Chapter Summaries

Lin Changheng discovered that the Beauty-Preserving Pill Tantai Feiyue gave him carried a trace of the same time aura as his lifespan-extending ability, and he considered whether enough pills could extend his life. After supporting Tantai Feiyue’s cultivation and warning her against meeting Jin Liyue, he returned home to find a Xu Family messenger waiting for him.

• Lin Changheng identified and swallowed the Beauty-Preserving Pill Tantai Feiyue had bought for him, then sensed its faint lifespan-extension effect shared a source with his divine ability.
• Tantai Feiyue gave Lin Changheng more than twenty premium mid-grade talismans, and he accepted them after she urged him to keep them for protection.
• Tantai Feiyue explained that she had reached late qi refining without taking a Realm-Breaking Pill, and Lin Changheng left her two bottles of high-grade elixirs to aid her cultivation.
• Tantai Feiyue told Lin Changheng that Jin Liyue had asked to meet her, and Lin Changheng warned her not to go because he did not trust Jin Liyue.
• A member of the Xu Family met Lin Changheng at his courtyard and said the family head and eldest young lady wanted to see him.

Lin Changheng met with Xu Xuheng and Xu Hanwu, agreed to help refine special elixirs for a new Azure Spirit Ward auction, and learned how to support his Evergreen Azurewood Body training. The Xu family offered to help procure the resources he needed.

• Xu Xuheng told Lin Changheng that the Xu and Liu families planned to develop Azure Spirit Ward and establish an auction.
• Xu Xuheng asked Lin Changheng to work with Elder Qianyan to refine Breath-Sealing Pills, Beauty-Preserving Pills, and Demon-Repelling Pills, and Lin agreed.
• Xu Xuheng said Xu Hanwu would oversee the auction in Azure Spirit Ward and work with Lin Changheng.
• Xu Hanwu explained that the Evergreen Azurewood Body required tree-born spirit liquid and azure dragonwood, then gave Lin Changheng a jade slip describing the supporting method.
• Lin Changheng confirmed the method could work and asked about purchasing the materials, and Xu Hanwu said the family had procurement channels.

Lin Changheng used spirit liquid and spirit wood from Xu Hanwu to temper his body and discovered that his Self-Healing Art let him recover from the resulting injuries almost immediately. After spending three days at the Xu Family Base, he said goodbye to Tantai Feiyue and departed by boat along the Blackwater River.

• Xu Hanwu gave Lin Changheng enough spirit liquid and spirit wood for half a year, and he returned to his courtyard to begin body tempering with Azure Dragonwood and Dewpine Spirit Liquid.
• Lin Changheng found that his Self-Healing Art repaired the minute injuries from body tempering as they formed, allowing him to temper his body more intensely and frequently.
• Lin Changheng spent three days at the Xu Family Base, where Xu Fugui told him about his children and Lin praised Xu Qi'an's talent in the Pill Dao.
• Lin Changheng told Xu Fugui that he had reached the late stage and intended to attempt Foundation Establishment someday.
• Lin Changheng visited Master Mo, Xu Xuzhong, and others, then Tantai Feiyue saw him off as he boarded a boat on the Blackwater River.

Lin Changheng broke through to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer after three years of cultivation on the Xu Family's spirit land, then met Xu Hanwu to discuss the conflict with the Qiu Family. He prepared to leave Azure Spirit Ward as tensions over attacks on travelers continued to rise.

• Lin Changheng used the Redcloud Demon Flame, a Red Heaven Dharma Pill, and spirit stones to break through to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer at age fifty-one.
• Lin Changheng spent three more days stabilizing his cultivation before concealing his aura at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer and leaving seclusion.
• Xu Hanwu congratulated Lin Changheng and thanked him for helping lay the foundations for the auction.
• Lin Changheng asked Xu Hanwu about the Xu Family's growing friction with the Qiu Family.
• Xu Hanwu's account included the Liu Family's warning that it would retaliate against anyone backing rogue cultivators who attacked travelers outside Azure Spirit Ward.

Lin Changheng learned that the Xu Family was holding back against the Qiu Family and returned to the alchemy shop, where Daoist Fang commissioned superior-grade Poison Transformation Elixirs. After securing the ingredients, Lin Changheng checked on his hidden Nine-Leaf Violet Cinnabar Fungus.

• Xu Hanji told Lin Changheng that the Xu Family and Qiu Family had fought several small engagements, and Lin Changheng agreed that the Xu Family should keep developing before confronting them decisively.
• Xu Hanwu watched Lin Changheng leave and reflected that she had missed her chance with him because he was involved with Tantai Feiyue.
• Lin Changheng returned to the Xu Family Alchemy Shop and accepted Daoist Fang's commission to refine superior-grade Poison Transformation Elixirs using the supplied formula and ingredients.
• Lin Changheng stowed the commission materials in a spare storage bag, checked with Shopkeeper Xu that the shop was running normally, and went upstairs.
• Lin Changheng inspected his room, dispelled the bewildering formation, and looked toward his Nine-Leaf Violet Cinnabar Fungus.

Over four years, Lin Changheng nurtured the Nine-Leaf Violet Cinnabar Fungus and strengthened his talents through the Origin Cauldron, while his body-tempering cultivation advanced rapidly. He reached the peak of the Evergreen Azurewood Body’s second level and expected to break through soon, though the cost of the materials was straining his supply from the Xu Family.

• Lin Changheng found that the Nine-Leaf Violet Cinnabar Fungus had grown to two and a half leaves, and estimated it would mature in nine or ten years.
• The Origin Cauldron advanced Lin Changheng’s Origin Treasure Seed to the sixth tier and granted him Heaven-Gifted Clear Heart · Dust-Sweeping, bringing his fire spiritual root to thirty-six strands.
• The Flame-Tailed Spirit Fox Treasure Seed’s illusion art reached Transcendent Mastery, making Lin Changheng’s disguise difficult for even early second-rank divine sense to detect.
• Lin Changheng used a deep blue-green medicinal bath and the Evergreen Azurewood Body method to reach the peak of its second level.
• Lin Changheng relied on Xu Hanwu and the Xu Family for the large supply of body-tempering materials, and Xu Hanwu urged him not to rush after seeing his list.

Lin Changheng strengthened his body, kept his ties to the Xu Family, and avoided taking risks outside the Azure Spirit Ward. Old Daoist Fang returned from a treasure hunt with a treasure plant and asked Lin to assess the age of its remaining roots.

• Lin Changheng completed the second layer of the Evergreen Azurewood Body and found that his body could withstand low-grade magic artifact blades.
• Old Daoist Fang collected his elixirs, then left to retrieve a treasure from a mountain ravine while Lin Changheng stayed safely inside the Azure Spirit Ward.
• Jin Geng told Lin Changheng that the Jin Family elders wanted to meet him, and Lin agreed only if they did not expect him to change allegiances from the Xu Family.
• After Old Daoist Fang disappeared for two months, Lin Changheng assumed he had died, but the old cultivator returned with a minor leg injury and said he had obtained and sold a treasure plant.
• Old Daoist Fang showed Lin Changheng a talisman-sealed wooden box of root fragments and asked him to determine the herb's age because he suspected he had been swindled.

Lin Changheng bought a fifty-year-old [earth vein yellow essence] root from Old Daoist Fang, who then invited him to search a secret cave for more Treasure Plants. Lin Changheng suspected the risks of leaving the market ward and refused, returning to his Pill Room.

• Lin Changheng identified Old Daoist Fang's root as a fifty-year-old [earth vein yellow essence] and bought it at an agreed price.
• Old Daoist Fang told Lin Changheng that he had smelled other, more potent Treasure Plants in a secret cave but had lacked the knowledge and elixirs to find them.
• Old Daoist Fang invited Lin Changheng to explore the cave with him and split any discoveries equally.
• Lin Changheng considered whether Old Daoist Fang had hidden motives, then declined because of his obligations and pill-refining work.
• Lin Changheng ended the discussion and went to the Pill Room in the rear courtyard.

Lin Changheng discovered that Old Daoist Fang’s earth vein yellow essence rootlets were part of a scheme to lure him outside the ward, but he secretly revived them and continued pretending to trust Fang. After advancing his treasure seeds toward two Demonic Arts, Lin Changheng concluded that the Azure Spirit Ward could no longer support his needs and that he had to plan ahead.

• Lin Changheng inspected the earth vein yellow essence rootlets, found no apparent fault, and refined pills using the clan’s Pill Room.
• Lin Changheng used the Glorious Life Divine Ability’s true intent and discovered that the rootlets had been out of the soil for years, exposing the supposed lead and secret cave as a likely trap.
• Lin Changheng continued infusing the rootlets with magical power, revived them into a tender green shoot, and resolved to nurture it in a spirit pot.
• For another half year, Lin Changheng rejected Old Daoist Fang’s invitations while continuing to refine pills for him and acquiring superior-grade Pill Formulas.
• After the Sun Clan delivered essence blood, Lin Changheng completed spirit seizure for the Redcloud Crane and Flame-Tailed Spirit Fox treasure seeds and considered his growing need to leave the Azure Spirit Ward.

Lin Changheng completed a breakthrough in his body-tempering cultivation while preparing to fulfill the Jin Family’s elixir order. He learned that Mo Zhaoli had reached Foundation Establishment and invited him to attend her ceremony at the Purple Pole Sect in half a year.

• Lin Changheng agreed to refine a batch of special superior-grade elixirs for the Jin Family in exchange for payment and a mid-grade formation inheritance, swearing to keep the arrangement secret.
• Lin Changheng’s Evergreen Azurewood Body reached its third layer, giving him strength comparable to a late first tier demon beast, though he accidentally wrecked his room.
• An attendant delivered Lin Changheng a letter from Mo Zhaoli, who wrote that she had safely reached Foundation Establishment.
• Mo Zhaoli told Lin Changheng that she had obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill through sect merit, spent years preparing and consolidating her cultivation, and invited him to her ceremony at the Purple Pole Sect in half a year.

Lin Changheng visited Mister Cold Iron to commission powerful consumable artifacts made from thunderous baleful intent, hoping to strengthen his position before visiting Mo Zhaoli and the Upper Sect. A month later, he received three finished beads whose explosive power could threaten Foundation Establishment cultivators, though he questioned whether he could land a hit.

• Lin Changheng considered using Mo Zhaoli's standing with the Xu Family to ease tensions, but decided he still needed more strength.
• Lin Changheng visited Mister Cold Iron and commissioned consumable offensive artifacts, offering thunderous baleful intent as the key material.
• Mister Cold Iron designed three superior-grade first-tier beads and agreed to refine them for just over seven hundred low-grade spirit stones.
• Mister Cold Iron explained to his grandson that he accepted the commission because he wanted to work with the rare material and build ties with the market ward's master.
• A month later, Lin Changheng collected three purple beads that could badly injure or kill Foundation Establishment cultivators if they struck, but he doubted an opponent would let him hit them easily.

Lin Changheng finished his work for the Xu Family and prepared to leave in pursuit of Foundation Establishment. After the family accepted his decision, he implied that he would travel to the Upper Sect for Zhaoli’s Foundation Establishment ceremony, easing their suspicions.

• Lin Changheng completed the elixirs promised to the Jin Family, collected his body-tempering supplies from Xu Hanwu, and told her he intended to leave the Xu Family.
• Xu Hanwu asked Lin Changheng to stay and whether Tantai Feiyue would leave with him, but he refused and said his decision had nothing to do with Feiyue.
• Lin Changheng delivered the elixirs to Jin Geng and received the agreed spirit stones and the Ancient Mountain Four Symbols Formation Manual.
• Xu Xuheng and Xu Xujun met Lin Changheng at the alchemy shop, and Lin Changheng confirmed that he wanted one final chance to establish his foundation.
• Xu Xujun asked whether Lin Changheng knew Elder Mo had left, and Lin Changheng claimed he had been invited to attend Zhaoli’s Foundation Establishment ceremony at the Upper Sect.

Lin Changheng said goodbye to Tantai Feiyue, exchanged gifts with her, and left the Xu Family to travel toward the Purple Pole Sect. After twenty-five days on the road, he reached his destination and looked up at an astonishing sight.

• Lin Changheng comforted Tantai Feiyue, shared a final intimate farewell with her, and promised they might one day walk the Immortal Path together.
• Tantai Feiyue gave Lin Changheng the Black-Armored Earth Turtle and superior-grade talismans, while he gave her Dewdrop Spirit-Gathering Pills.
• An elderly mid-grade Pill Master arrived to take over the pill shop, and Lin Changheng completed the handover before leaving.
• Lin Changheng quietly departed after bidding Tantai Feiyue farewell and began traveling toward the Purple Pole Sect by Azure Flood Dragon Horse.
• After twenty-five days, Lin Changheng arrived near the Purple Pole Sect, where his horse struggled forward and he looked up at an astonishing sight.

Lin Changheng arrived at Purple Pole Mountain to attend Mo Zhaoli’s Foundation Establishment celebration. Mo Zhaoli welcomed him at the sect gate and brought him inside, asking him to address her as his junior sister rather than as a senior.

• Lin Changheng reached Purple Pole Mountain, left his horse at a sect inn, and waited two days before heading to the mountain gate.
• Lin Changheng presented his keepsake to the gate guards, who sent a disciple into the sect to notify Mo Zhaoli.
• Mo Zhaoli arrived at the gate as a Foundation Establishment cultivator and warmly greeted Lin Changheng.
• Mo Zhaoli lifted Lin Changheng into her Escape Light and carried him into the sect.
• Mo Zhaoli asked Lin Changheng not to call her Senior Mo, and they agreed he would call her Junior Sister Mo.

Lin Changheng visited Mo Zhaoli after her Foundation Establishment and accepted demon beast essence blood as her return gift. At a celebration on Jade Tide Peak, he heard Master Mo recommend Floating Life Immortal City as a possible destination, then remained composed when the other guests dismissed him as an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator.

• Lin Changheng gave Mo Zhaoli a gift, and she returned the favor with a large box of demon beast essence blood he had requested.
• Mo Zhaoli brought Lin Changheng to Jade Tide Peak, where he met Master Mo and learned the peak's cultivation conditions.
• Lin Changheng told Master Mo he had left the Xu Family to pursue Foundation Establishment, and Master Mo suggested he consider settling in Floating Life Immortal City.
• Mo Zhaoli introduced Lin Changheng and Master Mo to her gathered fellow disciples, who treated Lin Changheng with little interest after learning he was her senior brother.
• Lin Changheng stayed calm through the guests' dismissive reception, while the woman leading the gathering discreetly studied him with interest.

At Mo Zhaoli’s banquet, Lin Changheng heard about the cultivators interested in her and accepted her offer to stay overnight. In his room, he opened her return gift and discovered hundreds of bottles of demon-beast essence blood, including twenty-eight bottles from the fire-element mountain and marsh spirit called the Red-Eyed Fire.

• Lin Changheng toasted Master Mo, who urged him to cherish his friendship with Mo Zhaoli.
• A Foundation Establishment cultivator called Senior Brother Feng toasted Master Mo, and Lin Changheng inferred that he had designs on Mo Zhaoli.
• Lin Changheng listened to the banquet guests and learned that Senior Brother Feng and two Qi Refining cultivators were interested in Mo Zhaoli.
• After the banquet ended, Mo Zhaoli and Master Mo persuaded Lin Changheng to stay overnight at the cave abode.
• Lin Changheng checked his room for hidden tricks and opened Mo Zhaoli’s gift, finding 212 bottles of Mountain-Moving Ape essence blood and 28 bottles of Red-Eyed Fire essence blood.

Lin Changheng used the [Red-Eyed Fire] essence blood to transform the [Redcloud Crane True Core] and integrate the resulting [Redcloud Mystic Flame]. He discovered that the flame could purify and condense his magical power, bringing foundation establishment closer, when a visitor knocked at his door.

• Lin Changheng decided to accept Mo Zhaoli's valuable essence blood and repay her through reciprocal courtesy rather than return it.
• Lin Changheng used the Origin Cauldron to absorb the [Red-Eyed Fire] essence blood and chose the [Redcloud Crane True Core] for transformation.
• Lin Changheng transformed the [Redcloud Crane True Core] into the [Redcloud Mystic Flame] and integrated it into his body.
• Lin Changheng found that the [Redcloud Mystic Flame] could burn impurities from his magical power and make it denser, aiding his preparation for foundation establishment.
• Someone knocked at Lin Changheng's door after nightfall, and he hid the essence blood before opening it.

Mo Zhaoli visited Lin Changheng, gave him her personal Foundation Establishment insights, and learned that he had reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining. After she left, Lin Changheng memorized and destroyed the Jade Slip, then used Mountain-Moving Ape essence blood to advance a treasure seed and selected its Mighty Strength talent.

• Mo Zhaoli visited Lin Changheng, gifted him the spirit stones she had lent him as a Foundation Establishment present, and learned he planned to seek opportunities among rogue cultivators.
• Mo Zhaoli warned Lin Changheng against rushing into Foundation Establishment and discovered that he had concealed his cultivation at the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
• Mo Zhaoli gave Lin Changheng a Jade Slip containing her personal Foundation Establishment insights, explaining that sharing them did not violate her Dao Oath.
• Lin Changheng memorized the insights, burned the Jade Slip, and promised not to refuse Mo Zhaoli if she asked him for help in the future.
• Lin Changheng stored the remaining Red-Eyed Fire essence blood and used the Mountain-Moving Ape essence blood to advance its treasure seed, choosing the Mighty Strength talent.

Lin Changheng refined the [Mighty Strength Otherworldly Art], then traveled for half a year to [Floating Life Immortal City] while cultivating and studying Foundation Establishment. Near the city, he entered a concealed ambush, blocked a pair of silver-needle attacks with Golden Light Talismans, and counterattacked with his [Sinking Sand Bag].

• Lin Changheng absorbed the [Mighty Strength] treasure seed, gained a thirty-percent strength enhancement and a more efficient method of applying force, and tested his newfound power.
• Lin Changheng left the Purple Pole Sect with Mo Zhaoli, discussed the sect’s mandatory saluting rule, and continued south on his Azure Flood Dragon Horse.
• Over six months of travel, Lin Changheng cultivated with spirit stones, purified his magical power with the [Redcloud Mystic Flame], and mastered Mo Zhaoli’s [Foundation Establishment Insights].
• Lin Changheng reached the Borderland Mountains near [Floating Life Immortal City] and cautiously passed dangerous cultivators and several deadly fights along the road.
• Lin Changheng detected a concealing formation, defended himself from two silver needles with Golden Light Talismans, and attacked the rat-whiskered cultivator with his [Sinking Sand Bag].

Lin Changheng defeated three bandit cultivators who mistook him for their intended target, tested his Evergreen Azurewood Body and Redcloud Mystic Flame, and escaped before others arrived. He reached Floating Life Immortal City, entered using his real identity, and settled into an inn to inspect his spoils.

• A male and female bandit cultivator ambushed Lin Changheng while the rat-whiskered cultivator attacked him, but Lin Changheng used the Sinking Sand Bag to kill the rat-whiskered man.
• Lin Changheng evaded the bandits' artifacts and killed the woman and tall cultivator with his Redcloud Mystic Flame, testing his defenses and the flame's power.
• The tall cultivator's dying words revealed that the bandits had mistaken Lin Changheng for their intended victim, and Lin Changheng collected three Storage Bags and several artifacts before fleeing on the Azure Flood Dragon Horse.
• A gaunt cultivator arrived later, inspected the ambush site, dismantled the formation, and headed toward the Borderland Mountains.
• Lin Changheng reached Floating Life Immortal City, paid for entry, registered his identity, and explored the city's bustling streets and markets.
• Lin Changheng checked into an Immortal Inn, strengthened his room's defenses, and laid out the three Storage Bags and his magic artifacts to inspect them.