through opportunity: Ji Yuan turns the crisis into material gains, training time, and knowledge for future advancement.

Key plot points

• After returning to the Water Dragon Sect, Ji Yuan learns that the sect is investigating damage to its Spirit Veins. His promised reward is delayed, and he begins considering a retreat to the sect as larger upheavals loom.
• He inspects Carefree Island, where Third One has nearly finished building a residence, cultivation areas, and a fish pond. Ji Yuan plans to add an Artifact Refining Room once he secures permission to use the sect’s Earth-Vein Fire.
• Ji Yuan reunites with Dong Qian and visits her discreetly located Marvelous Medicine Shop. He arranges for her to sell his surplus pills, talismans, and other goods, handing over five full Storage Bags. She refuses a rent or commission, insisting that their business arrangement benefits them both.
• Dong Qian tells him that Yao Jingfeng, once one of Ji Yuan’s sworn siblings from Cloud-Rain Marsh, died by suicide after being caught stealing Spirit Stones. Ji Yuan reflects that Yao may have been driven by desperation or by envy of others’ cultivation progress. He also learns Du Wanyi is stationed far away in Magnolia City.
• Back on Mist Island, Ji Yuan collects supplies and experiments with creating an artificial Spirit Vein inside his Cave Abode. With help from the Ice Flood Dragon and Tu Yue, he digs and fills a tunnel with Spirit Stones. The system registers it as a Level 2 Spirit Vein, upgradeable.
• Meanwhile, Water Dragon Sect elders gather in outrage over the Spirit Veins being drained. Even usually rival elders agree the matter must be dealt with before the wider righteous–demonic conflict.

Character developments and interactions

• Ji Yuan continues to plan pragmatically: he delegates sales to someone he trusts, develops his island, and experiments with ways to strengthen his Cave Abode. His thoughts about Yao Jingfeng show some sympathy, but also distance from the choices that led to his death.
• Dong Qian remains warm and reliable, and her easy familiarity with Ji Yuan contrasts with her usual reserve toward other cultivators. Their teasing business discussion and the shop attendant’s comic misunderstanding add a light note.
• Third One, Tu Yue, and the Ice Flood Dragon are put to work on Ji Yuan’s projects, reinforcing his habit of turning available companions and resources toward practical tasks.
• Yao Jingfeng’s death prompts Ji Yuan to reconsider the fate of their old sworn group and the pressures of cultivation. Dong Qian also serves as his source of news about Du Wanyi and the sect’s distant postings.

Significant themes

• Cultivation’s costs: A damaged foundation, frustrated ambition, and the struggle to keep pace can lead to ruin, as Yao Jingfeng’s story suggests.
• Practical ingenuity: Ji Yuan uses planning, cooperation, and experimentation to build resources rather than relying solely on conventional routes.
• Trust and reciprocity: Ji Yuan chooses Dong Qian’s shop because he trusts her; she rejects formal payment, framing their arrangement as mutually beneficial.
• Growing conflict: The sect’s anger over Spirit Vein theft foreshadows escalating trouble, even as Ji Yuan quietly creates a Spirit Vein of his own.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Ji Yuan upgrades his Spirit Vein to Level Two, spending a large stock of Spirit Stones. The vein becomes visible, emits a cool blue-white glow, and produces fresh Spirit Stones. Its spiritual energy is now dense enough to support his daily cultivation.
• He studies the Level Three Spirit Vein effects: a wider area of increased spiritual energy, much greater daily Spirit Stone production, and—most notably—one drop of Millennium Spirit Milk each month. The milk can rapidly restore a cultivator’s magical power, so Ji Yuan decides he would never sell it.
• Ji Yuan spends ten days cultivating in the new vein, restoring his Spirit Liquid to its peak. He then resumes work in his Talisman Chamber and Alchemy Room, while postponing plans for an Artifact Refining Room because Mist Island lacks suitable earthfire.
• He gives Tu Yue several tasks, including replenishing the Beehive’s Spirit Stones and summoning the Ice Flood Dragon. He rests with the dragon as a pillow and reflects on where to form his next Azure Waves Sword Embryo.
• Drawing on advice from Li Changhe, Ji Yuan considers nine locations that could imbue future Sword Embryos with special powers. He chooses Heavenly Pillar Peak, where he hopes to form the Cloudwatch Sword, as his next destination.
• Before he can leave, Li Changhe visits with news from the Water Dragon Sect’s investigation: the Spirit Veins had been damaged for a long time, and the sect’s losses may reach one million Middle-Grade Spirit Stones. Ji Yuan’s second senior brother, Yun, helped capture a Foundation Establishment cultivator caught consuming a Large Spirit Vein.
• Li Changhe reveals that the culprits are not Demonic Cultivators. He asks Ji Yuan to keep the information secret and introduces the Shang Court, an ancient power that once ruled Cangluo Continent. The chapter ends as Ji Yuan recognizes its historical significance.

Character developments

• Ji Yuan becomes more secure in his cultivation thanks to the Spirit Vein, while remaining practical about saving valuable Millennium Spirit Milk and planning his next advancement carefully.
• He continues expanding his responsibilities—cultivation, alchemy, talisman work, and managing his island resources—while acknowledging that he cannot do everything himself.
• Li Changhe proves to be a trusted source of guidance and sensitive information, sharing both sword-cultivation advice and the sect’s findings.
• Yun, Ji Yuan’s second senior brother, is shown to have played an important role in stopping a suspect from dying before he could be questioned.
• Tu Yue continues as a dependable aide, carrying out Ji Yuan’s instructions.

Significant themes

• Cultivation through preparation and resources: Ji Yuan’s progress depends on investing Spirit Stones, choosing suitable training locations, and managing his limited time.
• The value of survival and power: Millennium Spirit Milk is prized not merely for its rarity but because restoring magical power can decide a battle.
• Secrecy and hidden threats: The damage to the sect’s Spirit Veins is widespread, the investigation has uncovered an organized conspiracy, and the true perpetrators remain unknown.
• Choosing strength over rigid orthodoxy: The dangerous sword-condensation sites—including one associated with vengeful ghosts—show that powerful cultivation opportunities may lie outside conventional paths.

Character interactions

• Ji Yuan gives Tu Yue practical orders, then casually uses the Ice Flood Dragon as a pillow after catching it sneaking toward the Fish Pond.
• Li Changhe’s earlier advice shapes Ji Yuan’s sword plans; during his visit, he shares confidential information, and Ji Yuan seals the room with talismans to ensure their conversation cannot be overheard.
• Ji Yuan reacts with increasing alarm as Li Changhe explains the scale of the Spirit Vein damage and the capture of one suspected culprit.

Key plot points

• Li Changhe explains that Shang Court was destroyed long ago, but its heirs still operate within the six Orthodox sects of Shangdong and the three Demonic sects of Shangxi. They want to restore Shang Court and have been secretly draining the sects’ Spirit Veins with help from an insider.
• The Water Dragon Sect plans to investigate its Spirit Vein and identify the traitors. Li reassures Ji Yuan that the sect master has passed thorough scrutiny, though he admits that a Nascent Soul-level enemy would be almost impossible for Ji Yuan to survive.
• At Medicine King Valley, Dan Yangzi meets Han Feiyu and recognizes the presence of Old Devil Qu, an ancient Shang Court figure speaking through Han. They discuss the failed Spirit Vein plot and identify Ji Yuan and Liu Yuan as possible people who exposed it. Qu orders them killed.
• Qu reveals that he intends to seize the Water Dragon Sect’s sect master’s body. Han objects to killing Ji Yuan, his friend, despite Qu’s pressure and offer of money.
• Ji Yuan receives major protection from the Water Dragon Sect: a scale that can stop even a Golden Core Late Stage attack, a rare token that can teleport him back to the sect within Shangdong, plus Spirit Milk and Talisman Treasures. Feeling safer, he returns to cultivation.
• A pale young man emerges from Blackwater Pool, apparently returning after thousands of years in captivity. He remembers that he must avenge the person whose body he occupies—and seek Han Feiyu.

Character developments and interactions

• Ji Yuan remains cautious and practical, prioritizing survival over rushing to cultivate his Sword Embryo. His exchanges with Li Changhe are laced with humor, but his fear of being targeted is genuine. He is grateful for the sect’s protection and pleased by the benefits of belonging to a powerful organization.
• Li Changhe acts as Ji Yuan’s informant and reassures him about the sect’s safeguards, while candidly acknowledging the danger posed by a Nascent Soul cultivator.
• Dan Yangzi drops his respectable public façade when alone with Han/Qu. Though he mocks Qu, he is excited that the ancient devil has returned and believes their plans are now more likely to succeed.
• Han Feiyu is caught between loyalty to Shang Court’s cause and affection for Ji Yuan. Though Qu orders him to kill Ji Yuan, Han asks to target someone else instead.
• Profound Water True Person and Li Gang praise Ji Yuan’s service and demonstrate the Water Dragon Sect’s support through powerful protective gifts.
• The newly freed young man’s arrival sets up a likely confrontation with Han Feiyu and connects the present conflict to old grudges.

Significant themes

• A fallen power’s lingering influence: Shang Court is gone, but its legacy, followers, and ambitions continue to threaten the present—like a dead centipede whose body still twitches.
• Loyalty versus friendship: Han’s reluctance to kill Ji Yuan conflicts with his master’s orders and the demands of Shang Court.
• Security and institutional trust: The sect’s internal scrutiny and material support offer protection, but the possibility of hidden traitors keeps Ji Yuan wary.
• Power and survival: The chapter contrasts Ji Yuan’s vulnerability as a Foundation Establishment cultivator with the immense danger posed by Golden Core and Nascent Soul enemies.

Key plot points and events

• Ji Yuan asks Many-Treasure True Person how the mighty Shang Court collapsed. Many-Treasure explains that its two Spirit Transformation rulers left Cangluo for other continents and never returned. Their absence sparked a struggle among the court’s Nascent Soul cultivators, destroying the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven and plunging the continent into chaos.
• The founders of the Six Immortal Sects of Shangdong emerged from that turmoil. Later, Orthodox and Demonic factions divided the region at Shang Mountain under the Alliance of Shang Mountain. The Demonic factions accepted the poorer western lands because they were initially weaker, though they have since become more formidable.
• Many-Treasure urges Ji Yuan to advance to Golden Core before a Demonic Dao invasion. He offers the Li Family’s help with cultivation and asks Ji Yuan to save Li Changhe if he ever has the ability to do so.
• Back on Carefree Island, Ji Yuan quickly gets permission to draw earthfire for artifact refining. He postpones opening his Artifact Refining Room, deciding that condensing a third Sword Embryo should take priority.
• Ji Yuan travels to Heavenly Pillar Peak, prepared for danger and disguised under a different appearance. After a leisurely journey, he reaches the busy summit, meets several cultivators, and settles in an empty cave abode below the peak, activating its protective formation.

Character development and interactions

• Ji Yuan becomes more aware of the continent’s turbulent history and the looming threat from the Demonic Dao. He accepts Many-Treasure’s request regarding Li Changhe, but recognizes that he must first grow strong enough to protect anyone—including himself. On his journey, he remains cautious, resourceful, and observant, while also enjoying the trip.
• Many-Treasure True Person reveals his family’s historical knowledge and shows genuine trust and affection toward Ji Yuan. He sees Ji Yuan as someone destined to matter in Li Changhe’s life and treats him like family.
• Ji Yuan and the cultivators at Heavenly Pillar Peak: He politely greets Xue Nanshan, He Tianming, and Mu Lulu, but notices Mu Lulu’s fear of He Tianming and quietly withdraws rather than risk getting entangled in their affairs.
• Li Family and Ji Yuan: Many-Treasure offers practical support through family connections, reinforcing the close, protective relationship between the Li family and Ji Yuan.

Significant themes

• Power and instability: The Shang Court’s strength could not prevent collapse once its rulers disappeared and its elites turned against one another.
• Ambition and factional conflict: Competing interests among powerful cultivators bring chaos to the wider population, while political boundaries reflect imbalances of power.
• Preparation and survival: Ji Yuan prioritizes cultivation and caution in the face of a possible invasion.
• Trust, obligation, and chosen family: Many-Treasure’s faith in Ji Yuan creates a personal responsibility to help Li Changhe, while Ji Yuan’s response rests on friendship and future capability.
• Caution around trouble: Ji Yuan’s brief encounter with the fearful Mu Lulu shows his preference for avoiding conflicts he does not understand.

Plot points and events

• Ji Yuan travels to Heavenly Pillar Peak to forge a Cloudwatch Sword Embryo from the sea of clouds. He arrives several days before the full-moon Cloud-Sea Vortex and uses the time to prepare.
• A mysterious young man in white and his stooped, Foundation Establishment attendant arrive at the summit. The attendant displaces a cultivator from the best viewing spot by offering him a Storage Bag; the man flees after seeing its contents.
• When the vortex appears, the young man claims—seemingly impossibly—that he once stirred the clouds with a seven-hundred-li iron rod. The other cultivators dismiss him as boastful.
• The pair sense Ji Yuan’s presence and wait for him to emerge from seclusion. The young man says it is better to meet him afterward and offer guidance than to seize him and make an enemy.
• After Ji Yuan completes his Sword Embryo, the young man catches up to his fleeing Flying Boat with astonishing speed. He advises Ji Yuan to keep a Flying Sword forged purely from Water Fortune as his primary sword. Ji Yuan accepts the advice, reasoning that it fits his understanding of cultivation.
• To avoid being tracked, Ji Yuan switches boats, using his expensive Peak-Grade Rift-Splitting Flying Boat for the fast return journey. Back in Cloud-Rain Marsh, he meets Senior Sister Soft Hands, who tells him that Junior Brother Liu Yuan has been badly injured.

Character developments and interactions

• Ji Yuan completes the Cloudwatch Sword Embryo and remains cautious around powerful strangers. Though initially alarmed by the young man’s sudden appearance, he concludes the encounter was not hostile and takes the advice seriously.
• The young man appears youthful but speaks and behaves like an ancient, experienced cultivator. He is amused by his attendant’s eagerness to interfere and favors forming goodwill over creating enemies.
• The old servant obeys his master, though he sometimes misunderstands his intentions. Their exchanges suggest a long-standing relationship in which the young man both guides and reproaches him.
• Soft Hands greets Ji Yuan with evident concern and relief, immediately bringing news of Liu Yuan’s injury.

Significant themes

• Caution and trust: Ji Yuan avoids unnecessary risks, even with someone who claims to be friendly; he still changes boats in case he has been marked.
• Creating bonds rather than grudges: The young man argues that helping someone after their breakthrough can turn a potential conflict into a positive connection.
• Wisdom beyond appearances: The young man’s youthful looks contrast with his ancient-seeming insight and extraordinary power.
• Cultivation choices and inheritance: Ji Yuan must decide which Sword Embryo should become his primary sword, weighing inherited teachings against new advice.

Key plot points and events

• Ji Yuan learns that Senior Brother Liu Yuan was badly wounded in an ambush outside Black Mountain City. He travels with Senior Sister Soft Hands to check on him.
• Ji Yuan gives Liu Yuan an unusually potent Qi-Blood Pill, which restores more than half of Liu Yuan’s injuries. Soft Hands is impressed, and Ji Yuan gives her a pill as well.
• Liu Yuan explains that his attacker appeared to be at Middle Foundation Establishment but fought with Peak Foundation Establishment strength. He survived by using a sect-provided treasure until the Grand Elder arrived, but the assailant escaped.
• The three suspect the attack may relate to the Shang Court or an enemy within the sect. Soft Hands warns both men to remain inside the sect while the investigation proceeds.
• Alone with Ji Yuan, Liu Yuan realizes the attacker may have known his habits and deliberately waited near Black Mountain City. His reasoning briefly points toward Ji Yuan, whose strength and connection to the Liancheng Mountain incident could fit the clues, though Liu Yuan doubts Ji Yuan would need to resort to an ambush.
• Ji Yuan independently recognizes that the evidence could make him look guilty. He leaves, concerned that the attacker may have ties within the Water Dragon Sect.
• Back on Carefree Island, Ji Yuan examines his new Cloudwatch Sword Embryo, which can create powerful illusions. He stays in seclusion to cultivate, make talismans, and refine pills.
• Later, he harvests another stalk of Millennial Illusion Spirit Grass, tending his spirit fish and dragon as well.
• A surge of yin energy leads Ji Yuan to discover that Yin Boy, whom he had buried, has become a Foundation Establishment-level Corpse Puppet. Ji Yuan establishes control over him and returns his bell and skull-shaped flying artifact. Yin Boy can speak when Ji Yuan directs him.

Character developments and interactions

• Ji Yuan shows concern for Liu Yuan and generosity by sharing his healing pills. He is also cautious and politically astute, recognizing that the clues surrounding the ambush could implicate him. His successful creation of a Foundation Establishment Corpse Puppet gives him a powerful new safeguard.
• Liu Yuan recovers rapidly and begins investigating the attacker’s motives. His suspicion briefly turns toward Ji Yuan, but his trust in their friendship keeps him from accepting that conclusion.
• Soft Hands takes charge as the senior disciple: she checks Liu Yuan’s condition, presses for the facts, and orders both men to remain on the island.
• Yin Boy changes from a buried corpse into a powerful, controllable puppet, retaining his old voice but speaking only under Ji Yuan’s direction.

Significant themes

• Suspicion and uncertain loyalties: The ambush raises questions about enemies within the sect and the lingering influence of the Shang Court.
• Friendship and trust: Ji Yuan and Liu Yuan care for one another, yet incomplete information makes each appear suspicious to the other.
• Preparation and power: Ji Yuan strengthens himself through cultivation, rare resources, and new tools, while the Corpse Puppet offers protection for future dangers.

Plot points and events

• Ji Yuan realizes that helping Tu Yue advance will require ten fire-attribute Foundation Establishment corpses, so he plans to gather them from Medicine King Valley once the Orthodox–Demonic War begins—without joining the fighting himself.
• He checks his Spirit-Devouring Bee colony, feeds it more Spirit Stones, then recalls his Ice Flood Dragon and resumes secluded cultivation. A message from Hua Yaoyue draws him back to Carefree Island.
• Feng Zhitáo has reached peak Foundation Establishment and asks Ji Yuan to bring food for a celebration. He arrives with provisions and gives her an expensive tael of jade-grease as a congratulatory gift.
• Hua Yaoyue first scolds Ji Yuan for provoking powerful enemies, then reassures him that his Form-Changing Talisman can conceal him from anyone below Nascent Soul. When she examines his Sky-Skimming Flying Boat, she discovers a Nascent Soul cultivator’s tracking mark on it and burns it away.
• The mark’s owner—a seemingly young cultivator fishing by the sea—realizes it has been removed. He shrugs off the matter, then comically boils the surrounding sea to force fish ashore.
• The group celebrates Feng’s breakthrough. Hua Yaoyue punishes Yun Qianzai for his overconfidence by immobilizing him and dropping him through a split in the island.
• Ji Yuan asks about the Shang Court and learns that its surviving descendants are few, though its inherited treasures are widespread. Hua Yaoyue denies being a reincarnated Shang Court figure.
• Hua Yaoyue identifies Ji Yuan’s golden page as a Fixed-Point Teleportation Token, a rare Shang Court artifact made by a Spirit Transformation cultivator. It can return him to the sect, and its existence implies the Shang Court possessed teleportation-formation knowledge absent from the Cangluo Continent. Ji Yuan begins to understand where that knowledge may have come from.

Character developments and interactions

• Ji Yuan remains cautious and pragmatic: he avoids direct combat, checks his Flying Boat for hidden danger, and seeks Hua Yaoyue’s help. His curiosity about the Shang Court grows alongside his relief that its surviving descendants are scarce.
• Hua Yaoyue shows both affection and formidable power. She teases Ji Yuan about his habit of offending mighty figures, protects him by removing the tracking mark, and answers his questions while keeping some knowledge to herself.
• Feng Zhitáo celebrates her cultivation breakthrough and is touched by Ji Yuan’s generous gift, already considering how to repay him.
• Yun Qianzai moves from boastful bravado to fear and back to renewed confidence after seeing Hua Yaoyue’s strength, only to be punished for his presumptuous conclusions.
• The interactions among the master and disciples mix genuine trust and protection with teasing, comic banter, and affectionate familiarity.

Significant themes

• Power and concealment: Even a cautious cultivator can attract attention from vastly stronger figures, making protective talismans and trusted allies essential.
• Foundations of the past: Shang Court relics and lost teleportation knowledge reveal how ancient inheritances shape present-day cultivation.
• Caution versus ambition: Ji Yuan avoids unnecessary risks, while Yun Qianzai repeatedly lets confidence override prudence.
• Found family and humor: The sect’s celebrations and teasing offer warmth amid the dangers of cultivation and political conflict.

Key plot points and events

• Ji Yuan asks Hua Yaoyue about the sect’s Fixed-Point Teleportation Token. She explains that it likely came from Corpse-Driving Mountain and that the Water Dragon Sect possesses an incomplete teleportation formation, though its location is unknown.
• Hua Yaoyue suggests the Orthodox-Demonic War may be an internal conflict among remnants of the fallen Shang Court, not simply a clash between orthodox and demonic sects. Ji Yuan considers whether a mysterious young Nascent Soul cultivator he encountered might be one of those remnants.
• After discussing Liu Yuan’s injury, Ji Yuan leaves and returns to Carefree Island to develop his crafting abilities. Using the Iron Hammer Island Lord’s tools, he refines an iron box, meeting the Artifact Refining Room’s upgrade requirement.
• Upgrading the Artifact Refining Room unlocks the recipe for Heavenly Thunder Pellets and reveals that the Alchemy Room, Formation Room, Talisman Chamber, and Artifact Refining Room can be fused—but only if they are at the same level. The first attempt fails because the Artifact Refining Room is lower-level.
• Over the next month, Ji Yuan practices forging and alchemy, produces cultivation pills and other goods, and prepares stock for Dong Qian’s Marvelous Medicine Shop.
• At the shop, he finds business improving. He gives manager Shi Xiu’er new talismans, tools, and pills—including Sky-Pillaring and Waterlike Pills—and collects nearly a hundred Middle-Grade Spirit Stones in earnings. He rewards Shi Xiu’er, then leaves after receiving a message from Liu Yuan.

Character developments

• Ji Yuan grows more cautious and politically perceptive, entertaining the possibility that the war stems from Shang Court remnants. He also shifts attention from cultivation toward developing his crafting buildings and business.
• Hua Yaoyue remains mysterious but offers valuable insight into the sect’s history and the possible roots of the conflict.
• Shi Xiu’er shows growing confidence as the shop’s manager; the shop’s improved sales and customer traffic reflect her effective work. Ji Yuan’s teasing briefly embarrasses her.

Significant themes

• Hidden history and political uncertainty: The Shang Court’s legacy may be shaping present-day sect rivalries and the coming war.
• Progress through craft and patience: Ji Yuan advances through repeated practice, while the building-fusion system imposes its own requirements.
• Commerce and practical cultivation: Ji Yuan turns his alchemy, talisman-making, and artifact work into a potential source of income.
• Memory and revenge: His thoughts of the Iron Hammer Island Lord and Xu Fugui renew his resolve to avenge them, though he knows he must become stronger first.

Character interactions

• Ji Yuan and Hua Yaoyue discuss teleportation, the Shang Court, and the possible origins of the conflict; she encourages him to consider a broader conspiracy.
• Ji Yuan treats Shi Xiu’er warmly, asks her to price and sell his goods, and rewards her for her work. His playful comments about the intimate-use pills fluster her.
• Ji Yuan’s business arrangements remain connected to Dong Qian, while Liu Yuan’s message draws him away from the shop at the chapter’s end.

Plot and key events

• Liu Yuan summons Ji Yuan and shares an anonymous note accusing Xiao Chengyi, a senior disciple of the Third Elder, of trying to assassinate him. Xiao has gone to Shang Mountain and has not returned. The sect’s leaders investigate, but the note is too weak to prove anything; they suspect either Xiao’s guilt or an attempt to sow discord between the sect’s elders.
• Ji Yuan returns to his quiet routine of cultivation and crafting, while the wider region grows increasingly unstable. Demonic forces wage attrition attacks on Shang Mountain, and violence spreads through Shangdong. The Water Dragon Sect believes many supposed demonic uprisings are actually Orthodox cultivators exploiting the turmoil.
• A year later, Ji Yuan has advanced his artifact-refining skills and forged a fine High-Grade Magical Artifact. He visits Du Wanyi with Dong Qian and Han Feiyu after she returns from a dangerous assignment guarding Magnolia City.
• The group discusses Yao Jingfeng’s death and learns that he had been sent back from Liancheng Mountain after stealing a senior disciple’s belongings.
• Han Feiyu gives Ji Yuan a Communication Talisman for Island Lord Yunmiao, suggesting he hoped to arrange a meeting between them. Ji Yuan is wary of the apparent matchmaking and puts the talisman away.
• Back on Chengyou Island, Ji Yuan reads his artifact-refining manual and discovers a High-Grade Spirit Artifact design: the Spirit-Energy Cannon.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Yuan remains sociable and fond of wine, but is frustrated by the assassination mystery and the prospect of staying confined within the sect.
• Ji Yuan continues to favor a low-profile, comfortable life. His refining skill improves substantially, aided by specialized facilities, his strong physique and mana control, and the Iron Hammer Island Lord’s manual.
• Du Wanyi recounts the danger of her assignment and reacts with grief and anger to Yao Jingfeng’s death, since she had been especially close to him.
• Han Feiyu appears increasingly authoritative and protective. He gives Du Wanyi a valuable Spirit Artifact, offers help if she faces danger again, and discreetly tries to connect Ji Yuan with Yunmiao.
• Ji Yuan is glad to reunite with Du Wanyi but remains cautious around Han Feiyu and skeptical of the proposed connection with Yunmiao.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and political suspicion: A single anonymous accusation could inflame existing rivalries, but the sect cannot act without proof.
• Social disorder and moral corruption: The chaos blamed on the Demonic Dao is often exploited by supposedly righteous cultivators, blurring the line between good and evil.
• A continent-wide spiritual crisis: Hua Yaoyue describes the turmoil as a tribulation born from cultivators neglecting their hearts and allowing inner demons to spread.
• Steady effort and personal cultivation: Ji Yuan’s progress comes through repeated, patient work rather than shortcuts, even as the world around him becomes more dangerous.

Plot points and events

• Ji Yuan studies the Iron Hammer Island Lord’s notes on the Spirit-Energy Cannon. Though difficult to forge, a cannon can unleash power comparable to a Golden Core cultivator’s attack. Ji Yuan wonders whether he could upgrade one like a building, but his artifact-refining skill is not yet good enough to make one himself.
• He asks Feng Zhitáo where to buy a cannon. New ones cost about 3,000 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones, but she suggests seeking a retired one from Coastal City and recommends asking Yun Qianzai, whose Cloud Family is influential there.
• Feng Zhitáo arranges for Yun Qianzai to be released from beneath Carefree Island. Ji Yuan prepares for the trip, gathering his demonic equipment, Spirit-Devouring Bees, and corpse puppet Yin Boy. He leaves Big Clam behind to guard Mist Island.
• Ji Yuan briefly considers contacting Island Lord Yunmiao, but says nothing and puts away the talisman.
• Ji Yuan and Feng Zhitáo meet Yun Qianzai and set out for Coastal City. Yun makes a grand show of confidence, though Feng notes that his flashy Void Formation consumes a great deal of spiritual energy.
• In a closing scene, a battered boat arrives west of the Water Dragon Sect. Its lone Qi Refining disciple contacts the Sect Master and announces: “I, Feng Yichen… have finally returned.”

Character developments and interactions

• Ji Yuan’s cautious, survival-minded nature is emphasized by his desire to acquire a powerful cannon as insurance against danger. He is also resourceful, hoping a secondhand cannon might be repairable or upgradeable.
• Feng Zhitáo remains direct and teasing, ribbing Ji Yuan about his supposed romantic attention from Dong Qian and Du Wanyi, then pragmatically helping him find a cannon and secure Yun’s release.
• Yun Qianzai resumes his theatrical, self-important manner after being freed and eagerly boasts about showing Ji Yuan the Cloud Family’s power. His grandstanding is undercut by Feng’s comments about its cost.
• Ji Yuan and Feng exchange light banter, while Ji Yuan treats both her and Yun with respect and relies on their help. His silence toward Yunmiao hints at unresolved hesitation or tension.

Significant themes

• Preparation and survival: Ji Yuan seeks security before danger arrives, even when the solution is costly.
• Power and ambition: The cannon’s potential—and Ji Yuan’s hope of upgrading it—shows his tendency to think beyond its intended use.
• Showmanship versus practicality: Yun’s dramatic displays contrast with Feng’s practical assessment of their real cost.
• Return and foreshadowing: Feng Yichen’s unexpected return introduces a new thread at the chapter’s end.

Plot points and events

• Feng Yichen returns to the Water Dragon Sect after years trapped in the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven. He tells Profound Water True Person that Han Feiyu attacked him while he was injured and stole his external Spiritual Root.
• Han Feiyu admits his guilt and is bound for the Discipline Hall. Feng Yichen is offered new quarters, but the ease of the proceedings makes him suspicious: he had expected to expose Han Feiyu’s connection to Old Devil Qu and provoke a larger confrontation.
• As Feng Yichen realizes that Old Devil Qu has not appeared, he decides to flee. A veiled woman intercepts him, calls him “Situ Old Monster,” and warns that a powerful “crazy woman” in Shangxi may soon succeed unless they act.
• In a separate thread, Ji Yuan, Feng Zhitáo, and Yun Qianzai arrive at Coastal City and visit the Yun family’s sprawling fortress. They are welcomed by Yun Qianzai’s relatives and meet the clan’s ancestor, Yun Zhongtian.
• During a lavish meal and conversation about the Demonic Dao rebellion, Yun Wannian asks what Ji Yuan needs. Yun Qianzai announces that he plans to give Ji Yuan a Spirit-Energy Cannon.

Character developments and interactions

• Profound Water True Person begins with a genuine commitment to sect discipline, punishing Han Feiyu despite their master-disciple relationship. However, his immediate interest in Feng Yichen’s escape route also reveals his practical, strategic priorities.
• Feng Yichen gains a chance at justice but remains wary and calculating. His survival has not made him feel safe; when his plan goes awry, he chooses retreat over revenge.
• Han Feiyu’s brief, guilty admission confirms Feng Yichen’s accusation, though his fate is left to the Discipline Hall.
• Yun Qianzai presents himself as a powerful, proud representative of his family, while privately making irreverent plans with Ji Yuan. Feng Zhitáo needles him and keeps a record of his boast about Coastal City.
• Ji Yuan is impressed by Coastal City and the Cloud family’s stature, and follows Feng Zhitáo’s guidance in navigating formal clan etiquette. Yun Qianzai’s proposed gift of a Spirit-Energy Cannon suggests their visit may have a practical purpose beyond courtesy.

Significant themes

• Justice versus loyalty: Profound Water True Person must choose sect rules over protecting his own disciple.
• Survival and suspicion: Feng Yichen’s escape is followed not by relief, but by uncertainty and the need to adapt quickly.
• Power and political influence: Coastal City’s trade network and the Yun family’s local authority show how cultivation power is tied to resources, reputation, and relationships.
• Contrasting tones and storylines: The tense intrigue around Feng Yichen and Old Devil Qu contrasts with the lighter banter and formal hospitality surrounding Ji Yuan’s visit.

Plot points and events

• Yun Qianzai insists the Cloud Family give Ji Yuan a Spirit-Energy Cannon. Ji Yuan avoids imposing on the family by offering valuables worth roughly 1,500 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones; the Cloud Family ultimately accepts his payment.
• The cannon is an aging, immobile weapon with three firing settings, ranging from Foundation Establishment-level force to a Golden Core Early Stage strike. Its strongest setting risks ruining it.
• Yun Qianzai reveals he can repair the cannon’s Formation patterns and takes it away to do so. Ji Yuan uses the opportunity to test his Panel: the cannon only functions as a structure when outside his Storage Bag, and its listing begins at Level One.
• The Panel shows that a Level-Two cannon could theoretically kill a Golden Core Peak cultivator, though Ji Yuan doubts its practical effectiveness. He recognizes that the weapon could fill a gap in his own offensive capabilities.
• Ji Yuan and Feng Zhitáo tour the city with Yun Qianzai’s aunt, briefly spot Shui Kai, and later spend a day exploring the sea.
• Feng Zhitáo privately tells Ji Yuan that she has considered fleeing overseas if the Demonic Dao overwhelms their sect. She also reveals that their Master, Hua Yaoyue, may leave for another continent someday.
• After Yun Qianzai repairs the cannon, the group returns to the Water Dragon Sect. Ji Yuan then receives urgent messages saying something terrible has happened to Han Feiyu.

Character developments and interactions

• Ji Yuan shows tact and independence: he refuses a free gift to avoid incurring a large debt, while quietly investigating the cannon’s upgrade potential. He also admits inwardly that he, too, has considered escaping overseas.
• Yun Qianzai is generous, proud, and eccentric. He presses his family to give Ji Yuan the cannon, rejects Ji Yuan’s first payment attempt, and then demonstrates unexpected expertise by volunteering to repair it.
• Yun Wannian and the Cloud Family balance respect for their ancestor with concern over the cost of giving away valuable, prohibited equipment. They accommodate Ji Yuan once he offers fair compensation.
• Feng Zhitáo shares a private fear and a possible future plan with Ji Yuan. Ji Yuan responds reassuringly and is intrigued by the prospect of following their Master to another continent.
• The encounter with Shui Kai remains only a brief, unspoken recognition: Ji Yuan knows who he is but chooses not to engage.

Significant themes

• Reciprocity and obligation: Ji Yuan pays for the cannon because he wants to avoid owing the Cloud Family too great a favor.
• Preparation for danger: The cannon offers a potential answer to Ji Yuan’s lack of strong offensive means, while the characters quietly consider how they might survive a Demonic Dao invasion.
• Independence and impermanence: Feng Zhitáo recalls their Master’s belief that disciples must ultimately walk their own cultivation paths, even if a mentor can protect them only temporarily.
• Family, pride, and loyalty: Yun Qianzai’s generosity benefits Ji Yuan but creates comic tension with relatives who must manage his unusual authority and personality.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Feng Yichen, believed to have died in the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven, returns alive and reveals that Han Feiyu attacked him there. Feng asks the sect to spare Han, claiming Han acted under desperate circumstances, but the Water Dragon Sect still subjects Han to severe punishment, expels him from Profound Water True Person’s disciples, and orders him to kill ten Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators before returning.
• Profound Water True Person suspects Feng is connected to the ancient Shang Court. He consults the Water Dragon Sect’s Nascent Soul Ancestor, Kong Xifeng, who agrees to investigate using Feng’s bloodstained robe.
• After the sect leader leaves, Feng is revealed to be secretly meeting Kong Xifeng. He admits that he acted to survive and asks whether she can advance to the Nascent Soul Late Stage. Kong says she will protect her sect, while Feng—also known as Situ Old Monster—suggests they understand each other’s predicament.
• Ji Yuan examines the repaired Spirit-Energy Cannon and considers upgrading it. The improvement requires rare materials and higher skills, so he prioritizes becoming a Second-Tier Artifact Refiner.
• A month later, Ji Yuan, Dong Qian, and Du Wanyi visit Han after his punishment. Han is gravely injured and resigned to his exile. Ji Yuan cautions him that Feng’s actions may conceal a larger scheme.
• Before Ji Yuan leaves, Han privately warns him to beware of Island Lord Yunmiao, without explaining why. Ji Yuan keeps the warning to himself.
• Over the following months, Ji Yuan advances in the Sword Canon and successfully refines a Low-Grade Spirit Artifact, becoming a Second-Tier Artifact Refiner. He plans to upgrade the cannon, then travel north to the Ancient Battlefield Ruins and form another Sword Embryo.

Character developments and interactions

• Han Feiyu is reduced from a confident cultivator to a pale, defeated figure, yet his final warning suggests he still wants to protect Ji Yuan. He accepts his punishment with little resistance.
• Ji Yuan shows loyalty to his friends by visiting Han despite the risk of association. He remains alert to hidden motives, both in Feng’s case and after Han’s warning about Yunmiao, while continuing to pursue practical strength and cultivation.
• Feng Yichen / Situ Old Monster is revealed as a mysterious, possibly ancient Shang Court figure whose motives and truthfulness are uncertain. His private discussion with Kong implies a deeper alliance or shared history.
• Kong Xifeng, the sect’s only Nascent Soul cultivator, is cautious but committed to defending the Water Dragon Sect. She agrees to investigate Feng rather than act solely on the sect leader’s suspicions.
• Dong Qian and Du Wanyi share Ji Yuan’s concern for Han and accompany him to visit, though they cannot change Han’s situation.

Significant themes

• Justice versus survival: Han’s attack is treated as a serious crime, but Feng’s account complicates judgment by suggesting both men faced extraordinary danger.
• Hidden agendas and mistrust: Feng’s return, the sect’s response, and Han’s warning about Yunmiao hint that apparent events conceal larger schemes.
• Loyalty and compassion: Ji Yuan and his friends stand by Han even when they cannot rescue him.
• Preparation and self-reliance: Ji Yuan responds to uncertainty by strengthening his cultivation, refining skills, and seeking more powerful tools.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Ji Yuan seeks materials to upgrade his Spirit-Energy Cannon. His master, Hua Yaoyue, has no Silvermoon Meteorite Rock, but gives him five Spirit-Energy Stones and a Third-Order Monster Core. In return, he leaves her a large supply of wine.
• Ji Yuan visits Li Changhe, who supplies forty jin of Silvermoon Meteorite Rock—more than the thirty jin Ji Yuan requested—and explains that cultivation clans commonly store the rare material.
• Back on Carefree Island, Ji Yuan combines the materials and upgrades the cannon to Level Two. It can fire attacks ranging from Golden Core Early Stage to Golden Core Peak strength, but its most powerful shot costs an enormous one hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones.
• The system unexpectedly reveals that the cannon’s next form is the Level Three Meteor Cannon, capable of destroying cultivators up to Nascent Soul Middle Stage. Its upgrade requirements—including a Fourth-Order Monster Core, rare materials, and high cultivation and crafting ranks—are far beyond Ji Yuan’s current means.
• With the Orthodox-Demonic War approaching, Ji Yuan decides to travel to form another Sword Embryo. He prepares his combat resources and companions, leaving Tu Yue behind to guard his home while taking the Ice Flood Dragon, Yin Boy, banners, and a large portion of his Spirit-Devouring Bee swarm.
• Li Changhe gives Ji Yuan a token to present to the Wei Family at the Ancient Battlefield Ruins, who can guide him to the hard-to-find Blood River.
• Before departing, Ji Yuan tells Hua Yaoyue and Feng Zhitáo about his journey. Feng Zhitáo offers to accompany him and protect him.

Character developments

• Ji Yuan becomes more focused on preparation and advancement as the coming war makes staying safely at home seem inadequate. He is ambitious about the cannon but recognizes its cost and the limits of his resources.
• Hua Yaoyue shows her affection for Ji Yuan through practical generosity, freely giving him valuable materials. Ji Yuan realizes he owes her a significant debt.
• Li Changhe continues to act as a trusted ally, providing materials, travel contacts, and straightforward support.
• Tu Yue remains largely silent and stiff, but can now manage a brief spoken response. Ji Yuan intends to help her advance to Foundation Establishment by bringing back corpses.
• Feng Zhitáo demonstrates concern for Ji Yuan’s safety and offers to travel with him, drawing on her Peak Foundation Establishment strength.

Significant themes

• Preparation under the shadow of war: The looming Orthodox-Demonic War pushes Ji Yuan and others to seek resources and breakthroughs rather than rely on slow, safe cultivation.
• Power comes at a cost: The cannon’s immense destructive potential is matched by expensive ammunition and demanding upgrade requirements.
• Trust and mutual obligation: Ji Yuan’s relationships with Hua Yaoyue and Li Changhe are built on practical help, gratitude, and familiarity rather than formalities.
• Ambition versus caution: Ji Yuan is tempted to test his powerful new cannon but refrains, recognizing the danger, expense, and attention it would attract.

Character interactions

• Ji Yuan and Hua Yaoyue exchange gifts: she supplies cultivation materials, while he gives her wine she happily accepts.
• Ji Yuan and Li Changhe speak candidly; Li provides more meteorite rock than requested and arranges a guide for Ji Yuan’s journey.
• Ji Yuan gives Tu Yue a personal farewell and entrusts her with guarding the island.
• Feng Zhitáo challenges Ji Yuan’s decision to travel alone and offers to protect him, setting up the possibility of her joining the expedition.

Key plot points and events

• Ji Yuan prepares to travel north alone to buy corpses for Tu Yue’s advancement. Feng Zhitao offers to accompany him, but he declines, preferring to travel independently. She is hurt, though she tells him she will rescue him if needed. Hua Yaoyue supports Ji Yuan’s choice and reminds him to use his Teleportation Token rather than risk saving it.
• Ji Yuan disguises himself as an elderly Foundation Establishment cultivator and crosses Fallen Star River, struck by the immense scale of the world. He takes cautious, well-traveled routes north.
• In Flood City, within Corpse-Driving Mountain territory, he buys eight damaged corpses of Foundation Establishment fire-arts cultivators from the sect-run Living Dead General Store for 368 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Shopkeeper Huang Yongnian warns him that bandits control passage through the Yunlin Mountains and recommends traveling with another customer, Wang Xiu. Ji Yuan recognizes the arrangement as a scheme: both travelers have effectively paid Corpse-Driving Mountain for safe passage.
• Ji Yuan and Wang Xiu cross the mountains together. The “bandits” let them pass and even offer assistance, confirming the operation is coordinated. Afterward, they part ways; Wang Xiu is headed for the ruins of an ancient battlefield.

Character developments and interactions

• Ji Yuan remains cautious, self-reliant, and practical. He avoids revealing his true identity, accepts the corpses despite their poor condition, and sees through the toll scheme without escalating the situation.
• Feng Zhitao’s offer reflects her concern and confidence in her strength. Ji Yuan’s refusal disappoints her, while Hua Yaoyue treats his independence as a natural part of growing up.
• Huang Yongnian is genial and persuasive, shifting quickly to familiar forms of address to encourage a sale. Though he presents himself as helpful, he is part of a corrupt system targeting travelers.
• Wang Xiu is an angry but wary rogue cultivator who vents to Ji Yuan about sect oppression. Ji Yuan calms him by pointing out that paying in advance likely spared them worse trouble.

Significant themes

• Independence and care: Ji Yuan prefers to face danger alone, while Feng Zhitao wants to protect him; Hua Yaoyue recognizes that he must make his own choices.
• Pragmatism and survival: Ji Yuan values usable resources and timely escape over pride or thrift, echoing the lesson to use talismans before it is too late.
• Institutional corruption: Corpse-Driving Mountain’s official shop and supposed bandits work together to extract “tolls,” showing how authority can exploit rogue cultivators.
• A vast, uncertain world: Ji Yuan’s crossing of Fallen Star River deepens his sense of how enormous Cangluo Continent—and the wider world—may be.

Key plot points and events

• Ji Yuan and Wang Xiu discover they are both traveling to the Ancient Battlefield. Wang explains he married into the Wei Family there and is returning after his father-in-law’s death.
• The two travel together. Wang shares colorful stories about Shuibei, including Corpse-Driving Mountain’s history of stealing corpses and the uproar it caused among local cultivators.
• At the Ancient Battlefield’s entrance, Foundation Establishment guards deny them entry. Ji Yuan notices Hu Li—an old opponent among the guards—and quietly persuades Wang to withdraw rather than provoke a fight.
• In Swaying Phoenix Ward, Wang learns that Hu Li’s group has occupied the battlefield for three months while their Young Master cultivates inside. They have killed anyone who challenged their ban on entry.
• Ji Yuan recognizes the group as Demonic Cultivators and decides not to wait indefinitely. After parting with Wang, he secretly approaches Hu Li and begins probing the group’s leadership and strength.
• Hu Li reveals that the group has a Golden Core cultivator, but that person is merely a guard; the real leader is a powerful, well-connected Foundation Establishment Late Stage Young Master.

Character developments

• Ji Yuan remains cautious and calculating. He hides his identity and strength, assesses the situation before acting, and sees Hu Li as a possible route into the Ancient Battlefield.
• Wang Xiu is friendly and talkative, but also experienced and politically shrewd. Though frustrated by the occupation, he ultimately chooses to wait in Swaying Phoenix Ward.
• Hu Li is wary of Ji Yuan after their past encounters, but quickly shifts to opportunism when he thinks he might recruit a powerful cultivator for his Young Master.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism and restraint: Ji Yuan avoids unnecessary confrontation and looks for the most advantageous way forward.
• Power and coercion: Hu Li’s group controls access through force, killing challengers and disregarding the Ancient Battlefield’s customary openness.
• Appearance versus reality: Wang’s plainspoken manner masks experience, while the seemingly subordinate Hu Li serves a powerful faction.
• Fate and recurring encounters: Ji Yuan jokingly treats his repeated meetings with Hu Li as a sign that they are “bound by fate.”

Character interactions

• Ji Yuan and Wang build an easy travel companionship, with Wang sharing local knowledge and Ji Yuan quietly letting him handle negotiations and information-gathering.
• At the entrance, Ji Yuan’s intervention prevents Wang from escalating the confrontation with the guards.
• Ji Yuan and Hu Li resume their wary relationship through a hidden voice transmission. Ji Yuan fishes for information, while Hu Li flatters him and considers recruiting him to gain favor with the Young Master.

Chapter Summary

Plot points and events

• Ji Yuan realizes that the Demonic Cultivators in Shuibei are linked to the deaths of Xu Fugui and the Iron Hammer Island Lord. He suspects the young master, Jiang Hong, is the culprit and decides to infiltrate the group before seeking revenge.
• Hu Li reveals that Jiang Hong’s mother is a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator from Shangxi. Ji Yuan has Hu Li introduce him as a new recruit under the name Qiu Qianhai, claiming to be in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
• Ji Yuan enters the Ancient Battlefield Ruins, a bleak, lifeless place under a gray, crimson-streaked sky. He is brought to the group’s mountain stronghold, where he meets Jiang Hong and his bodyguard, Heavenly Silkworm True Person, a Golden Core cultivator.
• Heavenly Silkworm mistakes Ji Yuan for an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. Jiang Hong accepts him and gives him fifty Middle-Grade Spirit Stones. Ji Yuan privately decides to use Jiang Hong’s own money to fund his eventual revenge.
• Hu Li reveals that Jiang Hong is trying to gather the battlefield’s killing aura to temper his will. To do so, the group plans to drive out or kill everyone else in the ruins.
• Their campaign is stalled by the Wei Family, protected by an outsider Foundation Establishment cultivator who commands a powerful Third-Order Six-Tailed Demon Fox. Heavenly Silkworm has established a Third-Order formation to wear the beast down.
• Ji Yuan learns that ten Foundation Establishment cultivators serve Jiang Hong, with most stationed at the Wei Family’s estate. He ends by asking Hu Li where the Blood River is, since he has seen no sign of it.

Character developments and interactions

• Ji Yuan maintains a calm, understated disguise while probing for information. He uses the Yin Ghost Sect Ring to project a frightening aura, convincing Hu Li that he may be a Golden Core expert. His apparent confidence masks a practical approach: investigate first, pursue revenge when an opportunity arises.
• Hu Li shifts from cautious guide to eager ally. Ji Yuan’s intimidating aura and refusal to show fear lead Hu Li to believe he is exceptionally powerful, so Hu Li shares detailed information and seeks his protection.
• Jiang Hong is introduced as arrogant and entitled, relying on his powerful mother and bodyguard. He treats Ji Yuan as a subordinate and uses Spirit Stones to secure obedience.
• Heavenly Silkworm True Person is watchful and formidable, but he does not recognize Ji Yuan’s true strength or identity.
• Ji Yuan also recognizes Feng Xiuxiu, an enemy from a previous ambush, though their encounter here is brief.

Significant themes

• Revenge tempered by caution: Ji Yuan wants justice for the dead but prioritizes identifying his enemies and learning their plans.
• Power and misjudgment: Ji Yuan’s disguise and concealed aura lead others to underestimate or overestimate him, while Jiang Hong’s status lets him command loyalty through wealth.
• Greed and exploitation: Jiang Hong’s plan requires the displacement or death of those living in the battlefield, illustrating how ambition turns people into obstacles.
• Deception and uneasy alliances: Ji Yuan infiltrates the Demonic Cultivators by presenting himself as one of them, while Hu Li’s loyalty is driven largely by his belief that Ji Yuan can protect him.