Chapter Summaries

Key plot points

• Lin Wanyou invites Qin Shujian to explore Bifeng City’s nightlife, including its brothels. Qin declines, saying he wants to concentrate on cultivation. Lin realizes Qin is at the peak of the True Domain but cannot advance under the region’s restrictions, and privately concludes that he has devoted himself entirely to cultivation.
• The next morning, Qin attends an auction hosted by the Chengyun Trading Company. He is given a private room, refreshments, and permission to settle any purchases afterward.
• The auction opens with a second-grade spear, which sells for 73,000 taels. Qin watches but does not bid, finding the early offerings uninteresting.
• After learning that the auction contains 53 items, Qin consults the illustrated catalog. He discovers that later lots include first-grade weapons and human-forged low-grade spirit weapons.
• The catalog distinguishes these crafted weapons from spirit weapons that anchor a sect’s fortune: crafted weapons are for combat, while fortune-anchoring weapons also strengthen a sect.

Character development and interactions

• Qin Shujian remains disciplined and uninterested in nightlife or the early auction lots. His focus on cultivation and practical judgment defines his choices.
• Lin Wanyou is sociable and teasing, but respects Qin’s refusal and keeps his private assumption about Qin’s personal life to himself.
• Qin interacts courteously with the auction staff, who treat him with marked respect because of his status as Origin Sect’s sect master.

Significant themes

• Devotion to cultivation: Qin’s achievements are linked to his single-minded discipline, even as the True Domain’s limits prevent him from advancing further.
• Status and hospitality: Qin’s rank earns him a private room and flexible payment terms.
• The value and purpose of power: The catalog highlights the difference between weapons meant to defeat enemies and spiritual treasures that can support a sect’s fortune.

Key plot points and events

• As the auction grows more competitive, Qin Shujian spots the two items he wants: the Forging Ancestral Canon, a low-grade spirit-tier forging method, and the Azure Alchemy Talisman, a mid-grade spirit-tier alchemy method. Both start at just 50,000 taels—less than many lower-grade items.
• A Half-Step Spirit Weapon, advertised as having a slight chance to become a true Spirit Weapon, sells for 1,130,000 taels. The price astonishes Qin and makes him realize that his million taels are modest beside the wealth of other bidders.
• The Forging Ancestral Canon receives almost no interest. Qin wins it for 60,000 taels, delighted by the bargain.
• Bidding for the Azure Alchemy Talisman is much fiercer. Qin’s offers are repeatedly surpassed by the Nine Rivers Sect’s Sect Master Li Fei, who intends to win it for Elder Gu.
• Qin identifies himself and asks Li to show him the courtesy of withdrawing. Remembering Qin’s reputation for harsh retaliation—and the destruction of seven sects after a past dispute—Li immediately backs down. Qin is left the leading bidder, and the entire hall falls silent.

Character developments

• Qin Shujian shifts from confidence in his wealth to humility after seeing the auction’s extravagant prices. He remains determined to secure the items, but uses his fearsome reputation when money alone may not win.
• Li Fei goes from boasting that the Nine Rivers Sect fears neither wealth nor strength to abandoning the contest as soon as he realizes Qin is bidding. His caution reveals how strongly Qin’s reputation shapes others’ choices.
• Elder Gu supports Li’s decision to withdraw, preferring to give up the alchemy method rather than risk provoking Qin.

Character interactions

• Qin observes the wealthy bidders from behind his private room’s curtain and compares their spending with the Origin Sect’s limited funds.
• Li Fei and Elder Gu discuss their plan to acquire the Azure Alchemy Talisman before Qin’s identity changes their approach.
• Qin’s direct appeal to Li ends the bidding more effectively than his earlier monetary offers, silencing both the Nine Rivers Sect and the wider auction hall.

Significant themes

• The true cost of cultivation: Forging and alchemy are described as “money pits.” Buying a manual is only the beginning; training a master can consume a sect’s fortune and still fail.
• Wealth and perspective: Qin’s million taels seem substantial until the auction reveals the scale of elite spending.
• Reputation as power: Qin’s past violence functions like a weapon, allowing him to influence the auction without placing a higher bid.
• Risk and investment: The high price of the Half-Step Spirit Weapon reflects buyers’ willingness to gamble on future potential, while the neglected forging method shows how daunting long-term investment can be.

Plot points and events

• Qin Shujian wins the Azure Alchemy Talisman for 410,000 taels after a bidding contest, then tries to learn the identity of the rival bidder, but the auction staff refuse to disclose it.
• His remarks about the Origin Sect unsettle the crowd, prompting speculation that the powerful sect may expand beyond its home domain.
• The auction shifts attention to the low-grade Spirit Weapon Forgetfulness Sword, which sparks fierce bidding. Qin has spent too much to participate, so he watches—and quietly memorizes the wealthiest bidders for future reference.
• After the auction, Qin pays for the talisman and the Forging Ancestral Canon with more than 400,000 taels in actual silver. He asks the Chengyun Trading Company to introduce him to the manuals’ seller.
• Reading the manuals teaches Qin the basics of alchemy and forging. His abilities are initially limited to low-grade Alchemist and Forge Master, but he believes he can advance them using life source. He hopes to find others to practice the crafts, since he cannot devote himself to them full-time.
• Li Fei, Sect Master of the Nine Rivers Sect, and Elder Gu Sheng visit to apologize for competing with Qin over the talisman. Li gives Qin 500,000 taels as compensation and a gesture of goodwill, then invites him to visit the Nine Rivers Sect.

Character developments

• Qin Shujian remains shrewd and self-assured. He treats the bidding dispute lightly, sees new crafts as useful additions to his capabilities, and regards wealthy potential allies as worth cultivating.
• Li Fei shows diplomacy and humility, taking responsibility for the bidding conflict and offering generous compensation to establish friendly relations.
• Gu Sheng is identified as an Alchemist, explaining the Nine Rivers Sect’s interest in the talisman; he supports Li’s respectful approach.

Significant themes

• Power and political uncertainty: Qin’s presence makes other factions fear the Origin Sect’s possible expansion.
• Wealth and influence: Auctions reveal how rare treasures can reshape factional fortunes, while money also becomes a means of apology and alliance-building.
• Growth through knowledge: Qin gains new professions, but must develop them gradually and apply his resources strategically.
• Pragmatism and relationship-building: Qin seeks useful connections, while Li uses generosity to turn a possible rivalry into goodwill.

Character interactions

• Qin’s restrained response to the auction rival contrasts with the crowd’s anxiety about his sect.
• He observes bidders without approaching them directly, considering future contact based on their wealth.
• Li and Gu proactively visit Qin to prevent resentment; Qin accepts their money and invitation, ending the encounter on friendly terms.

Chapter summary

The author realizes after finishing the day’s update that they have forgotten to mark the Dragon Boat Festival. Since it is not yet midnight, they take the opportunity to send readers warm wishes for peace, good health, and family happiness. They also thank those who enjoy the book and ask for their continued support.

• Key events: The author remembers the holiday just in time and posts a greeting.
• Character development: No story characters appear; the author’s thoughtfulness and appreciation for readers are evident.
• Themes: Holiday warmth, well-wishing, and gratitude.
• Interactions: The author addresses readers directly, offering blessings and inviting them to keep supporting the book.

Key plot points and events

• After the auction, Qin Shujian decides not to pursue Li Fei of the Nine Rivers Sect, recognizing that Li’s generous conduct and the auction’s outcome leave him no grounds to retaliate. Qin keeps the two martial arts he acquired and makes a modest profit.
• He meets Shen Yuqing and Shen Yuhua, survivors of the destroyed Pill Cauldron Sect. Yuqing is a promising Mid-Grade Forge Master, while Yuhua is a newly advanced High-Grade Alchemist who can refine Fifth-Tier pills.
• Qin offers them Elderships in the Origin Sect, promising to establish Alchemy and Forging Halls and protect them from their enemies. Impressed by his confidence and the Origin Sect’s standing, the siblings accept.
• Qin buys spirit tea and the supplies needed for their crafts, spending heavily. He also asks trading-company manager Lin Wanyou to help locate essence-eroding bone powder, a rare poison left by evil fiends.
• On the journey back to the Origin Sect, Qin’s party is intercepted by five cultivators from the Heavenly Martial Sect, which destroyed the Pill Cauldron Sect. Their leader, Luo Jiang, demands that the siblings be surrendered.
• Qin refuses, declaring them Origin Sect Elders and warning that no one may harm them. When Luo Jiang invokes his sect’s strength and dao artifact, Qin recognizes the threat and attacks. The chapter ends as the five counter his astral palm and Luo Jiang orders a retreat.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian shows measured judgment toward Li Fei, practical investment in his new recruits, and absolute confidence when defending his sect’s authority. His refusal to surrender the siblings turns his earlier promise into action.
• Shen Yuqing and Shen Yuhua move from wary, uneasy guests to Origin Sect Elders. Their relief at Qin’s public defense shows that they had doubted whether his protection would hold under pressure.
• Luo Jiang begins with formal politeness but shifts to pressure and implied threats when Qin refuses his demand. Qin’s forceful response prevents the negotiation from remaining merely verbal.
• Yue Shihong facilitates Qin’s meeting with the siblings and helps arrange purchases; Lin Wanyou agrees to watch for the rare bone powder.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and protection: Qin’s offer is meaningful because he stands by the siblings when their powerful former enemies appear.
• Power and reputation: The Origin Sect’s standing lets Qin challenge a spirit-domain faction, while his personal strength makes the threat immediate.
• Confidence versus intimidation: Qin’s certainty contrasts with Luo Jiang’s attempt to use institutional power to secure compliance.
• Practical leadership: Qin invests in skilled people and necessary supplies, even at considerable expense, to strengthen his sect.

Chapter Summary: “Establishing Two More Halls”

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian confronts Luo Jiang and four other Heavenly Martial Sect cultivators, who are trying to take Shen Yuqing and Shen Yuhua back. He overwhelms them with the Divine Tier martial art Great Wilderness Demon-Suppressing Seal and kills all five.
• Qin explains privately that compromise was no longer realistic: the Heavenly Martial Sect would likely become an enemy regardless, while the two specialists are important to the Origin Sect.
• After returning to Liangshan, Qin introduces Shen Yuqing, a pill-refiner, and Shen Yuhua, a smith, as Inner Sect Elders. He establishes the Alchemy Hall and Forging Hall, placing each under the relevant elder’s supervision.
• The new halls recruit apprentices through the Mission Hall, drawing strong interest from players.
• Five days later, the Origin Sect makes pills available in exchange for contribution points. Players eagerly purchase them. Zhao Hua uses an Essence-Boosting Pill, gains nearly a full level of cultivation, and realizes that the cost is steep.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian demonstrates overwhelming strength and decisiveness. He protects the two specialists, values their skills, and takes practical steps to build the sect’s crafting capabilities.
• Shen Yuqing and Shen Yuhua are impressed by Qin’s power, the sect’s Divine Tier martial art, its Dao Artifact, its spiritual energy, and its city construction. Their sense of belonging to the Origin Sect grows.
• The Origin Sect’s elders welcome the newcomers, while Qin explains the sect’s circumstances and assigns them leadership roles.
• Zhao Hua is delighted by the pill’s effect but frustrated that it consumes nearly all his saved contribution points.

Significant themes

• Power and deterrence: Qin’s decisive victory shows the danger of challenging the Origin Sect.
• Pragmatism and loyalty: Qin prioritizes useful talent and the sect’s future over avoiding conflict.
• Institutional growth: The new halls, apprentice recruitment, and city construction mark the Origin Sect’s expansion.
• Progress and its cost: Pills accelerate cultivation, but their high contribution-point price makes advancement a trade-off.

Plot points

• Back at the Origin Sect, Qin Shujian raises the reward for locating a Demon Calamity from 50 to 200 Contribution Points and adds a new mission: locate sealed Evil Fiends. He rejects attacking other sects for their spirit objects, judging the political risks too great, and prefers the stability that Great Zhao provides.
• In the Lingchuan Mortal Domain, Wang Gang leads a group of players into a dangerous canyon, hoping to find a sealed Evil Fiend. They have accepted the new mission because its 500-Point reward is much more attractive than the old Demon Calamity mission—and finding the seal should not require releasing the fiend.
• The players encounter a huge swarm of poisonous Ghost Bats. Though individually weak, the bats are so numerous that they overwhelm the group’s stamina and supplies. The players use Insight Technique to assess them, Poison-Repelling Pills to resist their toxic mist, and Qi-Recovery Pills to keep fighting.
• After more than twenty minutes, the group breaks through the swarm. Injured and wary, they continue deeper into the canyon, but the chapter ends before they discover what lies ahead.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian shows political caution and long-term thinking: he wants the Origin Sect to grow without provoking the imperial court or destabilizing Great Zhao.
• Wang Gang acts as the group’s guide, drawing on his earlier encounter with the Evil Fiend’s Emissary and warning the others about the canyon’s dangers.
• Shao Junyi helps lead the fight and urges the group to push through rather than become trapped among the bats.
• The players cooperate closely, sharing information and fighting as a team. Their confidence in the reward is tempered by the real costs of combat: depleted pills, injuries, and the risk of losing cultivation progress.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism and political stability: Qin Shujian avoids gains that could bring dangerous consequences for his sect.
• Risk versus reward: The players accept a perilous mission because its improved reward makes the danger seem worthwhile.
• Teamwork and resource management: Survival depends on coordinated fighting and careful use of pills.
• Uncertainty and escalating danger: The canyon’s eerie atmosphere and unknown depths suggest that the Ghost Bats may be only the first obstacle.

Plot points and events

• A six-person group discovers an ancient Seven-pointed Star Array in a canyon in the Lingchuan Mortal Domain, apparently sealing an evil fiend. They report the find to Qin Shujian rather than risk releasing it, and each receives 500 contribution points.
• Qin learns from the Heaven and Earth Bow that a seal can be broken with enough living blood, and that silver can contain essence-eroding bone powder. He also learns the Cloud-Piercing Arrow is nearly repaired.
• Qin travels to the altar and uses his Spirit Eye to confirm that a vast mass of demonic qi lies beneath it.
• Determined to release the fiend, Qin pours a large jar of blood from Inner Astral Realm cultivators into the array. The altar shakes, the pillars turn red, and purple lightning gathers overhead as heavenly retribution begins.
• Qin retreats, readies Thousand Mountain Blood, and orders the Heaven and Earth Bow and Cloud-Piercing Arrow to shoot the fiend the moment it emerges.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian continues advancing his cultivation, but abandons his peaceful training to investigate the sealed fiend. He is decisive and calculating, preparing to use the fiend as an opportunity to test his weapons and strength.
• Wang Gang and his companions act cautiously: they claim the reward for locating the seal without attempting to open it.
• The Heaven and Earth Bow is frightened by Qin’s plan and warns him about the fiend and heavenly retribution, yet obeys because it fears opposing him. Its near-restored partner, the Cloud-Piercing Arrow, gives Qin confidence.
• Qin’s interactions with the bow reveal his commanding manner and the bow’s growing anxiety about being dragged into a dangerous fight.

Significant themes

• Risk and reward: The explorers choose a safe reward, while Qin deliberately takes on a far greater danger.
• Power and control: Qin treats a catastrophic threat as something he can prepare to confront, even as the bow doubts his confidence.
• Consequences of forbidden power: Breaking the seal triggers a violent reaction from both the altar and the heavens, foreshadowing the danger of what Qin has unleashed.

Key plot points

• An evil fiend breaks through the Seven-pointed Star Array as heavenly lightning strikes the canyon. Qin Shujian waits until the fiend emerges, avoiding the danger of drawing the lightning’s attention.
• The fiend crushes a lightning bolt, but Qin launches a coordinated attack: Thousand Mountain Blood, the Heaven and Earth Bow’s Cloud-Piercing Arrow, and his Great Wilderness Demon-Suppressing Seal. The attacks kill the fiend before it can fight back.
• Qin collects some essence-eroding bone powder, uses Thousand Mountain Blood to disperse the remaining Demonic Qi, and collapses the cliffs to bury the ruined altar and traces of the corruption. Later visitors find the devastated canyon but cannot tell what happened.
• The slain fiend revives in the Demon Abyss as the Six Desires Evil Lord. As his memories return, he realizes he was killed almost instantly and becomes furious.
• Other evil fiends mock him. He attacks one of them, and their clash draws more fiends into a widening brawl.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian demonstrates patience and overwhelming power, choosing the safest moment to strike and then concealing the aftermath. The system confirms the kill and awards him 10 Fortune Value.
• The Heaven and Earth Bow is stunned that such a formidable enemy was destroyed before it could even fight back.
• The Six Desires Evil Lord revives disoriented, then becomes consumed by humiliation and rage over his effortless defeat. He takes out his anger on the fiend who taunts him.
• The Demon Abyss’s inhabitants mock the Six Desires Evil Lord and treat the resulting violence as entertainment; their fascination soon turns into participation.

Significant themes

• Power and decisive violence: Qin’s combined attacks overwhelm a threat before it can demonstrate its strength.
• Rebirth and humiliation: Death does not end the evil fiend’s existence, but revival leaves him haunted by the memory of defeat.
• Cruelty born of desolation: The Demon Abyss’s endless stagnation and Demonic Qi have intensified the fiends’ bloodlust, making violence both common and entertaining.
• Secrecy and uncertainty: Qin erases the evidence, leaving those who arrive later unable to explain the lightning or destruction.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian returns to the Origin Sect and spends ten fortune points strengthening Thousand Mountain Blood. The process releases a brief, terrifying aura that disrupts pill refining and unsettles the sect, though the disciples assume their sect master has advanced again.
• Thousand Mountain Blood gains another partial dao mark, but Qin concludes that upgrading it to a two-mark dao artifact will require far more fortune value. He also reflects on the Origin Sect’s slow progress toward level five and its limited number of regular disciples.
• He improves the Great Dream Spirit-Binding Art to the eighth layer of its True Martial Chapter, then decides to use essence-eroding bone powder to find sealed evil fiends.
• Qin asks Shen Yuqing to forge five thousand silver pendants with hollow centers to hold the powder. Shen estimates the work will take ten to fifteen days and plans to enlist the Forging Hall apprentices.
• Rather than wait, Qin leaves Liangshan to search for evil-fiend seals himself, accompanied by the talkative Heaven and Earth Bow.

Character developments

• Qin Shujian remains pragmatic and focused on gaining fortune value, strengthening his faction, and pursuing opportunities to hunt evil fiends. He is willing to delegate a large task but also acts immediately rather than waiting.
• Shen Yuqing has regained confidence and purpose as head of the Forging Hall. By training apprentices and passing on the Pill Cauldron Sect’s forging tradition, he is helping preserve his destroyed sect’s legacy.
• Shen Yuhua continues her work as a high-grade alchemist. Though the sudden aura causes her pill-refining attempt to fail, she calmly resumes her work.
• The Heaven and Earth Bow is eager to explore after years of confinement, but its constant commentary irritates Qin. It is also shown to be a valuable source of knowledge.

Character interactions

• The Heaven and Earth Bow explains how the bone powder reacts near evil-fiend seals and why Mortal Domains are likelier, easier targets than True Domains.
• Qin accommodates the bow’s dislike of the storage ring, but threatens to put it back inside when its nonstop chatter becomes annoying.
• Qin and Shen Yuqing have a respectful exchange: Qin gives him a major commission, and Shen accepts it while organizing the Forging Hall’s manpower.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism and ambition: Qin weighs the steep costs of advancement against the value of fortune and faction growth.
• Preserving legacy: Shen Yuqing’s teaching keeps the Pill Cauldron Sect’s knowledge alive despite its destruction.
• Power and responsibility: Sealed evil fiends pose different levels of danger depending on the domain, motivating Qin to organize a broader search.
• Freedom and companionship: The bow’s delight at finally seeing the world contrasts with Qin’s impatience, adding humor to their partnership.

Plot points and events

• Qin Shujian travels to the Heavenfall Mortal Domain, reasoning that—like the neighboring Liangshan and Lingchuan domains—it likely contains a sealed Evil Fiend.
• The essence-eroding bone powder in his silver box grows warm and guides him toward a cliff. During his descent, swarms of giant pythons attack. The Heaven and Earth Bow kills many with spiritual arrows, while Qin uses his Dao Artifact, Thousand Mountain Blood, to clear the cliff wall with lightning. The kills yield tens of thousands of Life Source.
• At the bottom of the ravine, Qin follows the powder’s response to a seal formed by a Six-pointed Star Array and six bronze pillars. He notes that the Lingchuan Evil Fiend had been sealed with a Seven-pointed Star Array; the Heaven and Earth Bow suggests the difference may reflect the fiends’ relative strength.
• Qin pours blood onto the array, breaking the seal. The emerging Evil Fiend struggles against the lightning summoned by the shattered formation, but Qin and his weapons strike in succession: the Great Wilderness Demon-Suppressing Seal, the Cloud-Piercing Arrow, and finally Thousand Mountain Blood’s Thunder Dao Seal. The fiend is killed before it can recover.
• Qin receives ten points of Fortune Value and concludes that hunting other sealed Evil Fiends could help him raise his faction to far higher levels.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin is methodical and increasingly confident: he tests the powder’s direction, adapts when the trail changes, and treats the dangers as obstacles rather than serious threats.
• His ambition expands after the successful hunt. He recognizes a repeatable way to gain Fortune Value and begins envisioning rapid faction advancement.
• The Heaven and Earth Bow offers guidance on tracking the Evil Fiend and explains the possible reason for the different seal. It also repeatedly protects Qin from the cliff’s pythons.
• Qin and the Bow work in tandem, using the Bow’s ranged attacks and Qin’s powerful Dao Artifacts to overcome threats efficiently.

Significant themes

• A world beyond the game: Qin’s observations suggest Novice Villages are program-like constructs serving players, unlike the independent people elsewhere in the world.
• Power and opportunity: Qin turns a dangerous sealed fiend into a source of strategic advancement, revealing his pragmatic, ambitious approach.
• Seals and hidden threats: The domain’s ancient formation and the Evil Fiend beneath the cliff imply that powerful dangers—and opportunities—remain concealed across Great Zhao.

Key plot points and events

• In the Demon Abyss, another Evil Fiend is reborn. It reports being killed by the Thunder Dao Seal, Great Wilderness Demon-Suppressing Seal, and a Spirit Weapon—convincing the Evil Lord of Six Desires that Qin Shujian is responsible. The Evil Fiends view the repeated deaths as a humiliation.
• The Marquis of Northcloud receives reports of strange disturbances at two sites where Evil Fiends were sealed. Since no demonic qi or demon calamities followed, he suspects someone killed the Fiends soon after they emerged.
• Xiao Hong notes that both sites lie near the Liangshan True Domain. The Marquis concludes that its Domain Lord, Qin Shujian, is the likeliest culprit and orders an investigation. He worries that sealed Evil Fiends pose growing risks, especially amid Great Zhao’s turmoil and the recent arrival of immortal Otherworlders.
• Qin Shujian continues searching nearby mortal domains for sealed Evil Fiends. When he finds one, he releases and immediately kills it, then returns to the Origin Sect after a month.
• The sect’s accumulated life source exceeds 200,000, allowing Qin to perfect the True Martial Chapter of the Great Dream Spirit-Binding Art. This completes the True Martial perfection of all four of his cultivation methods.
• At the Forging Hall, Qin inspects 5,000 custom-made pendants from Shen Yuqing. Satisfied with the work, he awards Shen 500 Contribution Points.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian remains intent on eliminating Evil Fiends without allowing demon calamities to break out. He also advances his cultivation and rewards competent sect work.
• The Marquis of Northcloud is increasingly concerned about threats within his territory. Though he appreciates Qin’s strength, he is uncertain why Qin releases the Fiends before killing them and considers the danger such acts could pose.
• Shen Yuqing is shown as diligent but overburdened: he is the Forging Hall’s only mid-grade Forge Master and handles both production and apprentice training. He hopes to train junior craftsmen so he can pursue advancement.
• The Evil Fiends grow more resentful as Qin repeatedly kills them, while the Evil Lord of Six Desires recognizes the pattern and blames Qin.

Significant themes

• Power and responsibility: Qin’s actions prevent immediate calamities, but the Marquis questions the risks involved in releasing sealed threats.
• Instability and security: Great Zhao’s turmoil, sealed Evil Fiends, and immortal Otherworlders all threaten Northcloud Prefecture’s stability.
• Progress through service: Qin’s cultivation grows through the sect’s accumulated life source, while Shen’s craftsmanship and contribution are formally recognized.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian commissions five thousand Evil Fiend Pendants, each filled with essence-eroding bone powder, and adds them to the Origin Sect’s exchange list for 1,000 Contribution Points apiece. Players complain about the price, but some buy them because teams can share the cost and rewards.
• Qin invests twenty Fortune Value in the sect’s Dao Artifact. The enhancement triggers a display of lightning and a Thunder Dao Seal, giving people across the sect insights that prompt numerous breakthroughs.
• Thousand Mountain Blood gains a Thunder Dao Seal and a partly formed second seal, making it far more powerful. Qin recognizes that the saber now surpasses his own strength.
• Qin sees a vast black net and glimpses the heaven-and-earth barrier behind it. When he pushes his power, a silver chain appears around his wrist: a Cosmic Heavenly Lock.
• The Heaven and Earth Bow explains that such locks appear when someone exceeds the limits of a domain without advancing to a higher realm. Four locks may allow Qin to break a True Domain’s shackles through his own power; using external aid would provoke devastating heavenly retribution.
• Qin takes the Spirit-tier Wind and Thunder True Art from the Library Pavilion and uses his remaining Life Source to raise it to the seventh level of True Martial. His Dantian’s black-net seal suppresses the resulting power, which begins slowly changing form.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian continues strengthening the sect and its artifacts, but learns that his own extraordinary power is constrained by the True Domain. He responds by pursuing further cultivation rather than relying on the Dao Artifact to break the seal.
• Lin Jie witnesses the Dao Artifact’s might and reflects on his family’s destruction by the Heavenly Martial Sect. Now at Martial Entry ninth level after rapid progress, he resolves to restore his family’s fortunes and eventually take revenge. His respect for the Origin Sect grows as he sees that it contains many talented cultivators.
• The Heaven and Earth Bow is startled by Qin’s Cosmic Heavenly Lock and reveals what it knows about domain limits and the danger of using external power to break them.
• Xu Yuanming cannot find the cultivation manual Qin has removed from the Library Pavilion, realizes Qin is the only one authorized to take it, and turns to study the Great Wilderness Demon-Suppressing Seal instead.

Significant themes

• Limits and transcendence: Qin’s Cosmic Heavenly Lock embodies the conflict between immense potential and the restrictions imposed by the world.
• Power earned through one’s own strength: Breaking the True Domain’s limits requires personal power; shortcuts invite catastrophic retribution.
• Ambition, loss, and revenge: Lin Jie’s determination is shaped by the destruction of his family and his desire to rebuild its legacy.
• Collective growth and opportunity: The Dao Artifact’s revelation helps many sect members break through, while the players’ team-based quest strategy turns a costly item into a shared investment.

Key events

• Qin Shujian realizes that the black mesh restricting his Dantian also protects it, letting him increase and compress his true essence safely. By using life source to improve his cultivation techniques, he can strengthen his essence beyond ordinary limits and work toward breaking the true-domain shackles.
• He writes down the Wind and Thunder True Art from memory and returns it to the Library Pavilion.
• In the real world, an old Daoist meditates for three days as spiritual energy gathers in his remote temple. He breaks through to qi refining, spirit transformation, confirming that spiritual energy has returned.
• Testing his new power, he produces sword astral energy that pierces a temple wall. He concludes that techniques learned in the game also work in reality.
• Believing the game helped make his breakthrough possible, he resolves to repay whoever created it. He predicts that spiritual energy will become noticeable to ordinary people within three years.
• The Daoist returns to the game, where he learns that more than ten days have passed. He remains a first-level true martial cultivator and expects to gain influence within the Azure Cloud Sect.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian recognizes how his unusual restriction can become an advantage, and reflects on the exceptional talent required to break true-domain shackles through cultivation alone.
• The old Daoist shifts from astonishment at his breakthrough to excitement about a coming cultivation age. His gratitude toward the game’s unknown creators prompts a sense of obligation.
• In the game, he asks others about the time that has passed and considers what the Azure Cloud Sect may worship, though he lacks access to its inner sanctum.

Significant themes

• Limits turned into strengths: Qin Shujian reframes a restriction as protection and a cultivation advantage.
• The return of the supernatural: The revival of spiritual energy heralds the restoration of cultivation in the modern world.
• Game and reality intertwined: Cultivation gained in the game carries over into real life, opening access to techniques once guarded by factions.
• A changing world: As more cultivators emerge and draw on spiritual energy, the cultivation age is expected to spread beyond established practitioners.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian spends several days cultivating at the Origin Sect while Players search for sealed Evil Fiends. He uses more than ten thousand Life Source to raise the Seven Leaves Piercing Flowers Palm to Dao Entry, gaining a very weak Wind Intent.
• Zheng Fang completes his transition from the Origin Canon to the Eternal Evergreen Technique. The gentler cultivation method appears to improve his health and may let him live closer to the True Martial Realm’s full two-hundred-year lifespan. His loyalty to the Origin Sect has reached its maximum.
• Over the following half-month, construction of the Origin Sect’s new town progresses rapidly. The town, built across the Liangshan–Rubble Forest boundary, is about eighty li long and fifty li wide.
• While inspecting it, Qin Shujian learns from Shen Yuqing that major cities use formation inscriptions to make their walls resistant to powerful cultivators. The new town lacks this protection, but the Elders note that the Origin Sect’s dominance of the True Domain makes an attack unlikely.
• Qin orders construction to continue according to plan and promotes supervisor Lin Daozhen to Elite Disciple in recognition of his contributions and maximum loyalty.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian continues prioritizing cultivation and the sect’s growth. He values loyalty and service, though the Origin Sect’s promotions are formally based on contribution rather than talent or strength.
• Zheng Fang makes a significant cultivation breakthrough and gains renewed confidence in his future prospects. His gratitude and commitment to the sect are underscored by his maximum loyalty.
• Shen Yuqing contributes expertise from his Spirit Domain background, explaining why cities need inscribed defenses. He also regrets that the Pill Cauldron Sect’s Forging Grandmaster has died, leaving no one he can readily recommend for the work.
• Lin Daozhen is rewarded for overseeing the town’s construction and improving his loyalty and cultivation. He responds to the promotion with enthusiastic respect.
• Zheng Fang notices that Otherworlder disciples have begun attending his lectures more often, while native disciples increasingly spend their Contribution Points on pills, but he treats all sect members equally.

Significant themes

• Cultivation and longevity: The Eternal Evergreen Technique offers not only power but the prospect of a longer, healthier life.
• Institution-building: The new town represents the Origin Sect’s growing influence and ambition.
• Loyalty and merit: Qin rewards members for service and devotion, while the sect’s advancement system emphasizes contribution points over pedigree or raw talent.
• Security and power: Physical defenses matter, but the Origin Sect’s political dominance is itself a deterrent.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian decides to invest in forging rather than immediately strengthen his cultivation. He believes the Origin Sect should delay advancing its True Domain into a Spirit Domain until it can withstand the attention and threats that would follow.
• After discussing the power of Forge Masters with Shen Yuqing, Qin recognizes that forging can directly enhance combat strength. He spends 100,000 Life Source points to upgrade the Forging Ancestral Canon from Low-Grade to Mid-Grade Forge Master.
• Xiao Hong, steward of the Marquis of Northcloud, visits the Origin Sect to ask why Qin broke the seals on evil fiends in two Mortal Domains. Qin admits doing so and argues that killing the fiends before otherworlders can release them is the best way to prevent future demon calamities.
• Xiao Hong accepts Qin’s explanation, praises his capability, and says he will report the conversation to the marquis. Qin believes the marquis is unlikely to stop his campaign against evil fiends, since it ultimately protects Northcloud Prefecture.
• After Xiao Hong leaves, Qin reflects that the Origin Sect still lacks the power to act without regard for the imperial court and the marquis. He then absorbs the knowledge gained from his forging upgrade.

Character developments

• Qin Shujian shows strategic patience: he postpones a potentially risky breakthrough, prioritizes preparation, and uses a public-spirited argument to justify his actions to powerful authorities. He also begins developing a new source of strength through forging.
• Xiao Hong shifts from questioning Qin to treating him as a serious rising expert. His respectful manner reflects Qin’s reputation for defeating evil fiends and the marquis’s confidence in his judgment.
• Shen Yuqing’s earlier advice prompts Qin to recognize that mastery of a craft can become a formidable form of power.

Significant themes

• Preparation before ambition: Qin delays advancing the domain until the sect can survive the consequences.
• Public good and personal motives: Qin’s stated goal is to prevent calamities; he also expects his actions to benefit his own aims. His reasoning works because it aligns with the safety of the wider region.
• Power, authority, and restraint: Even a formidable sect must consider the imperial court and regional rulers.
• Skill becoming power: Forging is presented not as mere support work but as a path toward direct combat ability.

Character interactions

• Qin and Xiao Hong begin with a courteous tea conversation that turns into a direct inquiry about the evil fiends. Qin answers candidly, while Xiao tests his motives and ultimately responds with respect.
• Qin’s exchange with Xiao also serves as an indirect message to the Marquis of Northcloud about the danger posed by sealed fiends and the unpredictable actions of otherworlders.
• Qin’s decision to upgrade forging reflects his earlier conversation with Shen Yuqing, whose insight reshaped his view of the profession.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Qin Shujian discovers that upgrading the Forging Ancestral Canon has made him a top-tier Mid-Grade Forge Master, with enough knowledge to attempt even first-grade weapons—though his skill and stamina still limit what he can produce.
• He inscribes seventy-two solidity runes onto an ordinary stone table, raising it to second-grade quality and giving it defenses comparable to second-grade Treasure Armor. He also adds spiritual-energy-gathering runes to its four stools, hoping they will gradually nourish and improve the table.
• The work leaves him mentally and physically exhausted. He sleeps for five days, then awakens fully recovered and with deeper insight into the mental cost of forging. He estimates he could forge only one first-grade weapon per month at his current level; greater cultivation or forging mastery would make the process easier.
• At the Marquis of Northcloud’s manor, Xiao Hong reports on Qin Shujian. He believes Qin is partly motivated by the desire to prevent future Demon Calamities, but also suspects he wants to break the limits of a True Domain and become the Lord of a spirit domain.
• The Marquis agrees to provide Qin with the locations of Evil Fiends sealed in Northcloud Prefecture’s Mortal Domains, on the condition that Qin does not trigger a Demon Calamity. He withholds the locations in True Domains, judging those Evil Fiends too dangerous.
• Meanwhile, Origin Sect players who bought Evil Fiend Pendants spread beyond Liangshan to search for sealed Evil Fiends, hoping to make their costly pendants worthwhile.
• During a search, Xu Kai and four companions find a Muluo Fruit. Before they can leave, eight players ambush them and demand the fruit. Xu Kai refuses and launches the first attack, setting up a fight.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian demonstrates growing technical mastery and ingenuity, transforming ordinary objects through rune inscription. His exhaustion reveals that forging demands substantial mental energy, not merely materials and True Essence. He also shows a practical, long-term approach by using the stools to nourish the table over time.
• The Marquis of Northcloud is cautious but willing to cooperate with Qin when it serves the safety of the prefecture. His conversation with Xiao Hong shows both men recognize Qin’s ambition, while the Marquis remains wary of the risks involved.
• Xiao Hong offers a measured assessment of Qin, estimating that his stated motives are mostly genuine but that personal ambition also drives him.
• Xu Kai and his companions react eagerly to the Muluo Fruit because it can be exchanged for a valuable pill. Xu Kai protects the group’s find when they are attacked, while the ambushers escalate the encounter by threatening to kill them for it.

Significant themes

• Power has limits and costs: Qin’s forging ability is extraordinary, but mental fatigue restricts how often he can use it.
• Ambition and risk: Qin’s possible goal of becoming a spirit-domain lord could bring him great power, but the effort may endanger a wider region.
• Pragmatic cooperation: The Marquis supports Qin’s Evil Fiend hunts only under strict conditions, balancing opportunity against public safety.
• Scarcity and competition: Valuable resources such as Evil Fiend locations, pills, and rare fruits drive exploration, bargaining, and conflict.

Key plot points and events

• After being killed by players from the Ten Directions Sect, Xu Kai’s group respawns at the Origin Sect. They still have the valuable Muluo Fruit, but the attackers looted Xu Kai’s Evil Fiend Pendant, worth 1,000 contribution points.
• Believing the Ten Directions Sect players came from the Tree Sea True Domain, Xu Kai gathers more than twenty Origin Sect players and leads a revenge attack.
• They ambush Gu Jieming’s eight-person party and defeat it. Gu Jieming and his companions respawn, then recruit more than a hundred players and track Xu Kai’s group down.
• The Ten Directions Sect force overwhelms the Origin Sect party, sending its members back to their sect. Xu Kai’s group rallies over two hundred allies for a larger assault.
• Origin Sect players attack Ten Directions Sect members in the Tree Sea True Domain, but the conflict quickly expands: the Ten Directions Sect’s larger local player base retaliates, and both sides summon reinforcements.
• Repeated clashes turn into an escalating, open battle between the sects. Neither side can secure an easy victory, and the chapter ends with a full-scale melee underway.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Kai responds to the loss of his pendant with anger and organizes successive retaliatory forces. He insists he will not claim loot from the first group of friends who help him, though some allies clearly hope to benefit.
• Gu Jieming is frustrated by the initial fight and dismisses the pendant as useless. After his party is wiped out, wounded pride drives him to gather a much larger force, while he ignores that his side had started the conflict.
• The players on both sides act through friendship, sect loyalty, and revenge. Each defeat prompts survivors to call in more allies, turning personal disputes into collective warfare.

Significant themes

• Escalation and retaliation: Each act of revenge provokes a larger response, making the conflict increasingly difficult to contain.
• Group loyalty and self-interest: Players rally for friends and sectmates, but the promise of loot also shapes their motives.
• Pride and selective blame: Both sides focus on their own humiliation and justify retaliation, overlooking their role in the cycle of violence.

Key events

• A long-running fight between the Origin Sect’s and Ten Directions Sect’s players at their border escalates after players enlist powerful NPCs from their own sects.
• Origin Sect cultivators join the battle, and one kills a Ten Directions Sect True Martial cultivator. The victim’s master retaliates, killing Origin Sect Outer Sect Deacon Cheng Jin—an NPC death that cannot be reversed.
• The system notification alerts Qin Shujian. He learns that the Ten Directions Sect’s powerful cultivators intervened and that Origin Sect disciples and deacons are already supporting their players.
• Angered that the sect’s response has been hesitant, Qin orders the Heaven and Earth Bow and Cloud-Piercing Arrow to help secure the Ten Directions Sect’s sect-guarding Spirit Weapon.
• Zheng Fang leads five elders and 300 Inner Astral cultivators toward the Tree Sea True Domain. Shen Yuqing and Shen Yuhua stay behind to guard the Origin Sect.
• At the Ten Directions Sect, Sect Master Ying Wenyao recognizes the scale of the disaster. Remembering that Qin once destroyed seven sects over a far smaller provocation, he resigns abruptly, leaving the sect without its leader.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Shujian responds to Cheng Jin’s irreversible death with immediate anger and decisive action, expecting the Origin Sect to answer an insult forcefully.
• Zheng Fang and the elders accept Qin’s order and organize a large-scale expedition. Niu Feng dismisses the Ten Directions Sect’s strength, while the Heaven and Earth Bow boasts of its own abilities.
• Ying Wenyao shifts from confusion and guilt to abdication, believing his neglect brought the crisis upon the sect. His departure leaves the Ten Directions Sect’s elders stunned.
• The initial player conflict spills into the NPC world through players’ relationships with powerful sect members, transforming a contest between Otherworlders into a deadly sect-level confrontation.

Significant themes

• Escalation and responsibility: A petty feud becomes a major conflict as both sides recruit increasingly powerful allies.
• Irreversible consequences: Unlike player deaths, NPC deaths at other NPCs’ hands cannot be undone.
• Sect pride and retaliation: The Origin Sect’s strength and reputation make it unwilling to tolerate perceived humiliation.
• Leadership under pressure: Ying Wenyao responds to the crisis by accepting blame—but his resignation may further destabilize his sect.

Plot points and events

• Ying Wenyao abdicates as sect master of the Ten Directions Sect and leaves, followed by an elder who also resigns. Their departures leave the already weakened sect with little leadership or defensive strength.
• The Origin Sect attacks. Its Cloud-Piercing Arrow—taken from the previously destroyed Rock Sect—smashes much of the Ten Directions Sect’s hall, announcing the invasion.
• Zheng Fang leads the assault, ordering his forces to kill. He rejects the Ten Directions Sect’s pleas that the conflict is a misunderstanding, explaining that they killed Origin Sect members. He defeats and kills an Outer Astral elder, while the Origin Sect’s numerical strength overwhelms the defenders.
• The Ten Directions Sect is destroyed. Ying Wenyao and one other Outer Astral elder are missing, presumed to have fled. The sect’s guardian weapon, a black low-grade spirit saber, is recovered.
• News of the destruction spreads quickly. Other sects fear they may be next and demonstrate their loyalty by hunting down Ten Directions Sect survivors.
• Back at the Origin Sect, Zheng Fang reports the mission’s results and returns the borrowed bow and arrow. Qin Shujian orders a bounty on the heads of the remaining fugitives, intending to eliminate any future threat.
• The Origin Sect learns it lost four Inner Astral cultivators in the conflict: one deacon and three inner disciples.

Character developments and interactions

• Ying Wenyao abandons his position, leaving his sect at its most vulnerable; his whereabouts remain unknown.
• Zheng Fang acts decisively as the Origin Sect’s leader in the field. He calmly kills a powerful elder and frames the attack as both revenge and a warning to other sects.
• Qin Shujian remains focused on consolidating the Origin Sect’s dominance. He accepts the captured weapon and orders a relentless search for survivors, while also asking for a candid account of the losses.
• The Ten Directions Sect’s elders shift from confusion to fear as leadership disappears and the invasion begins. One elder attempts to negotiate, but Zheng Fang refuses.
• The surrounding sects respond to the Origin Sect’s victory through fearful displays of submission, turning against the Ten Directions Sect’s remnants.

Significant themes

• Power and intimidation: The Origin Sect’s destruction of the Ten Directions Sect serves not only as retaliation but as a public demonstration that its authority remains absolute.
• Preemptive vengeance: Qin Shujian seeks to remove future threats before they can grow stronger, even pursuing fugitives after the sect’s defeat.
• The cost of dominance: The victory is overwhelming, but the Origin Sect suffers its first significant loss in this conflict—four Inner Astral cultivators—showing that its expanding power does not make it invulnerable.