Chapter Summaries

Qian Jin and the Black Sand Gang killed the Fanged Blood Tiger, but Gu Sheng ambushed the survivors and fought Qian Jin. Qian Jin escaped after Gu Sheng broke his weapons, leaving Gu Sheng to search the battlefield.

• Niu Zidong used a Boiling Blood Pill to survive the Fanged Blood Tiger's attack, and Qian Jin emerged from hiding to wound the beast with his steel forks.
• The Fanged Blood Tiger went berserk and killed several Black Sand Gang members before Qian Jin and the remaining fighters brought it down.
• As Qian Jin and the survivors prepared to leave with the tiger, Gu Sheng shot them with armor-piercing arrows, killing Niu Zidong and the others.
• Gu Sheng attacked Qian Jin, whose Shadow Concealment Art initially let him evade the great axe, but Gu Sheng detected him with the Snake Breathing Technique and shattered his steel forks.
• Qian Jin threatened Gu Sheng and fled using his concealment art, while Gu Sheng abandoned the pursuit and began cleaning up the battlefield.

After defeating the Black Sand Gang, Gu Sheng processed the Fanged Blood Tiger and brought its valuable blood, bones, and heart to Alchemist Ge Qing. Ge Qing revealed the beast’s rare lineage, offered to refine powerful pills, and introduced Gu Sheng to the world’s formal grades for pills, techniques, and martial arts.

• Gu Sheng collected banknotes, Boiling Blood Pills, and a mysterious black stone from the dead Black Sand Gang members, then returned to Gu Family Village after nightfall.
• Gu Sheng butchered the Fanged Blood Tiger and gave two pieces of its meat to Gu Erniu for his family, warning him to hide it and feed it carefully to Xiao Wan.
• Gu Sheng carried the tiger’s bones and blood to Canghe County and asked Alchemist Ge Qing to refine pills from them.
• Ge Qing recognized the beast as a Fanged Blood Tiger with the bloodline of the rare Firewing Blood Tiger and said its materials could yield Bone Protecting Pills and Bone Forging Pills.
• Ge Qing explained that pills, artifacts, techniques, and martial arts had Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow grades, revealing to Gu Sheng how limited the local classifications were.

Gu Sheng revealed his identity to Ge Qing and secured a Bone Forging Pill on credit, then took Ge Qing’s remark as a sign that Liu Yuanhu would win the struggle for Canghe County. At Black Sand Gang headquarters, Qian Jin reported the failed hunt for the demon tiger and offered Zhao Honglie a way to break the stalemate by recruiting another Copper Bone Realm expert.

• Gu Sheng revealed his true appearance to Ge Qing, who agreed to let him pay the remaining cost of the Bone Forging Pill later and asked him to collect it in three days.
• Ge Qing identified Gu Sheng’s black stone as a Yellow Grade Low Rank Explosive Strange Stone capable of threatening a Copper Bone Realm expert.
• Gu Sheng interpreted Ge Qing’s comment about Canghe Town needing to become quieter as a hint that Liu Yuanhu would prevail, and decided to speed up his harvesting.
• Qian Jin returned to Black Sand Gang headquarters without Niu Zidong or the demon tiger and blamed Zhao Honglie for failing to warn him about the Great Axe Butcher, a Copper Bone Realm expert.
• Zhao Honglie gave Qian Jin one hundred thousand taels to compensate him, and Qian Jin proposed recruiting another Copper Bone Realm expert from Chiyun Prefecture if Zhao Honglie paid for the help.

Qian Jin joined Zhao Honglie’s forces to help seize Canghe County, and the Black Sand Gang launched its attack with two Copper Bone Realm experts. The battle began at the city walls, where Mo Chen and Liu Yuanhu faced their opponents while Qian Jin slipped into the city to open the gates.

• Qian Jin agreed to help Zhao Honglie take Canghe County and left to make preparations.
• Gu Sheng continued training Gu Wan in Iron Stone Fist and checked his own cultivation progress after three days.
• Qian Jin returned with Bai Yunqi, and Zhao Honglie led the Black Sand Gang and allied families toward Canghe County.
• Zhao Qingcheng ordered his clansmen to conserve their strength, wary that Zhao Honglie might turn against them.
• Liu Yuanhu and Mo Chen confronted the attackers as Zhao Honglie, Bai Yunqi, and Qian Jin began fighting at the walls.
• Qian Jin used Shadow Concealment Art to bypass the defenders and reached the city gate bars, intending to open them.

During the Black Sand Gang’s assault on Canghe County, Liu Yuanhu fought Zhao Honglie after Qian Jin opened the gates, but Qian Jin’s ambush left him gravely wounded. Ge Qing intervened to save Liu Yuanhu and confronted the attackers, then calmly stopped Bai Yuqi’s fan attack as Bai Yuqi drew a flexible sword.

• Liu Yuanhu used a Burning Blood Pill to fight Zhao Honglie, but Zhao Honglie kept retreating until Qian Jin opened Canghe County’s gates and the Black Sand Gang stormed inside.
• Liu Yuanhu battled Zhao Honglie amid the invasion, severed part of Zhao Honglie’s hand, and was then stabbed from behind by Qian Jin, who escaped using the Shadow Concealment Art.
• Mo Chen became enraged at Liu Yuanhu’s injuries and overwhelmed Bai Yuqi, who called Qian Jin to help him fight Mo Chen.
• As Liu Yuanhu weakened, Zhao Honglie prepared to kill him, but Ge Qing arrived, healed Liu Yuanhu with a pill, and ordered the attackers to withdraw.
• Bai Yuqi attacked Ge Qing with his jade fan, but Ge Qing caught a steel needle between two fingers and stopped him; Bai Yuqi abandoned the fan and drew a flexible sword.

Ge Qing defeated Bai Yuqi, Qian Jin, and Zhao Honglie, forcing the Black Sand Gang to flee Canghe County. Afterward, Qian Jin and Bai Yuqi went to claim Zhao Honglie’s hidden money, and Qian Jin attacked him when their confrontation turned hostile.

• Ge Qing pierced Bai Yuqi’s wrist, stopped his iron-feather attack with a word, and frightened the three attackers into fleeing Canghe County.
• Ge Qing left after telling Liu Yuanhu to carry on as usual, and Liu asked Mo Chen to deal with the remaining aristocratic families and help suppress the bandits.
• Bai Yuqi demanded his promised payment from Qian Jin, and Qian Jin persuaded him to seek the money from Zhao Honglie instead.
• Zhao Honglie fled to the Black Sand Gang headquarters, retrieved his hidden banknotes, and encountered Qian Jin and Bai Yuqi demanding payment.
• Zhao Honglie claimed he had already paid Qian Jin, but Qian Jin denied it and attacked him.

Zhao Honglie swallowed a strange black bead and mutated into a giant, four-armed monster with overwhelming strength. He killed Bai Yuqi and began devouring his corpse while Qian Jin escaped under the cover of his Shadow Concealment Art.

• Zhao Honglie swallowed a Boiling Blood Pill and struck back at Qian Jin, breaking his steel fork and injuring him.
• Bai Yuqi attacked Zhao Honglie with Thousand Feather Cherry Blossom Illusion Kill, piercing him with refined-iron feathers and leaving him badly wounded.
• Zhao Honglie swallowed a black bead and transformed into a towering, four-armed creature surrounded by black qi.
• Zhao Honglie struck Qian Jin and chased him and Bai Yuqi as both men fled.
• Bai Yuqi tried to use Qian Jin as a decoy, but Qian Jin resisted and vanished with the Shadow Concealment Art.
• Zhao Honglie killed Bai Yuqi, failed to find the hidden Qian Jin, and began eating Bai Yuqi's corpse.

After Zhao Honglie devoured Bai Yuqi and left, Qian Jin looted the body, only to be ambushed by Gu Sheng. Recognizing Gu Sheng as the Great Axe Butcher, Qian Jin tried to recruit him into the Fire Worship Cult, and Gu Sheng learned that martial arts realms existed beyond Marrow Refining.

• Zhao Honglie returned to normal after eating Bai Yuqi and left, while Qian Jin stayed hidden until dawn.
• Qian Jin searched Bai Yuqi's belongings and took banknotes, Bone Strengthening Pills, two red pills, and the Thousand Feather Cherry Blossom Illusion Kill manual.
• Gu Sheng shot a powder-filled pouch at Qian Jin, then blocked Qian Jin's throwing darts with his Thirstblood Battle Axe.
• Gu Sheng used Tier 1 Body Strengthening, and Qian Jin recognized him as the Great Axe Butcher and begged him to join the Fire Worship Cult.
• Gu Sheng asked about realms beyond Marrow Refining, and Qian Jin described higher realms and promised the cult could nurture Gu Sheng into a future Holy Son.

Gu Sheng rejected Qian Jin’s offer to join the Fire Worship Cult after learning about the major forces in Chiyun Prefecture, then pursued him to obtain his Shadow Concealment Art. After swearing to spare Qian Jin if he provided a genuine manual, Gu Sheng began cultivating the technique and felt its power emerge.

• Qian Jin described Chiyun Prefecture’s Governor’s Mansion, two sects, three schools, and the Fire Worship Cult branch, then urged Gu Sheng to meet the sect’s steward.
• Gu Sheng refused to join the Fire Worship Cult and attacked Qian Jin, who fled using the Shadow Concealment Art.
• Gu Sheng tracked Qian Jin with herbal scent powder and caught up to him using First-Stage Speed.
• Gu Sheng defeated Qian Jin with the Wrathblood Three Forms, leaving him injured and begging for his life.
• Qian Jin demanded an oath upon Gu Sheng’s martial heart before writing down the Shadow Concealment Art, and Gu Sheng swore to spare him for a genuine manual.
• Qian Jin wrote the technique and shared his cultivation insights, and Gu Sheng practiced until a peculiar force made his body seem illusory.

Gu Sheng acquired the Shadow Concealment Art, crippled Qian Jin’s ability to think, and received a token from Ge Qing that could help him enter the wider world. After Liu Yuanhu took control of Canghe County and the Chiyun Guard cleared out its criminals, Gu Xiaojiang was accepted into the Guard and hurried to tell Gu Sheng.

• Gu Sheng learned the Shadow Concealment Art, burned its manual, and turned Qian Jin into an idiot before sending him away with healing pills.
• Gu Sheng discovered Qian Jin’s money and pills, then hid when Ge Qing arrived to investigate the demonic aura at the scene.
• Ge Qing tested Gu Sheng, gave him a token for seeking entry to the Saint Pill Sect, and left.
• Liu Yuanhu received his appointment as ruler of Canghe County, and Mo Chen’s Chiyun Guard cleared the county of bandits and criminals.
• Liu Yuanhu and Mo Chen visited Gu Family Village, where Mo Chen accepted Gu Xiaojiang into the Chiyun Guard.
• Gu Xiaojiang ran to Gu Sheng’s courtyard and excitedly told him he had been accepted.

Gu Jingang left Gu Family Village after the clan elders reclaimed power, and they later ordered Gu Sheng to leave after discovering his great-completion Blood Refining Realm strength and failing to bind him to the main family. Gu Sheng prepared to depart for Chiyun Prefecture, paying Ge Qing in advance to provide medicine for Gu Wan and saying farewell to Helian Tielan.

• Gu Xiaojiang told Gu Sheng he was joining the Chiyun Guard and promised to help him enter after he advanced.
• Gu Jingang surrendered power to the clan elders and left Gu Family Village with his family after they refused to let him stay.
• The clan elders restricted martial arts training and resources for those outside the main family, while Gu Sheng helped Gu Wan cultivate until he reached the Skin Refining stage.
• The clan elders discovered Gu Sheng had reached great completion of the Blood Refining Realm and tried to bind him to the main family through marriage and promises of authority.
• After Gu Sheng refused, the Great Clan Elder told him to leave, and Gu Sheng agreed to depart within days.
• Gu Sheng paid Ge Qing in advance for Gu Wan's medicine and visited Helian Tielan, who guessed that he was leaving Canghe County.

Gu Sheng prepared to leave Gu Family Village for Chiyun Prefecture, said farewell to the people who had helped him, and made plans to support Gu Wan's cultivation. He left Gu Wan with three martial arts techniques and urged him to hide his strength until he was powerful enough.

• Gu Sheng told Helian Tielan he would leave soon, and she warned him about Chiyun Prefecture and gave him techniques for forging treasure weapons with the Helian Weapon Forging Art.
• Gu Sheng gave Helian Tielan thirty thousand taels and promised to wait for her in Chiyun Prefecture until she became a weapon refiner.
• Gu Sheng visited Gu Erniu and Li Lian, shared a meal with them, explained he was leaving, and gave Li Lian two hundred taels to help with household expenses.
• Gu Sheng packed his belongings and wrote down Flying Thunder Leg, Snake Breathing Technique, and Wrathblood Three Forms along with his cultivation insights for Gu Wan.
• At dawn, Gu Sheng told Gu Wan he was going to Chiyun Prefecture and urged him to cultivate the three techniques, especially Snake Breathing Technique, while keeping his strength hidden.

Gu Sheng left Gu Family Village and traveled toward Chiyun Prefecture, stopping at a waystation where he joined a Mu's Merchant Guild mission into Thunderwood Mountain. The group set out to escort a valuable cargo, though its nature remained unconfirmed as they entered the mountains.

• Gu Sheng entrusted Gu Dajiang with money to buy back his courtyard for Gu Erniu's family, accepted a fine horse, and departed for Chiyun Prefecture.
• Gu Sheng stayed at a costly waystation, learned that its proprietress was a Silver Bone Realm expert, and signed up for a well-paid mission in Thunderwood Mountain.
• Mu Qinghe gathered twelve recruits, warned them not to pry into the mission, and led them toward the mountains beside the official road.
• Gu Sheng learned that Thunderwood Mountain produced valuable Iron Thunderwood and Roaring Thunder Fruit, and the recruits suspected they would be escorting one of those materials.

Gu Sheng joined Mu Qinghe’s group in Thunderwood Mountain and learned that Mu’s Merchant Guild was preparing for a secret mission involving a powerful Thunder Beast. After seeing the Stone Shattering Crossbow’s strength, Gu Sheng bought one, leaving Mu Qingyuan stunned by his wealth.

• Gu Sheng entered Thunderwood Mountain with Mu Qinghe’s group, learned about the dangerous Thunder Beasts, and followed them to a secluded valley.
• Mu Qingyuan and Mu Qingwen met Mu Qinghe, warned the recruits to keep the mission secret, and offered them payment for helping.
• Mu Qingyuan distributed Stone Shattering Crossbows and demonstrated how one could blast through a massive tree.
• Gu Sheng recognized that his archery skills could make the crossbow especially effective and asked Mu Qinghe to sell him one.
• Mu Qingyuan named a price of eighteen thousand taels for the crossbow and extra payment for bolts, and Gu Sheng produced twenty thousand taels in banknotes to buy it.

Mu Qingyuan’s group entered a gorge to kill the Wind Thunder Bird guarding Iron Thunderwood and Roaring Thunder Fruit, using Stone Shattering Crossbows to keep it from flying. After the bird broke through and slaughtered most of the Blood Refining Realm fighters, Gu Sheng crippled one of its legs with a precise shot, but it took to the air, leaving Mu Qinghe urging him to shoot it down.

• Mu Qingyuan warned the recruited fighters that a Copper Bone Realm Wind Thunder Bird guarded the gorge, then had Mu Qinghe kill a man who tried to withdraw.
• Mu Qingyuan led the group into the gorge, where they found the Iron Thunderwood and Roaring Thunder Fruit, and the Wind Thunder Bird swooped down to attack.
• Mu Qingyuan used armored gear to break the bird’s beak, and he, Mu Qingwen, and Mu Qinghe attacked while the Blood Refining Realm fighters fired crossbow bolts to keep it grounded.
• The Wind Thunder Bird charged the crossbowmen while they reloaded and killed nearly all of them; Gu Sheng saved the middle-aged man and struck the bird’s leg with a crossbow bolt.
• The injured Wind Thunder Bird escaped into the air as Mu Qinghe promised Gu Sheng another thousand taels if he could shoot it down.

Gu Sheng was forced to help Mu Qingyuan's group steal Three-pattern Iron Thunderwood and Roaring Thunder Fruits, then got abandoned when Saint Pill Sect disciples arrived. Lin Miaomiao prepared to punish him for injuring her Wind Thunder Bird, but Gu Sheng claimed his elder knew the sect's First Elder, leaving Lin Miaomiao uncertain.

• Gu Sheng failed to shoot down the Wind Thunder Bird, while Mu Qingyuan's group extracted the Three-pattern Iron Thunderwood and took all four Roaring Thunder Fruits.
• The Wind Thunder Bird returned with Saint Pill Sect disciples approaching, and Mu Qingyuan's group escaped over the cliff after cutting Gu Sheng's rope and threatening him.
• Lin Miaomiao arrived with six Copper Bone Realm disciples, discovered the stolen items, and ordered an investigation into the thieves.
• Lin Miaomiao questioned Gu Sheng and Liu Erhu; Liu Erhu denied knowing the thieves' identities, while the Wind Thunder Bird revealed that Gu Sheng had wounded it.
• Lin Miaomiao threatened to take one of Gu Sheng's legs, but Gu Sheng claimed his elder knew the First Elder and said he had come from Canghe County, making her hesitate.

Gu Sheng used Ge Qing’s token to convince Lin Miaomiao that he might be connected to the Saint Pill Sect’s First Elder, and she brought him along to investigate a theft at the relay station. Lin Miaomiao confronted Lin Qing about the people who had recruited help for the theft, but Lin Qing denied knowing anything and planned to use the secret against Mu’s Merchant Guild.

• Lin Miaomiao tested Gu Sheng’s claim about the First Elder, then recognized the significance of Ge Qing’s token and agreed to take him to meet the First Elder after her investigation.
• Gu Sheng recovered a Stone Shattering Crossbow and his wooden weapon box, while Mo Buwen introduced himself and Liu Erhu received treatment for his injuries.
• Lin Miaomiao’s group surrounded the relay station, where Lin Qing challenged her and invoked her family ties and the Governor’s Mansion.
• Lin Miaomiao accused Lin Qing of helping recruit people who stole the Saint Pill Sect’s Three-pattern Iron Thunderwood and four Roaring Thunder Fruits.
• Lin Qing denied knowing who had hired her, concealed her dealings with Mu’s Merchant Guild, and considered using the information to extort them later.

Lin Miaomiao brought Gu Sheng to the Saint Pill Sect and explained the sect’s peaks and disciple ranks. At Cloud Saint Peak’s entrance, a core disciple recognized Gu Sheng’s Lava Thousand Layer Stone token and rushed to inform First Elder Lu Junyi, leaving Lu Junyi to hear that the youth claimed to be the son of an old acquaintance.

• Lin Miaomiao led the Saint Pill Sect party away from the relay station with Gu Sheng, then let him ride behind her on her horse leopard.
• Lin Miaomiao showed Gu Sheng the Saint Pill Sect’s three Spirit Peaks and explained their different roles, as well as the privileges of core disciples.
• Lin Miaomiao used her jade token to open the restriction on the path to Cloud Saint Peak, where Chen Ke initially tried to turn her and Gu Sheng away.
• Lin Miaomiao presented Gu Sheng’s Lava Thousand Layer Stone token, and Chen Ke recognized it as genuine and hurried to report it.
• Chen Ke reached Lu Junyi’s pavilion and told the First Elder that a youth outside claimed to be the son of an old acquaintance.

After recognizing the Dragon Phoenix Pill Cauldron design on Ge Qing’s token, Lu Junyi eagerly took Gu Sheng to Cloud Saint Peak and learned where Ge Qing lived. Lu Junyi flew toward Canghe County to find him, while the approaching Five-colored Bird frightened the city guards into sounding an alarm.

• Lu Junyi learned that Gu Sheng carried a genuine Lava Thousand Layer Stone token and hurried to meet him.
• Lin Miaomiao explained the sect’s status divisions and her struggle to enter the inner sect, and Gu Sheng promised to speak up for her if he could.
• Gu Sheng showed Lu Junyi Ge Qing’s token, and Lu Junyi recognized the Dragon Phoenix Pill Cauldron pattern and brought Gu Sheng to his pavilion.
• Gu Sheng told Lu Junyi that Ge Qing had given him the token and revealed Ge Qing’s name and residence.
• Lu Junyi rode his Five-colored Bird toward Canghe County, where Zhang Guangqun mistook its arrival for a demon-blood beast attack and called for Lord Liu and Lord Mo.

Lu Junyi arrived in Canghe County on the Five-colored Bird, and Ge Qing gave him the Marrow Building Pill formula in exchange for a request. After learning that Gu Sheng came from Gu Family Village, Lu Junyi recognized the significance of his talent and asked Liu Yuanhu about the village.

• Liu Yuanhu and Mo Chen prepared Canghe County’s defenses against the Five-colored Bird, then stopped their attack when Mo Chen recognized Lu Junyi of the Saint Pill Sect.
• Lu Junyi demanded to see Ge Qing, but Ge Qing sent him a scroll advising him to “Start from scratch” and a gift containing the Marrow Building Pill formula.
• Lu Junyi thanked Ge Qing, while Ge Qing divined Gu Sheng’s fate and hoped to form a connection with him amid the coming chaos.
• Lu Junyi returned to the city wall and asked Liu Yuanhu about the Gu family; Liu Yuanhu explained that Gu Family Village was home to nearly everyone surnamed Gu in the county.
• Lu Junyi realized Gu Sheng had reached the peak of the Blood Refining Realm despite coming from a poor village fortress, and Liu Yuanhu cautiously asked whether someone from the village had offended him.