Chapter Summaries

Chen Daoxuan broke through to the third layer of Qi Refining, and Chen Xianhe decided to mine the Chen Family’s dwindling Red Copper Mine aggressively to fund Daoxuan’s artifact-refining studies. The chapter left Daoxuan with sole use of the family’s last Spirit Eye after he bowed in gratitude to his uncle.

• Chen Daoxuan broke through to the third layer of Qi Refining and sealed the Chen Family’s last Spirit Eye.
• Chen Xianhe praised Daoxuan’s progress and regretted that the family had lacked the resources to buy him a Meridian-Opening Pill.
• Chen Xianhe explained that the Red Copper Mine was nearly exhausted and proposed mining it with all their strength.
• Chen Daoxuan understood that his uncle wanted to provide resources for his artifact-refining studies and agreed to follow his instructions.
• Chen Xianhe gave Daoxuan sole use of the family’s last Spirit Eye, and Daoxuan knelt and kowtowed to him.

Chen Daoxuan inspected the Chen Family’s Red Copper Mine and found its annual output had dwindled to just over three point three jin. He relayed Chen Xianhe’s order to mine the vein at full force, leaving Chen Liangyu to face the end of his lucrative post as overseer.

• Chen Daoxuan flew to the Red Copper Mine and met its overseer, Chen Liangyu.
• Chen Liangyu reported that the mine had produced only a little over three point three jin of Red Copper Ore that year.
• Chen Daoxuan inspected and collected the four remaining pieces of ore.
• Chen Daoxuan told Chen Liangyu that the Clan Leader had ordered the Red Copper Vein mined at full force.
• Chen Liangyu acknowledged the order but realized that the mine’s closure would end his time as overseer.

Chen Daoxuan secured the County Yamen’s cooperation in mining the Red Copper Mine, then returned to the Earth Fire Chamber to confront five years of failure in adapting industrial methods to artifact refining. He remained determined to improve production efficiency, but his experimental furnace had not yet solved the problem.

• Chen Daoxuan ordered County Magistrate Chen Zhi and the other officials to cooperate fully with the person overseeing the Red Copper Mine.
• Chen Daoxuan left Changping County and returned to the family’s Earth Fire Chamber.
• Chen Daoxuan inspected the Earth Fire Chamber’s formations and entered the adjoining Laboratory.
• Chen Daoxuan examined his furnace-like artifact-refining experiment and admitted that five years of failures had made his goal seem far less simple.
• Chen Daoxuan considered how the lengthy manual refining stage made producing even a basic First-tier flying sword inefficient.

Chen Daoxuan reflected on how the Primordial Enlightenment Scripture restored and strengthened his Divine Sense while he developed a furnace to smelt Spirit Mines. After his ninth recent recitation, he noticed nine Stardusts circling the Golden Scripture in his Sea of Consciousness and wondered what they were.

• Chen Daoxuan recalled discovering the Primordial Enlightenment Scripture five years earlier and learning that reciting it restored his exhausted Divine Sense.
• Chen Daoxuan examined his furnace design, whose control system could regulate heat but still lacked a Formation to fuse Spiritual Aura in Spirit Mine ore.
• Chen Daoxuan sat down to recite the Primordial Enlightenment Scripture after failing to solve the furnace’s remaining problem.
• Chen Daoxuan opened his eyes after the recitation and saw nine Stardusts revolving around the Golden Scripture in his Sea of Consciousness.

Chen Daoxuan told Chen Xianhe that the Red Copper Mine’s output had fallen again and discussed his progress in Artifact Refining. After Chen Daoxuan left, Chen Xianhe entered a hidden chamber packed with Spirit Stones.

• Chen Daoxuan brought Red Copper Ore to Chen Xianhe and reported that the mine’s output had declined.
• Chen Xianhe let Chen Daoxuan keep the ore for his studies and praised his progress in learning the family’s Artifact Forging inheritance.
• Chen Daoxuan concealed that he had mastered every First-tier artifact recipe, though his low cultivation limited his ability to refine the higher-grade artifacts.
• Chen Daoxuan reported on fully mining the Red Copper Mine and rode away.
• Chen Xianhe entered a concealed chamber behind a Dragon-Slaying Stone wall, where Spirit Stones were densely packed.

After cultivating from the Spirit Eye, Chen Daoxuan recited the Primordial Enlightenment Scripture for the tenth day and merged the ten Star Dusts in his Sea of Consciousness. The collision sent him into Enlightenment, where he gained profound insights into the Returning Origin Technique.

• Chen Daoxuan cultivated overnight using the Spirit Eye's spiritual energy and solidified his true qi after reaching the third layer of Qi Refining.
• He sealed the Spirit Eye and decided to recite the Primordial Enlightenment Scripture despite uncertainty about what another recitation might do.
• Chen Daoxuan recited the scripture and discovered a tenth Star Dust in his Sea of Consciousness.
• He allowed the ten Star Dusts to collide, and their merger sent his consciousness into a vast surge of knowledge.
• Chen Daoxuan gained new insights into the Returning Origin Technique and realized he had entered the legendary state of Enlightenment.

Chen Daoxuan realized the Spirit-Melding Formation needed to guide Spiritual Aura rather than suppress it, then forged a new Spirit Ore Furnace. The furnace successfully absorbed its Formation Patterns, leaving Chen Daoxuan celebrating its completion.

• During Enlightenment, Chen Daoxuan reviewed his Artifact Refining knowledge and realized that the Spirit-Melding Formation should guide Spiritual Aura instead of forcibly suppressing it.
• Chen Daoxuan hurried to the Earth Fire Chamber and decided to forge a new furnace because his previous Spirit Ore Furnace was a failed product.
• Chen Daoxuan gathered Iron Ore and Silver Moon Stone and refined them into a furnace blank.
• Chen Daoxuan engraved the Drive, Heat-Gathering, Levitation, and Spirit-Melding Patterns onto the furnace.
• The furnace glowed gold as all its Formation Patterns merged into its body, and Chen Daoxuan celebrated its success.

Chen Daoxuan successfully tested his Spirit-Melding Furnace, which fused the Spiritual Aura in Red Copper Mine without his intervention and promised to greatly increase artifact-forging efficiency. He decided to seek Chen Xianhe’s advice about funding a larger workshop and flew to his cave mansion.

• Chen Daoxuan named his completed artifact the Spirit-Melding Furnace and manually operated its control levers to suspend and heat two pieces of Red Copper Mine.
• After four hours, the ore melted, and the Spirit-Melding Formation fused the liquid masses and their Spiritual Aura without Chen Daoxuan touching them with divine sense.
• Chen Daoxuan drew out the refined Red Copper and confirmed it matched ore he had refined himself, calculating that the furnace could make his work thirty-six times faster.
• Chen Daoxuan concluded that he needed a larger Earth Fire Chamber and workshop in Changping County, but the family lacked the money to build one.
• Chen Daoxuan decided to seek Chen Xianhe’s advice and flew to his cave mansion, where Chen Xianhe suddenly sneezed while resting.

Chen Daoxuan showed Chen Xianhe how the Spirit-Melding Furnace could refine Spirit Mines quickly without requiring a cultivator to operate it, and argued that the family would need a larger Earth Fire Chamber to support future Artifact Forgers. Chen Xianhe recalled the sacrifices that had sustained the Chen Family for generations, and Chen Daoxuan vowed to uphold their legacy.

• Chen Daoxuan demonstrated that the Spirit-Melding Furnace could refine Red Copper Mine in four hours, and Chen Xianhe recognized its value.
• Chen Daoxuan told Chen Xianhe that the furnace cost 195 Spirit Stones to forge, not counting the expense of building an Earth Fire Chamber.
• Chen Daoxuan pointed out the existing chamber’s flaws and argued the family would need more space and several furnaces for each future Artifact Forger.
• Chen Xianhe led Chen Daoxuan to a stone wall in his cave mansion and spoke of the sacrifices that had kept the Chen Family standing for 273 years.
• Chen Daoxuan vowed to honor the family’s forebears and descendants, and Chen Xianhe praised him as a great fortune for the family.

Chen Xianhe showed Chen Daoxuan the Chen Family’s hidden wealth and explained why the clan had preserved it instead of spending it on cultivation. He entrusted the fortune to Chen Daoxuan, who learned that the family’s goal was to nurture a Spirit Vein and resolved to change their precarious situation.

• Chen Xianhe opened the Family Secret Vault and revealed the Chen Family’s Spirit Stones and Spirit Mines to Chen Daoxuan.
• Chen Xianhe explained that he had refused to spend the family’s accumulated wealth on his own cultivation because he could not reach Foundation Establishment.
• Chen Xianhe entrusted Chen Daoxuan with the family’s 8,743 Spirit Stones and Spirit Mines, including three pieces of second-grade ore.
• Chen Xianhe explained that the family’s former rise came from seven Spirit Eyes, but that Spirit Eyes were unreliable and could dry up.
• Chen Xianhe told Chen Daoxuan that the Chen Family had saved its wealth to artificially nurture a Spirit Vein, and Chen Daoxuan resolved to change the family’s uncertain future.

Chen Daoxuan and Chen Xianhe discussed the Chen Family’s future, agreeing to focus the next five years on establishing an Artifact Forging Workshop. Chen Daoxuan secured Chen Xianhe’s promise to begin training younger family members if the workshop earned over three thousand Spirit Stones in annual net profit, while Spirit Vein induction would remain the priority.

• Chen Xianhe served Chen Daoxuan Spirit Nourishing Tea and explained the high cost of cultivation resources and the need to build the family’s Spirit Vein.
• Chen Daoxuan promised to induce the Spirit Vein once the Artifact Forging Workshop was completed and began earning Spirit Stones.
• Chen Daoxuan proposed researching the Guang'an Prefecture market, buying ore materials, and renting a storefront to sell Magic Artifacts.
• Chen Xianhe and Chen Daoxuan agreed to center the family’s next five years of development on the Artifact Forging Workshop, with Chen Daoxuan leading its execution.
• Chen Daoxuan urged Chen Xianhe to train younger family members as well as pursue Spirit Vein induction, and Chen Xianhe agreed if the workshop’s annual net profit exceeded three thousand Spirit Stones.
• Chen Daoxuan celebrated the agreement and ran from the cave mansion as Chen Xianhe pretended to threaten him.

Chen Daoxuan sailed toward Spirit Shell Island with Chen Xianhe and studied spells during the dull voyage. On the tenth day, he confirmed that the Primordial Enlightenment Scripture stored one mote of Star Dust each day, and he had begun cultivating a new spell.

• Chen Daoxuan boarded the clan’s Azure Dragon cargo ship with Chen Xianhe and learned that the journey to Spirit Shell Island would take at least a month.
• After the sea voyage proved uneventful and his cultivation stalled without a Spirit Eye, Chen Daoxuan studied spells and considered the limits of his Flying Snow Sword.
• On the tenth day, Chen Daoxuan saw ten motes of Star Dust revolving around the Golden Scripture and confirmed that they accumulated through daily recitations of the Primordial Enlightenment Scripture.
• Chen Daoxuan concluded that the scripture stored his comprehension for an Enlightenment opportunity and resolved to guard it as his greatest secret.
• During the voyage, Chen Daoxuan began cultivating a new spell despite the long time spell mastery usually required.

Chen Daoxuan used the Primordial Enlightenment Scripture to advance his Chasing Wind Sword Art to near Great Accomplishment in a brief Enlightenment session. As he tested his newfound skill, a mass of dark clouds gathered over the Azure Dragon.

• Chen Daoxuan practiced the Chasing Wind Sword Art for ten days and learned to wield the Crimson Shadow Flying Sword faster and more powerfully.
• Chen Daoxuan fused his ten Star Dust motes and entered Enlightenment, gaining a flood of insights into the Chasing Wind Sword Art.
• Chen Daoxuan emerged with mastery near Great Accomplishment and found that his flying sword moved quietly and at tremendous speed.
• Chen Daoxuan rushed out of the cabin when a suffocating pressure arose and saw dark clouds shrouding the Azure Dragon.

Chen Daoxuan and Chen Xianhe sailed toward Guang'an Prefecture and learned how the Zhou Family’s Spirit Void Warship protected the shipping routes. After an uneventful voyage, they arrived at Spirit Shell Island and joined the crowded harbor queue.

• A Zhou Family Spirit Void Warship approached the Azure Dragon, and Chen Xianhe presented the Chen Family’s shipping pass before receiving permission to continue along the safe route.
• Chen Xianhe explained to Chen Daoxuan that the Zhou Family guarded the shipping routes and described its history and the Divine Absolute Rebellion.
• The Azure Dragon sailed for twenty days without encountering warships or Demonic Beasts.
• Chen Xianhe announced that they had reached Spirit Shell Island, where Chen Daoxuan saw the crowded harbor and joined the line of ships waiting to enter.

Chen Daoxuan and Chen Xianhe arrived in Guang'an Prefecture, where Chen Daoxuan saw the brutal use of Cloud Country prisoners as slaves and learned that weakness meant suffering in the cultivation world. They entered the Zhou Family’s immortal city, felt the power of its third-tier Spirit Vein, and paid dearly for a ten-day stay at a low-grade inn.

• Chen Daoxuan and Chen Xianhe arrived at Guang'an Prefecture and saw Cloud Country prisoners forced to haul grain as slaves.
• Chen Xianhe explained how Rogue Cultivators and Cultivation Families used mortal serfs, and he told Chen Daoxuan that weakness was a crime in this world.
• Chen Xianhe settled the accompanying clansmen at an inn, then led Chen Daoxuan toward the inner city.
• Chen Xianhe paid two Spirit Stones in entry tax, and Chen Daoxuan entered the immortal city and felt its spiritual energy surge around the third-tier Spirit Vein.
• Chen Xianhe rented two rooms for ten days at a low-grade inn for 20 Spirit Stones.

Chen Daoxuan investigated Guang'an Prefecture Immortal City's Rogue Cultivator Market to assess its magic artifact trade. After finding that Tongbao Pavilion sold only worn secondhand flying swords, he left without buying, having learned that brand-new artifacts were difficult to find.

• Chen Xianhe and Chen Daoxuan split up to investigate the Core Commercial District and Rogue Cultivator Market, respectively.
• Chen Daoxuan entered the Rogue Cultivator Market and chose to inspect its shops rather than browse the street stalls.
• The shopkeeper of Tongbao Pavilion showed Chen Daoxuan three first-tier flying swords and claimed they were valuable on the war front.
• Chen Daoxuan recognized that all three swords were heavily used and rejected the shopkeeper's attempts to sell them, even after the price fell.
• The shopkeeper warned Chen Daoxuan that brand-new magic artifacts were hard to buy in either market, and Chen Daoxuan left the shop.

Chen Daoxuan investigated the Magic Artifact market in the Rogue Cultivator Market and found a severe shortage that made opening an Artifact Shop promising. While browsing the street stalls, he exposed Zhang San’s attempt to extort him over a broken Formation Disk and then asked where Zhang San had obtained it.

• Chen Daoxuan visited nearly every Artifact Shop in the Rogue Cultivator Market and concluded that Magic Artifacts were in severe shortage and an Artifact Shop could do well there.
• Chen Daoxuan browsed the street market and picked up Zhang San’s cracked Wind Thunder Formation Disk to test it.
• The Formation Disk broke apart, and Zhang San accused Chen Daoxuan of destroying it and demanded compensation.
• Chen Daoxuan refused Zhang San’s demand, and Zhang San threatened him until Zhou Family enforcement cultivators arrived.
• Chen Daoxuan told the enforcement cultivators that the dispute was minor, and they warned Zhang San before leaving.
• Chen Daoxuan asked Zhang San where he had gotten the Wind Thunder Formation Disk.

Chen Daoxuan bought the Wind Thunder Formation Disk forging method from Zhang San and a high-grade Water Spirit Pearl from a black-robed old man at the Rogue Cultivator Market. As he finished the second purchase, a shrill alarm sounded throughout Guang'an Prefecture immortal city.

• Zhang San probed Chen Daoxuan's background, then offered to sell him the Wind Thunder Formation Disk forging method.
• Chen Daoxuan inspected the Jade Slip, paid Zhang San five hundred Spirit Stones in an inn, and secured the forging method.
• Chen Daoxuan continued browsing and asked the black-robed old man about his Water Spirit Pearl.
• The old man asked one hundred Spirit Stones, claiming the pearl was a high-grade first-grade spirit pearl, and Chen Daoxuan bought it.
• A shrill alarm suddenly rang throughout Guang'an Prefecture immortal city as Chen Daoxuan completed the transaction.

Chen Daoxuan learned that the Zhou Family’s Merfolk-catching had provoked a Merfolk tribe into attacking Guang’an Prefecture, and he hurried to protect the Chen Family’s Azure Dragon Cargo Ship. As cultivators gathered along the coast to face the beast horde, a High-rank Merfolk’s shriek struck Chen Daoxuan and Chen Xianhe with nausea, leaving the scale of the danger unclear.

• A black-robed old man told Chen Daoxuan that Demonic Beasts were attacking Guang’an Prefecture and explained that the Zhou Family’s capture of female Mermaids had provoked the Merfolk.
• Chen Daoxuan hurried toward Guang’an Prefecture Port, worried that his family’s Azure Dragon Cargo Ship was in danger, while the old man rushed to protect his own ship.
• Chen Daoxuan found Chen Xianhe aboard the Azure Dragon, and Chen Xianhe warned him to stay close and protect the ship if Demonic Beasts slipped through.
• Hundreds of thousands of cultivators gathered along the coast as the Zhou Family took the front line and the cargo ships formed a barrier behind them.
• A piercing shriek made Chen Daoxuan and Chen Xianhe pale and nauseated, and Chen Xianhe recognized its source as a High-rank Merfolk.

The Zhou Family broke the Merfolk Tribe’s demonic beast assault and began hunting down the scattered creatures. A Rank 1 demonic beast slipped past the defenders and approached the Azure Dragon, where Chen Daoxuan and Chen Xianhe spotted it.

• A Zhou Family Purple Mansion cultivator ordered the family to form a formation, and their Sword Formation shattered the charging horde of demonic beasts.
• Chen Xianhe judged that the Zhou Family had won, and Zhou Family cultivators and Rogue Cultivators pursued the fleeing beasts to keep them from reaching Guang'an Prefecture’s waterways.
• A tiger-eyed fish rammed the Azure Dragon, and Chen Xianhe killed it with his Flying Sword before Chen Daoxuan examined its corpse.
• Chen Xianhe warned Chen Daoxuan that true Rank 1 demonic beasts were dangerous and promised to watch his back when he fought one.
• A Rank 1 demonic beast swam to the Azure Dragon and began eating the tiger-eyed fish’s corpse, leaving Chen Daoxuan awed and afraid by its enormous size.