Chapter Summaries

Qian Wanli entertained several cultivators and tried to recruit their help by complaining about threats to his household and association. His guests prepared to defend him when Li Chen and He Ran forced their way into the residence.

• Qian Wanli hosted Hu Xing, Wu Ding, and other guests with wine and dancing girls.
• Hu Xing accepted Qian Wanli’s offer to have Fang'er serve him while he stayed in the city.
• Qian Wanli hinted that bandits and powerful travelers threatened his household and association, prompting Hu Xing and the other guests to offer help.
• A servant reported that two formidable-looking men had broken through the guards at the entrance.
• Hu Xing rose to confront the intruders, but Li Chen and He Ran entered the courtyard and challenged him.

Li Chen confronted Qian Wanli and Hu Xing, whose lightning magic damaged one of Li Chen’s Puppets. Li Chen restored control and sent three Puppets against Hu Xing, but Hu Xing’s lightning slowed them as the fight continued.

• Li Chen arrived with He Ran and confronted Qian Wanli, who greeted him cautiously.
• Hu Xing attacked Li Chen with a bolt of lightning, but Li Chen’s Armored Warrior Puppet blocked it and took damage.
• Li Chen used the Meridian-Connection Method to restore the Puppet’s control, and it lunged at Hu Xing with its Wrist Blade.
• Hu Xing manifested the Evil-Repelling Thunder Soldier, wielding a lightning spear and surrounding himself with electric power.
• Li Chen summoned two more Puppets and sent all three against Hu Xing, whose lightning made their movements stiff and sluggish.

Li Chen and Wu Ding overcame Hu Xing and the Qian Household guards, then turned their attack on Qian Wanli. As Li Chen’s puppets drove the guards back, a second Li Chen appeared behind Qian Wanli with a knife at his neck.

• Wu Ding struck Hu Xing with Palm Thunder and called Li Chen to seize the opening.
• Li Chen used his Armored Warrior Puppet to launch a blade that pierced Hu Xing’s chest and defeated him.
• Li Chen summoned more puppets to protect himself and He Ran while the Sickle Demon Puppets attacked Qian Wanli’s guards with a spinning sword technique.
• The Sickle Demon Puppets broke through the guards’ defenses and forced Qian Wanli to retreat.
• A second Li Chen appeared behind Qian Wanli and held a hunting knife to his neck.

Li Chen used Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting to disguise himself and seize Qian Wanli, forcing him to hand over the Demon Cores he had blocked Li Chen from buying. The standoff ended with Steward Wan bringing the cores, while Li Chen returned Qian Wanli’s own warning words to him.

• A Retainer recognized Li Chen’s disguise as Shape-Stealing Skin-Painting, surprising the gathered cultivators and Qian Wanli.
• Qian Wanli admitted that he had told people not to sell the goods Li Chen wanted, then tried to frame the confrontation as a misunderstanding.
• Li Chen cut Qian Wanli’s neck with his Hunting Knife and threatened to kill him if his guards approached or the goods were not delivered.
• Qian Wanli ordered someone to fetch the inner cores from the storeroom, and a Retainer warned Li Chen about the consequences of harming him.
• Steward Wan brought a Storage Bag and laid out dozens of valuable Demon Cores; Li Chen repeated the warning Qian Wanli had sent him through Leopard.

Li Chen forced Qian Wanli to hand over spirit materials and used him as a hostage to leave the Qian Residence. After the household’s warehouse caught fire, Li Chen released Qian Wanli outside the city and departed, warning the local magnates that their paths would not align.

• Qian Wanli apologized to Li Chen and offered spirit materials and farewell gifts, which Li Chen had Steward Wan pack up.
• Li Chen took Qian Wanli hostage as he and Wu Ding left the residence, and Wu Ding identified the unconscious Hu Xing as someone from the Eastern Coast.
• Wu Lu and the others confronted Li Chen outside the Qian Residence, but cries of fire from the warehouse sent most of the crowd rushing to fight the blaze.
• Li Chen rode the Mechanism Beast Fang Tiger to the outskirts and released Qian Wanli to his guards.
• Li Chen told the gathered magnates that sparrows could not understand a swan’s ambitions, then departed with Wu Ding.

After helping Wu Ding settle his grudge with Hu Xing, Li Chen and He Ran welcomed him as a companion and learned that he shared their plans to travel to the Eastern Coast. Wu Ding warned them that his home region was consumed by war, but agreed to guide them there.

• Li Chen met He Ran on the Imperial Road and explained how Wu Ding had joined them after Hu Xing’s death.
• Wu Ding revealed that he had sought revenge on Hu Xing for killing his brothers, and He Ran and Li Chen welcomed him into their group.
• Wu Ding shared the spoils from Hu Xing and explained that they had both inherited fragments of lightning arts from a dead spell cultivator’s legacy.
• Li Chen said he and He Ran planned to travel to the Eastern Coast to seek a chance at Foundation Establishment.
• Wu Ding warned that the Eastern Coast was chaotic and said his hometown in the Linhai Region was caught in a widespread war.

Li Chen and He Ran traveled with Wu Ding toward the eastern coast, where Wu Ding warned them about its dangers and agreed to share stories of his past. He began recounting the fortuitous encounter that gave him a Spellcaster inheritance.

• Li Chen asked Wu Ding about Spell Cultivator methods, and Wu Ding explained that lightning arts required a rare thunder spiritual root.
• Wu Ding described the eastern coast's dangerous spirits, fiends, sea beasts, and conflicts with Outer Dao practitioners, while He Ran confirmed the dangers but said Wu Ding exaggerated.
• Li Chen invited Wu Ding to travel with them and asked how he had obtained his Spellcaster inheritance.
• Wu Ding revealed that he and Hu Xing had once been fellow townsmen and that he had targeted Hu Xing after Hu Xing killed their old companion.
• Wu Ding began telling how, twenty-five years earlier, two Sky Cities collided overhead and he claimed the falling corpse of a Spell Cultivator.

Li Chen learned about the Star Sea, the Native Star Realm’s vast geography, and the dangers of the eastern frontier. Rather than weakening his resolve, Wu Ding’s story strengthened Li Chen’s determination to seek greater opportunities there.

• Wu Ding recounted a battle near a market town where cultivators’ corpses fell from the sky and survivors fought over them.
• He Ran told Li Chen that Puppet Master Grandmasters had fought experts from the Other Continent near New Pass Commandery twenty-five years earlier.
• Li Chen reflected on the Eastern Victory Continent, the Star Sea, its two companion continents, and the legendary Guixu at the realm’s center.
• Li Chen explained to He Ran that advancing to the eastern coast offered greater opportunities and trials than remaining in Coldwind Valley.
• Wu Ding revealed that the corpse he had found belonged to an elder of the Earthly Immortal Continent’s Spirit Firmament Gate and had carried an inheritance jade slip.

Li Chen and He Ran persuaded Wu Ding to join their journey east, and the party reached the major city of Suyang after more than three months on the road. As they approached the city, a man hanging from a flying shuttle was smashed against its wall.

• Li Chen explained that the Other Continent's inheritance jade slips were bait intended to draw Outer Dao cultivators toward the Spirit Firmament Gate.
• Li Chen and He Ran reassured Wu Ding that he could seek advancement on the Eastern Coast, and Wu Ding agreed to join their party.
• The party traveled east along the Imperial Road for more than three months and covered tens of thousands of li.
• Li Chen, He Ran, and Wu Ding arrived at Suyang, a large transportation hub protected by a high stone wall.
• A flying shuttle swept past the city wall, and the man dangling beneath it struck the wall and was crushed.

Li Chen, He Ran, and Wu Ding reached a city with a teleportation array to the Long Kingdom’s capital and discussed their journey toward the coast. As Wu Ding suggested they part ways over the travel costs, Li Chen asked him to guide them to the Underground Black Market, where Foundation Establishment Pills might be auctioned.

• Li Chen, He Ran, and Wu Ding witnessed a young master’s brutal killing of a commoner at the city gate, and Li Chen reflected on the widespread cruelty of the world.
• He Ran explained that the city’s teleportation array connected it to the Long Kingdom’s capital in the Linhai Region, while Wu Ding described how coastal cities were repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt.
• He Ran said they needed to find out whether passage permits were available and when the teleportation array would depart.
• Wu Ding suggested that the three separate because the journey’s fares and fees were expensive, and Li Chen agreed they could part ways.
• Li Chen asked Wu Ding to take them to the Underground Black Market, where eastern treasures and Foundation Establishment Pills sometimes appeared at auction.

Li Chen, He Ran, and Wu Ding disguised themselves and went to the underground black market, hoping to find rare goods and sell their Demon Cores. They reached the market’s entrance, where the innkeeper offered them boiled eggs at an exorbitant price.

• Li Chen and He Ran learned that the teleportation array would not operate again until the beginning of the next month, leaving them time to visit the black market.
• Li Chen disguised himself, He Ran, and Wu Ding as ordinary rogue cultivators, while Wu Ding warned that customers could be attacked after leaving the market.
• He Ran explained that the black market could offer better prices for their Demon Cores and might carry a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• The three followed Wu Ding through a watched, deserted merchant street to a shabby inn that served as an entrance to the market.
• The innkeeper brought them boiled eggs priced at one thousand Talisman Coins each, and Li Chen and He Ran each ate one.

Li Chen, He Ran, and Wu Ding entered a black-market auction by buying Foundation Establishment Pills, then examined the catalog of goods. Li Chen discovered that the market sold abducted women as Corpse Concubines and offered organs and limbs made from mutilated people, leaving him disturbed.

• He Ran and Li Chen used coded talk about boiled eggs to inquire about Foundation Establishment Pills and paid the shopkeeper’s admission fee.
• Wu Ding clarified that they were individual customers, and the shopkeeper led the three into a secluded private room.
• Li Chen browsed the catalog and recognized materials useful for making Mechanism Puppets, including refined gold, spirit jade, and black iron.
• Wu Ding noticed that Corpse Concubines were being auctioned, and Li Chen silently turned to the next page.
• Li Chen saw listings for Spirit-Transformed Organs and Replacement Limbs and concluded that people, rather than crafts, committed evil.

Li Chen, He Ran, and their companion watched the Ten Thousand Nations Trade Fair auction true demon materials and Mechanism Devices, including a powerful Eight-Faced Glazed Fire. The auction then opened sealed bidding for five Foundation Establishment Pills.

• An attendant told Li Chen and the others that the black market would soon open, and an announcement began the Ten Thousand Nations Trade Fair.
• He Ran identified a Water Zhu as the auction displayed its true demon remains and sold its valuable spirit materials.
• Li Chen watched bidders buy high-grade spirit materials, gold-eating spirit seeds, and spirit mercury.
• The auctioneer demonstrated the Eight-Faced Glazed Fire Mechanism Device, and Li Chen chose not to bid because installing it would cost more money.
• The auctioneer offered five Foundation Establishment Pills at a starting price of three hundred fifty thousand per pill and opened sealed bidding.

Li Chen and He Ran decided to bid five hundred thousand each for a Foundation Establishment Pill, despite their different worries about risking their savings. Both won the auction and completed the private transactions, leaving them with pills and the chance to attempt advancement.

• Li Chen and He Ran debated whether the Foundation Establishment Pill was worth its high price while Wu Ding questioned spending so much on it.
• Li Chen decided to bid five hundred thousand, arguing that advancing quickly mattered more than holding onto his savings.
• He Ran revealed that he had a little over four hundred thousand, and Li Chen offered to use their shared goods to cover the difference.
• He Ran also bid five hundred thousand before the auction closed.
• The auction notified Li Chen and He Ran that each had won a Foundation Establishment Pill, and they exchanged payment and goods with the steward.

Li Chen and He Ran bought and swallowed Foundation Establishment Pills at a black market in Suyang City, beginning a process that gathered their innate True Essence. After they returned to their inn, the innkeeper told them that demons from the Star Sea had attacked the formation in the Long Kingdom's capital, likely delaying their journey.

• The black market steward explained that Foundation Establishment Pills could gather cultivated True Essence and help their users advance, and Wu Ding challenged his claims about Hundred-Day Foundation Establishment.
• Li Chen swallowed a Foundation Establishment Pill and felt its Primordial Energy form circuits that drew on his body's reserves to gather True Essence.
• He Ran took his own pill and watched for any dangerous reaction as the steward offered consultations over the next hundred days.
• Li Chen, He Ran, and Wu Ding left the black market, restored their original appearances, and returned to their inn.
• The innkeeper told Li Chen and the others that demons from the Star Sea had attacked the formation in the Long Kingdom's capital, preventing them from traveling there for now.

After learning that demons had attacked the Long Kingdom's capital, Li Chen reflected on the turmoil of the world before sensing that his cultivation was nearing a breakthrough. He discovered he could briefly float during meditation and realized he might advance to Foundation Establishment at any time.

• Wu Ding learned that demons had attacked the Long Kingdom's capital, and the innkeeper said travel would remain suspended until more news arrived.
• Li Chen reflected on the endless wars and understood why Old Wu did not want to return to his homeland.
• He Ran returned to his room to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill, while Li Chen released warriors to guard his door and meditated.
• Li Chen sensed his qi meridians and qi sea changing, and he recognized signs that his cultivation was approaching transformation.
• During meditation, Li Chen floated three feet above his bed before dropping back down when his awareness cleared.
• Li Chen tried again and concluded that he had reached the threshold of advancement and could break through in the coming days.

Li Chen experimented with conductive stone and a Rune Brush to create semiconductor circuits using magic power, then tested a finished chip that performed calculations. He resolved to develop a better rune script and make his own hardware after reaching Foundation Establishment and gaining microscopic perception.

• Li Chen examined conductive stone from a deposit he had found near Octagonal Fort and considered its similarity to monocrystalline silicon.
• Li Chen used magic power to shape conductive stone into Origin tubes, connected them with refined-gold wires, and built a simple OR-gate circuit.
• Li Chen assembled a palm-sized device whose crystal screen displayed digits from zero to nine when he pressed its buttons.
• Li Chen replaced the logic-gate circuit with a finished chip and made the screen rapidly display sequences for arithmetic operations and square roots.
• Li Chen concluded that he needed microscopic divine sense to manufacture hardware himself and planned to improve the world's rune script.

Li Chen reflected on magic power’s material and idealistic nature and considered how his cultivation would need to advance beyond Foundation Establishment. He and He Ran prepared to leave the crowded inn for a quiet place near a river, but Wu Ding was missing when they returned.

• Li Chen reviewed his theories about magic power, restrictions, and rune script, concluding that his path would eventually need to go beyond Foundation Establishment.
• Li Chen found He Ran reading Miscellaneous Records of the Eastern Journey, and He Ran said his nine qi meridians were still being condensed.
• Li Chen and He Ran knocked on Wu Ding’s locked door, received no answer, and went downstairs to eat.
• He Ran proposed finding a quiet place to stay, and the two searched for a rental before choosing a riverbank more than ten li away.
• Li Chen and He Ran bought provisions and supplies, sold some Demon Cores, and returned to the inn, where they could not find Wu Ding.

Li Chen and He Ran settled beside the Miao River to cultivate while the Teleportation Array remained broken. As Li Chen drew closer to Foundation Establishment, He Ran grew despondent and feared he would never advance.

• Li Chen and He Ran left the city and found a quiet stretch of the Miao River where they built two cabins.
• Li Chen and He Ran practiced walking and meditating on the river to strengthen their cultivation.
• After half a month, they learned that repairs to the Teleportation Array would take much longer, so they continued cultivating by the river.
• Li Chen felt the Foundation Establishment Pill’s medicinal power steadily raising his cultivation, while He Ran grew increasingly discouraged.
• He Ran told Li Chen that he feared he would never reach Foundation Establishment.

He Ran despaired over his stalled cultivation, while Li Chen reflected on the loneliness of the Dao and continued strengthening his own qi channels. After returning to Suyang City to buy materials, Li Chen spotted someone wearing Old Wu’s clothes.

• He Ran told Li Chen that his cultivation had weakened despite taking a Foundation Establishment Pill and feared he lacked the talent to advance.
• Li Chen urged He Ran to keep trying until the hundred days were over, then reflected that cultivators ultimately had to walk the Great Dao alone.
• He Ran declined to return to the city with Li Chen and stayed behind to refine the pill’s medicinal power.
• Li Chen traveled back to Suyang City using magic power to lighten his body and bought materials and components at the market.
• Li Chen noticed a passerby wearing clothes that looked like Old Wu’s.