Chapter Summaries

Sun Zhuo and Fang Qianyuan discovered what might be an exposed spirit mine and realized the Wang Household might try to claim it. After Sun Zhuo sent a signal to their master, the two prepared to withdraw while leaving proof that they had found the ore vein.

• Sun Zhuo told Fang Qianyuan that he suspected they had found a spirit mine and explained how Wang Yan had tried to delay them while waiting for reinforcements.
• Sun Zhuo and Fang Qianyuan reached a secluded hollow scattered with gold-green stones, where Sun Zhuo judged there was a strong chance of an ore vein beneath the ground.
• Fang Qianyuan spotted a Swift Eagle overhead, and Sun Zhuo suspected the Wang Household's vanguard had caught up with them.
• Sun Zhuo used Thunder Escape to signal their master in Xuanyue City, then decided they needed to leave evidence of their discovery before withdrawing.
• Sun Zhuo came up with a plan to prove they had discovered the ore vein.

Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo confronted Wang Tian and the Xuanyue Wang Family guards over a newly discovered spirit mine. After rejecting the family’s accusations and refusing to surrender, they faced crossbow fire and a coordinated attack by Ape-Man Warriors.

• Wang Tian led elite Xuanyue Wang Family guards to surround Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo, while two seventh-turn Spirit Tamers summoned squads of Ape-Man Warriors.
• Wang Tian accused Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo of murdering Xiao Cui and ordered them to return with him.
• Fang Qianyuan exposed the Wang Family’s plan to seize control of the spirit mine and declared that Azure Cloud Sect would defend its claim.
• Sun Zhuo and Fang Qianyuan refused to back down, and Wang Tian ordered his guards to ready their Locust Crossbows.
• Sun Zhuo and Fang Qianyuan took cover as the Wang Family guards fired bolts and the Ape-Man Warriors charged from four directions.

Fang Qianyuan used his innate wind-and-frost ability to defeat Wang Tian’s reinforcements, forcing the Wang Household vanguard to retreat. Jiang Yunfeng arrived with Wang Zhengyuan, acknowledged the victory, and said he would guard the spirit mine until the sect sent reinforcements.

• Fang Qianyuan froze the six charging men with his innate ability, then stopped before the attack could kill them.
• Wang Tian admitted defeat, and his soldiers treated their injured comrades before withdrawing from the valley.
• Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo celebrated securing the site while they waited for their master and the sect’s reinforcements.
• Jiang Yunfeng and Wang Zhengyuan arrived at the spirit mine and found Wang Tian’s defeated forces scattered nearby.
• Jiang Yunfeng praised Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo, promised to guard the mine, and offered to petition the sect for a share of its proceeds if the survey confirmed the vein.

Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo learned how valuable their promised shares of the mineral vein could be as the Wang Household struggled with the Azure Cloud Sect’s involvement. When they returned to the mine, the surveyors announced that it was a spirit peak-grade vein.

• Sun Zhuo explained the mineral vein’s potential yields and told Fang Qianyuan that their shares could provide lasting cultivation income.
• Wang Tian reported that he and the others had been defeated, and Wang Yan learned that the lineage elder was negotiating with the Lord of Ten Thousand Miles at the mine.
• Lin Mo confronted Wang Yan about the Wang Household’s secret preparations and revealed that his master, Jin Kang, the Diamond King, was on his way.
• Several days later, Jiang Yunfeng’s Fire-Feathered Golden-Crowned Eagle brought Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo back to the mine, where representatives and a surveying team had gathered.
• The surveyors announced that the vein was spirit peak-grade, delighting Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo.

Jiang Yunfeng, Sun Zhuo, and Fang Qianyuan learned that the discovered mine was a low-grade Spirit Peak Spirit Mine with an annual output exceeding a million, then joined the Wang Household and Mystic Sun Sect in negotiations over its ownership. When Jiang Yunfeng rejected their proposed shares, he used his Earth Rank presence to insist that his word was reason enough.

• Jiang Yunfeng told Sun Zhuo and Fang Qianyuan that the Spirit Peak Spirit Mine could produce over a million a year and ordered them to keep the discovery secret.
• Wang Zheng summoned Jiang Yunfeng to negotiate, and Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo followed him to the camp's meeting place.
• Fang Qianyuan saw Lin Mo with Diamond King Jin Kang and Wang Yan with Wang Zheng, while Lin Mo regretted missing the discovery.
• Wang Zheng proposed that the Wang Household receive fifty percent, the Azure Cloud Sect thirty-five percent, and the Mystic Sun Sect fifteen percent of the mine's profits.
• Jiang Yunfeng rejected the proposal, argued that the Azure Cloud Sect deserved the largest share, and warned Jin Kang against trying to seize one.
• Jiang Yunfeng unleashed his Earth Rank aura and declared that his word was reason enough, leaving Wang Zheng and Wang Zhengyuan visibly upset.

Wang Zheng privately proposed a spirit mine distribution that included a personal offering to Jiang Yunfeng, but Jiang Yunfeng rejected the deal and insisted on following the rules. The Azure Cloud Sect later secured a sixty percent share, provided it drove the Mystic Sun Sect away, and Jiang Yunfeng accepted the condition.

• Wang Zheng proposed giving the Azure Cloud Sect forty percent of the spirit mine, the Wang Household fifty percent, and the Mystic Sun Sect five percent, while privately offering Jiang Yunfeng another five percent.
• Jiang Yunfeng rejected Wang Zheng’s offer, cited the Wang Household’s treatment of his disciples, and had Sun Zhuo escort Wang Zheng out.
• Jiang Yunfeng told Sun Zhuo that he valued the rightful share and following the rules more than the profits from the mine.
• Wang Zheng abandoned private negotiations and approached the Azure Cloud Sect, whose representatives later offered the sect sixty percent if it forced the Mystic Sun Sect out.
• Jiang Yunfeng accepted the Azure Cloud Sect’s condition.

The Diamond King tried to secure the Wang Household’s cooperation over the spirit mine by arranging Lin Mo’s marriage to Wang Yan, but she fled rather than accept. Jiang Yunfeng sent Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo after her in secret, ordering them to help her escape while he finalized the mine agreement.

• Diamond King Jin Kang blamed Lin Mo for missing the chance to claim the spirit mine, then decided to propose that Lin Mo marry Wang Yan in exchange for a share of the profits.
• Wang Yan rejected the proposal and rode out of camp, while Wang Zheng sent guards to bring her back.
• An Azure Cloud Sect disciple told Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo that the Diamond King had asked for Wang Yan’s hand for Lin Mo.
• Jiang Yunfeng privately ordered Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo to help Wang Yan escape and keep her hidden while he signed the spirit mine contract.
• Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo split up to search for Wang Yan before the Wang Household guards or Lin Mo could find her.

Fang Qianyuan searched the wilderness for Wang Yan and his senior brother, but instead found two dead Wang Household guards and was ambushed by the bandits he had encountered before. He and Little White killed all three attackers, leaving Fang Qianyuan with no answers about Wang Yan’s whereabouts or the guards’ deaths.

• Fang Qianyuan sent the Swift Eagle to search the wilderness, then followed it toward a river deer with Little White.
• Fang Qianyuan and Little White found two dead Wang Household guards in a clearing and noticed signs of unusual attacks.
• One of the three familiar bandits ambushed Fang Qianyuan, who counterattacked with Heavenly Frost Palm while Little White froze the weakest attacker.
• Little White pinned and killed the axe-wielding bandit as Fang Qianyuan fought the saber-wielding bandit and broke through his defenses.
• Fang Qianyuan questioned the surviving bandit, but killed him after he secretly attacked; Fang Qianyuan then finished off the frozen bandit.

Fang Qianyuan killed the bandits attacking two Wang Household Guards, then learned they had seen someone pursuing Wang Yan. He left the injured guards behind and rode Little White after her, with the tenth-transformation expert still unaccounted for.

• Fang Qianyuan looted the rogue cultivators he had killed and realized their missing leader was likely a tenth-transformation expert.
• Little White followed a blood trail to a clearing where three bandits were fighting two Wang Household Guards.
• The guards told Fang Qianyuan that someone had chased Wang Yan in the direction they had come from.
• Fang Qianyuan and Little White killed the three bandits, using Heavenly Frost Palm and coordinated attacks.
• Fang Qianyuan told the wounded guards to treat themselves, then rode Little White onward to pursue Wang Yan.

Xu Pingshan pursued Wang Yan up a mountain slope, intent on killing her and taking her Storage Bag, while his Wind-Thunder Beast destroyed her remaining Ape-Man Warriors. Just as the beast attacked Wang Yan, a Swift Eagle struck it and Fang Qianyuan arrived on Little White, interrupting the pursuit.

• Xu Pingshan chased Wang Yan and cursed her for resisting after she had wounded him with a Talisman Treasure.
• Xu Pingshan recalled how he had rescued a Wind-Thunder Beast, begun cultivating, and become a notorious outlaw seeking resources to reach earth rank.
• Xu Pingshan's Wind-Thunder Beast struck down all six Ape-Man Warriors guarding Wang Yan's escape up the slope.
• The Wind-Thunder Beast caught up to Wang Yan and pounced on her.
• A Swift Eagle rammed the Wind-Thunder Beast, and Fang Qianyuan arrived on Little White.

Fang Qianyuan arrived to fight Xu Pingshan, a tenth-transformation rogue cultivator, and revealed his eagerness to challenge a powerful opponent. After Xu Pingshan recognized him as Jiang Yunfeng’s disciple and decided to seize his resources, the two began fighting, leaving Fang Qianyuan’s summoned wolves exposed to a lightning strike.

• Fang Qianyuan told Wang Yan to stop interfering and chose to face Xu Pingshan rather than flee.
• Fang Qianyuan introduced himself, and Xu Pingshan recognized him as the Azure Cloud Sect tournament champion and Jiang Yunfeng’s disciple.
• Xu Pingshan decided to hunt Fang Qianyuan for his presumed treasures, while Fang Qianyuan attacked with Heavenly Frost Palm.
• Xu Pingshan countered with the Wind-Thunder Beast and sent his spirit creatures to attack Fang Qianyuan.
• Fang Qianyuan summoned ten gray wolves, and Xu Pingshan’s Wind-Thunder Beast struck them with a bolt of lightning.

Fang Qianyuan outmaneuvered Xu Pingshan’s spirit creatures and battled him with help from Little White, the Berserker Wolf, and the Rampaging Bear King. He endured Xu Pingshan’s Thunderlight Claw and struck him down with a Heavenly Frost Palm, leaving the fight’s outcome unresolved.

• Fang Qianyuan sacrificed a Gray Wolf to disrupt the Wind-Thunder Beast’s lightning strike, then summoned more spirit creatures to counterattack.
• Fang Qianyuan and Xu Pingshan clashed directly, while Little White and the Wind-Thunder Beast fought beneath them.
• The Wind-Thunder Beast wounded Little White, but the Rampaging Bear King and Gale Berserker Wolf helped drive it back and wound Xu Pingshan.
• Xu Pingshan prepared Thunderlight Claw as Fang Qianyuan charged him rather than retreating, drawing the attack away from his spirit creatures.
• Xu Pingshan’s lightning claw severely burned Fang Qianyuan, but Fang struck Xu Pingshan with Heavenly Frost Palm and knocked him from the Wind-Thunder Beast.

Fang Qianyuan survived Xu Pingshan’s lightning strike and used his Spirit Creatures and Little White’s frost attack to defeat him. After Xu Pingshan and the Wind-Thunder Beast fell, Fang Qianyuan collapsed from exhaustion.

• Fang Qianyuan struggled to his feet with Little White’s help as Xu Pingshan recovered from his injuries.
• Fang Qianyuan sent his Gray Wolves to attack Xu Pingshan and support the Berserker Wolf and Rampaging Bear King against the Wind-Thunder Beast.
• Fang Qianyuan and Little White unleashed Wind Blade Frost Sword, freezing Xu Pingshan and trapping the Wind-Thunder Beast.
• The Wind-Thunder Beast broke free and shielded Xu Pingshan from the Gale Berserker Wolf’s Raging Wind Slash, then disintegrated; Xu Pingshan had already died.
• Fang Qianyuan collapsed over Little White’s back, unable to move.

Fang Qianyuan woke from his grave injuries fully recovered, surprising the people around him. After Jiang Yunfeng and Sun Zhuo warned him against reckless fights, Sun Zhuo revealed that the Spirit Mine agreement had been settled and would bring Fang Qianyuan and his fellow disciples a substantial share.

• Fang Qianyuan woke up in the Wang Household’s tent, cut away his bandages, and recalled his exhausted Spirit Creatures into his Spirit Sea.
• Jiang Yunfeng examined Fang Qianyuan and marveled that he had recovered so quickly, then warned him that his reckless fighting could have killed him against an opponent with an innate gift.
• Jin Kang praised Fang Qianyuan’s courage and offered to take him as a disciple, but Jiang Yunfeng refused to give him up.
• Sun Zhuo told Fang Qianyuan that the marriage alliance was off and the Spirit Mine agreement had been settled, with their sect receiving sixty percent, the Wang Household forty percent, and the Mystic Sun Sect withdrawing.
• Sun Zhuo explained that Jiang Yunfeng had secured a twelve-percent share of the proceeds for himself and one-percent shares for each of the disciples.

Fang Qianyuan received the title Lord of a Thousand Miles after killing Xu Pingshan, and the Wang Household thanked him and Sun Zhuo for saving Wang Yan with spirit jade. The Azure Cloud Sect formally commended the pair and granted them shares of the spirit mine, while news of Fang Qianyuan’s fame left Ye Tianming shaken.

• Fang Qianyuan learned that Jiang Yunfeng had praised him as a thousand-mile steed, earning him the title Lord of a Thousand Miles.
• A Wang Household Guard invited Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo to meet Wang Zheng, Wang Zhengyuan, Jiang Yunfeng, and Wang Yan.
• Wang Zheng thanked Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo for saving Wang Yan and gave each a pouch of high-grade spirit jade.
• Jiang Yunfeng told Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo to accept the gift but avoid getting entangled with local clans, and said the sect would commend them for discovering the spirit mine.
• The Court Bulletin awarded Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo first-class major merit and shares of the mine’s proceeds, while praising Fang Qianyuan’s battle with Xu Pingshan.
• Ye Li read the bulletin aloud at home, and Ye Tianming turned deathly pale as he heard Fang Qianyuan’s achievements.

After hearing of Fang Qianyuan’s latest achievements, Ye Tianming grew consumed by thoughts of being surpassed and struggled through training with Ba Ming. He unleashed a new technique and killed Ba Ming, then collapsed in shock at what he had done.

• Cang Mountain Academy publicized Fang Qianyuan’s discovery of a spirit mine and victory over a Tenth Transformation expert, prompting admiration among the disciples.
• Ye Tianming compared Fang Qianyuan’s fame and resources with his own and brooded over their growing gap.
• While sparring with Ba Ming, Ye Tianming imagined Fang Qianyuan taunting him and became increasingly agitated.
• Ye Tianming used his new Dark Moon Blade, a hidden follow-up to Crescent Slash, and severed Ba Ming’s throat.
• Ye Tianming realized Ba Ming was dead, dropped to his knees, and stared in disbelief.

After Ye Tianming accidentally killed Ba Ming, Ye Li and the Training Institute’s leaders arranged to shift some blame onto the Quieting Hall and soften the punishment. Alone in confinement, Ye Tianming was consumed by guilt until his spirit essence surged, advancing him to Human Rank, eight turns, and he resolved to rely on Xiao Yue to claim control of his life.

• Ye Li struck Ye Tianming and confronted him after learning that he had killed Ba Ming.
• Institute Master Wei Ru proposed portraying the death as an accident and implicating the Quieting Hall, whose disciples agreed to claim they had failed to save Ba Ming in time.
• The Ascension Hall steward reported that Ba Ming had no living family, and Ye Li agreed to arrange his burial.
• Ye Tianming was confined in the Discipline Hall, where he remained haunted by killing the companion he had considered a friend and older brother.
• Ye Tianming’s spirit essence surged as he imagined Fang Qianyuan receiving praise, breaking through to Human Rank, eight turns.
• Ye Tianming decided that Xiao Yue was the only one he could trust and resolved to seek freedom and control over his own life through Xiao Yue’s power.

After Ye Li urged Ye Tianming to accept the sect’s punishment and wait for a chance to rebuild his prospects, Ye Tianming rejected his father’s arrangements and embraced the darkness in his Spirit Essence. He escaped the Discipline Hall and fled the Cang Mountain Inner Court, leaving Ye Li and the others to discover his empty cell.

• Ye Li told Ye Tianming to cooperate with the investigation and serve about six months of punishment, promising to arrange a path for him afterward.
• Ye Tianming demanded that Ye Li get him released immediately, and Ye Li refused before leaving in anger.
• Alone in confinement, Ye Tianming realized that he craved supremacy and trusted only his own power, awakening the dark aspect of his Spirit Essence.
• Ye Tianming silently cut the cell lock, used Dark Moon Garment to conceal his aura, and escaped toward the Cang Mountain Inner Court’s exit.
• The next day, Ye Li, Wei Ru, Gong Yuan, and the others found the severed lock, and Ye Li condemned Ye Tianming as an unfilial wretch.

Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo returned to Xuanyue City, where Sun Zhuo helped him buy supplies to heal and nurture his spirit creatures. At an auction of materials from the Lesser Grotto-Heaven, Sun Zhuo bid 150 spirit jade for an entire batch of heavenly wind essence fragments.

• Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo rode back to Xuanyue City after discussing Jiang Yunfeng's training plans and why they would not join the search for desolate beasts.
• Sun Zhuo took Fang Qianyuan to buy spirit medicines and treasured materials to heal his spirit creatures and stock up for their future needs.
• Sun Zhuo noticed the Four Seas Trade Association's auction of materials from the Lesser Grotto-Heaven, and he and Fang Qianyuan went inside.
• Sun Zhuo bid 150 spirit jade for the entire batch of heavenly wind essence fragments and secured it.

Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo acquired heavenly wind essence fragments, and Fang began refining one into his Water Spirit Root to strengthen his wind escape. As Fang’s reputation spread through Xuanyue City, a sect steward delivered him a letter from Elder Gong Yuan of Cang Mountain Academy.

• Fang Qianyuan paid eighteen hundred spirit jade for twelve heavenly wind essence fragments.
• Sun Zhuo explained that refining the fragments could give Fang’s Water Spirit Root genuine wind escape power and potentially transform it into a skywind spirit.
• Fang Qianyuan began Fusion Refinement with one fragment, causing powerful winds before the Water Spirit Root absorbed its essence.
• Fang Qianyuan and Sun Zhuo stayed in the city for several days, watching the lesser grotto-heaven and seeking treasured materials while waiting for their master.
• News that Fang Qianyuan had slain Xu Pingshan spread, raising his reputation and prompting factions to watch his progress toward Earth Rank.
• A sect steward delivered Fang Qianyuan a letter from Elder Gong Yuan of Cang Mountain Academy.