Chapter Summaries

Lin Changheng bought and refined a used [Wasp Blade] at the black market, then returned safely with Su Shuangjiang. Later, cultivators from the clan arrived at the Xu Family Alchemy Shop, and the group prepared to depart at noon.

• Lin Changheng bargained a stallholder down to forty Spirit Stones for the used flying blade Magic Artifact, which the stallholder called the [Wasp Blade].
• Lin Changheng and Su Shuangjiang left the Market Ward without encountering anyone following them, and Su Shuangjiang teased him for acting like a robber cultivator.
• Lin Changheng refined the [Wasp Blade] and practiced controlling it, learning to send it swiftly in and out of his Storage Bag.
• An eighth-level Qi Refining cultivator and three Mid-Qi Refining cultivators arrived at the Xu Family Alchemy Shop from the clan.
• Master Mo summoned Lin Changheng and Shopkeeper Xu Qianyou, and the seven decided to leave at noon.

As the Xu Family and other Qi Refining lineages abandoned Zichuan Market, Lin Changheng joined the Xu Family’s journey home, concealing his Storage Bag and staying alert. Near the settlement, attackers ambushed the group, killing Xu Ruolan and throwing the party into chaos as Lin Changheng sought cover.

• Lin Changheng packed his belongings, disguised himself as a penniless traveler, and left Zichuan Market with the Xu Family party.
• Xu Qianhuan led the twelve travelers on Dragon Horses, keeping Lin Changheng in the protected center of their formation.
• After more than four days of uneventful travel, Xu Qianhuan warned the group to stay alert as they neared the settlement.
• Attackers hidden in the woods unleashed a coordinated barrage of spells, and Xu Qianhuan and the Xu Family cultivators raised barriers to defend the party.
• An ice blade killed Xu Ruolan, while another assistant fell from his horse and broke his leg amid the chaos.
• Lin Changheng ducked beneath his horse and used a Golden Shield Talisman; Master Mo passed him a Water Curtain Talisman as Lin suspected the attack had been planned in advance.

Xu Qianhuan and the Xu Family fought off an ambush by masked cultivators while Lin Changheng revealed his skill and killed one of the attackers. The battle remained unsettled as a Spell Boat sped toward them from the Blackwater River.

• Xu Qianhuan killed two hidden attackers with his Flying Sword before nine masked cultivators launched an ambush.
• The burly bandit leader and a flanking attacker pressured Xu Qianhuan, while Master Mo joined the fight against the bandits threatening the Xu Family's mid-stage cultivators.
• A bandit chased Lin Changheng, who killed him with a guided Fireball Technique after knocking his magic artifact aside with a Flying Knife.
• Lin Changheng returned to help Shopkeeper Xu Qianyou, freezing one bandit with a Frost Talisman so Xu Qianyou could sever his arm.
• A Spell Boat appeared, speeding toward the battlefield from the Blackwater River.

The Xu Family repelled a raid by rogue cultivators, and Lin Changheng was rewarded for killing one of them. After returning to the family settlement, Lin Changheng learned the identity of Xu Hanji, the Patriarch’s daughter.

• Xu Xuheng arrived on a Spell Boat and drove the rogue cultivators into the mountains, while one wounded attacker died from his bronze mirror’s beam.
• Xu Qianyou revealed that Lin Changheng had killed a rogue cultivator and helped wound another, and Xu Xuheng awarded him the attacker’s spoils.
• Lin Changheng learned that the Xu Family had suffered minor losses and that the surviving rogue cultivators’ identities and motives were unknown.
• Lin Changheng returned to the Xu Family settlement and reunited with Xu Fugui.
• Xu Fugui identified the approaching young woman as Xu Hanji, the Patriarch’s daughter.

After recovering from the battle, Lin Changheng sorted the bandit cultivator’s spoils and decided to sell the damaged hammer Magic Artifact. The Xu Family recognized his pill-refining value and appointed him a Registered Guest Advisor, granting him access to mid-grade resources and exemption from the Great Reclamation’s front lines.

• Lin Changheng replenished his magical power, inspected the bandit cultivator’s Storage Bag, and planned to sell its pills and his damaged hammer Magic Artifact.
• A Xu Family member summoned Lin Changheng to the Pill Room, where he saw Tantai Feiyue emerge after apparently passing an assessment as a ranked Talisman Master.
• Tantai Feiyue and Lin Changheng exchanged greetings, drawing jealous and wary looks from the Xu Family disciples around her.
• Xu Qianyan examined Lin Changheng’s pills and appointed him the Lineage’s Registered Guest Advisor.
• Xu Qianyan told Lin Changheng that he could redeem mid-grade resources and remain in the rear refining pills during the Great Reclamation.

Lin Changheng accepted his promotion to Pill Master and chose a profit-sharing arrangement for refining pills for the Xu Family. After planning how to build his reserves and obtain essence blood, he swallowed a Premium Crimson Flame Pill and resumed cultivating.

• Xu Qianyan offered Lin Changheng improved access to mid-grade items and explained his pill-refining duties and compensation options.
• Lin Changheng sold his seized pills and Storage Bag at the Hundred Treasures Hall but kept a first-tier mid-grade poison and found that the damaged hammer Magic Artifact could not be sold.
• Lin Changheng passed the Xu Family disciples and Tantai Feiyue at the Tide Listening Dojo without stopping to speak with her.
• Lin Changheng chose profit sharing, agreeing to provide seven Standard Pills for every ten sets of ingredients the Xu Family supplied, and planned to refine more pills while protecting his cultivation time.
• Lin Changheng considered seeking pill-refining tasks that could provide essence blood, then swallowed a Premium Crimson Flame Pill and cultivated.

Lin Changheng secured a promise of future pill-disposal work and, after two years of pill refining and cultivation, broke through to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining. He remained sheltered with the Xu Family while weighing how to sell his growing stock of Premium Pills, and his Origin Treasure Seed was more than halfway charged.

• Lin Changheng asked Steward Xu Xuzhong for pill-related work and requested that he reserve a pill-disposal task when one became available.
• Two years later, Lin Changheng used a Spirit Gathering Array and two crimson Spirit Stones to break through to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining.
• Lin Changheng celebrated his breakthrough with spirit wine and reflected that improving his spiritual root would ease future cultivation.
• Lin Changheng reviewed the hundreds of Premium Pills in his Storage Bag and considered selling them once he had enough means to protect himself.
• Lin Changheng noted that his Origin Treasure Seed had accumulated more than halfway.

Lin Changheng advanced his Fire Crow and Greenwood Snake treasure seeds by processing Defective Pills, gaining stronger fire control and poison resistance. He considered seeking essence blood at a trading gathering, but Xu Fugui’s wedding invitation arrived first, revealing Fugui would marry a woman with a spiritual root.

• The Xu Family’s Savage Wastes expedition suffered an ambush by azure-miasma crocodile dragons, killing Xu Fugui’s grandfather’s grandson and leaving the grieving old Pill Master unable to process Defective Pills.
• Lin Changheng took on the newly available Defective Pills, focused on Crimson Flame Pills and Wood Origin Pills, and raised the Fire Crow Treasure Seed to the third tier and the Greenwood Snake Treasure Seed to the second.
• The Fire Crow Treasure Seed improved Lin Changheng’s furnace-flame control and fire techniques, while the Greenwood Snake Treasure Seed strengthened his poison resistance and Poison Transformation Art.
• Lin Changheng considered attending the next internal trading gathering to spend his Spirit Stones on resources and methods.
• Xu Fugui invited Lin Changheng to his wedding, where Fugui would marry a woman with a spiritual root, as the Xu Family sought more descendants to replenish its forces.

Lin Changheng attended Xu Fugui’s wedding banquet, where the Immortal Seedlings discussed battlefield conscription and the Xu Family patriarch made a show of supporting the family. Afterward, Tantai Feiyue approached Lin Changheng and proposed that they spend more time together, and he agreed to closer contact.

• Lin Changheng brought two Wood Origin Pills to Xu Fugui’s wedding and reconnected with the other Immortal Seedlings over wine.
• The Immortal Seedlings mourned a companion killed in the swamp, and Bai Fengxian worried that he might be conscripted to reclaim the frontier.
• Xu Xuheng and Xu Hanji briefly attended the banquet, while Xu Fugui introduced his new wife, Xu Hanling, to Lin Changheng and the others.
• After the feast, Tantai Feiyue told Lin Changheng that Xu Family disciples had been disciplined and suggested the Immortal Seedlings spend more time together.
• Lin Changheng agreed to associate more with Tantai Feiyue, considering that she could help him as a ranked Talisman Master.

Lin Changheng and Tantai Feiyue exchanged gifts that revealed they could both produce premium goods, while Lin Changheng attended the Xu lineage’s trading gathering and learned how the family sold resources from the Savage Wastes. The chapter ended with him considering new sources of Demon Beast blood essence.

• Tantai Feiyue gave Lin Changheng a premium Frost Talisman to secure a stronger say in their cooperation, and Lin Changheng returned a premium Wood Origin Pill.
• Tantai Feiyue discovered the premium pill and realized Lin Changheng had deliberately matched her gesture, leaving her furious.
• Lin Changheng and Xu Fugui set up a stall at the Xu lineage’s trading gathering, where Lin Changheng sold a worn hammer Magic Artifact for twenty Spirit Stones.
• Lin Changheng learned that premium talisman ink required Demon Beast blood essence and considered asking Tantai Feiyue about obtaining it.
• Xu Fugui told Lin Changheng that the lineage sold most Savage Wastes resources at a large supply and trading outpost near the border.

Lin Changheng exchanged his slow-progressing Flowing Flame Art for the incomplete high-grade Li Fire Night-Illuminating Guide and quickly began cultivating it. After he discovered its faster refinement rate, Tantai Feiyue arrived at his home and teased him for leaving her at the doorway.

• Lin Changheng sold pills to Lineage members at a discount and asked them to help find a steady supply of Demon Beast blood essence.
• After his cultivation stalled at mid-qi refining, Lin Changheng visited the Scripture Repository Hall to exchange for a mid-grade fire-element method.
• Lin Changheng chose the incomplete high-grade Li Fire Night-Illuminating Guide, swore not to reveal it, and spent nearly all his contribution points to obtain it.
• Lin Changheng mastered the guide's basics in less than three days and found its cultivation cycles faster than those of the Flowing Flame Art.
• Tantai Feiyue visited Lin Changheng and teased him for blocking the doorway instead of inviting her inside.

Lin Changheng learned that Jin Liyue would sell him Demon Beast essence-blood only if he traveled to meet him, so he refused to leave the Xu Family's grounds. Tantai Feiyue offered him talisman ink and a method to extract its essence-blood, and Lin used Spirit Seizure to advance his Rockmountain Tortoise Treasure Seed.

• Tantai Feiyue told Lin Changheng that her friend Jin Liyue had several varieties of Demon Beast essence-blood, including Rockmountain Tortoise and Greenwood Snake.
• Lin Changheng grew suspicious when Jin Liyue insisted he travel to collect the essence-blood, and he declined the deal rather than risk leaving the Xu Family's grounds.
• Tantai Feiyue gave Lin four bottles of talisman ink and notes describing a method to extract essence-blood from it.
• Lin Changheng gave Tantai Feiyue two premium-grade Wood Origin Pills as a deposit for her help.
• Lin Changheng used Spirit Seizure on the Rockmountain Tortoise talisman ink, raising his treasure seed's progress to 13/100.

Lin Changheng refined the Fire Crow and Greenwood Snake Treasure Seeds, strengthening his fire control, poison resistance, and pill-making efficiency. He then learned that the Xu Family had discovered a Spirit Land in a poisonous valley and looked forward to gaining more treasure seeds from the failed Miasma-Dispelling Pills.

• Lin Changheng refined the Fire Crow Treasure Seed, gained profound control over ordinary flames, and tested his stronger Fireball Technique.
• Lin Changheng refined the Greenwood Snake Treasure Seed, advanced his Poison Transformation Art, and saw the Origin Treasure Seed's Spirit Seizure progress reach 62/100.
• Lin Changheng learned from Xu Fugui that the Xu Family had discovered a Spirit Land in a miasma-filled valley after finding azure spirit artemisia near a demon beast's lair.
• Qian Gang ordered the Xu Family to secure the Spirit Land, keep the discovery secret, and produce large quantities of Miasma-Dispelling Pills.
• Lin Changheng secured the assignment to dispose of the pills' failed and inferior batches and anticipated extracting Wooden Puppet Fox blood essence from them.

As the Xu and Chen Families competed over a Spirit Land, the Xu Family prepared for conflict, and Lin Changheng learned that Xu Fugui had been sent to the front. Lin Changheng helped his friends prepare and bought a defensive artifact, then sought a low-grade offensive one.

• The Chen Family of Purple Maple Bay contested the Spirit Land with the Xu Family, prompting Xu Xuheng to reinforce the front line and order more Miasma-Dispelling Pills.
• Bai Fengxian told Lin Changheng that Xu Fugui had been suddenly conscripted to the Savage Wastes, and Lin warned that early-Qi Refining cultivators might soon be needed as reinforcements.
• Lin Changheng gave Bai Fengxian three pills and discreetly lent pills or Spirit Stones to several Immortal Seedling friends so they could prepare for danger.
• At the Hundred Treasures Hall, Lin Changheng bought the mid-grade defensive Azure Flood Dragon Banner for two hundred and sixty low-grade Spirit Stones.
• Lin Changheng asked Steward Xu Xuyang to show him low-grade offensive magic artifacts.

Lin Changheng refined magic artifacts and pills while Xu Fugui warned him of the Savage Wastes and the Xu-Chen conflict intensified. After receiving the clan’s Defective Miasma-Dispelling Pills, Lin Changheng formed a new emerald-green treasure seed above the Origin Cauldron.

• Lin Changheng bought a Jade Bamboo Whip and another magic artifact, then refined both and produced a batch of pills that included two Premium Pills.
• Xu Fugui wrote from the Savage Wastes about the deadly reclamation effort, warned Lin Changheng to stay away, and asked him to protect his pregnant wife and family if he died.
• Lin Changheng replied with words of encouragement and sent Xu Fugui two potent Miasma-Dispelling Pills.
• As the Xu and Chen Families’ standoff continued, Lin Changheng stayed out of the clan’s arguments and focused on refining pills.
• Xu Xuzhong gave Lin Changheng the clan’s entire supply of failed and Inferior Miasma-Dispelling Pills, then advised him to improve his Pill Dao skills.
• Lin Changheng returned home and formed a new emerald-green treasure seed above the Origin Cauldron.

Lin Changheng completed the Wooden Puppet Fox treasure seed and refined the Self-Healing Art, then received Tantai Feiyue’s thanks after she advanced to the fourth level of Qi Refining. After she gave him extra Talisman Ink, he began seizing spirit from Rockmountain Tortoise essence blood.

• Lin Changheng completed the Wooden Puppet Fox treasure seed and chose to refine its Self-Healing talent into the Self-Healing Art.
• Lin Changheng tested the art by cutting his finger and watched the minor wound rapidly heal; his wood spiritual root reached ten strands.
• Tantai Feiyue visited Lin Changheng after breaking through to the fourth level of Qi Refining and offered him a gift basket in thanks for his Premium Pills.
• Lin Changheng accepted the twelve bottles of Talisman Ink after Tantai Feiyue explained that two Talisman Masters had helped her obtain their allotted shares.
• After Tantai Feiyue left, Lin Changheng began seizing spirit from Rockmountain Tortoise essence blood, reaching 27 out of 100.

Lin Changheng learned that the Xu and Chen Families’ fighting was intensifying, while Bai Fengxian was reassigned to guard the Black Dragon Pond Fishery. Two months later, as the conflict worsened and friends went to the front, Tantai Feiyue suggested the Xu Family’s peril might create a chance to obtain a Mid-Grade Pill Dao inheritance.

• Lin Changheng heard that the Xu and Chen Families had fought in the Savage Wastes, suffering casualties while the Xu Family claimed a slight advantage.
• Bai Fengxian told Lin Changheng he had been reassigned to guard the Black Dragon Pond Fishery, and Lin Changheng warned him to prioritize his survival before selling him four pills.
• Lin Changheng wondered whether trouble at the Black Dragon Pond Fishery was connected to Xu Xuzhong’s urgent business and feared his farewells to friends might be final.
• Two months later, the Xu and Chen Families were waging repeated large-scale battles, and Lin Changheng saw wounded Xu Family cultivators replaced by reinforcements.
• Lin Changheng and Tantai Feiyue discussed their progress in the Pill Dao and Talisman Way, and she suggested the Xu Family’s danger might open a path to a middle-grade inheritance.

Lin Changheng visited the injured Xu Fugui, who credited Lin’s Miasma-Dispelling Pill with saving his life and gave him nearly thirty bottles of Rockmountain Tortoise essence blood. Fugui also explained how the Mutual Trade Post’s supply chain was drawing the gains from frontier reclamation into the hands of powerful groups.

• Tantai Feiyue teased Lin Changheng during their conversation and left him pondering her advice about middle-grade Pill Dao.
• Lin Changheng learned that Xu Fugui had returned injured from the front lines and went to visit him.
• Xu Fugui recounted ambushing two Chen Family cultivators, escaping into poisonous miasma, and surviving with the Miasma-Dispelling Pill Lin had given him.
• Xu Fugui presented Lin Changheng with nearly thirty bottles of Rockmountain Tortoise essence blood that he had bought after his clansmen discovered a nest.
• Xu Fugui described how the Mutual Trade Post’s connected industries processed most frontier reclamation gains and offered cultivators discounted goods in exchange for materials.

Lin Changheng received Mo Zhaoli’s news about her breakthrough and the Chen Family’s efforts to secure backing against the Xu Family, then sold pills at the Hundred Treasures Hall. He disclosed his growing cultivation and pill-making ability to strengthen his standing, and the chapter ended as Xu Xuyang’s appraisal mirror detected a Premium Pill.

• Lin Changheng left Xu Fugui after Xu refused payment for the essence blood and promised him a share of any rewards if the Chen Family elder remained crippled.
• Mo Zhaoli wrote that she had reached the sixth layer of Qi Refining and asked Lin Changheng to visit her dispirited grandfather, Master Mo.
• Mo Zhaoli warned that the Chen Family had sought patrons in the Purple Pole Sect and might have turned to an aristocratic clan for support against the Xu Family.
• Lin Changheng replied by agreeing to visit Master Mo and revealing his fourth-layer cultivation and ability to refine Premium Pills, while asking Mo Zhaoli to keep the Xu Family’s war situation confidential.
• Lin Changheng brought pills to the Hundred Treasures Hall, where Xu Xuyang’s appraisal mirror flashed golden light as it examined them.

Lin Changheng refined two Premium Pills, learned that the Xu Family’s mid-grade Pill Master Xu Hanli had been killed by the Chen Family, and realized Xu Xuzhong’s advice might signal an opportunity in the Pill Dao. Xu Hanji summoned him, praised his alchemy, and began a conversation whose purpose was still unstated.

• Xu Xuyang discovered that Lin Changheng had refined two Premium Pills and hurried to report them at the Returning Peak Dojo.
• Lin Changheng told Master Mo about his breakthrough in alchemy, then learned that the Chen Family had killed Master Mo’s friend Xu Hanli while he gathered materials at Black Dragon Pond Fishery.
• Lin Changheng connected Xu Hanli’s death and Xu Xuzhong’s earlier advice, and suspected the Xu Family might need him to fill a vacancy in its ranks of Pill Masters.
• Within half a month, a Xu Family cultivator summoned Lin Changheng to meet Xu Hanji at the Returning Peak Dojo.
• Xu Hanji praised Lin Changheng’s diligence and Premium Pills, and Lin Changheng replied that Heaven rewarded diligence.