Chapter Summaries

Lin Changheng subdued Ye Qingwu with the Divine Blood Curse Seal, and she surrendered her Fated Heart-Linked Gu to prove her loyalty. After learning that the Purple Pole Sect might be preparing for war with the Jin Kingdom, Lin and Mo Zhaoli completed their work at the spirit land and found that one of the ten cultivators was missing.

• Lin Changheng activated Ye Qingwu's Divine Blood Curse Seal, overcame her attempted resistance, and forced her to submit.
• Ye Qingwu offered Lin Changheng her Fated Heart-Linked Gu, which tied her life and thoughts to his control, and Lin accepted it.
• Ye Qingwu told Lin Changheng that the Purple Pole Sect was reinforcing the Song-Jin border and might intend to invade the Jin Kingdom while it was in turmoil.
• Lin Changheng let Ye Qingwu return to her assignment and secretly took useful materials from her Storage Bag; Mo Zhaoli agreed that controlling her was safer than killing her.
• Lin Changheng and Mo Zhaoli grew closer, and Mo Zhaoli proposed holding an exchange gathering to help him obtain more Nether Void Demon Beast essence blood.
• Lin Changheng and Mo Zhaoli reached the quasi-third-tier spirit land, where Jin Daoyao continued building the formation, True Person Linghu refined his Treasure Artifact Embryo, and only nine of the original ten cultivators remained.

Lin Changheng and Mo Zhaoli traded for Nether Void essence blood while Formation Master Jin Daoyao completed the Five-Element Spirit-Locking Grand Formation, bringing the spirit land under the Purple Pole Sect’s control. Three days later, as the group prepared to depart, a distant roar forced their spirit boat back into the forest.

• Ye Qingwu told Lin Changheng that her Gu insect’s evidence suggested Junior Sister Qiu had killed the missing male cultivator.
• Mo Zhaoli traded for Nether Void essence blood from fellow disciples, while Lin Changheng arranged to buy twenty portions of Earthfire Demon Hound blood from Ye Qingwu.
• Lin Changheng gathered four kinds of Nether Void essence blood, enough to transform four Mystic Spirit Treasure Seeds across three elemental categories.
• After seven days, Jin Daoyao completed the Five-Element Spirit-Locking Grand Formation, which purified the spirit land, strengthened its spiritual energy, and concealed and protected it for the Purple Pole Sect.
• True Person Linghu ordered the cultivators to prepare to depart the next morning, then flew off with Jin Daoyao to inspect the formation.
• Three days later, a fierce roar sounded as the spirit boat rose above the forest, and the boat plunged back down.

Lin Changheng and Mo Zhaoli escaped a beast tide triggered by two third-tier demon beasts fighting, while Lin Changheng became interested in the Golden-Armored Thunder Ape’s bloodline. After reaching Golden Sands Market Ward and recovering, he began transforming the Black-Spined Vulture Treasure Seed.

• True Person Linghu led the Purple Pole Sect cultivators into hiding as the Golden-Armored Thunder Ape and Crimson-Winged Fire Elephant fought nearby, triggering a stampede of demon beasts.
• The Corrosive Poison Serpent ambushed and swallowed the female cultivator surnamed Qiu as the group fled the beast tide.
• The Golden-Armored Thunder Ape attacked the fleeing cultivators with a Golden Thunder Spear, forcing them to scatter; Lin Changheng escaped with Mo Zhaoli, while several cultivators were injured or killed.
• Lin Changheng suspected the Thunder Ape’s rare lightning bloodline might help him develop a Mystic Root, then continued fleeing with Mo Zhaoli until they reached Golden Sands Market Ward.
• Lin Changheng and Mo Zhaoli rested at an Immortal Inn, and the following afternoon Lin Changheng began transforming the Black-Spined Vulture Treasure Seed.

Lin Changheng refined the Black-Spined Vulture True Core and advanced his Insight Otherworldly Art into the Insight Demonic Art, gaining a powerful ability to perceive hidden structures and concealed cultivation. After the survivors of the beast tide reunited and True Person Linghu invited him to return to the sect, Lin stayed behind and discovered an unknown mark on his body, suspecting Linghu had placed it.

• Lin Changheng absorbed the Black-Spined Vulture True Core and transformed his Insight Otherworldly Art into the Insight Demonic Art.
• Lin Changheng tested his new ability on formations and crowds, revealing the market ward's formation weaknesses and detecting an old stallholder with cultivation near the False Core level.
• News spread that the beast tide had scattered, and the surviving members of the Purple Pole Sect party reunited at Golden Sands Market Ward with only six of their original ten members alive.
• True Person Linghu warned the survivors about the dangers of the cultivation world and invited Lin Changheng to return to the sect with them.
• Lin Changheng refused to board Linghu's spirit boat and, after it departed, discovered a concealed mark on his body that he suspected True Person Linghu had placed.

Lin Changheng learned that the Song Kingdom had launched a war against the Jin Kingdom and met Bai Hengwan to ask about the conflict and its dangers. Their conversation revealed that Bai Hengwan might be facing trouble of her own, and she explained why she had not visited Lin Changheng during his hundredth-birthday celebration.

• A black-robed demon cultivator destroyed a Communication Jade Talisman after receiving a threatening message, then sent a reply of his own.
• Lin Changheng left seclusion, traveled to Floating Life Immortal City, and learned that Song Kingdom forces had begun a surprise campaign against the Jin Kingdom.
• Lin Changheng visited Bai Hengwan, who said the campaign was a planned policy to seize border territories and resources, and warned that the Song Kingdom itself might not remain peaceful.
• Lin Changheng decided to stay at Jade Belt Lake rather than relocate, trusting that the Purple Pole Sect's recent crackdown would keep the area safe for now.
• Bai Hengwan explained that secret sect orders had prevented her from leaving her Spirit Boat to visit Lin Changheng on his hundredth birthday, and Lin Changheng accepted her apology.

Lin Changheng learned Elder Kong might be attempting Core Formation, prepared gifts and stronger defenses, and uncovered a hidden demon cultivator near his cave abode. At the auction, he bought formation and puppet-making inheritances, then focused on the next item that caught his interest.

• Lin Changheng inferred that Elder Kong was secluded to attempt Core Formation and asked Bai Hengwan to pass along his regards.
• Lin Changheng gathered ingredients for the Youth-Preserving Pill and visited Lü Tong, who offered to introduce him to a Formation Master on Jade Capital Mountain.
• Lin Changheng recognized that the gray-robed neighbor concealed Foundation Establishment eighth-layer cultivation and a sinister demonic aura, then grew wary of a possible threat to the Song Region.
• Lin Changheng attended the auction in a Heaven Character Pavilion, dismissed the maid's advances, and considered the pills, materials, and inheritances he needed.
• Lin Changheng bought a lower-grade second-tier formation inheritance and a mid-grade second-tier puppet-making inheritance, but stopped bidding on Stargazing Artistry.
• The auction elder introduced the next item, and Lin Changheng became excited as the venue fell silent.

Lin Changheng used the alternate identity Li Feiyu to bid on and win Coiling Phoenix Grass, then traded its stalk to Yi Jitian for rooted Mystic Ice Spiritflame Grass while keeping the Coiling Phoenix Grass roots. He left the auction with two valuable sets of roots that he planned to cultivate with the Glorious Life Divine Ability.

• Lin Changheng decided to use his concealed identity, Li Feiyu, to bid aggressively on Coiling Phoenix Grass, an auxiliary herb for Core Formation pills.
• Yi Jitian and Ye Wugui competed with Lin Changheng for the herb, but Lin Changheng's bids secured it at the auction.
• Yi Jitian sent Elder Ling to invite Li Feiyu to discuss a trade, and Lin Changheng accepted after refusing to leave the auction without proper arrangements.
• Yi Jitian offered Mystic Ice Spiritflame Grass in exchange for Coiling Phoenix Grass, and Lin Changheng negotiated to keep the Coiling Phoenix Grass roots while trading its main stalk.
• Lin Changheng completed the trade, receiving the rooted Mystic Ice Spiritflame Grass and leaving with roots from both precious herbs.

Lin Changheng used his Li Feiyu identity to act more freely, then demonstrated his formidable divine sense to Lü Tong before visiting Jade Capital Mountain. He secured Formation Master Wang’s help with a protective formation and made a satisfying deal with He Yunshu for Treasure Talismans, but encountered an unexpected situation at the border between the Azure Rosy Clouds Temple and the Purple Pole Sect.

• Lin Changheng concealed himself from Lü Tong and suppressed his divine sense, making Lü Tong abandon his schemes and lead him to Jade Capital Mountain.
• Lin Changheng visited He Yunshu and asked her to introduce him to Formation Master Wang, who could build an upper-grade second-tier formation for his cultivation grounds.
• Lin Changheng negotiated with He Yunshu to buy more Treasure Talismans, and she sent Lü Tong outside while they discussed her terms.
• Lin Changheng and He Yunshu emerged after about an hour looking pleased, then departed with Lü Tong.
• Three days later, Lin Changheng left Jade Capital Mountain after arranging for Formation Master Wang to make and install the formation at Perching Moon Island.
• Lin Changheng encountered an unexpected situation at the boundary between the Azure Rosy Clouds Temple and the Purple Pole Sect.

Lin Changheng, traveling in disguise across Fallen Dragon Ridge, witnessed Fellow Daoist Yun and her companion flee three pursuers. After Yun used a True Core Talisman Treasure to kill their scar-faced leader, the exhausted women faced the two remaining pursuers in a tense standoff.

• Lin Changheng concealed himself in the forest as two women pursued by three cultivators flew overhead.
• Fellow Daoist Yun and the Azure-Robed Female Cultivator counterattacked, and Yun used the aura of her Golden Brick Talisman Treasure to bluff the pursuers into retreating briefly.
• Lin Changheng recognized Yun and noticed she was secretly preparing to unleash the Talisman Treasure for real.
• The scar-faced pursuer caught up and attacked the women, but Yun turned and used the Golden Brick Talisman Treasure to kill him with one strike.
• The two remaining pursuers faced the exhausted women in a standoff until Yun’s Talisman Treasure reverted to a talisman, leaving the women to prepare for a final fight.

Yun Zhi and her companion were cornered by two Green Crocodile Gang cultivators until Lin Changheng revealed himself after demanding her Small Mount Sumeru Sword Seal as collateral. He instantly killed both attackers with his Dark Radiance Mystic Flame, leaving the two women alive and indebted to him.

• Yun Zhi tried to negotiate with the slant-browed man and the bald cultivator while she and her companion recovered their magical power, but the men refused peace and attacked.
• As the two women fell into danger, Yun Zhi sensed Lin Changheng hiding below and begged him to help, offering generous rewards.
• Lin Changheng demanded Yun Zhi's Small Mount Sumeru Sword Seal as collateral, and she threw it down to him.
• Lin Changheng emerged and offered the attackers a choice to leave or die, then killed both with a dark-golden thread of flame when they attacked him.
• Lin Changheng collected the attackers' Storage Bags, and Yun Zhi and her companion thanked him for saving their lives.

Lin Changheng secured century-old warm jade from Yun Zhi, returned to Perching Moon Island, and spent years strengthening his cultivation and skills as the Song-Jin War intensified. He broke through to the Foundation Establishment sixth layer and emerged from seclusion while the conflict continued to consume cultivators across the border.

• Lin Changheng accepted Yun Zhi's Dao oath to provide century-old warm jade as thanks for saving her, then returned the Small Mount Sumeru Sword Seal and left with the azure-robed cultivator.
• Lin Changheng reunited with Yan Mingyi on Perching Moon Island and found that his medicinal plants and spirit beasts had made substantial progress.
• Lin Changheng entered seclusion to prepare for the growing war, then broke through to the Foundation Establishment sixth layer after two years.
• Lin Changheng refined Youth-Preserving Pills, extended his lifespan by fifteen years, and advanced his Formation Dao to the lower-grade second tier after observing Formation Master Wang.
• Bai Hengwan arranged to receive the warm jade from the Yun Family on Lin Changheng's behalf while protecting his identity as Li Feiyu.
• The Song-Jin War expanded into a bloody stalemate, with forces from both kingdoms fighting over strongholds and resource sites as cultivators fell in battle.

As war drove up demand for elixirs and puppets, Lin Changheng prospered on Perching Moon Island while preparing for the conflict’s possible reach. Xu Bazheng and Xu Yongzhen visited him with a piece of third-tier Geng Metal, and Lin offered Xu Yongzhen support before receiving the final essence blood needed for his transformation.

• Lin Changheng sold elixirs and promoted Yan Mingyi’s puppets, raising Perching Moon Island’s standing amid the Song-Jin War.
• Xu Bazheng brought Xu Yongzhen to visit Lin Changheng, explaining their family’s debt to him and urging Xu Yongzhen to honor him as an elder.
• Lin Changheng hosted the visitors and tested their patience with three days of fishing; he was impressed by Xu Yongzhen’s composure when the young man caught a fish.
• Xu Bazheng gave Lin Changheng a piece of third-tier Geng Metal recovered after her elder brother’s misfortune, and Lin promised to help Xu Yongzhen if he faced trouble.
• Lin Changheng gave Xu Bazheng and Xu Yongzhen high-quality elixirs, then Cook Zeng arrived with the final two hundred portions of Red-Eyed Fire Ogre essence blood needed for transformation.

Lin Changheng strengthened his Divine Blood Curse Seal and learned that the Purple Pole Sect was conscripting cultivators across the Song Region, while Xu Xujun volunteered for the Xu Family’s dangerous deployment. After receiving Bai Hengwan’s coded request to retrieve her items in person, Lin Changheng followed her envoy and captured a suspicious cultivator near Floating Life Immortal City.

• Cook Zeng told Lin Changheng that the Huang Household had been ordered to send two Foundation Establishment cultivators and twenty Qi Refining cultivators to the Song-Jin Battlefield.
• Lin Changheng absorbed Red-Eyed Fire Ogre and Earthfire Demon Hound essence blood, transforming his Divine Blood Curse Seal and increasing the number of people it could control to six.
• Lin Changheng received letters reporting that Tantai Feiyue had reached Foundation Establishment fourth layer and that the Xu Family had also been conscripted.
• Xu Xujun volunteered to lead the Xu Family’s contingent to the battlefield, and Lin Changheng worried that Jade Belt Lake and Mo Zhaoli might also face conscription.
• Lin Changheng deciphered Bai Hengwan’s coded letter as a request for him to retrieve her items himself, then left the island in disguise and tracked her envoy toward Floating Life Immortal City.
• Lin Changheng caught a cultivator who had brushed past the envoy and demanded to know what wrongs he had committed.

Lin Changheng uncovered a demonic plot targeting him and Bai Hengwan, learned the history behind the Extreme South Palace’s public campaign against demonic cultivators, and received the century-old warm jade needed for his bonded Treasure Artifact Embryo. He rented a notorious courtyard in Cloudgate Court and entered despite warnings that its tenants had met misfortune.

• A curse planted in the gaunt cultivator’s soul destroyed his memories when Lin Changheng tried to question him, but Lin Changheng found evidence that the envoy had passed secret information to the man.
• Lin Changheng burned the corpse, followed the envoy into Immortal Lake, and later told Bai Hengwan that their hidden enemies had used demonic methods and had cursed him five years earlier.
• Bai Hengwan explained that the Extreme South Palace had betrayed the demonic sect that once ruled the Song Region and later pressured other powers to publicly oppose demonic cultivators to prevent its restoration.
• Lin Changheng and Bai Hengwan agreed to investigate and retaliate against whoever was behind the plot, with Lin Changheng offering to help under his Li Feiyu identity.
• Bai Hengwan gave Lin Changheng the century-old warm jade sent by the Yun Family, completing the materials he needed to begin forging his bonded Treasure Artifact Embryo.
• Lin Changheng rented Puppet Master Cui Yin’s former courtyard in Cloudgate Court despite its grim reputation, while nearby cultivators predicted that he would soon suffer the same misfortune as its previous tenants.

Lin Changheng investigated the eerie rumors at his former residence, discovered and captured rare [Soul-Eroding Miasma Insects], and uncovered an old corpse-powered formation beneath a willow. He then spent months forging his natal Treasure Artifact Embryo and placed it in his dantian to begin nurturing it.

• Lin Changheng moved back to Cloudgate Court and used three probing arts to search the courtyard for the source of its sinister reputation.
• Lin Changheng found about thirty [Soul-Eroding Miasma Insects] parasitizing a willow and captured them with metal-element power.
• Lin Changheng excavated beneath the willow, uncovered five corpses and a black Small Banner powering an old evil formation, then removed the banner and burned the remains.
• Lin Changheng returned to his quiet room and spent months refining precious spirit materials into a sword-shaped Treasure Artifact Embryo.
• Lin Changheng used [Spirit Nurturing Demonic Art] to draw the completed embryo into his dantian, where it took the central place from his third-tier fire seed.

Lin Changheng learned that Bai Hengwan’s senior sister Yang had colluded with demon cultivators and warned Bai Hengwan that her planned raid might be a trap. They rushed to help the Law Enforcement Team confront a supposedly late-stage Foundation Establishment demon cultivator, only to discover a False Core Old Devil slaughtering them.

• Lin Changheng emerged from seclusion with his Jianmu Sword Embryo and received Bai Hengwan’s message that her investigation had implicated Senior Sister Yang.
• Bai Hengwan revealed that a demon cultivator had been found, and Lin Changheng warned that the apparent discovery could be bait for a False Core demon cultivator.
• Bai Hengwan accepted Lin Changheng’s suspicion that Yang had plotted to harm her and hurried toward the demon cultivator’s hiding place, with Lin Changheng following in disguise.
• The False Core Old Devil revealed his concealed cultivation, destroyed the Law Enforcement Team’s formation, and killed several members with the Nine Ghost Soul-Reaping Nail and his ghost claw.
• Bai Hengwan and Lin Changheng arrived as the False Core Old Devil continued attacking; Bai Hengwan activated a Signal Talisman while Lin Changheng judged that he could fight the enemy but chose not to rush in yet.

Bai Hengwan fought the False Core Old Devil, whose attacks she countered with her Treasure Artifact Embryo and a powerful Talisman Treasure before reinforcements forced him to flee. Lin Changheng discovered and dispelled the Demonic Mark the Old Devil had planted on her, and after True Disciple Wu Huayuan pursued the enemy, Lin left for the outskirts of the Immortal City.

• The False Core Old Devil attacked Bai Hengwan with his ghostly powers and a sneak strike from the [Nine Ghost Soul-Reaping Nail], but her [Heaven-Measuring Jade Ruler] blocked the nail.
• Bai Hengwan activated a True Core Talisman Treasure and split the Old Devil's [Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts], seriously injuring him before his life-saving bone pendant kept him alive.
• A powerful newcomer approached, and the False Core Old Devil fled; Bai Hengwan recognized the arrival as True Disciple Wu Huayuan, who immediately gave chase.
• Lin Changheng spotted a concealed Demonic Mark on Bai Hengwan's shoulder and purified it with the [Dark Radiance Mystic Flame].
• Bai Hengwan thanked Lin Changheng and tended to the Law Enforcement Team, honoring the fallen and treating the wounded.
• After Wu Huayuan left in pursuit and Bai Hengwan finished handling the aftermath, Lin Changheng flew toward the outskirts of the Immortal City.

Lin Changheng tracked the wounded False Core Old Devil to his hiding place and killed him with a prepared combination of illusions, a curse seal, mystic flame, and his Sword Embryo. When the Old Devil tried to possess him, the ancient cauldron in Lin Changheng’s sea of consciousness erased the remnant soul, revealing a new defensive ability.

• Lin Changheng followed the curse seal he had secretly planted on the False Core Old Devil and waited until the wounded cultivator stopped to recover.
• Lin Changheng disguised himself as a foundation establishment early stage cultivator and let the False Core Old Devil drag him into the cave.
• Lin Changheng struck with the [Illusion Demonic Art] and detonated the [Divine Blood Curse Seal], then used the [Dark Radiance Mystic Flame] and [Sword Embryo] to kill the False Core Old Devil.
• Lin Changheng collected the Old Devil’s possessions, but the dead man’s soul escaped his Soul-Searching Technique and invaded Lin Changheng’s sea of consciousness.
• The ancient cauldron erased the Old Devil’s remnant soul, and Lin Changheng destroyed the battlefield’s traces before leaving with his spoils.

After killing the False Core old devil, Lin Changheng escaped Wu Huayuan and examined the treasures and secret arts in the old devil’s Storage Bag. He later returned to Floating Life Immortal City, where he learned that Bai Hengwan had gained renown and his identity as Li Feiyu had become the subject of public tales.

• Lin Changheng fled the battlefield using several escape arts and a speed-enhancing treasure talisman, then hid in a distant valley while Wu Huayuan searched for him.
• Lin Changheng examined the old devil’s Storage Bag, found a one-way ghost-head token and a fortune in spirit stones, and studied the demonic arts recorded on its Jade Slips.
• Lin Changheng considered learning Blood-Shadow Escape and discovered that the [Spirit Grafting] art might let him transfer the damaged [Nine Ghost Soul-Reaping Nail]’s spirituality to his [Azure Jade Sword Embryo].
• Lin Changheng found a piece of [Vajra Bodhi Wood] among the old devil’s materials and recognized it as part of the Demonic Sacred Relic once described by Daoist Wu Jiu.
• Lin Changheng returned to Floating Life Immortal City and heard that Bai Hengwan’s reputation had risen after she faced the False Core demon cultivator.
• Lin Changheng learned that stories about his second identity, Li Feiyu, had spread, portraying him as a gloomy and unpredictable cultivator who had bravely challenged a False Core foe.

Lin Changheng returned to Jade Belt Lake, learned that Mo Zhaoli would soon be deployed to the Jin Kingdom front, and received fire-aspected essence blood from Deng Changsheng. He completed a transformation using Blazing Green Lion bloodline and refined its Flame Manipulation talent, leaving him with a Supreme Explosive Flame Azure Lion True Core and a new demonic art available to refine.

• Lin Changheng left the Immortal City, learned how difficult and lengthy core formation was, and heard that Law Enforcement cultivators had killed his former neighbor before he could confess.
• Lin Changheng discovered that Mo Zhaoli was due to join the Jin Kingdom front within six months, replied urging her to visit, and asked Yan Mingyi to summon Deng Changsheng.
• Deng Changsheng brought two thousand portions of Blazing Green Lion essence blood and revealed that his cultivation had reached at least the Foundation Establishment fifth layer; Lin Changheng rewarded him without demanding an explanation for his hidden cultivation.
• Deng Changsheng's mysterious senior warned him that Lin Changheng might have a terrifying ability to sense souls and told him to avoid communicating in Lin Changheng's presence.
• Lin Changheng chose Flame Manipulation over Explosive Flame and Tremor Roar, seized and refined the talent to transcendent mastery, then completed a transformation using the remaining essence blood to form a Supreme Explosive Flame Azure Lion True Core.