Chapter Summaries

Liu Yu detected ten Hehuan Sect reinforcements approaching the Amethyst Mine and chose to warn Zhou Zhuofeng rather than remain hidden. The Primordial Yang Sect cultivators took position to cover the Qi Refining disciples’ retreat, and the two sides began fighting as the reinforcements arrived.

• After the mortals fled or were killed, Zhou Zhuofeng assigned Lin and Xie Junjie to lead disciples into the tunnels while Liu Yu watched the direction of Skyvault City.
• Liu Yu concealed himself near the mine and watched Zhuang Shilong return wounded, followed later by the mission’s last cultivator.
• Liu Yu spotted ten Foundation Establishment cultivators approaching from Skyvault City, sent a voice-transmitting talisman to Zhou Zhuofeng, and flew back to the mine.
• Zhou Zhuofeng and the other Primordial Yang Sect cultivators prepared to hold off the Hehuan Sect reinforcements while the Qi Refining disciples retreated south.
• The Hehuan Sect cultivators arrived, and both sides launched attacks; Zhou Zhuofeng’s lightning attacks and purple sword were met by a pink ring and a gold ring.

Liu Yu and the Primordial Yang Sect cultivators fought Hehuan Sect forces while buying time for their Qi Refining disciples to escape. When reinforcements arrived, Zhou Zhuofeng ordered a retreat, and Liu Yu fled alone in a different direction as Ma Jinlian ordered the Hehuan cultivators to pursue the others.

• Ma Jinlian and Ma Jinhua used their linked rings to force Zhou Zhuofeng onto the defensive, while Liu Yu recognized the pair and resisted Ma Jinlian's Enchanting Art.
• Liu Yu's Mother-and-Son Soul-Chasing Blades struggled against a black-robed old man's matched red daggers, but the Golden Steel Banner shielded him from the attacks.
• After half a quarter-hour, Liu Yu spotted five or six Hehuan Sect Foundation Establishment cultivators approaching from Skyvault City and warned his fellow disciples.
• Zhou Zhuofeng ordered the Primordial Yang Sect cultivators to scatter toward Moonwatch City, then broke away from Ma Jinlian and Ma Jinhua and fled south.
• Liu Yu used Golden Wind Dispersal Talismans to cover his escape, activated Blood-Sacrificial Escape with the Sharpgold Sword, and fled in a different direction from Zhou Zhuofeng.
• Ma Jinlian ordered the Hehuan Sect cultivators to leave Zhou Zhuofeng alone and pursue the other Primordial Yang Sect cultivators.

Liu Yu tried to escape across the Kermil Plain while the black-robed old man pursued him, but he stopped to fight before reaching Primordial Yang Sect territory. Liu Yu opened with a barrage of powerful artifacts, while the old man revealed a pink mist that rusted and disabled Liu Yu’s Black Iron Chain.

• Ma Jinlian and Ma Jinhua led Hehuan Sect cultivators in pursuit of the scattered Primordial Yang Sect cultivators, while Liu Yu fled southwest with the black-robed old man behind him.
• Liu Yu avoided the plain’s central resource sites and continued toward its edge, but Xie Junjie’s route and a pursuing Hehuan Sect cultivator made his escape more dangerous.
• The black-robed old man tried to persuade Liu Yu to surrender his gains from the Amethyst Mine, then used a blood-consuming secret technique to close the distance.
• Liu Yu hid in a forest and waited for the black-robed old man, intending to kill him before he could follow Liu Yu into Primordial Yang Sect territory.
• Liu Yu attacked with the Golden Steel Banner, the Mother-and-Son Soul-Chasing Blades, the Profound Departure Sword, and the Black Iron Chain.
• The black-robed old man countered with red flying knives, a Flame-Red Arrow, and pink mist that drained the Black Iron Chain’s spiritual power and left it rusted.

Liu Yu unleashed Golden Wind Dispersal Talismans and Spirit-Shocking Thorns to break through the black-robed elder’s defenses. The elder’s Protective Shield shattered, leaving the battle at a decisive moment.

• Liu Yu renewed his assault with two Golden Wind Dispersal Talismans, restored the firebird, and sent three Spirit-Shocking Thorns at the black-robed elder.
• The black-robed elder countered with four tier-two talismans, briefly canceling out the golden wind spells.
• Liu Yu’s Spirit-Shocking Thorns stunned the elder in succession, giving Liu Yu’s firebird and magical artifacts time to attack.
• The firebird drove off the elder’s returning artifacts while the Mother-and-Son Soul-Chasing Blades cut through his talisman spells.
• The Mother-and-Son Soul-Chasing Blades struck the black-robed elder’s Protective Shield and shattered it.

After killing a Hehuan Sect elder, Liu Yu fled toward the Cold Mist Forest and encountered fellow Primordial Yang Sect cultivator Xie Junjie. Suspecting Xie Junjie had lured him into a trap, Liu Yu refused to carry him and prepared for a confrontation.

• Liu Yu killed the black-robed elder, gathered the scattered magical artifacts and the elder's Storage Bag, and extinguished the forest fire before fleeing south.
• Liu Yu replenished his magical power during the flight and continued toward the Cold Mist Forest after deciding the Hehuan Sect had not sent more pursuers.
• Liu Yu encountered Xie Junjie flying south and grew suspicious because their meeting seemed too coincidental and Xie Junjie's pursuer was nowhere to be seen.
• Xie Junjie claimed he was badly injured and asked Liu Yu to carry him to the Cold Mist Forest.
• Liu Yu refused, saying his Wind-Evasion Boat could carry only one passenger, and offered to cross the forest together instead.

Liu Yu prepared to help the wounded Xie Junjie leave Cold Mist Forest, but Xie Junjie ambushed him to seize his artifacts. As their battle escalated, Liu Yu activated a powerful talisman treasure, leaving Xie Junjie facing its golden light.

• Xie Junjie concealed his greed for Liu Yu's artifacts and pretended that his injuries prevented him from traveling alone.
• Xie Junjie attacked Liu Yu with a hidden top-grade flying needle, but Liu Yu blocked it with the Golden Steel Banner.
• Xie Junjie revealed his true strength and used an ancient-looking great halberd to overwhelm Liu Yu's Profound Departure Sword.
• Liu Yu used the Golden Silk Mirror to weaken the halberd and secretly charged his Vajra Halberd Talisman Treasure while accusing Xie Junjie of violating sect rules.
• Xie Junjie admitted he planned to blame Liu Yu's death on Hehuan Sect cultivators, but Liu Yu released the charged talisman and flooded the area with golden light.

Liu Yu killed Xie Junjie with the Vajra Halberd Talisman Treasure and escaped Hehuan Sect territory, then encountered Yan Kai near the Cold Mist Forest. Yan Kai explained that a talisman had let him travel ahead of the group and presented it to Liu Yu.

• Liu Yu overwhelmed Xie Junjie's ancient-looking halberd with the Vajra Halberd Talisman Treasure, ignored his pleas, and killed him with a golden strike.
• Liu Yu collected Xie Junjie's and the black-clad elder's storage bags, retrieved the damaged ancient-looking halberd, and set off south toward the Cold Mist Forest.
• Liu Yu traveled through Hehuan Sect territory without stopping to fight Qi Refining Period cultivators and reached the forest, which was largely controlled by the Primordial Yang Sect.
• Yan Kai recounted how he had left the main group, survived a fight with three Hehuan Sect disciples, and used a trump-card teleportation talisman to reach a location near the forest.
• Liu Yu questioned Yan Kai under his spirit pressure, and Yan Kai presented the pale-yellow talisman that had brought him there.

Liu Yu examined Yan Kai’s ancient Instant Thousand-Mile Talisman and learned it was one of four he had found in an old book. Liu Yu offered two Top-grade Magical Artifacts in exchange, and Yan Kai agreed.

• Liu Yu recognized the talisman’s Silver Seal Script and suspected it came from the ancient or Middle Antiquity era.
• Yan Kai explained that the Instant Thousand-Mile Talisman could transport its user a thousand li when torn and described how he had obtained and used three of the four talismans.
• Liu Yu inspected Yan Kai’s ancient book and confirmed it had a concealed compartment, though Yan Kai had found no trace of the rogue cultivator who sold it.
• Liu Yu offered Yan Kai two Top-grade Magical Artifacts for the remaining talisman, and Yan Kai accepted the exchange.

Liu Yu traded two Top-grade Magical Artifacts for Yan Kai’s Instant Thousand-Mile Talisman and secured Yan Kai’s silence with a Heart-Demon Oath. He offered to escort the injured Yan Kai back to Moonwatch City, where they would meet Senior Brother Zhou and the others.

• Yan Kai accepted Liu Yu’s two Top-grade Magical Artifacts in exchange for the Instant Thousand-Mile Talisman.
• Liu Yu considered using the trade to build a network of allies, while warning that he would punish Yan Kai and his lineage if the secret leaked.
• Yan Kai swore a Heart-Demon Oath not to reveal the talisman or their transaction.
• Liu Yu offered the injured Yan Kai a ride back to Moonwatch City, and Yan Kai enthusiastically praised him.
• Liu Yu set off with Yan Kai to meet Senior Brother Zhou and the others, reflecting on how times and circumstances had changed.

Liu Yu brought Yan Kai safely to Moonwatch City and gave him Foundation Establishment insights before they parted. Yan Kai planned to return to the sect and attempt Foundation Establishment, while Liu Yu went to find Wu Yuhan.

• Liu Yu flew Yan Kai from the Cold Mist Forest to Moonwatch City on the Mother-and-Son Soul-Chasing Blades.
• Liu Yu presented his Sect Token at the north gate, passed the city’s checks, and entered with Yan Kai.
• Yan Kai thanked Liu Yu for his help and said he planned to return to the sect to attempt Foundation Establishment.
• Liu Yu invited Yan Kai to visit him on Rosy Cloud Mountain and gave him a Jade Slip of Foundation Establishment insights.
• Liu Yu told Yan Kai to turn in his mission, then headed to the side hall to find Wu Yuhan.

After returning to Moonwatch City, Liu Yu waited with Zhou Zhuofeng and the surviving disciples while the mission’s losses became clear, then went back to his cave abode to inventory his spoils. He gained spirit stones, artifacts, and firefly amethyst, and decided to repair the Azure Flood Dragon Halberd while selling items that could expose him to suspicion or fund his cultivation.

• Liu Yu met Zhou Zhuofeng and an injured late-stage Foundation Establishment disciple in the mission hall, and Zhou Zhuofeng announced they would wait until noon for the others.
• Zhuang Shilong and an injured woman returned, but no one else arrived before Zhou Zhuofeng declared that the missing disciples were unlikely to have survived and released everyone.
• Liu Yu returned to his cave abode and counted the spirit stones, firefly amethyst, pills, and artifacts taken from the pink-robed man, Xie Junjie, and the black-robed elder.
• Liu Yu identified Xie Junjie's damaged Spirit Artifact as the Azure Flood Dragon Halberd and decided to repair it, while keeping the halberd and red flying daggers for himself.
• Liu Yu sorted the remaining loot for sale and chose to sell the Red Bone Staff and Pink Folding Fan to avoid drawing attention to demonic cultivation.

Liu Yu stored the spoils from his recent kills, tended the Immortal Mansion’s spirit field, and considered how the Mottled Ancient Well’s inexhaustible water might support it. He resumed cultivation and reflected on the severe consequences of using the Spirit-Shattering Soul-Searching Art.

• Liu Yu set aside the stolen artifacts and texts, then entered the Immortal Mansion with two Storage Bags to sort and store his spoils.
• Liu Yu harvested mature spirit plants, planted Essence-Refining Pill seeds, and watered them with the Mottled Ancient Well’s seemingly inexhaustible water.
• Liu Yu replenished the spirit field with Spirit Stones and wondered whether the well and the damaged Immortal Mansion World were gradually recovering.
• Liu Yu returned to his body, practiced the Primordial Yang Body-Tempering Fist, and cultivated with an Azure Origin Pill and a Spirit-Nourishing Pill.
• Liu Yu considered using the Spirit-Shattering Soul-Searching Art but resolved to avoid it unless necessity or a serious blood feud left him no choice.

After recovering from his mission, Liu Yu confirmed that four fellow disciples had died and prepared to sell resources he had acquired. He arrived at the Many Treasures Pavilion to meet its manager, Jia Fu, with plans to handle several other matters afterward.

• Liu Yu slept after cultivating the Divine Preservation Art, then studied cultivation texts and practiced the Primordial Yang Body-Tempering Fist after waking.
• Liu Yu received confirmation from his Sect Token that Lin Xiaoyue, Xie Junjie, Yao Yunsong, and Lou Cunjun had died, and collected his mission merit points.
• Liu Yu completed ten hours of cultivation and prepared resources worth about five thousand five hundred spirit stones to sell, along with plans to repair the Azure Flood Dragon Halberd and visit Yan Hongyu.
• Liu Yu went to the Many Treasures Pavilion and waited in a reception room for its Foundation Establishment manager, Jia Fu.

Liu Yu visited the Many Treasures Pavilion to sell resources acquired during a sect mission and negotiated a higher price with Jia Fu. After agreeing on 5,500 spirit stones for his crystals and assorted resources, Liu Yu revealed two more magical artifacts for Jia Fu to assess.

• Jia Fu greeted Liu Yu and exchanged pleasantries with him over spirit tea before either man raised the purpose of the meeting.
• Liu Yu presented a Jade Box of firefly amethyst and a Storage Bag of assorted resources for Jia Fu to value.
• Jia Fu offered 5,300 spirit stones, but Liu Yu challenged the price and said the resources were worth 5,500.
• Jia Fu accepted Liu Yu's valuation and placed fifty-five Mid-Grade Spirit Stones on the table.
• Liu Yu produced a Red Bone Claw and a Pink Folding Fan, and Jia Fu examined the two Top-grade Magical Artifacts.

Liu Yu sold two artifacts to Jia Fu, then visited the Li Family Refinery to repair the Azure Flood Dragon Halberd. Li Qiu agreed to repair it for the cost of materials, and Liu Yu left the halberd for seven days.

• Liu Yu sold the Red Bone Staff and Pink Folding Fan to Jia Fu for twenty-one Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and received a packet of Clear Lake Dragon Well.
• Liu Yu went to a small workshop in the East Market to avoid drawing attention while seeking repairs for his Azure Flood Dragon Halberd.
• Liu Yu introduced himself as a disciple of the Primordial Yang Sect to Li Qiu, the owner of the Li Family Refinery.
• Li Qiu examined the Azure Flood Dragon Halberd and said he could repair its two chipped areas because its essence soul remained intact.
• Li Qiu offered to waive his fee, charging Liu Yu four hundred and thirty spirit stones for materials, and said the halberd would be ready in seven days.

Liu Yu arranged for Li Qiu to repair the Azure Flood Dragon Halberd discreetly, then negotiated a pill-selling agreement with Yan Hongyu. Back at his cave abode, he realized that selling Essence-Refining Pills through Jade Pill Hall would be difficult because Jiang Qiushui’s cultivation was too low.

• Liu Yu refused Li Qiu’s discount, left the Azure Flood Dragon Halberd for repair, and secured his promise to keep the work secret and finish it in seven days.
• Liu Yu visited Yan Hongyu and told her he could refine second-tier pills.
• Liu Yu and Yan Hongyu reached a verbal agreement for him to supply the Yan Household with seven bottles of Essence-Refining Pills each year for four hundred spirit stones per bottle.
• Liu Yu sold Yan Hongyu five bottles of Essence-Refining Pills for two thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones and left her cave abode.
• Liu Yu reviewed his outing at home and wondered how he could sell pills through Jade Pill Hall when Jiang Qiushui’s qi refining period cultivation was insufficient.

Liu Yu spent a year cultivating and testing his spirit artifacts before receiving an urgent order to assemble at the City Lord’s Mansion. He found Moonwatch City under wartime controls and suspected that a major change was underway.

• Liu Yu decided to return to the sect in another year, collect Jade Pill Hall’s earnings, assess Jiang Qiushui’s situation, and consider giving her a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• Liu Yu spent a year cultivating with Azure Origin Pills and Spirit-Nourishing Pills, then tested the Profound Departure Sword and the repaired Azure Flood Dragon Halberd, finding the halberd superior.
• Liu Yu received a Sect Token message ordering disciples to assemble immediately at the City Lord’s Mansion and hurried there.
• Liu Yu found Moonwatch City deserted, with shops closed and City Guard Army patrols enforcing wartime controls.
• A City Guard Army disciple told Liu Yu the controls had begun seven days earlier but could not explain why, and Liu Yu continued toward the City Lord’s Mansion with a sense that something momentous was coming.

Liu Yu arrived at the City Lord's Mansion and found six Golden Core Cultivators presiding over a gathering of Foundation Establishment cultivators. He learned the meeting might concern the approaching end of the Spirit Stone Mine War, while an awkward reunion with Yan Qun'er left him weighing his ties to the Yan Household.

• Liu Yu entered the City Lord's Mansion and sensed that six Golden Core Cultivators were seated in the Main Hall.
• Liu Yu bowed to the elders and sat beside Yan Qun'er and Yan Hongyu among the Primordial Yang Sect cultivators.
• Liu Yu and Yan Qun'er exchanged news after nearly ten years apart, and he noted that she had reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
• Yan Qun'er told Liu Yu that the elders had likely summoned them because the Spirit Stone Mine War was nearing its end.
• Liu Yu thanked Yan Qun'er but stayed silent about her affection, considering his cultivation goals and his strategy of building ties with the Yan Household.

After more than twenty years of war over the Cold Mist Spirit Stone Mine, Liu Yu gathered with Primordial Yang Sect cultivators as their elders prepared to attend negotiations at Cold Mist Camp. Elder Yan Shikuan began addressing the assembly, leaving the meeting’s outcome unknown.

• Liu Yu reflected that the war might be ending and resolved to keep a low profile during the negotiations.
• Foundation Establishment cultivators filled the City Lord's Mansion hall, where Liu Yu exchanged greetings with Yan Qun'er and Yan Hongyu.
• Wu Yuhan counted the assembly and reported that all one hundred and eight summoned Foundation Establishment cultivators had arrived.
• Liu Yu observed the six Golden Core cultivators presiding, including Primordial Yang Sect elders Yan Shikuan, Sun Zekun, and Zhou Quan.
• Elder Yan Shikuan dismissed Wu Yuhan to her seat and began explaining the cause of the kingdom-wide war.

Elder Yan announced that the Five Great Sects would end their long war and negotiate the division of the Cold Mist Spirit Stone Mine, with Liu Yu and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators ordered to attend. After the meeting, Liu Yu prepared to complete his pill transaction with Yan Hongyu and maintain his value to the Yan Household.

• Elder Yan described the allied army’s heavy losses and stirred the hall’s hatred toward the Hehuan Sect before restoring order with his Golden Core spirit pressure.
• Elder Yan announced that the Five Great Sects had agreed to cease hostilities and hold talks at Cold Mist Camp over the Cold Mist Spirit Stone Mine.
• Liu Yu told Yan Qun'er he planned to study alchemy after the war and attend the sect’s Disciple-Selection Ceremony, and he revealed that his cave abode was at Colorful Lotus Mountain.
• Elder Yan ordered the Foundation Establishment cultivators to assemble in three days and travel to Cold Mist Camp with him, Elder Ma, and Elder Zheng.
• Liu Yu left the hall with Yan Hongyu and planned to give her seven bottles of Essence-Refining Pills to complete their transaction and demonstrate his worth to the Yan Household.