Chapter Summaries

Lin Changheng compared cultivation abodes and used his combined perception arts to uncover suspicious neighbors at Emerald Screen Mountain. He arrived at Jade Belt Lake to inspect its vacant southern island, which appeared promising so far.

• Steward Shangguan described the advantages, dangers, and rents of cultivation abodes at Emerald Screen Mountain and Jade Belt Lake, and gave Lin Changheng a map.
• Lü Tong shared information confirming that the Azure Firmament Sect and Azure Rosy Clouds Temple had concealed problems with their rental sites, leaving Lin Changheng to consider the Purple Pole Sect's two options.
• Lin Changheng rapidly improved his Qi-Reading Technique and combined it with the Insight Otherworldly Art and Spirit-Sensing Technique to examine the surrounding energy.
• Lin Changheng spotted a secretive Foundation Establishment middle stage cultivator leaving a neighboring abode, but decided not to follow him.
• Lin Changheng inspected Emerald Screen Mountain, detected blood-red killing intent from two neighbors, and ruled it out.
• Lin Changheng traveled to Jade Belt Lake and saw that its unclaimed southern island had no formation covering it.

Lin Changheng inspected the vacant Perching Moon Island at Jade Belt Lake, met its neighboring cultivators Xu Maoling and Cheng Suling, and decided to rent the spirit land. He signed the contract, prepared to move with Yan Mingyi, and sent Bai Hengwan a message to maintain their connection.

• Lin Changheng surveyed Perching Moon Island and found it suitable for his cave abode and a hidden retreat.
• Chu Lingyu welcomed Lin Changheng into the occupied island, where Xu Maoling greeted him warmly and encouraged him to become a neighbor.
• Xu Maoling accompanied Lin Changheng to Floating Star Island, where Lin met its geomancer, Cheng Suling, and discussed the possibility of becoming neighbors.
• Half a month later, Lin Changheng signed a magic contract for the Jade Belt Lake spirit land and told Yan Mingyi to prepare for the move.
• Lin Changheng collected his repaired Copper Bowl spirit artifact from Artifact Master Guo and sent Bai Hengwan a Communication Jade Slip with his new location.

Lin Changheng traveled to Furnace Spirit Island to meet Elder Kong and help him with third-tier Pill Dao deductions. Their discussion continued for half a month, leaving Bai Hengwan surprised to find them still inside the sealed Purple Sun Pill Hall.

• Lin Changheng accepted Elder Kong's invitation and visited Talisman Master Chu, who promised to ask about Eastwheel Willow Wood and learned that Lin Changheng was moving to Jade Belt Lake.
• Lin Changheng transplanted his spirit plants, then left with an envoy for Furnace Spirit Island, glimpsing the immense Feather Immortal Island along the way.
• Elder Kong showed Lin Changheng his third-tier Pill Dao deductions, and Lin Changheng identified difficulties and offered several original solutions.
• Elder Kong explained the unresolved steps, and Lin Changheng combined their approaches into an unconventional solution that astonished and delighted Elder Kong.
• Bai Hengwan arrived at the Purple Sun Pill Hall and learned that Lin Changheng and Elder Kong had been inside for half a month; she heard Elder Kong's laughter from behind the closed doors.

Lin Changheng secured Jiao Blood Fruits from Elder Kong, obtained Azure Rain Mist Toad essence blood from Bai Hengwan, and advanced his Illusion art. After the fruits arrived, he rejected a steep price increase for Eastwheel Willow Wood and urged Talisman Master Chu to gather Foundation Establishment Pill ingredients faster.

• Elder Kong thanked Lin Changheng for their pill discussions, offered him a gift, and agreed to supply Jiao Blood Fruits at market price.
• Bai Hengwan gave Lin Changheng over a hundred bottles of Azure Rain Mist Toad essence blood and explained its connection to the Azure Glass Flood Dragon.
• Lin Changheng refined the essence blood, raised his treasure seed to its fourth fold, and advanced his Illusion Otherworldly Art to True Ascension.
• An envoy delivered nine Jiao Blood Fruits at sixty percent of the price, and Lin Changheng began refining one.
• Lin Changheng met Talisman Master Chu, rejected the proposed doubled price for Eastwheel Willow Wood, and told Chu to speed up gathering Foundation Establishment Pill ingredients.

Lin Changheng established and fortified Perching Moon Island, turning it into a secure cultivation base with Yan Mingyi's help. Years later, as he prepared to celebrate his ninetieth birthday, Xu Xujun arrived, apparently bringing news of the battle results.

• Lin Changheng brought Yan Mingyi to Jade Belt Lake and chose Perching Moon Island for their new cultivation grounds.
• Lin Changheng installed three formations around and beneath the island, creating layered concealment, defense, and stability.
• Lin Changheng reclaimed Spirit Fields and sought Xu Maoling's advice, while Yan Mingyi and her puppets helped renovate the island.
• Lin Changheng completed the main cave abode, planted precious Spirit Plants, prepared a concealed escape passage, and assigned duties to his Spirit Beasts.
• Years later, Lin Changheng turned ninety, and Yan Mingyi prepared a birthday banquet and invited their neighbors.
• A Spell Boat arrived at Perching Moon Island, and Yan Mingyi went to welcome Xu Xujun after Chu Lingyu reported his arrival.

Lin Changheng welcomed Xu Xujun after the Xu Family destroyed the Qiu Family, then broke through to become a superior-grade first-tier Formation Master. When Cook Zeng sought elixirs for the embattled Huang Household, Lin learned that three enemy lineages had attacked and were targeting its allies; after surviving an ambush, Cook Zeng prepared to return to his lineage.

• Xu Xujun told Lin Changheng that the Xu Family had wiped out the Qiu Family and gave him a share of the spoils and letters from Tantai Feiyue and Xu Hanji.
• Lin Changheng hosted a birthday banquet with Xu Xujun and his neighboring island masters, then spent a year in seclusion and advanced to superior-grade first-tier Formation Master.
• Cook Zeng told Lin Changheng that the Huang Household's ancestor had died and three hostile lineages had launched a war, leaving Huang Qingshan gravely wounded and in need of elixirs.
• Cook Zeng warned Lin Changheng that the enemy lineages were attacking the Huang Household's outside supporters, so Lin told Yan Mingyi to stay on Perching Moon Island and began refining the elixirs.
• Cook Zeng returned more than twenty days later after surviving an ambush on his way to seek aid from the Huang Household of Mangdang Mountain, which had refused to commit to helping.
• Lin Changheng gave Cook Zeng the finished elixirs, and Cook Zeng decided to return to his lineage after recovering overnight.

Lin Changheng discovered a hidden cultivator stalking Cook Zeng and launched a carefully prepared ambush. The attacker’s identity and fate remained unresolved as the chapter ended with Lin’s Black Seal Platform crushing his hastily raised Bone Shield.

• Lin Changheng sent Cook Zeng away openly after supplying him with elixirs for the Huang Household’s worsening war.
• Lin Changheng noticed a concealed cultivator nearby and tracked him through the day using his combined arts.
• Lin Changheng decided to attack, circled outside Jade Belt Lake, and approached under the Breath-Concealment Demonic Art.
• Lin Changheng struck the hidden foundation establishment middle-stage cultivator with an illusion, his Black Seal Platform, a flying sword, and talismans.
• The cultivator raised a Bone Shield, but Lin Changheng’s Black Seal Platform smashed into it.

Lin Changheng killed an assassin from the Cloudwild Lake Wang Household and learned that the Huang Household’s enemies had targeted him for supporting them. He remained confident under Mo Zhaoli’s protection, while Yan Mingyi neared the qi refining ninth-layer peak and Lin Changheng prepared to help her pursue Foundation Establishment.

• Lin Changheng ambushed and killed a foundation establishment middle-stage cultivator from the Cloudwild Lake Wang Household, then searched his soul and looted his Storage Bag.
• Lin Changheng discovered that the assassin had been sent because of his support for the Huang Household, and he destroyed suspicious items while strengthening the Redcloud Mystic Flame.
• Lin Changheng relied on Mo Zhaoli’s promise to bring the Purple Pole Sect’s influence to bear against any attack on his leased land, and he replied to Tantai Feiyue and Xu Hanji with congratulations on their cultivation progress.
• Yan Mingyi reached the qi refining ninth-layer peak, and Lin Changheng considered giving her a Premium Foundation Establishment Pill and obtaining a Foundation Establishment Spirit Treasure for her.
• Lin Changheng continued refining pills and later left seclusion after Cheng Suling, the island lord of Floating Star Island, invited him to a banquet.

Cheng Suling invited Lin Changheng and Xu Maoling to join an expedition for Gui Water essence in a water-eye spirit grotto, but Lin Changheng refused. After returning to his island, he later saw the wounded Cook Zeng fleeing two Foundation Establishment middle stage pursuers and calling for help.

• Cheng Suling hosted Lin Changheng and Xu Maoling on her island, then privately revealed a water-eye spirit grotto beneath the Ancient You River that held Gui Water essence and a nest of Cold Jade Crystal Scorpions.
• Cheng Suling proposed that they attack the scorpions during a coming lull in the water tides and share the Gui Water essence and grotto, but Lin Changheng decisively declined.
• Lin Changheng offered to buy any Cold Jade Crystal Scorpions' essence blood they collected, then returned to his island and continued refining pills.
• After Cook Zeng failed to appear for months, Lin Changheng saw him arrive wounded and pursued by two Foundation Establishment middle stage cultivators, shouting for help.

Cook Zeng fled two foundation establishment middle stage cultivators to Lin Changheng’s formation, where Lin saved him and drove the attackers away. Lin secretly followed and killed them, then later asked Cook Zeng what had caused the pursuit, learning that he had been seeking allies for his clan.

• Cook Zeng reached Lin Changheng’s formation while fleeing two cultivators, and Lin used his techniques to block their attacks and bring Cook inside.
• Lin refused to hand Cook over, activated the island’s three formations, and forced the two cultivators to retreat.
• Lin secretly followed the cultivators and killed them, taking their storage bags after deciding their threats posed a future risk.
• Seven days later, Lin asked the recovered Cook why the cultivators had pursued him, and Cook said he had been seeking allies to intervene for his clan.
• Lin frowned and asked whether Cook’s clan had truly reached such a desperate state.

Lin Changheng accepted Cook Zeng’s Nether Shadow Void-Escaping Art and later strengthened his Treasure Seeds and earth-element abilities through Spirit Seizure. After years of quiet cultivation, he spent a snowy evening with Yan Mingyi and wondered what the neighboring island masters had gained from their expedition.

• Cook Zeng gave Lin Changheng the Nether Shadow Void-Escaping Art in thanks for saving him, and Lin returned the Elixirs Cook Zeng’s Lineage needed.
• The Huang Household learned that three hostile Foundation Establishment middle-stage cultivators had disappeared and suspected Lin Changheng had killed them, so they resolved to strengthen their ties with him and keep the rumor secret.
• Lin Changheng used essence blood from the Deep Lake Spirit Clam and Black-Armored Earth Turtle to raise their Treasure Seeds and improve his Spirit-Nurturing Art and Earth-Control Otherworldly Art.
• Lin Changheng nurtured his final Semi-Finished Treasure Talisman, tested his improved earth abilities, and continued developing his Spiritual Roots.
• During two years of seclusion, Lin Changheng practiced the Nether Shadow Void-Escaping Art and learned the Earth-Escaping Technique, comparing its forceful movement with the near-silent Earth Escape Demonic Art.
• As Lin Changheng and Yan Mingyi watched the snow, Yan told him the neighboring island masters had returned looking battered, and he wondered whether their expedition had yielded Cold Jade Crystal Scorpion essence blood.

Lin Changheng perfected the Jade Void Radiant Scripture, then traveled to Golden Light Market to seek cultivation resources and attend an auction. There, he hired a mortal guide and began asking about the market’s shops and auction venue.

• Lin Changheng perfected the Jade Void Radiant Scripture, increased his magical power, and fed crimson true essence to the Redcloud Mystic Flame.
• After three months without hearing from his neighbors, Lin Changheng decided to visit Golden Light Market for spiritual wood, resources for Xiao Bai, goods to sell, and a Foundation Establishment Spirit Treasure for Yan Mingyi.
• Lin Changheng left his island without his two spirit beasts, leaving them to protect Yan Mingyi while she prepared for Foundation Establishment.
• At Golden Light Market, Lin Changheng hired a yellow-clad mortal boy who claimed to know the shops and rumors, then asked him about the Divine Materials Hall and its ties to the Azure Firmament Sect.
• Lin Changheng followed the boy toward the Divine Materials Hall and asked where the auction would be held.

Lin Changheng bought Eastwheel Willow Wood at a negotiated discount and learned that an auction would offer a breakthrough elixir for his Deep Lake Spirit Clam. While dining in the market ward, he met the disheveled middle Foundation Establishment Daoist Wu Jiu, who hinted that a predicament kept him from settling down.

• Lin Changheng bought three feet and seven inches of Eastwheel Willow Wood from Steward Qian after negotiating the price down to 220 spirit stones per inch.
• Lin Changheng bought supplies in the market ward but could not find a Foundation Establishment Spirit Treasure or a breakthrough elixir for the Deep Lake Spirit Clam.
• A shopkeeper told Lin Changheng that an elixir for spirit beast breakthroughs would be available at the auction, giving him hope of helping the clam advance safely.
• Lin Changheng went to the Drunken Immortal Abode for dinner, where Wu Jiu joined his table and shared his food and wine.
• Lin Changheng questioned Wu Jiu about his travels, and Wu Jiu said something had kept him from settling down but claimed he could not bring himself to ask Lin Changheng for help.

Lin Changheng traded his help refining an unknown Spirit Material for Wu Jiu’s Wind-Sensing Spirit Discernment secret art, then attended a heavily guarded auction and won several useful items. The auction’s main event began with an unidentified item that made him widen his eyes.

• Wu Jiu revealed that he had detected Lin Changheng’s unusual flame and offered to teach him Wind-Sensing Spirit Discernment in exchange for help refining a Spirit Material; Lin Changheng negotiated a straight exchange under conditions of his own.
• Lin Changheng watched Wu Jiu leave the city, found no suspicious behavior, and later entered the auction in disguise.
• Lin Changheng won an [Azurefall Cold Branch] but withdrew from bidding against a palace-robed female cultivator for a [Prairie-Blazing Pill].
• Lin Changheng bought substandard [Tidal Water Essence Powder] for the [Deep Lake Spirit Clam] and four pieces of [Molten Rock Crystal] for his [Redcloud Mystic Flame].
• The auction’s main event began, and the next item made Lin Changheng widen his eyes.

Lin Changheng watched the auction’s final Treasure Artifact Embryo draw the strongest cultivators into a fierce bidding war, then slipped away before the contest ended. Two masked cultivators followed him into a secluded hollow, where his illusion caught one of them as a nearly invisible red streak struck.

• High Person Jichen won the Thunderstrike wood for over sixty thousand spirit stones, and Lin Changheng learned about his bloody feud with the Cloud Summit Sect.
• Ximen Gu unveiled a purple-gold Treasure Artifact Embryo, and the bidders drove its price sharply upward.
• Lin Changheng quietly left the auction while the strongest cultivators focused on bidding, but a tiger-masked and a rat-masked cultivator followed him.
• Lin Changheng sensed the pursuers and deliberately led them into a secluded hollow where jagged rocks and dense trees obscured their view.
• The rat-masked cultivator charged into Lin Changheng’s illusion and froze, while the Tiger-Faced Cultivator recognized the danger too late for a nearly invisible red streak to strike.

Lin Changheng killed the Rat-Faced Cultivator and fought the Tiger-Faced Cultivator, a Foundation Establishment late-stage robber. After defeating him with the true intent of [Mountain-Bearing Divine Ability], Lin Changheng looted the battlefield and vanished.

• Lin Changheng ambushed and killed the Rat-Faced Cultivator before facing the enraged Tiger-Faced Cultivator.
• Lin Changheng countered the Tiger-Faced Cultivator’s saber, earth spells, poison smoke, and spirit artifacts with his own abilities and treasures.
• The Tiger-Faced Cultivator was wounded but became convinced Lin Changheng’s treasures were worth stealing and decided to close in for hand-to-hand combat.
• The Tiger-Faced Cultivator charged Lin Changheng and struck with his fist, but Lin Changheng shattered his arm and crushed his chest with a single punch.
• Lin Changheng collected the dead cultivators’ Storage Bags and spirit artifacts, destroyed the bodies to erase traces, and disappeared.

Lin Changheng examined the spoils from two Tribulation Cultivators, chose several spirit artifacts to refine, and discovered an unidentified divine wood that reacted to his Redcloud Mystic Flame. After refining the Myriad Poison Skull and Void-Hiding Blade, he met Daoist Wu Jiu again at the Spirit Wine Tower.

• Lin Changheng searched the two storage bags, destroyed suspicious items, and chose the evil-path skull artifact, which he named the Myriad Poison Skull.
• Lin Changheng assessed a defensive shield, the concealed-assassination Void-Hiding Blade, and a defensive jade bracelet among the spoils.
• Lin Changheng found a charcoal-like fragment, used Redcloud Mystic Flame to expose its dark-cyan wood beneath the shell, and sensed ancient origin essence within it.
• Lin Changheng compared the fragment with records of the Seven Divine Woods, found no match, and put it away before refining the Myriad Poison Skull and Void-Hiding Blade.
• Lin Changheng returned to the Spirit Wine Tower, where Daoist Wu Jiu appeared and asked him to share his wine.

Lin Changheng refined Wu Jiu’s Vajra Bodhi Wood, uncovering and purging the Demonic Qi hidden inside it. After receiving the Wind-Sensing Spirit Discernment technique, Lin Changheng learned that other demonic cultivators held similar wood for crafting a Demonic Sacred Relic, with clues pointing west.

• Lin Changheng examined the Azure Firmament Sect’s decline while dining with Wu Jiu, then accepted the spirit wood for refinement under strict precautions.
• Lin Changheng recognized the material as Vajra Bodhi Wood and used his Redcloud Mystic Flame to reveal and burn away its concealed Demonic Qi.
• After seven days of refining and three days of recovery, Lin Changheng returned the purified wood to Wu Jiu in exchange for the Wind-Sensing Spirit Discernment technique.
• Wu Jiu explained that he had killed a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Demon Cultivator and learned that four demonic leaders each possessed a piece of Vajra Bodhi Wood for a Demonic Sacred Relic.
• Wu Jiu told Lin Changheng to search west for another piece, then departed, revealing a speed that suggested he had concealed his cultivation.

Lin Changheng sold spirit artifacts, then helped Xiao Bai break through to the mid-stage second tier before obtaining Cold Jade Crystal Scorpion essence blood and pill-refining work from Cheng Suling. He returned to Perching Moon Island with more than six hundred bottles of essence blood and prepared to perform spirit seizure.

• Lin Changheng sold several spirit artifacts for spirit stones and returned to Jade Belt Lake with a substantial haul.
• Xiao Bai broke through to the mid-stage second tier after Lin Changheng supplied Tidal Water Essence Powder.
• Lin Changheng continued drawing essence blood from Xiao Hei while allowing Xiao Bai time to stabilize.
• Cheng Suling gave Lin Changheng second-tier Cold Jade Crystal Scorpion essence blood and asked him to refine two batches of pills.
• Lin Changheng obtained more than two hundred additional bottles of essence blood from Xu Maoling, returned home, and prepared to perform spirit seizure.

Lin Changheng completed a spirit seizure with Cold Jade Crystal Scorpion essence blood, choosing Water-Shadow Stealth and testing its concealment and movement abilities around Jade Belt Lake. Three months later, a massive gathering of spiritual qi above Perching Moon Island signaled that someone was breaking through to Foundation Establishment.

• Lin Changheng compared the Cold Jade Crystal Scorpion’s talents and chose Water-Shadow Stealth for its concealment, escape, and water-adapted abilities.
• Lin Changheng formed three Cold Jade Crystal Scorpion treasure seeds, raising Water-Shadow Stealth to Clarity and extending his divine sense to four hundred and fifty zhang.
• Lin Changheng tested Water-Shadow Stealth at Jade Belt Lake, concealing himself from a spirit fish, moving swiftly underwater, and creating a water-shadow clone.
• Lin Changheng reviewed his essence-blood slots and planned to acquire more Azure Rain Mist Toad essence blood after Yan Mingyi completed her Foundation Establishment breakthrough.
• Three months later, spiritual qi converged above Perching Moon Island, and Xu Maoling and Cheng Suling watched from afar as they recognized a Foundation Establishment breakthrough was underway.