Chapter Summaries

After submitting his name for a Heavenly Union Association mission, Chen Yu ate food Senior Sister Lü had saved for him and cultivated until he reached the peak of the seventh layer of Qi Refining. On a late-night visit to the Immortal Ruins, he found a ring in the previously empty Miscellaneous Room.

• Chen Yu accepted that his name had been submitted for the mission and consoled himself with the contribution points and credit he would earn.
• Lü Yanyan gave Chen Yu a meal she had saved, and he told her the Heavenly Union Association had submitted his name.
• Chen Yu sensed someone watching him in the Dining Hall, but dismissed the girl glaring at him over an uneaten fish-head dish as an unlikely suspect.
• Chen Yu chose to spend his 200 contribution points on a cultivation method later rather than repay Elder Sun's interest-free loan.
• Over the next two days, Chen Yu used three Qi Refining Pills to reach the peak of the seventh layer of Qi Refining.
• Chen Yu entered the Immortal Ruins after midnight and discovered a ring on a shelf in the Miscellaneous Room.

Chen Yu discovered that a Storage Ring in the Immortal Ruins could hold treasures and tested its limits, but he could not store the sealed coffin. After returning home and hiding the ring, he stored Ah Zhen and a mysterious key inside it, prompting the girl next door to recognize the key seal and decide to investigate.

• Chen Yu found a Storage Ring with ten cubic meters of space and learned he could store or retrieve objects within ten meters by connecting them to his spiritual power.
• Chen Yu stored the treasures in the Immortal Ruins but failed to put the pitch-black coffin into the ring.
• Chen Yu returned to his quarters, hid the Storage Ring on a cord around his neck, and stored his Introduction to Alchemy, Ah Zhen, and a mysterious key inside it.
• The girl next door woke, recognized the key seal in Chen Yu's possession, and decided to investigate before returning to her bewildered persona.

Chen Yu joined the Heavenly Union Association escorting new disciples from Greenstone Town back to the Dao Sect, while reflecting on the sect’s dangers and his need to grow stronger. As the procession neared the sect, black-robed attackers ambushed it.

• Ren Shaohua led Chen Yu, Xiang Baiwei, and the other association members out of the Dao Sect and into Greenstone Town.
• Ren Shaohua warned Chen Yu that Xiang Baiwei had been watching him and cautioned him about female disciples from Emerald Cloud Peak.
• A Dao Sect inner disciple ordered the group to escort the new registered disciples straight back without stopping in Greenstone Town.
• Chen Yu answered the prospective disciples’ questions as they traveled, keeping his knowledge of the Dao Sect’s dangers to himself.
• Black-robed figures appeared on both sides of the procession and charged as an inner disciple shouted at them.

A group of black-robed attackers ambushed the procession of prospective Dao Sect disciples beneath a Dark Red Barrier. Chen Yu tried to escape the chaos unnoticed, but an attacker blocked his way.

• Black-robed attackers surrounded the escort, and Chen Yu noticed their strength and an enigmatic Masked Man watching from a hillside.
• Ren Shaohua urged the group to stand firm and protect Xiang Baiwei, while Chen Yu quietly retreated behind the registered disciples.
• The attackers overwhelmed the Dao Sect disciples, kicking Ren Shaohua aside and killing another disciple, which sent the registered disciples fleeing in panic.
• Xiang Baiwei saved Ren Shaohua from an attacker, then realized Chen Yu had disappeared and was left facing the attacker she had struck.
• Chen Yu fled through the chaos, reasoning that the Dao Sect elders would arrive, but a black-robed attacker blocked his path and raised a saber.

Chen Yu killed the black-robed man pursuing him with his hidden Flying Sword Technique and concealed himself among the newly admitted disciples to loot corpses. As Dao Sect elders shattered the blood-red formation, Xiang Baiwei spotted Chen Yu near the battlefield.

• A black-robed man pursued Chen Yu, who fled while waiting for the Dao Sect elders to arrive.
• Chen Yu used his Spirit Sword to kill the pursuer, then stored the sword and corpse in his Storage Ring.
• Chen Yu saw Xiang Baiwei fighting and noticed the Dao Sect elders attacking the formation from outside.
• Chen Yu concealed his cultivation, removed his Dao Sect robes, and began scavenging among the corpses.
• Xiang Baiwei spotted Chen Yu mingling with the newly admitted disciples as the blood-red formation shattered.

A masked man used a Nascent Soul-level Grand Cultivator Shadow Talisman to attack the Dao Sect elders and disciples, but Sect Master Chu intervened and destroyed the manifested avatar. The elders began taking the survivors back to the Dao Sect, while two of them started refining the disciples whose meridians had been damaged.

• The three Dao Sect elders broke the Blood-Colored Grand Array and killed the Black-Robed Men, but the masked man summoned a powerful shadow with a Grand Cultivator Shadow Talisman.
• The shadow’s spiritual pressure threw the disciples’ spiritual power into chaos; Chen Yu found himself unaffected, drained his own power, and pretended to be unconscious.
• The Black-Robed Elder prepared to kill the three elders, but Sect Master Chu’s massive spiritual sword blocked his strike.
• The Black-Robed Elder praised Sect Master Chu’s cultivation before a second sword pierced and erased the mirrored avatar.
• Sect Master Chu ordered the elders to bring the disciples back, and two elders began refining those whose meridians had been damaged.

After surviving the attack on the road, Chen Yu returned to the Dao Sect and decided to keep cultivating in the Outer Sect while staying cautious about the Black-Robed Men. At midnight, he entered the Immortal Ruins to examine his gains, but a corpse suddenly sat up in the Main Hall.

• The two Dao Sect elders refined the fallen Inner Sect Disciples into spirit essence, searched the bodies, and led the survivors back to the Dao Sect.
• Chen Yu returned to Emerald Cloud Peak with Xiang Baiwei and planned to inspect the Black-Robed Men’s belongings inside the Immortal Ruins in case they carried trackers.
• Chen Yu rested and restored his spiritual power, then told Senior Sister Lü that he was fine when she came to check on him.
• After midnight, Chen Yu entered the Immortal Ruins and removed his gains from the Storage Ring, including the three Black-Robed Men corpses.
• A bone-cracking sound rang through the Immortal Ruins Main Hall, and one of the dead black-robed figures sat bolt upright.

Chen Yu witnessed three dead Black-Robed Men rise and vanish inside the Immortal Ruins, then discovered that the bracelets he took from them were devices that punished cultivators for slacking. He gathered his rewards and left the Immortal Ruins for his residence on Verdant Cloud Peak.

• Chen Yu watched the Black-Robed Man sit up, attacked him with a Spirit Sword, and saw two other corpses rise as well.
• The three Black-Robed Men walked to the center of the hall, glowed green, and vanished, leaving Chen Yu to suspect the Immortal Ruins were responsible.
• Chen Yu counted fifteen Qi Refining Pills, two pieces of spirit essence, and three trembling bracelets among his spoils.
• Chen Yu discovered that the bracelets shocked their wearers and issued work orders, then left them inside the Immortal Ruins.
• Chen Yu stored the pills and spirit essence, used the Jade Pendant to leave the Immortal Ruins, and returned to his residence on Verdant Cloud Peak.

After recovering from the attack, Chen Yu attended the delayed New Disciple Initiation and waited for the Scripture Repository to open. He entered intending to choose martial techniques, but secretly checked the True Origin Mystic Canon and saw new disciples regretting their choice before picking up a wood-attribute cultivation manual.

• Lü Yanyan checked on Chen Yu and told him the New Disciple Initiation had been postponed until the Si Hour.
• Chen Yu accompanied Lü Yanyan to the initiation, where an Emerald Cloud Peak disciple took over his duties and Elder Sun addressed the new disciples.
• Chen Yu waited until the initiation ended, then went to the Scripture Repository after hearing Lü Yanyan complain about guiding the newcomers.
• The old man checked Chen Yu's token and let him enter, remarking that Chen Yu had chosen the True Origin Mystic Canon before.
• Chen Yu read new comments from disciples who had tried the True Origin Mystic Canon and then picked up a wood-attribute cultivation manual.

After buying the Evergreen Art and Azure Sea Art, Chen Yu received cultivation advice from the Scripture Repository's mysterious elder, who revealed his surname was Zhang. Back at his residence, Chen Yu struggled to meet the Evergreen Art's requirements and considered using wood-attributed spirit essence to sense plant essence.

• Chen Yu left the Scripture Repository with the Evergreen Art and Azure Sea Art, only 14 contribution points remaining and 300 points still owed to Elder Sun.
• Senior Zhang warned Chen Yu that a false spirit embryo would make future breakthroughs difficult and suggested cultivating with spirit essence of different attributes, though direct extraction was risky.
• Chen Yu thanked the elder and learned that his surname was Zhang before leaving the Scripture Repository.
• On his way home, Chen Yu passed Senior Brother Yan recruiting new members for the Heavenly Union Association, then returned to his residence after lunch.
• Chen Yu studied the Evergreen Art and realized he lacked a place abundant in spirit herbs, so he considered whether wood-attributed spirit essence could help him sense plant essence.
• Chen Yu took the two pieces of spirit essence from his storage ring to examine them.

Chen Yu discovered that spirit herbs could absorb energy from spirit essence and provide a tiny amount of cultivation experience, but the process was far too slow to be worthwhile. He spent the day catching veteran disciples breaking rules, then collected new treasures in the Immortal Ruins and decided to study spirit herbs and materials.

• Chen Yu found that spirit herbs placed beside wood-attributed spirit essence released a faint vital essence of plants, allowing him to cultivate for a negligible amount of experience.
• Chen Yu decided to save his Rhyme Spirit and wait for more spirit herbs to appear in the Immortal Ruins rather than cultivate at such a slow rate.
• Chen Yu wandered Emerald Cloud Peak and tricked veteran disciples into jumping on the stone steps, catching three violations and completing his monthly assignment.
• Chen Yu entered the Immortal Ruins after nightfall and obtained two spirit herbs and two unidentified materials.
• Chen Yu decided to use his contribution point to visit the Heaven's Union Association's reference room and learn more about spirit herbs and materials.

Chen Yu studied cultivation references at the Heavenly Union Association and learned how Zhang Jiuge had exploited the Dao Sect’s old loan rules. At the Immortal Ruins, he gathered seventeen spirit herbs and began testing whether they would speed up his cultivation.

• Chen Yu read four reference books and learned more about spirit herbs, rare materials, treasure grades, and the cultivation world.
• Chen Yu read Zhang Jiuge's Loan Legend and learned that Zhang had exploited loans until the Dao Sect sealed the loophole and took him away.
• Chen Yu left Purple Bamboo Peak and wondered whether the person who had once followed him had turned their attention to the new disciples.
• Chen Yu entered the Immortal Ruins, collected two stalks of calming heart grass, wood essence iron, and a middle-grade Qi Refining Pill, and gathered seventeen spirit herbs.
• Chen Yu placed the spirit herbs beside a wood-attribute Rhyme Spirit and used the Flame-Transforming Art to begin cultivating, gaining experience points through the system.

Chen Yu cultivated with Spirit Essence and Spirit Herbs, raising his cultivation to the eighth layer of Qi Refining while continuing to disguise his strength. At midnight, he noticed his timid neighbor following him toward Little Bamboo Peak and fled with the Windriding Art.

• Chen Yu returned to Emerald Cloud Peak, dismissed his neighbor’s furtive staring, and spent the next day cultivating.
• Senior Sister Lü warned Chen Yu that veteran disciples were impersonating newcomers to trick disciples into breaking rules, and Chen Yu caught one of them in a violation.
• Chen Yu cultivated until he had enough experience to advance from the seventh to the eighth layer of Qi Refining, then concealed his cultivation as the late stage of the fourth layer.
• As Chen Yu headed toward Little Bamboo Peak at midnight, he realized his neighbor was following him despite denying it.
• Chen Yu activated the Windriding Art and disappeared from his neighbor’s sight.

Chen Yu collected new treasures from the Immortal Ruins, warned his neighbor Xiang Baiwei to stop following and watching him, and spent the next week cultivating in seclusion. His progress brought him closer to the peak of Qi Refining, and he left to gather dry rations and chili peppers so he could spend less time eating.

• Chen Yu waited to make sure Xiang Baiwei had not followed him before entering the Immortal Ruins, where he collected a Mid-grade Spirit Artifact rope and examined the exhausted bracelets taken from the black-robed men.
• Chen Yu planned to reach Foundation Establishment so he could gain greater control of the Immortal Ruins and develop skills in alchemy and artifact refining.
• After returning home, Chen Yu caught his neighbor peering from her doorway and shouted at her to stop following or watching him; she apologized from behind her door.
• Over the next seven days, Chen Yu visited the Immortal Ruins and cultivated in his room, while his neighbor stopped following him and watching his return.
• Chen Yu converted 38 experience points into cultivation levels, reaching Qi Refining Eighth Layer (39/90), then went out to buy dry rations and chili peppers.

Chen Yu shared a meal with Lü Yanyan, who praised the unknown genius behind the sect’s new ban on entrapment without realizing it was him. When disciples recognized Chen Yu as that genius and crowded around him, he fled, while Lü Yanyan realized his identity and became even more attracted to him.

• Chen Yu agreed to eat with Lü Yanyan before beginning secluded cultivation.
• Lü Yanyan told Chen Yu that the sect had updated the Code of Conduct Manual to ban entrapment, then praised the genius behind the schemes and counter-schemes.
• A disciple who had previously tried to bait Chen Yu recognized him and knelt, asking him to teach more ways to catch violations and earn Contribution Points.
• Another disciple called Chen Yu the god who had made the sect add a new rule, drawing a crowd around him.
• Chen Yu escaped with Wind Riding, while Lü Yanyan realized he was the celebrated genius and left without answering the crowd’s questions.
• Lü Yanyan decided Chen Yu was the promising prospect she had been searching for and felt tender affection for him.

Chen Yu cultivated through the night, then entered the Immortal Ruins and found a valuable Flowing Cloud Robe. As he returned to his lodgings, his neighbor, disguised as grass, secretly watched him from beside the steps.

• Chen Yu resolved to avoid attention by cultivating in seclusion and visiting the Immortal Ruins before dawn.
• Chen Yu cultivated until morning, using Qi Refining Pills and depleting the water-attribute Spirit Essence further.
• Chen Yu's neighbor disguised herself in a weed cape and tried to follow him, but lost him on the way to Little Bamboo Peak.
• Chen Yu found a Flowing Cloud Robe in the Immortal Ruins, tested its durability, and stored it safely with the other treasures.
• Chen Yu returned toward his lodgings, unaware that his neighbor was watching him from a clump of grass.

Chen Yu caught Xiang Baiwei spying on him and suspected she might know the secret of the Immortal Ruins. As he prepared to force an explanation, Xiang Baiwei suddenly changed, claiming someone had finally awakened.

• Chen Yu sensed someone following him and spotted a disguised clump of grass trailing him.
• Chen Yu set a Binding Rope snare, blinded his pursuer with Glowing Jade, and captured Xiang Baiwei.
• Chen Yu recognized Xiang Baiwei and questioned why she had been following him.
• Chen Yu suspected Xiang Baiwei knew about the Immortal Ruins and prepared to threaten her with his sword.
• Xiang Baiwei said someone was finally awake, then her fearful expression changed to one of cold contempt.

Chen Yu interrogated Xiang Baiwei after discovering she had followed him because she sensed a Key Seal connected to his inheritance from Ah Zhen. After repeatedly restraining her and demanding answers, he learned that she belonged to the White Lotus Sect.

• Chen Yu bound Xiang Baiwei and demanded to know why she had followed him.
• Xiang Baiwei said she sensed a Key Seal, an organization token, in his room and expected its bearer to be a woman.
• Chen Yu loosened the Binding Rope, but Xiang Baiwei attacked him, so he blinded and bound her again.
• Chen Yu pressed Xiang Baiwei to reveal her organization, and she asked what he thought of the Dao Sect.
• Xiang Baiwei finally told Chen Yu that she belonged to the White Lotus Sect.

Xiang Baiwei revealed that the White Lotus Sect had infiltrated the Dao Sect to resist its elders, who used spirit essence to cultivate disciples before draining their spirit embryos. Chen Yu doubted parts of her account and did not accept her invitation, leaving to consider what she had told him.

• Xiang Baiwei identified the White Lotus Sect and explained that the Dao Sect harvested registered disciples and exploited outer sect disciples.
• Xiang Baiwei told Chen Yu that elders used spirit essence to help inner sect disciples reach Foundation Establishment, then drained those disciples’ spirit embryos.
• Xiang Baiwei said the White Lotus Sect had secretly built strength inside the Dao Sect because the great sects monopolized cultivation resources and destroyed smaller sects.
• Xiang Baiwei argued that the Dao Sect master’s failure to appear during a recent attack suggested his rumored injuries were real, but Chen Yu remained skeptical.
• Chen Yu untied Xiang Baiwei, and she invited him to join the White Lotus Sect while asking him to keep their conversation secret.
• Xiang Baiwei left, and Chen Yu walked back to his lodgings, silently weighing her revelations and invitation.

Chen Yu decided to avoid the White Lotus Sect’s conflict with the Dao Sect and focus on cultivating until he grew stronger. Xiang Baiwei recommended him to Auntie Shi, who warned that the Dao Sect might soon fall into chaos and revealed she would leave in three days to attempt a breakthrough.

• Chen Yu judged the White Lotus Sect unreliable, resolved to stay out of its fight with the Dao Sect, and began cultivating with his water-attribute treasures, Spirit Essence, and a Qi Refining Pill.
• Xiang Baiwei told the voice in her soul that Chen Yu had overwhelmed her and her companion because his cultivation was far higher than theirs.
• Xiang Baiwei visited Auntie Shi at the Heavenly Union Association and recommended that she investigate and possibly recruit Chen Yu.
• Auntie Shi said Senior Zhang had also recommended Chen Yu and agreed to learn more about him if an opportunity arose.
• Auntie Shi warned Xiang Baiwei that the Dao Sect could descend into chaos if Sect Master Chu failed to recover, and told her to focus on cultivating.
• Auntie Shi revealed she would leave the Dao Sect in three days to attempt a breakthrough, and Xiang Baiwei congratulated her.