Recaps

Qinghe delivered Ji Yuan’s Moon-Yellow Wine to Hua Yaoyue, who planned to meet the brewer and considered taking him as her disciple. Ji Yuan followed a lead on Illusion-Heart Flowers to Dong Qian’s home, then received an urgent summons from the Discipline Hall and set out with Pi Fangzhi.

• Qinghe brought Hua Yaoyue the wine jars Ji Yuan had given him, and Hua Yaoyue recognized the cheap Moon-Yellow Wine and decided to meet its brewer next time.
• Ji Yuan learned that a sect disciple had a lead on Illusion-Heart Flowers, accepted the contact, and paid the deduction for the address.
• Ji Yuan went to the address in disguise, discovered Dong Qian was behind the lead, and returned home to approach her again the next morning.
• Ji Yuan received an urgent message from the Discipline Hall, and Pi Fangzhi joined him as they traveled there together.

Ji Yuan was questioned by the Discipline Hall about Tang Ran and was cleared, then learned that Tang Ran had been a Demonic Dao spy. After leaving, he considered the threat of spies and returned to Dong Qian’s door, where he acted surprised to find her.

• Ji Yuan and Pi Fangzhi were brought to the Discipline Hall and questioned separately about Tang Ran.
• The Discipline Hall cleared Ji Yuan, and Fang Jie escorted him out and told him Tang Ran had been a Demonic Dao spy.
• Fang Jie’s captain explained that the suggestion to report clues was meant to test whether Ji Yuan knew anything suspicious.
• Ji Yuan dismissed the idea of investigating the Demonic Dao but wondered where its forces were based.
• Ji Yuan returned to Young Dragon Island at dawn and visited Dong Qian, pretending to be surprised when she opened the door.

Ji Yuan accompanied Dong Qian to Old Pagoda-Tree Valley to obtain Illusion-Heart Flowers, traveling under disguises and waiting in a nearby market town while trade was suspended. Dong Qian then secretly warned him that she had seen Feng Yichen there.

• Ji Yuan asked Dong Qian about Illusion-Heart Flowers, and she offered to take him to a safer source in Medicine King Valley's Old Pagoda-Tree Valley.
• Dong Qian and Ji Yuan traveled west together, discussed the Three Demon Sects and their pasts, and reached a mountain market town near the valley.
• Dong Qian introduced Ji Yuan, disguised as Qiu Qianhai, to her friend Zhu Yue, who explained that trading had stopped while a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was away.
• Ji Yuan stayed at Zhu Yue's home while Dong Qian and Zhu Yue visited the market streets the next day.
• Dong Qian passed Ji Yuan a note warning him that she had seen Feng Yichen.

Ji Yuan and Dong Qian learned that Feng Yichen had come to Old Pagoda-Tree Valley on a mission to kill Medicine King Valley disciple Zhang Zehuai. They agreed to divert enemy disciples in exchange for Illusion-Heart Flowers, and Feng Yichen left to begin his attack.

• Dong Qian told Ji Yuan that Feng Yichen possessed Divine Sense despite still being in the Qi Refining Stage, and they agreed to leave Old Pagoda-Tree Valley once they had information about the Illusion-Heart Flower.
• Feng Yichen entered their room carrying the unconscious Zhu Yue and explained that he had rescued her after Medicine King Valley disciples noticed her investigating the flower.
• Feng Yichen revealed that the Water Dragon Sect had sent him to kill Zhang Zehuai, Medicine King Valley’s second-strongest disciple, and asked Ji Yuan and Dong Qian to draw away some guards.
• Feng Yichen offered them eight Illusion-Heart Flowers and three Divine-Speed Talismans in exchange for setting fire to a Medicine King Valley warehouse, and Dong Qian accepted.
• When Dong Qian asked why Old Pagoda-Tree Valley had become dangerous, Feng Yichen said his arrival alone had made it a land of trouble and strife.

Ji Yuan and Dong Qian burned a Medicine King Valley warehouse, but Jian Zong intercepted them and forced Ji Yuan to stay behind while Dong Qian escaped. Ji Yuan fought Jian Zong with talismans and a Formation, wounding him, but Jian Zong prepared a Talisman Treasure to attack him.

• Ji Yuan and Senior Sister Dong divided the Illusion-Heart Flowers and set the Medicine King Valley warehouse ablaze with two High-Grade Fire-Sea Talismans.
• Jian Zong intercepted their escape and recognized Senior Sister Dong's Trace-Vanishing Boat, so Ji Yuan fled with her aboard the Thunder Falcon Boat.
• When Jian Zong continued pursuing them, Ji Yuan sent Dong Qian toward the Water Dragon Sect and stopped to fight him under the name Qiu Qianhai.
• Ji Yuan used talismans, magical artifacts, and a Rain-Killing Formation to injure Jian Zong and evade his attacks.
• Jian Zong took out a golden Talisman Treasure and warned Ji Yuan that he was about to be hit by it.

Ji Yuan survived Jian Zong’s assault, killed him with his body-cultivation strength, and returned to Mist Island to recover. Feng Yichen investigated Jian Zong’s death without identifying Ji Yuan, who sensed he was close to reaching peak Qi Refining.

• Jian Zong trapped Ji Yuan with the Thousandfold Chains and attacked him with talismans, spells, Water Thunder Pellets, and a Second-Rank Talisman, but Ji Yuan endured the assault with his foundation establishment physique.
• Ji Yuan leaped at Jian Zong, smashed his Flying Boat into the ground, and killed him with a punch.
• Feng Yichen found traces of a Water Dragon Sect disciple at the battlefield, realized Jian Zong was dead, and covered the evidence before returning to the sect.
• Dong Qian waited anxiously for Ji Yuan, then listened as he told her to say he had escaped Jian Zong through a secret art and gone into seclusion to heal.
• Feng Yichen questioned Dong Qian about Jian Zong’s death, but her reaction convinced him Ji Yuan probably had not killed him.
• Ji Yuan returned to Mist Island and sensed an opportunity to break through to peak Qi Refining.

Ji Yuan broke through to Peak Qi Refining, upgraded the Dao Comprehension Chamber, and discovered that Jian Zong's Storage Bag held a fortune in Spirit Stones, powerful talismans, and two stalks of millennium green hui grass. Meanwhile, Medicine King Valley planned to send a Foundation Establishment Cultivator back to Qi Refining for Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven, while Profound Water True Person suspected Ji Yuan had killed Jian Zong.

• Ji Yuan used Middle-Grade Spirit Stones to reach Peak Qi Refining after a month of cultivation.
• Dan Yangzi ordered Dongqing to find a willing Foundation Establishment Cultivator to take a Realm-Reduction Pill and enter Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven.
• Feng Yichen told Profound Water True Person about Jian Zong's death, and Profound Water True Person suspected Ji Yuan had killed him.
• Ji Yuan upgraded the Dao Comprehension Chamber to Level Two and saw that Level Three could produce a Clear-Mind Fruit each year.
• Tu Yue inventoried Jian Zong's Storage Bag, and Ji Yuan found 453 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, 89 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones, the Thousandfold Chains, second-tier talismans, and two stalks of millennium green hui grass.
• Ji Yuan searched Jian Zong's Cultivation Pills and spotted a distinctive jade bottle that might contain Foundation Establishment Pills.

Ji Yuan sorted through Jian Zong’s spoils, gained a Foundation Establishment Pill and several powerful artifacts, and harvested another stalk of millennial illusion spirit grass before entering seclusion to improve his alchemy or talisman skills. Meanwhile, Dongqing investigated Jian Zong’s death, killed the Spirit-Communing High Person after he gave a false lead, and an ancient figure sensed that another avatar had died.

• Ji Yuan identified a Two-Pattern Foundation Establishment Pill among Jian Zong’s spoils and decided to keep it until he could learn its recipe and make more.
• Ji Yuan examined Jian Zong’s artifacts, kept Scarlet Lightning, the Azure Serpent Vinewood Shield, Remnant Blood, and the Ink Flooddragon Star-Pointing Brush, and planned to sell the Flying Snow.
• Ji Yuan harvested a second stalk of millennial illusion spirit grass, calculated that his ingredients could yield nine pills, and resolved to wait until he had more before attempting Foundation Establishment.
• Ji Yuan celebrated on Mist Island and entered seclusion to raise either his alchemy or talisman-drawing skill to the second tier.
• Dongqing brought the Spirit-Communing High Person to Jian Zong’s death site, where the old man heard the names Jian Zong, Water Dragon Sect, and Qiu Qianhai but falsely reported that the killer was a rogue cultivator.
• Dongqing killed the Spirit-Communing High Person, took his Storage Bag, and erased the evidence, while a distant ancient figure sensed that another avatar had died.

Ji Yuan strengthened his cultivation skills and equipment while gathering supplies on the Island of All Things, then returned to Young Dragon Island and met Feng Zhitáo, a former resident and upper second-tier alchemist. Feng Zhitáo agreed to guide him in alchemy, leaving him with help toward refining Second-Tier pills.

• Ji Yuan became a Second-Tier talisman master, learned the third level of the Surging Waves Sword Art, and continued trying to advance his Pill Way.
• Ji Yuan sold Big Clam's remaining haul, learned that Danyang soil was ash from refining Second-Tier pills or higher, and arranged to trade Bai Piao a lower second-tier demon core for a yin-rich Black Coffin.
• Ji Yuan sold his accumulated goods and spent Spirit Stones on a Peak-Grade Magical Artifact flying sword, a Low-Grade Spirit Artifact needle, and a set of Five-Element Protective Talisman Arts.
• Ji Yuan returned to Young Dragon Island and met Feng Zhitáo, the former resident who had planted the courtyard's peach trees.
• Ji Yuan asked Feng Zhitáo for guidance in refining Second-Tier Cultivation Pills, and she was surprised to learn he practiced alchemy too.

Ji Yuan advanced to a second tier alchemist with Feng Zhitáo’s guidance, while Feng Zhitáo made a breakthrough and gave him her Communication Talisman. After Du Wanyi visited and shared news from Greenleaf City, the Water Dragon Sect announced that the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven would soon open.

• Feng Zhitáo reminisced about Ji Yuan’s house, then watched him fail to refine Water Spirit Pills and explained how to handle the herbs’ medicinal properties.
• Feng Zhitáo entered sudden enlightenment and made a breakthrough; Ji Yuan used her advice to successfully refine Water Spirit Pills and advance to a second tier alchemist.
• Feng Zhitáo gave Ji Yuan her Communication Talisman and left, while Ji Yuan found he lacked the Spirit Stones and ingredients needed to upgrade his Alchemy Room.
• Du Wanyi visited Ji Yuan, told him about her work in Greenleaf City and the division of the Liancheng Mountain Spirit Stone vein, and invited him to join Water One Hall; Ji Yuan declined.
• The Golden Bell rang three times, and a voice announced that the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven would soon open; Du Wanyi asked Ji Yuan to go learn the details with her.

Ji Yuan prepared for the dangerous opening of the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven while hunting Demon Beasts to raise funds for his Alchemy Room. After upgrading it, he learned how to refine Foundation Establishment Pills and discovered that the Meditation Room could now be unlocked.

• Ji Yuan met Dong Qian, Du Wanyi, and Han Feiyu at Young Dragon Hall, where they learned the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven would open in a year and discussed its high death rate and their chances of entering.
• Han Feiyu invited the others to share information, and the four agreed to research the grotto-heaven and meet again in three months; Ji Yuan later learned Han Feiyu had become president of the Mutual Aid Society.
• Ji Yuan spotted Pi Fangzhi returning to his neighboring courtyard, while Pi Fangzhi privately lamented that his body was failing and that he had acted too soon.
• Ji Yuan and Big Clam hunted Demon Beasts in Cloud-Rain Marsh for a month, earning enough from their spoils to buy the materials needed to upgrade the Alchemy Room.
• Ji Yuan upgraded the Alchemy Room and gained the method for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, after which his Panel revealed that he could unlock the Meditation Room.

Ji Yuan unlocked the Meditation Room, considered how to meet its dangerous upgrade requirement, and searched for a better cultivation technique before trading for the Black Coffin. He left for Mist Island with the Yin Ghosts reacting strangely to the coffin, then learned that a major auction would soon be held in Greenleaf City.

• Ji Yuan spent all his Spirit Stones and Spirit Fragments to unlock the Meditation Room, whose first upgrade required him to kill a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator while at peak Qi Refining.
• Ji Yuan examined the level-three Alchemy Room’s effects, considered an A-rank sect mission with the same kill requirement, and decided to seek a stronger cultivation technique than the Creation Profound Water Art.
• Ji Yuan visited Bai Piao and traded an early second-tier demon core for the Black Coffin, learning that Bai Piao had dug it up at Ghost-Seeking Escape near Great Love City.
• Ji Yuan brought the Black Coffin to Mist Island, where the Yin Ghosts bowed to it and cautiously began consuming its yin energy.
• Ji Yuan decided to sell his Foundation Establishment Pill and buy alchemy ingredients, then learned that a major auction would soon take place in Greenleaf City.

Ji Yuan arrived in Greenleaf City, consigned a Two-Pattern Foundation Establishment Pill, and reunited with Du Wanyi, who concealed a source of worry. At the auction, he bought the items he wanted and waited to see what the headline lots would bring.

• Ji Yuan consigned his Two-Pattern Foundation Establishment Pill at the Greenleaf Auction House and received a token for a third-floor room.
• Ji Yuan sold Jian Zong's Flying Boat, then visited Du Wanyi and stayed with her while she handled her busy auction work.
• Du Wanyi gave Ji Yuan the auction list, and he decided to bid on Millennium Green Hui Grass, Crimson Marrow Thunder Jade, and a Second-Order Spirit Beast Pouch for Big Clam.
• Ji Yuan won two Green Orchid Grass plants and the Crimson Marrow Thunder Jade, then bought the Second-Order Spirit Beast Pouch for 385 mid-grade Spirit Stones.
• The auction reached its headline lots, and Ji Yuan was surprised when the first one proved to be a talisman.

Ji Yuan sold his Two-Pattern Foundation Establishment Pill at the auction, bought several valuable items, and returned safely to Du Wanyi’s home. There, he learned that Yang Yunxiang and his powerful relatives were targeting Du Wanyi, and he began considering how to deal with them.

• Ji Yuan watched a Blackweight Ruler sell for 912 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones, then his Two-Pattern Foundation Establishment Pill sold for 900, leaving him 855 after the auction fee.
• Golden Core True Persons bid fiercely for a Winged Sky-Soaring Tiger cub, which Old Miser Li won for 9,000 Spirit Stones.
• Ji Yuan collected two stalks of Millennium Green Hui Grass, Crimson Marrow Thunder Jade, a Second-Order Spirit Beast Pouch, and his remaining 261 Spirit Stones, then returned safely to Du Wanyi’s home.
• Du Wanyi returned late and alarmed, and Ji Yuan coaxed her into explaining that Yang Yunxiang had been making trouble for her.
• Du Wanyi told Ji Yuan that Yang Yunxiang’s father, Yang Shunan, was an early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator and his second uncle, Yang Taian, was a prominent late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
• Ji Yuan identified the Yang Household’s connection to Azure Ocean Manor and advised Du Wanyi to return to the sect during her five days off.

Ji Yuan infiltrated Azure Ocean Manor with Big Clam and killed Yang Shunan and Yang Yunxiang, resolving Du Wanyi’s immediate predicament and satisfying the Meditation Room upgrade requirement. He fled before the Yang Household could respond, leaving the Meditation Room ready to upgrade.

• Ji Yuan learned that the Yang Household had a violent history and decided to kill Yang Shunan to help Du Wanyi and unlock the Meditation Room.
• Ji Yuan fed Big Clam three spirit pigs, convinced him that a powerful person had stolen his food, and coaxed him into the Second-Order Spirit Beast Pouch.
• Ji Yuan used the alias Qiu Qianhai to get Yang Dianfeng to escort him into Azure Ocean Manor and arrange a meeting with Yang Shunan.
• Ji Yuan revealed his intent to kill Yang Shunan, and Big Clam swallowed Yang Shunan and Yang Yunxiang before spitting them back out.
• Ji Yuan killed the still-living Yang Shunan with a Thousand Swords Talisman, burned both bodies, collected their Storage Bags, and escaped on the Thunder Falcon Boat.
• Ji Yuan checked the Panel and saw that the Meditation Room was upgradeable.

After upgrading the [Meditation Room], Ji Yuan gained powerful divine sense and inventoried the spoils from killing Yang Shunan before returning to the Water Dragon Sect. He reunited with Xu Fugui and visited Iron Hammer Island, where he asked to buy Iron Hammer Island Lord’s Second-Order Alchemy Cauldron.

• Ji Yuan upgraded the [Meditation Room], awakened divine sense, and discovered it could reach a radius of half a li on Mist Island.
• Ji Yuan sorted the Storage Bags taken from Yang Shunan and Yang Yunxiang, keeping the Sky-Piercer Flying Boat and Mountain-Breaker Great Halberd while selling other items.
• Ji Yuan returned to the Water Dragon Sect, bought a standard-issue robe and Foundation Establishment Pill ingredients, and met Xu Fugui on the Island of All Things.
• Ji Yuan traveled with Xu Fugui to Iron Hammer Island and joined Iron Hammer Island Lord, who challenged him to a body-cultivation spar.
• Ji Yuan spotted Iron Hammer Island Lord’s Crimson Blood Three-Legged Cauldron and asked how much it would cost.

Ji Yuan bought a cauldron from the Iron Hammer Island Lord and impressed him with his fighting and cooking before returning to Thousand Mechanisms Island. When he delivered wine to the Green Grain Island Lord, Hua Yaoyue appeared and confronted him, leaving him to offer her more wine.

• Ji Yuan paid the Iron Hammer Island Lord two hundred Middle-Grade Spirit Stones for a cauldron and promised to pay the remainder later.
• Ji Yuan fought the Iron Hammer Island Lord, then cooked a feast that delighted him and Xu Fugui.
• On the way back, Ji Yuan considered whether he could help the Iron Hammer Island Lord temper his apertures and worried that Xu Fugui was too old to reach Foundation Establishment.
• The Green Grain Island Lord spotted Ji Yuan at Thousand Mechanisms Island and led him into a private room after Ji Yuan brought three jars of wine.
• Ji Yuan grew suspicious of the Green Grain Island Lord's hospitality and tried to leave by claiming Li Changhe had summoned him.
• Hua Yaoyue appeared behind Ji Yuan, revealed her authority over Li Changhe, and prompted Ji Yuan to offer her more than a dozen jars of wine.

Ji Yuan earned Hua Yaoyue’s offer of discipleship by agreeing to improve three rare wines, then learned Du Wanyi planned to enter the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven. After discovering a fresh tunnel from Pi Fangzhi’s courtyard beneath his home, Ji Yuan decided to seek Li Changhe’s help.

• Hua Yaoyue took Ji Yuan’s wine, gave him three precious jars to improve, and offered to take him as a disciple if he reached Foundation Establishment and pleased her with the results.
• Green Grain Island Lord recognized Ji Yuan as his junior brother and advised him to reach Foundation Establishment quickly, while Ji Yuan asked him to keep Hua Yaoyue’s offer secret.
• Du Wanyi told Ji Yuan that the Yang father and son had been killed and that the trouble against her had ended; she planned to enter the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven to pursue greater strength.
• After Du Wanyi left, Ji Yuan used his divine sense to discover that Pi Fangzhi had dug a fresh tunnel beneath his house and breached its protective restrictions.
• Ji Yuan rejected the idea of confronting or assassinating Pi Fangzhi himself and decided to find Li Changhe.

Ji Yuan summoned Li Changhe after discovering that Pi Fangzhi was secretly tunneling beneath his home, and Li Changhe captured the Demonic Dao spy after a fierce fight that destroyed Ji Yuan’s courtyard. While Ji Yuan waited at the Clearwater Tea House, Li Changhe secured a commendation and returned with a Foundation Establishment Pill and an offer to teach Ji Yuan a cultivation technique that reached Nascent Soul.

• Ji Yuan contacted Li Changhe from the Young Dragon Hall and told him Pi Fangzhi was digging beneath his Cave Abode.
• Li Changhe trapped Pi Fangzhi with a lightning net, then fought him inside Ji Yuan’s courtyard and captured him.
• Pi Fangzhi died after declaring that Heaven wanted him dead, and Li Changhe took his body to report to the elders.
• Li Changhe gave Ji Yuan a token and sent him to wait at the Clearwater Tea House on the Island of All Things.
• The next day, Li Changhe told Ji Yuan that catching Pi Fangzhi had earned him a commendation and offered him a Foundation Establishment Pill and a cultivation technique reaching Nascent Soul.

Li Changhe gave Ji Yuan the Li Family’s Nascent Soul technique and three Foundation Establishment Pills, then warned him against entering the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven. Ji Yuan visited the Iron Hammer Island Lord to learn more about the Water Dragon Sect’s factions and ended by asking which side True Person Wangyou supported.

• Li Changhe revealed that the Li Family descended from a Water Dragon Sect founder and gave Ji Yuan the Azure Billows Nine Tribulations Sword Canon after Ji Yuan swore not to share it.
• Li Changhe gave Ji Yuan three two-pattern Foundation Establishment Pills and advised him to avoid the dangerous Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven.
• Li Changhe left with his father for the Sword Ruins, and Ji Yuan returned to Young Dragon Island, where the sect had rebuilt his home.
• Ji Yuan restored the writing carved by the former residents, stored Hua Yaoyue’s spirit wine in his Wine Cellar, and flew to Iron Hammer Island.
• The Iron Hammer Island Lord explained that the First Elder and Third Elder led rival factions and that Ji Yuan’s connection to Li Changhe was unlikely to make him a target at his current cultivation level.
• Ji Yuan asked whether True Person Wangyou belonged to the First Elder’s faction or the Third Elder’s.

Ji Yuan avoided the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven while building his skills and preparing to reach Foundation Establishment, unaware that Hua Yaoyue had watched him register and leave. After mastering the Five-Element Protective Talisman, he met the requirements to upgrade his Talisman Chamber and began the upgrade.

• Ji Yuan learned that Yao Yue was independent of the elders’ factions and that the sect master was usually the weakest Golden Core Cultivator, then gave the Iron Hammer Island Lord another jar of wine.
• Ji Yuan returned to Mist Island, refined pills and talismans, and told Han Feiyu, Du Wanyi, and Dong Qian that he would not enter the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven.
• Dong Qian later told Ji Yuan she would also stay out, while Ji Yuan continued sending wine to Hua Yaoyue and watched the grotto-heaven registration from a distance.
• Hua Yaoyue and Feng Zhitáo watched Ji Yuan leave without registering, and Hua Yaoyue chose not to warn him or intervene.
• Ji Yuan successfully drew a Five-Element Protective Talisman formation, fulfilled the Talisman Chamber’s upgrade requirements, and began the upgrade.

Ji Yuan mastered the Form-Changing Talisman, discovered that the Black Coffin’s yin energy had rapidly strengthened his Yin Ghosts, and spent the weeks preparing for the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven. After returning to Young Dragon Island, he found a letter from his fourth brother asking him to visit.

• Ji Yuan checked the Level Three Talisman Chamber’s effects and upgrade requirements, then struggled for days to learn the Form-Changing Talisman.
• Ji Yuan found the Black Coffin releasing dense yin energy and saw that the two Yin Ghosts had reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
• Ji Yuan sent Tu Yue into the cave to benefit from its yin energy, then cared for the pigs and chickens himself.
• Ji Yuan mastered the Form-Changing Talisman and altered his appearance, but Big Clam mistook him for an intruder and attacked him.
• Ji Yuan studied the Li Family’s Azure Billows Nine Tribulations Sword Canon while preparing for the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven’s opening.
• Ji Yuan returned to Young Dragon Island and found a letter from his fourth brother requesting a visit.

Ji Yuan prepared for Foundation Establishment after harvesting two millennial illusion spirit grass, but Profound Water True Person ordered him to join the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven expedition. Ji Yuan sought Li Changhe’s help to secretly rent an Alchemy Room so he could refine pills and establish his foundation before answering Feng Yichen.

• Ji Yuan lent Du Wanyi thirty Middle-Grade Spirit Stones and promised to bring her protective talisman formations for the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven.
• Profound Water True Person ordered Feng Yichen to persuade Ji Yuan to join the expedition, hoping Ji Yuan would help the Water Dragon Sect secure a treasure from Ghost Flood Dragon Lake.
• Ji Yuan harvested millennial illusion spirit grass twice through a spirit effect, sold nine Five-Element Protective Talisman sets, and gave Du Wanyi three sets.
• Feng Yichen told Ji Yuan that Profound Water True Person wanted him to join the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven and demanded an answer within two days.
• Ji Yuan decided to prepare for Foundation Establishment instead and contacted Li Changhe to ask for help renting an Alchemy Room without revealing his identity.

Ji Yuan refined twenty Foundation Establishment Pills and, after months of effort in the earth-vein Alchemy Room, finally achieved Foundation Establishment at age twenty-three. Meanwhile, inside the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven, Han Feiyu betrayed Feng Yichen and began draining his Four-Spirit Root.

• Ji Yuan rented a long-term earth-vein Alchemy Room through the Li Family and began preparing to refine Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Profound Water True Person learned Ji Yuan had refused to enter the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven, confirmed he remained inside the sect, and let him be.
• Du Wanyi traveled to the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven, studied warnings about its dangerous cultivators, and received Han Feiyu's note telling her to avoid Ghost Flood Dragon Lake.
• Ji Yuan refined five batches of Foundation Establishment Pills, collected twenty pills in total, and began his attempt to establish his foundation.
• Han Feiyu and Feng Yichen fought Huang Tian at Ghost Flood Dragon Lake; a Second-Order Demon Beast killed Huang Tian, and Han Feiyu took his Storage Bag while rescuing Feng Yichen.
• Han Feiyu revealed he had brought Feng Yichen back to drain his Four-Spirit Root, while Ji Yuan completed Foundation Establishment after a year in seclusion.

Ji Yuan emerged from seclusion after reaching Foundation Establishment and was greeted by Profound Water True Person, who questioned why he had skipped the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven. Li Changhe helped ease the confrontation, but Hua Yaoyue arrived as the chapter ended and challenged Profound Water True Person about sending her disciple there.

• Ji Yuan examined his stronger senses and Divine Sense, reviewed his new Azure Billows Nine Tribulations Sword Canon, and considered which buildings he could upgrade.
• Profound Water True Person learned that Ji Yuan had reached Foundation Establishment, while Li Changhe also received the news and set out to congratulate him.
• Ji Yuan left the Alchemy Room and gave First Tier Spirit-Gathering Pills to the disciples on duty before meeting Profound Water True Person.
• Profound Water True Person asked Ji Yuan why he had not gone to the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven, and Ji Yuan explained that he had entered seclusion after sensing a chance to break through.
• Li Changhe arrived and supported Ji Yuan as Profound Water True Person treated the matter as a misunderstanding.
• Hua Yaoyue's voice reached them, asking whether Profound Water True Person wanted her disciple to go to the Nine Nether Grotto-Heaven.