Chapter Summaries

Key events

• Three demonic elders kill a Crimson Sun Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator and begin slaughtering Thousandfire City before reinforcements can arrive.
• Heavenly Cripple Old Devil unleashes the Thousand Demon Drum, which contains thousands of living souls—many formed from the souls of murdered mortals. Blood Corpse Daoist sends his terrifying Millennium Frost Corpse against the remaining sect disciples, while Blue Old Devil attacks the city’s inhabitants and harvests their blood.
• A Qi Refining Perfection disciple sacrifices two companions to distract the corpse and flee, but the corpse catches and devours him as well.
• Xu Yan watches from concealment, recognizing that the city is becoming a massacre. When his Thousand Illusions Mirage Art wears off, the blood corpse detects him and charges. Xu Yan flees, preparing to confront the danger.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan remains cautious and observant, but becomes increasingly anxious as the massacre spreads. Once discovered by the blood corpse, he shifts from hiding to desperate action.
• The three old devils act swiftly and ruthlessly, coordinating their attacks to complete the blood sacrifice before the Crimson Sun Sect can respond.
• The fleeing sect disciple reveals cowardice and desperation by throwing two fellow disciples to the corpse as bait; neither his sacrifice of others nor his flight saves him.
• The blood corpse is established as a fast, powerful, bloodthirsty creature, particularly attracted to cultivators’ flesh and blood.

Significant themes

• Cruelty and dehumanization: Mortals and cultivators alike are reduced to fuel for demonic power.
• Self-preservation and betrayal: Under mortal danger, the fleeing disciple abandons his companions, while Xu Yan prioritizes escape from an opponent he knows he cannot yet defeat.
• Human nature under threat: Xu Yan reflects on how quickly people’s courage and public defiance vanish when confronted with overwhelming power.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yan flees through the air with the Millennium Frost Corpse—a blood corpse of Foundation Establishment Perfection strength—in pursuit. He carries a refined third-tier Great Sun Golden Blade Talisman, powerful enough to potentially destroy it, but activating it could also injure him and would consume his life-saving trump card.
• The three devils pursuing their own aims argue over who gets Xu Yan’s body, soul, and Storage Ring. They eventually agree to divide his flesh and blood, while prioritizing the blood sacrifice of everyone in Thousandfire City before a Golden Core cultivator from the Crimson Sun Sect arrives.
• The blood corpse closes in. Xu Yan’s Broadsword attack fails to harm it, and it nearly grabs him. He then releases a small amount of the talisman’s aura, frightening the corpse into retreating long enough for him to gain distance.
• Xu Yan repeats this tactic several times, buying time but exhausting himself. The increasingly intelligent corpse is becoming harder to fool, and Xu Yan believes he can deter it only once more before it catches him.

Character developments

• Xu Yan stays resourceful under pressure, testing the talisman’s aura rather than activating it outright. But his stamina is fading, and his confidence in escaping without using the talisman is diminishing.
• The blood corpse shows signs of emerging intelligence: it recognizes the talisman’s danger and hesitates, but learns from Xu Yan’s repeated trick and resumes the chase.
• The three devils reveal their greed and rivalry, but also their fear of the Crimson Sun Sect’s Golden Core cultivator.

Significant themes

• Survival through strategy: Xu Yan uses a dangerous trump card indirectly, balancing risk against the need to escape.
• Power and fear: The talisman’s aura can intimidate even a formidable monster, while the prospect of facing a Golden Core cultivator unsettles the three devils.
• Greed and exploitation: The devils treat Xu Yan as spoils to be divided and plan to sacrifice the city’s population for power.
• A race against time: Xu Yan must endure the pursuit as the blood sacrifice continues and help from the sect has yet to arrive.

Character interactions

• The three devils dispute ownership of Xu Yan before Heavenly Cripple Old Devil brokers a compromise.
• Blood Corpse Daoist orders the corpse not to consume Xu Yan yet; the corpse resists emotionally but obeys.
• Xu Yan and the blood corpse engage in a tense contest of pursuit and intimidation: his talisman’s aura makes it back off, but each encounter brings it closer to overcoming the ruse.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yan struggles against the Blood Corpse, which fails to defeat him because he possesses a powerful Talisman Treasure. The Blood Corpse’s delay angers the Blood Corpse Daoist.
• Meanwhile, the devils’ massacre of Thousandfire City fuels their power: the Heavenly Cripple Old Devil’s Thousand Demon Drum nears advancement, the Blue Old Devil grows stronger from the blood, and the city’s Blood Sacrifice Formation darkens.
• A powerful cultivator approaches. Recognizing the danger, the three devils order the Blood Corpse to withdraw and prepare to flee.
• The newcomer is an elder of the Crimson Sun Sect—and a golden core cultivator. His aura shatters the Blood Sacrifice Formation, freeing the surviving townspeople.
• The three devils scatter in different directions. The elder pursues the Blood Corpse Daoist, traps him in his core aura, and crushes him with a single palm strike. He then turns to pursue another fleeing devil.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan survives a near-fatal confrontation, ready to use his Great Sun Golden Blade Talisman if necessary. He recognizes the arriving cultivator’s golden core aura and takes heart that his life may be safe.
• The Blood Corpse Daoist grows suspicious and angry at the Blood Corpse’s failure, then becomes frustrated that he has gained little from the massacre. His confidence collapses when the golden core cultivator targets him; he is apparently killed.
• The three old devils abandon their earlier ambitions and flee as soon as they sense the elder’s power, underscoring their inability to face a golden core cultivator.
• The Crimson Sun Sect elder arrives furious at the attack on a protected city. He saves the survivors and immediately hunts the devils, showing overwhelming power and resolve.

Significant themes

• The gulf between cultivation realms: Golden core power decisively eclipses foundation establishment and makes direct resistance seem futile.
• The cost of demonic ambition: The devils’ attempt to gain power through mass sacrifice brings devastation to the city and draws a force capable of destroying them.
• Survival and fortune: Xu Yan escapes death through his Talisman Treasure and the elder’s timely arrival, while the Blood Corpse Daoist bitterly blames his bad luck as events turn against him.

Plot points

• After Danyangzi, a Golden Core cultivator of the Crimson Sun Sect, pursues and kills the three old devils who attacked Thousandfire City, Xu Yan prepares to leave.
• Danyangzi stops Xu Yan and credits him with keeping the devils occupied, reducing the danger to the city’s civilians.
• He offers Xu Yan a position as a Guest Elder of the Crimson Sun Sect. Xu Yan suspects a hidden motive and fears being coerced into joining.
• To reassure him, Danyangzi swears a heavenly dao oath that he means Xu Yan no harm. He explains that his remaining lifespan and failing soul leave him no prospect of taking over Xu Yan’s body.
• Danyangzi praises Xu Yan’s exceptional cultivation talent and says he hopes Xu Yan may one day help preserve the sect’s legacy. He also offers practical advantages: freedom to come and go, no divine-sense imprint, access to most sect resources, and support from an alchemy-focused sect.
• Xu Yan weighs the risks—especially the possibility that the sect will face enemies after Danyangzi’s death—against the refuge and access it could provide. Needing time to recover and wishing to navigate the kingdom’s cultivation world more easily, he decides the offer is worthwhile, at least temporarily.

Character developments

• Xu Yan remains cautious and calculating, concealing his role in provoking the crisis. Though alarmed by Danyangzi’s power, he evaluates the offer strategically rather than accepting out of gratitude or fear.
• Danyangzi presents himself as a courteous elder and demonstrates political foresight. His recruitment effort is driven by concern for his sect’s future and a desire to cultivate a favorable relationship with a promising young cultivator.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Xu Yan’s survival depends on caution when facing someone vastly stronger.
• Trust and self-interest: Danyangzi’s oath and promises ease Xu Yan’s fears, but Xu Yan still considers the possible costs.
• Legacy and mortality: Danyangzi’s approaching death prompts him to seek someone who might protect his sect after he is gone.
• Pragmatic alliances: Xu Yan treats affiliation as a useful, potentially temporary arrangement rather than a binding loyalty.

Character interactions

• Danyangzi thanks Xu Yan for delaying the devils, while Xu Yan modestly downplays his role.
• Xu Yan’s suspicion contrasts with Danyangzi’s warm, reassuring manner; the oath and explanation of his failing life help bridge the gap.
• Danyangzi appeals both to Xu Yan’s ambition—recognizing his talent—and to his practical needs, offering resources and a foothold in the kingdom’s cultivation world.

Plot points and events

• Danyangzi brings Xu Yan to the Crimson Sun Sect after Xu Yan agrees to serve as a guest elder. Xu Yan experiences firsthand the overwhelming power of a Golden Core cultivator.
• The sect occupies a mountain range with one main peak and eight secondary peaks. Guest elders may choose among four secondary peaks for their cultivation abodes.
• Xu Yan meets the sect master, Li Changfeng, a cultivator at Foundation Establishment perfection. From the sect’s aging leaders, Xu Yan infers that the sect is struggling to produce a new Golden Core cultivator and is recruiting outside help.
• Li Changfeng reports that most elders have arrived for a gathering, though one is in seclusion and two guest elders are away at a trade fair. Three guest elders are present.
• Several cultivators enter the hall. Danyangzi announces that the sect has recruited another guest elder—Xu Yan—who rises to be introduced.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan remains cautious and calculating. He sees the sect appointment as mutually useful rather than a reason for loyalty, and is relieved to learn other guest elders will keep him from standing out. His keen perception also identifies the three arriving guest elders as seasoned killers.
• Danyangzi acts as host and recruiter, bringing Xu Yan into the sect and convening its elders. Though his motives appear tied to the sect’s precarious future, he reveals little emotion.
• Li Changfeng treats Xu Yan courteously and reports to Danyangzi with visible caution. His advanced age and incomplete cultivation suggest the sect’s succession problem.
• The three present guest elders make distinct impressions: a formidable body cultivator, a pale and chillingly sinister man, and a seemingly amiable, dark-skinned man. Xu Yan distrusts all three despite their outward differences.

Significant themes

• Mutual dependence without belonging: Xu Yan and the sect are using one another, while Xu Yan deliberately avoids emotional attachment.
• Aging and succession: Danyangzi’s decline and Li Changfeng’s uncertain prospects underscore the danger of a sect lacking a younger Golden Core successor.
• Hidden danger beneath appearances: Xu Yan reads the killing intent behind the guest elders’ varied facades, emphasizing the importance of vigilance in cultivation society.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yan is formally admitted to the Crimson Sun Sect as a Guest Elder under the name Lin Dao. He receives a jade token granting access to most of the sect, a monthly stipend, 3,000 contribution points, and permission to establish a cave abode on one of four subsidiary peaks.
• Danyangzi announces that, after more than ten years of searching, he has gathered the ingredients to refine the Golden Marrow Jade Dew Pill in a year. He expects to make three to five pills, available to elders in order of contribution points, with a limit of one per person.
• Xu Yan and the three existing Guest Elders recognize the pill as a major opportunity. A single pill could greatly accelerate Foundation Establishment cultivation.
• Zhao Feng objects to outsiders having access to the pills, and another elder supports his complaint. Li Changfeng rebukes Zhao, but Danyangzi ends the dispute by unleashing his Golden Core pressure, forcing the sect elders and Li Changfeng to kneel.
• Danyangzi makes clear that his decisions are final and that Guest Elders may join the sect formally only if they choose. The assembly then disperses.

Character developments

• Xu Yan sees the Guest Elder appointment as a temporary refuge: he intends to heal, study the local cultivation world and the sect’s alchemical knowledge, then leave. He is tempted by the pill but remains wary of Danyangzi and plans not to stay beyond what is useful.
• Danyangzi reveals that the pill is a powerful incentive keeping rogue cultivators at the sect. His forceful response also shows that he retains unquestioned authority.
• The three Guest Elders are revealed to be strongly motivated by the prospect of obtaining a pill.
• Zhao Feng emerges as a vocal defender of the sect’s established elders and challenges the patriarch’s policy.

Themes

• Power and authority: Danyangzi’s Golden Core might swiftly suppress dissent and reaffirm his command.
• Self-interest and opportunity: Xu Yan and the Guest Elders weigh the pill’s cultivation benefits against their own plans and risks.
• Trust and caution: Xu Yan accepts the sect’s resources but remains alert to possible hidden motives or attempts at control.
• Belonging and exclusion: The dispute over whether Guest Elders deserve access to sect treasures exposes tension between insiders and outsiders.

Character interactions

• Danyangzi formally welcomes Xu Yan and outlines his privileges, then announces the pill exchange rules.
• Zhao Feng challenges the policy; Li Changfeng reprimands him, while another elder voices support for Zhao.
• Danyangzi silences the dispute with his aura and confirms that Guest Elders will be treated according to his decision, without being forced to join the sect.

Plot points and events

• In private, the ailing Danyangzi confronts his grandson, Li Changfeng, the Crimson Sun Sect’s master, over his clumsy attempts to recruit rogue cultivators. He warns that they will not join without meaningful benefits.
• Danyangzi asks about Li Changfeng’s prospects for surviving the Golden Core tribulation. Li admits his real chance is below 20%, despite having initially claimed it was around 30%.
• Danyangzi lays out two ways to improve the odds: seek the rare calamity-averting yuan magnetism to make a life-bound treasure, or, as a last resort, use a brutal demonic core-formation method. The latter could boost Li’s chances but would leave him in continual agony. Recruiting rogue cultivators is also preparation for this fallback plan.
• Xu Yan goes to Sitting Forgetfulness Peak to collect the promised stipend and supplies for his cave abode. The sect provides valuable furnishings and a second-tier defensive formation.
• There he meets the three other newly recruited guest elders: Ye Yun, Zhou Li, and Lin Ye. They exchange polite greetings and brief accounts of how they became rogue cultivators, then Xu Yan flies off to the peak’s summit.

Character developments

• Danyangzi appears physically close to death but remains calculating and determined to preserve the sect. He is willing to pursue a cruel, dangerous plan for Li’s advancement if no better option emerges.
• Li Changfeng is anxious and candid about his poor chances once pressed. He nevertheless vows to accept whatever suffering is needed to keep the sect’s legacy alive.
• Xu Yan acts cautiously and independently, surveying his surroundings before choosing a remote peak. He accepts the sect’s resources and begins establishing himself there.
• The new guest elders present themselves as friendly, though their brief, guarded introductions reveal little about their intentions.

Significant themes

• Legacy and sacrifice: Danyangzi and Li prioritize the Crimson Sun Sect’s survival, even at great personal cost.
• Power, risk, and desperation: The Golden Core tribulation is a potentially fatal turning point, and the available solutions range from rare and difficult to brutally painful.
• Trust and self-interest: Rogue cultivators are wary of joining a sect without sufficient benefit, while the guest elders’ cordiality does not erase their guarded pasts.
• Aging and limited opportunity: Li’s age means failure may leave him no chance to try again.

Character interactions

• Danyangzi rebukes Li’s recruitment tactics, interrogates him about his tribulation prospects, and explains the options he may ultimately face. Li responds with deference and a pledge to endure whatever is necessary.
• Xu Yan deals briefly with the servant disciples while collecting his benefits.
• The three guest elders greet Xu Yan warmly and introduce themselves; Xu Yan returns their courtesy but keeps the exchange brief.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yan establishes a secluded cave on Sitting Forgetfulness Peak, equips it with a defensive formation, and tests a Spirit Meditation Cushion and sandalwood, finding their benefits modest but useful over time.
• He plans to exploit the Crimson Sun Sect’s resources while Danyangzi is still alive, but intends to leave within a year. He fears the sect will become dangerous once its Golden Core patriarch dies.
• Xu Yan worries that repeated use of his Bloodfiend Shadow-Escaping Steps has damaged his foundation. Since Lin Dao’s inherited alchemical knowledge lacks a remedy, he visits the sect’s Pill Pavilion to search for a way to restore his vitality.
• At the pavilion, a contemptuous Foundation Establishment cultivator tells Xu Yan that the third floor is restricted and even he needs the patriarch’s permission to enter.
• Xu Yan searches the second floor and spends two thousand contribution points on the formula for the mid-grade second-tier Ginseng Essence-Restoring Pill. Each pill restores ten years of lifespan, though a cultivator can take at most three.

Character developments

• Xu Yan remains cautious and pragmatic: he treats his position in the sect as temporary, prioritizes repairing the damage to his foundation, and seeks knowledge rather than relying on rare pills directly.
• His ambitions extend beyond immediate survival. He also hopes to use the sect’s resources to find materials and information needed to refine the Five Elements Dao-Evolving Sword.
• His hostility toward the sect’s arrogant cultivator is concealed beneath outward politeness, while he privately considers how vulnerable the sect may become after Danyangzi’s death.

Significant themes

• Opportunism and risk: Xu Yan seeks to benefit from the sect without becoming trapped by its politics.
• Secrecy and self-preservation: He fears Danyangzi discovering his secrets and considers stronger concealment and defenses essential.
• Long-term cultivation: Small aids and valuable knowledge may compound over time, while damage to one’s foundation can threaten a cultivator’s future path.
• The fragility of power: Xu Yan expects the sect’s stability to depend heavily on its patriarch.

Character interactions

• The pavilion attendant treats Xu Yan with open disdain, calling him a rogue cultivator and rebuking his attempt to enter the third floor. Xu Yan responds calmly and respectfully, concealing his anger.
• Xu Yan’s dealings with Danyangzi remain indirect: he accepts the patriarch’s resources while privately planning to leave before the patriarch’s death makes the sect unsafe.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yan finishes studying the recipe for the Ginseng Essence-Restoring Pill but cannot begin refining it without five-hundred-year-old Jade Zhi Golden Ginseng, a rare ingredient unavailable from the Crimson Sun Sect.
• He learns that the Fire Prosperity Kingdom’s sects belong to the Immortal Alliance, formed to defend against sea demons and the beasts of the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range. Its member sects must periodically send cultivators to garrison two dangerous immortal cities.
• Xu Yan suspects Danyangzi is recruiting Guest Elders partly to meet the Crimson Sun Sect’s upcoming garrison obligations. He also judges the sect vulnerable: after Danyangzi dies, its stronger rivals, the Ten Thousand Fire Sect and Dark Moon Sect, may destroy it.
• Xu Yan plans to visit the Ancient Market to seek ginseng, sell treasures taken from defeated cultivators, and look for spirit-beast essence blood. He also intends to test whether the sect will let him leave freely.
• Following procedure, he tells Li Changfeng he is leaving and claims he needs the ginseng to recover lost vitality. Li permits him to go and offers to intervene if Danyangzi objects. Xu Yan departs, while Li watches him leave with a darkened expression before heading to the rear mountain’s secret grounds.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan grows more wary of Danyangzi and the Crimson Sun Sect, viewing his membership as potentially dangerous. Though outwardly courteous, he stays alert and treats this trip as a test of his freedom and a possible step toward escape.
• Li Changfeng appears supportive, offering spiritual tea and permission to leave, but Xu Yan doubts the sincerity behind the exchange. Li’s shadowed reaction afterward hints at concealed concerns or plans.
• Their polite conversation is marked by mutual caution: Xu Yan gives a plausible explanation for his trip, while Li probes his purpose and then lets him proceed.

Significant themes

• Freedom versus security: Sect membership offers access to resources but also imposes rules and obligations.
• Political calculation and mistrust: Danyangzi’s recruitment, the sect’s rivals, and Li’s unexplained reaction all suggest hidden agendas.
• Precarious power: The Crimson Sun Sect’s position is threatened by its aging leader and stronger, longer-lived competitors, while the Immortal Alliance’s defenses demand costly service from its members.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yan travels to Divine Peak City, home of the Ancient Clans, whose immense wealth, long history, and influence make it a dominant power in the region.
• The city is protected by a formidable flight-prohibition formation. Xu Yan senses that its power could threaten even Nascent Soul cultivators.
• At the city gate, Xu Yan hires Qi Quan, a low-level rogue cultivator, as a guide—but negotiates his fee down from three spirit stones to one.
• Xu Yan asks Qi Quan about the Ancient Market. Qi Quan explains that it has four districts: Heaven (materials), Earth (cultivation goods), Mystic (methods and inheritances), and Yellow (information, bartering, auctions, and other activities).
• Qi Quan mentions an auction of select treasures in three days, open to Foundation Establishment cultivators affiliated with the Immortal Alliance.
• Xu Yan suspects there is a black market. After paying Qi Quan an extra spirit stone, he learns its entrance is a rundown pill workshop in the market’s southwestern corner and is warned to conceal his identity there.

Character developments

• Xu Yan is cautious and observant, carefully assessing the city’s defenses and probing for information. He keeps control of the encounter through pointed questions and selective payments.
• Qi Quan is shrewd enough to charge a visiting Foundation Establishment cultivator more, but becomes nervous when Xu Yan challenges his knowledge. He ultimately provides useful information once rewarded.

Character interactions

• Xu Yan bargains with Qi Quan over the guide fee, establishing their unequal but practical arrangement.
• When Qi Quan asks what Xu Yan intends to do at the market, Xu Yan reacts coldly and redirects the questioning, showing his wariness.
• Xu Yan’s direct inquiry about the black market unsettles Qi Quan; an extra spirit stone persuades him to reveal its location.

Significant themes

• Power and hierarchy: The Ancient Clans’ ancient lineage and accumulated resources command deference across the region.
• Commerce and access: Divine Peak City and its market thrive on trade, fees, brokers, and auctions.
• Caution and concealed dealings: Xu Yan probes for hidden opportunities, while Qi Quan’s warning highlights the risks of entering the black market without hiding one’s identity.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yan pays a broker for directions to the black market, then dismisses him. He wants to sell items taken from slain cultivators without drawing attention to his identity as a Crimson Sun Sect Guest Elder.
• To conceal himself, Xu Yan buys an expensive, temporary disguise mask and changes his appearance to that of a scar-faced cultivator.
• He reaches the shabby Qingyun Pill Workshop, the black market’s entrance. Elder Yu sells him a Black Jade Token for one thousand low-grade spirit stones.
• Elder Yu mentions that a prominent figure will host a trading gathering the following day, where rare spiritual items may be available. Interested, Xu Yan thanks him.
• Elder Yu opens a concealed gateway. Xu Yan passes through and presents his token to masked guards at a massive stone gate before entering the underground market.
• In the brightly lit cavern plaza, Xu Yan observes the disguised crowd, the faction-backed visitors, and the surrounding shops, then heads toward one that catches his eye.

Character developments

• Xu Yan is cautious and resourceful: he disguises himself, avoids linking his sales to his public identity, and studies the market’s security before proceeding.
• He remains alert even as he enters, noticing that the guards’ divine sense seems weaker than their Foundation Establishment cultivation level would suggest.
• Elder Yu shifts from appearing half-drunk and indifferent to being unusually welcoming, particularly after receiving Xu Yan’s payment.

Character interactions

• Xu Yan pays the broker for information and sends him away.
• At the workshop, the blue-robed youth wakes Elder Yu and announces Xu Yan’s arrival.
• Elder Yu sells Xu Yan entry and offers information about the upcoming trading gathering; Xu Yan responds politely.
• Black-robed guards inspect Xu Yan’s token and admit him through the stone gate.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and identity: Masks and aliases help cultivators hide their faces and conceal the origins of their goods.
• Power and wealth: Access to the market is costly, and its scale suggests that influential groups profit from controlling it.
• Caution and opportunity: Xu Yan balances suspicion of the market’s workings with the chance to find valuable items and learn more from the gathering.

Key plot points

• Xu Yan enters the Easy Spirit Hall, a powerful black-market shop known for buying almost anything, and presents himself as the rogue cultivator Du Fei.
• The shopkeeper, Gu Santong, is secretly a highly capable Foundation Establishment cultivator with ties to the Ancient Clans.
• Xu Yan offers a bag containing the corpses of more than a dozen cultivators he killed in the Ancient Demon Abyss. Gu values them at 5,000 low-grade spirit stones, though he privately recognizes their intact vital essence makes them worth more.
• Xu Yan accepts the offer, then presents a second bag of low-tier spiritual goods. Gu offers 37,000 spirit stones, below Xu Yan’s estimate of roughly 42,000.
• Xu Yan challenges the low offer and threatens to take his valuable Spirit Artifacts elsewhere. Gu responds by apologizing and claiming he needs the hall master’s approval, leaving the negotiation unresolved.

Character developments

• Xu Yan is cautious and calculating, concealing his identity and testing the market’s willingness to buy questionable goods. When Gu tries to underpay him, Xu Yan firmly negotiates rather than accepting.
• Gu Santong presents himself as courteous and reputable, but his private thoughts reveal his greed: he deliberately understates the corpses’ value and attempts to lowball Xu Yan on the other goods.

Significant themes

• Deception and hidden identities: Xu Yan uses an alias, while Gu conceals his motives behind polite business manners.
• Greed and negotiation: The exchange reveals how black-market transactions depend on bargaining and opportunism.
• Practical value in the cultivation world: Even dead cultivators can be valuable as resources for demonic cultivators or spirit-beast advancement.

Character interactions

• Xu Yan and Gu begin with formal courtesy, each assessing the other’s strength and intentions.
• Gu tries to profit from Xu Yan’s ignorance of the corpses’ worth and later offers too little for his goods.
• Xu Yan pushes back by withdrawing the second bag and threatening to shop elsewhere, prompting Gu to switch from confident bargaining to appeasement.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yan, posing as the rogue cultivator Du, waits while Gu Santong consults his Hall Master about buying his treasures.
• The hall offers 40,800 low-grade spirit stones for Xu Yan’s spiritual treasures. Xu Yan accepts the price as fair.
• Xu Yan then presents four Spirit Artifacts for appraisal:
  • Purple-Gold Patterned Medicine Cauldron: 8,000
  • Unusual supreme-grade broadsword: 6,000
  • Poison-refined Mother-and-Child Flying Knives: 7,000
  • Upper-grade body-cultivation gauntlets: 2,000
• Xu Yan questions the initial valuations. Gu Santong raises the total offer for the artifacts and other goods to 70,000 low-grade spirit stones.
• Xu Yan pretends to weigh the offer, then agrees. Gu Santong produces a Storage Bag containing the prepared payment.

Character developments

• Xu Yan shows himself to be a calculating negotiator: he conceals his true satisfaction, challenges the offer without openly confronting Gu, and uses the prospect of selling elsewhere to secure a better price. He is selling the broadsword partly because it attracts unwanted attention.
• Xu Yan’s financial needs are becoming urgent. His five-elements spiritual root makes cultivation resource-intensive, and he expects a slow Foundation Establishment breakthrough without substantial support.
• Gu Santong appears courteous and accommodating, but his appraisals reveal sharp knowledge of artifacts and of the Jade Radiance Kingdom’s cultivation world.

Significant themes

• Negotiation and concealed motives: Both men maintain polite appearances while calculating what they can gain.
• The cost of cultivation: Xu Yan must liquidate valuable equipment to fund medicines, a suitable sword, spirit beast essence blood, and future progress.
• Knowledge as power: Gu’s recognition of the broadsword’s likely origins reflects the depth of the Ancient Clans’ information and influence.
• Resource inequality: Xu Yan’s spiritual-root disadvantage makes advancement depend heavily on acquiring expensive materials.

Character interactions

• Xu Yan and Gu Santong conduct a restrained bargaining exchange, using courteous language to mask suspicion and strategic pressure.
• Gu identifies the weapons’ strengths and drawbacks, while Xuyan tests his willingness to improve the offer.
• Their transaction ends with Xu Yan accepting Gu’s rounded-up price of 70,000 spirit stones.

Key plot points and events

• Xu Yan sells spiritual treasures at Easy Spirit Hall for 70,000 low-grade spirit stones, bringing his total to more than 130,000.
• Manager Gu Santong invites him, under the alias Du, to a private trade fair the following day and gives him a Purple Jade Token marking him as an honored guest.
• Leaving the hall, Xu Yan notices a black-cloaked cultivator whose divine sense lingers on him. The stranger disappears before Xu Yan can catch up.
• Xu Yan suspects the watcher may be Shang Fang, a dangerous Foundation Establishment cultivator who knows his true face. Worried that the Six Sects might come after him, Xu Yan considers leaving the Ancient Market within seven days.
• He reassesses his plans: the Crimson Sun Sect may be a safer place to remain for a while, but he needs a powerful formation to protect himself from Danyangzi’s divine sense.
• Searching the Black Market for high-tier formations, Xu Yan finds a shabby-looking Formation Pavilion. An illusion formation reveals that it is actually a magnificent golden hall.

Character developments

• Xu Yan’s growing wealth gives him greater resources, but the possible recognition by Shang Fang exposes how vulnerable he remains.
• His unease pushes him to reconsider his long-term plans and prioritize stronger protection, especially a formation capable of resisting a Golden Core cultivator’s divine sense.
• Gu Santong presents himself as a courteous, accommodating intermediary, though Xu Yan suspects the trade fair may also serve the hall’s commercial interests.

Significant themes

• Caution and survival: Xu Yan balances opportunity against the threat of being identified and hunted.
• Deception and appearances: The stranger’s hidden identity, Xu Yan’s disguise, and the pavilion’s illusion all show how appearances can conceal danger or value.
• Power and resource control: Access to rare treasures and high-tier formations is restricted, making the Black Market important—and potentially risky—for cultivators outside the Immortal Alliance.

Character interactions

• Xu Yan and Gu Santong: They conclude a lucrative sale, exchange polite courtesies, and Gu invites Xu Yan to the private trade fair.
• Xu Yan and the black-cloaked cultivator: Their only direct encounter is a brief, unsettling moment of surveillance; the stranger evades pursuit.
• Xu Yan and Shang Fang: Shang Fang does not appear, but Xu Yan’s memory of him shapes his fear and decisions.
• Xu Yan and the Formation Pavilion: Xu Yan approaches to investigate its apparent ruin and discovers the illusion concealing its true appearance.

Plot points and events

• Shang Fang, a Foundation Establishment cultivator from Spirit Beast Mountain, spots Xu Yan hiding in the Black Market. He recognizes him through his bonded Spirit-Communicating Gu Silkworm, which can identify a memorized aura despite disguises. Shang Fang sends word to the Spirit Sword Sect and Ascension Gate, whose elders are already hunting Xu Yan for killing two Foundation Establishment elders.
• Xu Yan, disguised as “Du,” searches the Formation Pavilion for a third-tier formation strong enough to block a Golden Core cultivator’s divine sense. Shopkeeper Qin Changqing has none of the ordinary kind available.
• Qin instead offers an ancient remnant formation: a weakened relic that retains only some of its original functions. Its reduced power comes at a steep price, since it still consumes spirit stones at the rate required by its original, higher-grade form.
• After weighing the expense against his limited time in the Crimson Sun Sect, Xu Yan agrees to consider the option. Qin presents the ancient peak third-tier Two-Yi Mystic Circle Formation, which he says should meet Xu Yan’s needs.

Character developments

• Xu Yan remains cautious and composed, asking directly about the remnant formations’ drawbacks before deciding. Though concerned by the heavy cost, he judges the protection worthwhile because he does not expect to remain in the Crimson Sun Sect for long.
• Qin Changqing proves shrewd and persuasive, steering Xu Yan toward a costly item after gauging his interest.
• Shang Fang is driven by deep resentment over the loss of his spirit beast and uses his silkworm’s tracking ability to turn that hatred into a renewed attempt to expose Xu Yan.

Character interactions

• Shang Fang’s discovery creates a threat beyond the shop: he secretly alerts two sects that are pursuing Xu Yan.
• Qin explains the ancient formation’s limitations and cost, while Xu Yan probes for disadvantages and weighs the trade-off. Their negotiation ends with Qin offering the formation Xu Yan needs.

Significant themes

• Concealment and pursuit: Xu Yan’s disguise and hiding place are undermined by Shang Fang’s specialized spirit beast.
• Power versus cost: The remnant formation offers useful protection, but its outdated spirit-stone demands make that protection expensive.
• Pragmatism under pressure: Xu Yan accepts a costly solution because his immediate need for secrecy outweighs the long-term expense.

Plot points and events

• Xu Yan leaves the Formation Pavilion with the third-tier Ancient Remnant Formation, bought for 12,000 low-grade spirit stones. Because it has no offensive or defensive power, its main value is hiding him from an old cultivator’s probing divine sense.
• In the Black Market, he buys two portions of spirit beast essence blood for 9,600 spirit stones and six jin of cave-mystery iron essence for 3,000. He now has three of the six kinds of essence blood needed to cultivate an Ancient Demon Slave Talisman. He also searches for jade zhi golden ginseng, which could restore vitality, but finds none.
• A Purple Jade Token signals that the Easy Spirit Hall’s private trade fair is about to begin. Xu Yan attends, hoping to acquire valuable spiritual treasures. More than twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators gather in the hall, keeping their distance and remaining guarded.
• A red-robed Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator arrives with a violent Blood Jade Spirit Python whose supreme-grade spirit-demon bloodline appears close to a breakthrough. He angrily warns the others not to stare at it.
• The old man is identified as the “Blood Monster.” A tall, blue-faced cultivator arrives and mocks him as the “Blue-Faced Ghost.” The two exchange threats, and the python prepares to attack.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan methodically gathers resources and secures protection from divine-sense scrutiny. He hopes to complete the talisman and has a further, unusually ambitious plan that he can pursue only if its cultivation succeeds.
• At the trade fair, Xu Yan remains cautious and unobtrusive, choosing a corner and avoiding involvement in the Blood Monster’s display.
• Gu Santong warmly welcomes Xu Yan, calling him “Fellow Daoist Du” and promising that the Hall Master has brought out treasured items.
• The Blood Monster’s aggression provokes resentment, though the other guests hold back because of his strength. The Blue-Faced Ghost directly challenges his temper, turning their apparent feud into an immediate confrontation.

Significant themes

• Preparation and concealed power: Xu Yan invests in protection and carefully accumulates materials while keeping his plans private.
• Scarcity and value: Rare resources—especially vitality-restoring treasures—are difficult to find, while even modest purchases consume large sums.
• Power and intimidation: The gathered cultivators’ caution reflects the dangers of a world where cultivation rank shapes how openly one can speak.
• Foreshadowing: The python’s imminent transformation and the rivals’ hostility suggest that the trade fair may be disrupted by conflict.

Key plot points and events

• The Blood Jade Spirit Python nearly attacks the Blue-Faced Ghost, Yang Ren, but its master, Old Blood Freak Hong Shan, holds back because violence is forbidden in Divine Peak City. The two trade insults before taking their seats.
• Xu Yan learns that Hong Shan and Yang Ren were once rogue cultivators who founded nearby lineages after reaching Foundation Establishment. Their rivalry has lasted for nearly a century, with neither able to defeat the other.
• Xu Yan considers obtaining Hong Shan’s python for its spirit-beast essence blood, hoping to strengthen himself after feeling uneasy about a furtive cultivator he encountered.
• Gu Xuanji, a prominent Gu Household disciple and late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, opens the Easy Spirit Hall’s private trade fair. Gu Santong explains that attendees may offer treasures for sale or exchange before Gu Xuanji presents his own wares.
• When no one volunteers an item, Gu Santong starts the trading with a supreme-grade Spirit Artifact medicine cauldron. Though its spirituality has diminished, an alchemist buys it at a reduced price using third-tier ores. The fair then becomes more active, and another attendee offers a cultivation art for exchange.

Character developments

• Xu Yan remains cautious and focused on increasing his strength; the python catches his attention as a possible source of useful essence blood.
• Hong Shan and Yang Ren are established as powerful, long-standing rivals whose hostility is constrained by the city’s rules.
• Gu Xuanji is introduced as a young but influential host, while Gu Santong acts as his respectful aide and helps get the trade fair underway.

Character interactions

• Hong Shan and Yang Ren exchange threats and taunts, while other cultivators recognize them and discuss their history.
• Gu Xuanji formally welcomes the attendees; Gu Santong supports his announcement and initiates the first transaction.
• An alchemist questions Gu Santong about the cauldron’s condition, negotiates its price, and ultimately makes the purchase.

Significant themes

• Rivalry and restraint: Personal enmity persists, but laws and circumstances can limit open conflict.
• Strength and security: Xu Yan’s interest in the python reflects his anxiety and desire to become stronger.
• Exchange and negotiation: The fair brings together cultivators who value, scrutinize, and bargain over spiritual treasures.

Key plot points and events

• At a private trade fair, Xu Yan—concealing his identity as “Du”—buys a six-level but incomplete Thousand Illusions Mirage Art for 5,000 low-grade spirit stones. He negotiates down from the seller’s request of thirty jin of rare iron, presenting the technique as less valuable than it may be.
• After the attendees finish trading, host Gu Xuanji offers several treasures for auction.
• Three Foundation Establishment Pills—ordinary, one-pattern, and two-pattern—spark intense bidding. They sell for 6,000, an unspecified higher amount, and 36,000 low-grade spirit stones, respectively. Xu Yan has no need for them.
• Gu then reveals an eight-hundred-year-old Jade Zhi Golden Ginseng. Refined into Spirit Pills, it can repair damaged foundations and extend lifespan by several decades. He sets its starting price at 20,000 low-grade spirit stones, and bidding is about to begin.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan shows shrewd bargaining, disguising his interest in the Mirage Art behind apparent skepticism. He remains detached from the Foundation Establishment Pills but becomes alert when Gu produces a possible spirit medicine.
• The gaunt seller accepts Xu Yan’s offer after considering it, apparently satisfied with the exchange.
• Gu Xuanji shifts the fair into an auction, using valuable items—and the crowd’s reactions—to encourage competitive bidding.
• Blood Monster is especially interested in the ginseng because his long cultivation has brought him close to the end of his lifespan. Another injured cultivator is eager for it because his vitality and blood energy were depleted.

Significant themes

• Scarcity and survival: Foundation Establishment Pills can determine whether cultivators advance or fail, while lifespan-restoring medicine is precious to those nearing death.
• Negotiation and calculated appearances: Xu Yan hides his true intentions while bargaining; Gu Xuanji stages his offerings to maximize interest and price.
• Cultivation’s costs: Advancement, recovery, and longevity all depend on rare resources, and even powerful cultivators remain vulnerable to time, injury, and failed breakthroughs.

Key plot points and events

• Gu Xuanji’s private trade fair offers an eight-hundred-year-old jade zhi golden ginseng. Bidding quickly climbs from 25,000 to 43,000 low-grade spirit stones as Blood Monster Hong Shan and Blue-Faced Ghost Yang Ren compete.
• Xu Yan, bidding under the name Du, enters at 44,000. Hong Shan threatens him, but Yang Ren publicly offers protection. Gu Santong ends the confrontation by releasing an overwhelming aura and warning Hong Shan to behave.
• Xu Yan wins the ginseng for 48,000 spirit stones. He suspects Hong Shan’s interest in the bidding may be connected to plans for his remaining wealth and covets the Blood Jade Spirit Python.
• Gu Xuanji then presents two bottles of essence blood from a male and female Yin-Yang Twin Flood Dragon, both with supreme-grade spirit demon bloodlines. The starting bid is 20,000.
• Hong Shan immediately shows intense interest: the essence blood could help his Blood Jade Spirit Python reach second-tier perfection within sixty years. The python itself reacts wildly to the bottles.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan remains controlled despite Hong Shan’s insult and threat. He secretly marks Hong Shan for death, distrusts Yang Ren’s generous-sounding promise of protection, and acts decisively to secure the ginseng.
• Hong Shan is revealed as aggressive, prideful, and deeply invested in improving his spirit beast. His rivalry with Yang Ren escalates during the bidding.
• Yang Ren openly challenges Hong Shan and intervenes on Xu Yan’s behalf, though Xu Yan doubts his sincerity.
• Gu Santong displays authority and strength far beyond ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, keeping the hall orderly.
• Gu Xuanji profits from the bidding and moves the auction onward to the valuable dragon essence blood.

Significant themes

• Wealth and competition: Rare cultivation resources drive cultivators to spend vast fortunes and provoke rivalries.
• Power and restraint: Threats and hostility are contained by the trade fair’s rules and Gu Santong’s superior strength.
• Mistrust and hidden motives: Xu Yan treats public assurances cautiously and watches for concealed plans.
• Cultivation through rare resources: The ginseng and dragon blood demonstrate how valuable materials can advance both cultivators and spirit beasts.

Plot points and events

• Old Monster Xue makes a strong bid for the male and female spirit flood dragon essence blood, provoking the other attendees, who are tired of his threats and arrogance. After a bidding war, he wins the pair for 43,000 low-grade spirit stones.
• Gu Xuanji sells several more treasures, including a Mystic Heaven Dao-Intent Pill for 150,000 spirit stones, and the private trade fair ends.
• Other cultivators expect Xu Yan to be killed by Old Monster Xue. Outside the hall, Xue confronts him, but Yang Ren—the “Blue-Faced Ghost”—steps in and challenges Xue to fight beyond Divine Peak City.
• Xu Yan follows the two men, intending to claim the spirit beast essence blood Xue possesses. He discovers that their apparent feud is a ruse: the pair have lured him into an ambush so they can kill and rob him.
• Surrounded by the two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, Xu Yan remains confident in his superior strength. The chapter ends as he challenges their certainty.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Yan stays outwardly composed while plotting to acquire the essence blood. Once he realizes the supposed duel is staged, he identifies the trap and prepares to fight, confident in his own abilities.
• Old Monster Xue reveals both his greed for the dragon essence blood and his murderous intent toward Xu Yan. His public rivalry with Yang Ren masks a criminal partnership.
• Yang Ren protects Xu Yan briefly inside the city, then appears to pursue Xue—but this is part of their coordinated scheme.
• The other cultivators resent Xue’s bullying and eagerly drive up his bid, then watch Xu Yan’s departure with anticipation of his apparent doom.

Significant themes

• Deception and false appearances: Xue and Yang Ren exploit their public feud to conceal their partnership.
• Greed and opportunism: The auction fuels rivalry, while the two men target Xu Yan for robbery.
• Confidence versus underestimation: The conspirators assume Xu Yan is an easy victim, but he believes his strength far exceeds that of an ordinary cultivator at his stage.