Recaps

Chen Yu chose three cultivation manuals and learned that the sect's rules forbade taking out multiple loans. He used his saved Experience Points to advance to the peak of the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, then began cultivating the Flame-Transforming Art under a quilt, attracting the attention of passing disciples.

• Chen Yu spent 300 Contribution Points on the Flame-Transforming Art, Earth-Warding Art, and Qi-Concealing Art.
• The Scripture Repository elder suggested borrowing from multiple lenders, but Chen Yu explained that the sect's rules prohibited carrying more than one loan.
• Chen Yu returned to his room and studied the Flame-Transforming Art, adapting its cultivation method to the True Essence Profound Canon.
• Chen Yu spent all 40 Experience Points to reach 49/50 progress at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining.
• Chen Yu cultivated beneath a quilt while holding Ah Zhen and gained Experience Points, then resumed after cooling off with the window open.
• Passing disciples saw Chen Yu cultivating beneath the quilt and wondered what he was doing.

Chen Yu struggled to cultivate the Flame-Transforming Art until a meal with Lü Yanyan gave him a new idea. He left the Dining Hall to find chili peppers so he could use their heat in his cultivation.

• Chen Yu endured a hot, stuffy morning cultivating under a blanket, then went to the Dining Hall for lunch.
• Lü Yanyan told Chen Yu that others knew he had borrowed from Elder Sun and visited the Scripture Repository, and she offered to introduce him to Han Feng for information about the Outer Sect Genius Ranking.
• Lü Yanyan warned Chen Yu not to accept a task to explore the Immortal Ruins if one appeared, and told him that Grain-Avoidance Pills cost ten Contribution Points each.
• Chen Yu realized that eating chili peppers might heat his body for Flame-Transforming Art cultivation, finished his meal, and asked the serving disciple whether the Dining Hall sold them.

Chen Yu cultivated the Flame-Transforming Art with chili peppers and reasoned that it progressed more slowly than his usual cultivation. At the Task Board, he learned that the sect was recruiting disciples to explore the dangerous Immortal Ruins on Little Bamboo Peak, but he declined and returned to cultivating.

• Chen Yu ate chili peppers while using the Fire-Embracing Stance to cultivate the Flame-Transforming Art, gradually increasing how many peppers he could tolerate.
• Chen Yu calculated that cultivating another attribute’s manual might be like starting from the First Layer of Qi Refining and noticed he had gained six Experience Points.
• Chen Yu spotted his silent neighbor’s closed-up residence and wondered if the neighbor might be a female ghost.
• At the Task Board, Lü Yanyan told Chen Yu that the sect was recruiting ten Outer Sect Disciples for an Immortal Ruins mission on Little Bamboo Peak, offering 150 Contribution Points.
• Three Emerald Cloud Peak disciples accepted the mission, filling its remaining places, while Chen Yu decided the risks were not worth it.
• Chen Yu collected more chili peppers from the Dining Hall, returned to his residence, and resumed cultivating the Flame-Transforming Art.

The Dao Sect elders discovered Immortal Ruins in the Mass Burial Grounds and sent Outer Sect Disciples inside to retrieve treasures. As the ruins grew more dangerous with each entry, Elder Wu ordered the sect to keep sending disciples in, while Elder Sun eyed the badly injured survivor as a potential target for his debt scheme.

• Elder Song confirmed that he had seen a huge building appear in the Mass Burial Grounds, and the elders watched the Immortal Ruins take shape in the mist.
• Elder Wu sent ten Outer Sect Disciples into the ruins, where they found manuals, pills, and weapons but encountered no immediate danger.
• The disciples entered repeatedly, and the Skeletons grew stronger until only one badly injured disciple returned after the others were killed.
• An invisible barrier stopped the survivor from re-entering, and Elder Wu concluded that each person could enter only five times and that those above Foundation Establishment could not enter.
• Elder Wu ordered Outer Sect Disciples, except those from Purple Bamboo Peak, to enter the ruins in turn, while Elder Sun approached the injured survivor with designs on him.

After reaching the brink of the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, Chen Yu learned that Outer Sect Disciples were being sent into the dangerous Immortal Ruins to search for treasures. He planned to enter three times and returned to his room to master the Qi-Concealing Art before the expedition.

• Chen Yu finished four days of intense cultivation and reached 49/50 progress in the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, but decided to wait before breaking through until he mastered the Qi-Concealing Art.
• At dinner, Lü Yanyan explained that Outer Sect Disciples had to enter the Immortal Ruins, where aggressive Skeletons grew stronger on later visits and death was real.
• Lü Yanyan told Chen Yu that valuable treasures had been found, but treasure hunting depended on luck and repeated entries carried greater risks; Chen Yu and Lü Yanyan each planned to enter three times.
• Chen Yu returned to his residence and began studying the Qi-Concealing Art so he could hide his rapid cultivation progress from the Dao Sect Elders.

Chen Yu mastered the Qi-Concealing Art, used experience points to raise his cultivation to the peak of the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, and investigated the Immortal Ruins before his next visit. He joined the Emerald Cloud Peak disciples at the Mass Burial Grounds, where he prepared to enter the ruins that night.

• Chen Yu simulated using the Qi-Concealing Art, mastered it, and spent experience points to restore his Spiritual Power and conceal his true cultivation.
• Chen Yu encountered his blushing female neighbor, then went to the Emerald Cloud Inn to overhear reports about disciples finding valuable treasures in the Immortal Ruins.
• Chen Yu suspected the Immortal Ruins might use an Elo-like system and decided to test his theory, reasoning that he would risk only 10 Contribution Points.
• After his free rest period ended, Chen Yu left the inn and spent the day gathering clues about the Immortal Ruins.
• Chen Yu joined the Emerald Cloud Peak disciples as Elder Sun led them to the Mass Burial Grounds, where Chen Yu remembered his days as a Registered Disciple and the absent Ah Zhen.

Chen Yu entered the Immortal Ruins, avoided killing its skeleton guards, and found little worth taking. After reporting his empty-handed trip to Elder Sun and entering again, he noticed the guards had become slower.

• Chen Yu followed Emerald Cloud Peak's disciples to the Immortal Ruins and entered after his shy neighbor told him to go first.
• Chen Yu used a Glowing Jade to distract two skeleton guards, searched the rooms without killing any skeletons, and left without taking a sword he found.
• Chen Yu reported to Elder Sun that he had found nothing, while other disciples discussed finding pills among skeleton remains.
• Chen Yu entered the Immortal Ruins a second time and noticed that the two skeletons in the corridor moved more slowly.

Chen Yu searched the Immortal Ruins, confirmed that the skeletons changed with each visit, and secretly left with nothing while hiding the treasures he had found. After Elder Sun exposed and killed a disciple trying to keep a pill, Chen Yu entered the ruins again.

• Chen Yu found a Metal Attribute Cultivation Manual and two Qi Refining Pills, memorized the manual, and left the treasures behind.
• Chen Yu confirmed from other disciples' accounts that the skeletons grew stronger, then entered the Immortal Ruins for a third time and found a bottle of two pills.
• Chen Yu left the bottle behind, disguised himself as battered, and told Elder Sun he had found nothing.
• Elder Sun caught a disciple trying to sneak away with a Top-Grade Origin-Nourishing Pill, took the pill, and refined the disciple into Spirit Essence.
• Chen Yu watched Elder Sun reward another disciple for a Mid-Grade Spirit Sword, then entered the Immortal Ruins again.

Chen Yu entered the Immortal Ruins for the fifth time after pretending to have lost a treasure and being mocked by his Strange Neighbor. He found valuable items throughout the ruins, then discovered an unexpected extra room.

• Chen Yu searched all thirteen rooms during his fourth visit, memorized the True Yang Technique and Wind-Riding Art, and left the manuals behind.
• Chen Yu told Elder Sun that a Skeleton had taken the treasure he found, then insisted on entering the Immortal Ruins a fifth time despite Elder Sun's warning.
• Chen Yu passed Lü Yanyan and his Strange Neighbor; the Strange Neighbor scorned him before entering the ruins herself.
• Chen Yu entered the Immortal Ruins and watched nearby Skeletons collapse, leaving behind a Pill and an unknown material.
• Chen Yu searched the thirteen rooms for treasures, then noticed that an extra room had appeared.

Chen Yu found a Jade Pendant that let him claim the Immortal Ruins and escaped just before they disappeared. After Elder Sun rewarded him for a Pill he brought out, Lü Yanyan approached him and hinted at his repeated trips into the ruins.

• Chen Yu followed a note to a hidden compartment, broke open a Wooden Box, and found a Jade Pendant inside.
• Chen Yu injected Spiritual Power into the Jade Pendant and learned it was the key to the Immortal Ruins, which held treasures and could be freely used once he reached Foundation Establishment.
• Chen Yu fled the trembling Immortal Ruins with a Pill, presenting it to Elder Sun and receiving 140 Contribution Points.
• Elder Sun found no unusual Spiritual Power fluctuations on Chen Yu and turned his attention to the disappearing ruins and a woman emerging from them.
• Lü Yanyan approached Chen Yu, corrected him to call her Senior Sister Yanyan, and remarked on his courage in entering the Immortal Ruins five times.

Chen Yu rebuffed Lü Yanyan’s attempts to draw him in, then counted his contribution points and planned to cultivate while waiting to explore the Immortal Ruins again. The chapter ended with him encountering his strange neighbor, who blushed and hurried inside after seeing him bare-chested.

• Lü Yanyan tried coquettish, innocent, and mature approaches to win Chen Yu’s interest, but he kept his distance and politely parted from her.
• Chen Yu reflected that Lü Yanyan was skilled at manipulating inexperienced men, while his self-control had been strengthened by Ah Zhen.
• Chen Yu counted 176 Contribution Points and resolved to cultivate, investigate the Outer Sect Genius Ranking, and delay returning to the Immortal Ruins until attention around it faded.
• Chen Yu saw his socially anxious neighbor outside their rooms; she blushed at his bare upper body and hurried inside.
• Chen Yu threw his wash water onto the ground, complained about the strange cultivation world, and went to sleep.

After Chen Yu’s 140 Contribution Points became public, Emerald Cloud Peak disciples crowded outside his residence, prompting him to keep a low profile and stock up on food. Lü Yanyan advised him to join the Heavenly Union Association for protection and information, and offered to connect him with the group.

• Chen Yu found disciples waiting outside his door to ask for Contribution Points, loans, investments, and companionship, then shut the door twice as they crowded around his residence.
• Chen Yu slipped away during a dispute between the gathered disciples and his neighbor, bought a new robe, and went to the Dining Hall to pack provisions for seclusion.
• Chen Yu told Lü Yanyan that disciples were watching him because he had obtained 140 Contribution Points from a treasure in the Immortal Ruins.
• Lü Yanyan explained that joining the Heavenly Union Association could protect Chen Yu from trouble and provide information to help him challenge the Outer Sect Genius Ranking.
• Chen Yu asked Lü Yanyan how to join, and she offered to put him in touch with the association while preparing for her sixth assessment attempt.

Chen Yu returned to find desperate disciples crowding his residence and refused to give them his Contribution Points. He drove them away with a foul-smelling concoction and a blinding flash, leaving his home clear for the moment.

• Chen Yu considered Senior Sister Lü’s recommendation to join the Heavenly Union Association, then spent the day away from his residence.
• When Chen Yu returned, disciples surrounded his door with pleas and offers, but he answered politely and squeezed inside.
• Chen Yu noticed that several of the people outside had watched him risk his life in the Immortal Ruins, and decided not to give them Contribution Points.
• Chen Yu mixed the household scraps into a powerful stench that spread from his house and drove most of the crowd away.
• Chen Yu opened the door and unleashed a blinding flash, prompting the last disciples to flee; one walked into a tree.

Xiang Baiwei woke to the smell coming from Chen Yu’s cooking and confronted him. At Little Bamboo Peak, the elders found the Immortal Ruins and Ten Thousand Mountains Peak’s disciples missing, and Elder Wu ordered more remains and unpayable debtors sent to the Mass Burial Grounds in hopes of bringing the ruins back.

• Xiang Baiwei sealed her nose, got dressed, and entered Chen Yu’s room, where she found him cooking a strange mixture in a Stone Pot.
• Elder Sun went to Little Bamboo Peak after Elder Wu summoned him and found the Immortal Ruins and Ten Thousand Mountains Peak’s disciples gone.
• Elder Sun described Emerald Cloud Peak’s visit to the ruins, and the elders confirmed that the Yin Qi around the Mass Burial Grounds had weakened.
• Elder Wu connected the ruins’ appearance to the Yin Qi and ordered the elders to bring Spirit Essence remains and disciples unable to repay their loans to the Mass Burial Grounds.

Chen Yu’s neighbor Xiang Baiwei threw out his foul-smelling concoction, then timidly accepted punishment after he listed her violations. Seeing that she had 14,272 Contribution Points unsettled Chen Yu, who tried to begin cultivating the Earth-Warding Art.

• Xiang Baiwei used Spiritual Power to throw Chen Yu’s pot out of the room and warned him not to repeat the offense.
• Chen Yu accused Xiang Baiwei of four violations, recorded them, and deducted 12 Contribution Points from her.
• Chen Yu saw that Xiang Baiwei had 14,272 Contribution Points, far more than his own 175, and became envious.
• Chen Yu sat down to cultivate the Earth-Warding Art and recalled its first steps.

Chen Yu secluded himself to cultivate the Earth-Warding Art and finally discovered that burying himself in soil helped him make progress. Lü Yanyan arrived with news from the Heavenly Union Association, while Chen Yu concealed that he was close to breaking through to the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining.

• Chen Yu decided to remain in seclusion until Lü Yanyan arranged his Heavenly Union Association assessment.
• Over several days, Chen Yu struggled to cultivate the Earth-Warding Art and grew discouraged.
• Chen Yu discovered that burying himself in a pit helped him cultivate the Earth-Warding Art, bringing him to 59/60 progress toward the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining.
• Lü Yanyan visited Chen Yu and found him buried up to his neck in the room.
• Chen Yu asked whether Lü Yanyan had come with news from the Heavenly Union Association, and she confirmed that she had.

Chen Yu took the Heavenly Union Association assessment after Lü Yanyan escorted him to the Affairs Pavilion. When he finished the bizarre test, Xiang Baiwei appeared in place of Senior Brother Yan, seized his answer sheet, and mocked him as utterly foolish.

• Lü Yanyan used the Heavenly Union Association's name to clear the disciples blocking Chen Yu's door and took him to the Affairs Pavilion.
• Lü Yanyan explained the assessment rules as she and Chen Yu walked to the Association's Emerald Cloud Peak branch.
• Senior Brother Yan led Chen Yu into a room, gave him the test, and left him to answer twenty questions.
• Chen Yu worked through the strange questions and guessed at some answers before time ran out.
• Xiang Baiwei appeared, snatched Chen Yu's answer sheet, and called him utterly foolish.

Chen Yu baited Xiang Baiwei into correcting several answers on his test, then passed the Heavenly Union Association’s Assessment. Xiang Baiwei realized something was wrong after he left, while Chen Yu wondered whether she had corrected the answers in order.

• Chen Yu challenged Xiang Baiwei to prove she knew the test answers, and she pointed out errors in his work as they argued.
• Chen Yu praised Xiang Baiwei’s answer to Question Seventeen and quietly corrected three answers before leaving with his test.
• Senior Brother Yan checked Chen Yu’s test and announced that he had passed with seventeen correct answers.
• Lü Yanyan congratulated Chen Yu, and Senior Brother Yan told him to collect his membership token the next morning.
• Xiang Baiwei realized something was wrong after Chen Yu admitted she was right.

After passing the Heavenly Union Association's assessment, Chen Yu received a token from Lü Yanyan and secretly returned to the Immortal Ruins, where he discovered most of its side halls remained sealed. He went back to Emerald Cloud Peak with two Qi Refining Pills, only to find a woman waiting outside his residence who looked at him with contempt.

• Lü Yanyan praised Chen Yu's strengths, gave him a Heavenly Union Association token for protection, and reminded him to collect his Identity Token the next day.
• Chen Yu secretly entered Little Bamboo Peak and used the Jade Pendant to return to the Immortal Ruins without visiting the Mass Burial Grounds.
• Chen Yu found the corridor's skeleton guards gone, explored the main hall, and discovered six sealed side-hall doors.
• Chen Yu collected two Qi Refining Pills from the familiar side hall and returned its magic-weapon sword and unknown material to their places.
• Chen Yu left the Immortal Ruins and returned to Emerald Cloud Peak, where he found a woman waiting outside his residence who turned to face him with disgust and contempt.

Chen Yu confronted Xiang Baiwei about helping him pass the Heavenly Union Association assessment, then used Qi Refining Pills and experience points to advance to the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining. He left for the association branch to collect his Identity Token and learn about the Outer Sect Genius Ranking.

• Xiang Baiwei accused Chen Yu of using her answers to pass the assessment and threatened to expose him, but left after he reminded her of his old method.
• Chen Yu took two Qi Refining Pills and cultivated the Earth-Warding Art through the night, raising his experience to 21 points.
• Chen Yu spent his experience points to advance from the Fifth to the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining and tested the Flame-Transforming Art.
• Chen Yu decided to collect his Identity Token and learn about the Outer Sect Genius Ranking before pursuing further cultivation or practicing the Wind-Riding Art.
• Chen Yu showed the Emerald Cloud Peak disciples his Heavenly Union Association token, causing them to disperse, and headed to the association branch.

Chen Yu collected his Identity Token and learned that the Heavenly Union Association’s headquarters was on Purple Bamboo Peak. There, he was recruited for a task to capture a disciple who had defaulted on a loan, while still unable to access the Records Room.

• Yan Junfei gave Chen Yu his Identity Token and explained that the Emerald Cloud Peak branch only assessed newcomers, directing him to the headquarters on Purple Bamboo Peak.
• Chen Yu traveled to Purple Bamboo Peak and entered the Heavenly Union Association pavilion after showing his Identity Token to the guards.
• A Jade Yao Peak disciple told Chen Yu that he could find the Outer Sect Genius Ranking in the Records Room on the second floor.
• Chen Yu found that his Identity Token fit the Records Room’s door slot, but the door did not open.
• A group of four disciples invited Chen Yu to help capture Xu Xingyao, a Heavenly Flame Peak disciple who had defaulted on a loan, and explained that completing tasks earned Contribution Value and could bring rewards from elders.

Chen Yu joined a Heavenly Union Association mission to bring debtor Xu Xingyao to Elder Zheng, expecting to earn Contribution Points. Xu Xingyao attacked the escort and revealed he was fighting for a last chance to escape his debt.

• Chen Yu agreed to join four Heavenly Union Association disciples on a mission to bring Xu Xingyao to Elder Zheng.
• The group waited outside Elder Hao’s lecture, then surrounded Xu Xingyao as he left and told him Elder Zheng wanted to see him.
• Xu Xingyao agreed to go with them, and Chen Yu grew uneasy after spotting a ruthless look in his eyes.
• On the path to Jade Yao Peak, Xu Xingyao unleashed his Spiritual Power and knocked one of the escorts unconscious with a punch.
• Xu Xingyao said that killing a Heavenly Union Association member in retaliation could make the member his asset, giving him a last way out of his debt.

Chen Yu helped Ren Shaohua and the other Heavenly Union Association disciples defeat Xu Xingyao, who was fighting to escape his heavy debts. After the group bound Xu Xingyao and woke their unconscious companion, they set off for the summit of Jade Yao Peak.

• Xu Xingyao fought three Heavenly Union Association disciples while Chen Yu watched for a way to help.
• Chen Yu distracted Xu Xingyao by pretending to greet Elder Zheng, allowing Ren Shaohua to punch him in the face.
• Xu Xingyao charged at Chen Yu, but the three disciples surrounded him again and continued the fight.
• Chen Yu warned Xu Xingyao to watch his back, then set a small flame on his robe that distracted him long enough for the three disciples to knock him unconscious.
• Ren Shaohua thanked Chen Yu and asked about his flame; Chen Yu said he cultivated the True Essence Profound Canon.
• The group bound Xu Xingyao, woke their unconscious companion, and headed for the summit of Jade Yao Peak.

Chen Yu and the Heavenly Union Association brought Xu Xingyao to Elder Zheng, who refined him into Supreme Spirit Essence after using a Pleasure Pill. After learning how the pill helped produce Spirit Essence, Chen Yu parted from Ren Shaohua and headed his own way, intending to visit Little Bamboo Peak.

• Ren Shaohua kept Xu Xingyao unconscious on the way to Elder Zheng’s residence at Jade Yao Peak.
• Elder Zheng checked Xu Xingyao’s debt of 2,470 Contribution Points and, after Xu Xingyao could not repay it, gave him a Pleasure Pill and refined him into Supreme Spirit Essence.
• Elder Zheng awarded the five Heavenly Union Association members 10 Contribution Points each and ordered them to take Xu Xingyao’s remains to the Mass Burial Grounds.
• Ren Shaohua explained to Chen Yu that the Pleasure Pill affected a person’s mind and helped ensure the production of high-grade Spirit Essence.
• Chen Yu declined to accompany Ren Shaohua to the Mass Burial Grounds and parted from the group to go his own way.

Chen Yu checked the Immortal Ruins, then researched the Outer Sect Genius Ranking and discovered that Xu Xingyao was the debt-ridden disciple Elder Zheng had refined into Supreme Spirit Essence. The records showed Xu Xingyao risked defaulting on a Wager Agreement, leaving Liu Jun poised to replace him.

• Chen Yu collected a Qi Refining Pill from the Immortal Ruins and decided to enter seclusion to pursue the Foundation Establishment Realm.
• Chen Yu went to the Records Room to learn about the Outer Sect Genius Ranking and found Xu Xingyao listed in tenth place.
• Chen Yu confirmed the ranked Xu Xingyao matched the disciple Elder Zheng had refined into Supreme Spirit Essence.
• Chen Yu read that Xu Xingyao owed Elder Zheng over 2,400 Contribution Points and had failed to reach the Qi Refining Seventh Layer before his Wager Agreement expired.
• Chen Yu calculated that Xu Xingyao could owe 6,612 Contribution Points in total and learned that Liu Jun would take his place if he were liquidated.