Chapter Summaries

Li Ping agreed to help Bai Qing explore the Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode in seven years, unaware that demonic cultivators were waiting there to ambush them. After seven years of preparation, he inherited Sage Xu’s fourth-tier alchemy and became a fourth-tier low-grade pill refiner.

• Li Ping agreed to open the cave abode’s inner passage for Bai Qing, but postponed their journey for seven years while he prepared to inherit fourth-tier alchemy.
• Yin Jiumu persuaded nine demonic cultivators to keep waiting at the fake cave abode for Li Ping and Bai Qing, promising that the Marquis of Xiping would reward them with Blood Spring Water if they captured Li Ping and seized the teleportation formation’s location.
• After seven years, Li Ping harvested three ten-thousand-year-old stalks of phoenix glazed grass and their nine fruits, then prepared the offerings for his alchemy inheritance.
• Li Ping brought Xuan Er out of the underground cavern and set his subordinates to guard the great hall before arranging the alchemy inheritance offerings and dividing his Lunar Coldflame.
• Li Ping inherited Sage Xu’s fourth-tier alchemy memories, and the Inheritance Tree identified him as a fourth-tier low-grade pill refiner.

Li Ping inherited a fourth-tier Spirit Brewing Technique and fourth-tier Nether Baleful Qi from a long memory of a heartbroken cultivator whose devotion to his senior sister went unanswered. Back on Spirit Island, Li Ping added spirit brewing as his third fourth-tier craft and ordered Xuan Er to refine the Nether Baleful Qi, though the process would take decades.

• A wandering cultivator named Li Ping befriended a monkey after his senior sister rejected his confession, then took the monkey and its Bronze Cauldron with him to cultivate and brew spirit wine.
• Li Ping repeatedly proposed to his senior sister as he advanced through foundation establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul cultivation, but she declined each time and eventually died after receiving his Longevity Wine.
• After Li Ping died at fourteen hundred years old, Li Ping awoke from the Inheritance Tree’s memory and gained the fourth-tier Spirit Brewing Technique.
• The Inheritance Tree extracted pure fourth-tier Nether Baleful Qi from the defective Immortal Flow Dew, and Li Ping decided to use it to strengthen Xuan Er.
• Li Ping summoned Xuan Er and ordered it to refine the Nether Baleful Qi, which would take at least several decades.

Li Ping detected a trap set by demonic cultivators while traveling with Bai Qing to the Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode, then chose to face the attackers alone. He met their force of ten Core Formation cultivators and began cutting them down, while the battle with the remaining enemies continued.

• Li Ping left Meng Wanjun a Jade Slip, urged Yan Ruyan to cultivate, and traveled north with Bai Qing toward the Ancient Cultivator Cave Abode.
• Li Ping discovered spirit insects monitoring their route and realized that someone had used Bai Qing and a suspicious map to lure him into a trap.
• Li Ping sent Bai Qing to Heavenly Wound Immortal City and continued west, intending to identify and destroy the ambushers.
• A Blood Cloud revealed ten demonic cultivators, including Old Devil Wu, Yin Jiumu, and Hua Wuji, who demanded Li Ping surrender the Teleportation Formation to Great Zhou and submit to restrictions.
• When the ten attacked, Li Ping unleashed the Desolate Fire Sparrow against three late-stage cultivators and killed Old Devil Wu and a long-faced middle-stage cultivator with his golden light.

Li Ping revealed himself as Li Jingyu while ambushing the Four Demonic Sects’ cultivators, killing their Core Formation middle-stage fighters and then Hua Wuji and the cultivator surnamed Li. He turned to Yin Jiumu, the last surviving opponent, hoping to question him for information.

• Hua Wuji recognized Li Ping’s Desolate Fire Sparrow and life-bound treasure and realized that Li Ping was actually Li Jingyu, the man who had killed Red Thunder Old Monster and Hua Hong.
• Li Ping used the Dragon-Slaying Guillotine and Bloodwing Escape Art to kill five Core Formation middle-stage cultivators, then chased down and beheaded another fleeing cultivator.
• A strange blood shadow emerged from the fleeing cultivator’s corpse and attacked Li Ping, but his Illusory-Breaking Golden Eyes destroyed it; he hurried back to the battlefield to check on Xuan Er and the Earth Spirit Mouse.
• Li Ping ordered the Desolate Fire Sparrow to release Hua Wuji from the sea of fire, fought him with the Dragon-Slaying Guillotine, and killed him after his golden eyes exposed him inside his blood sea.
• Li Ping killed the cultivator surnamed Li, collected his belongings, and faced Yin Jiumu, whom he hoped to question.

Li Ping questioned Yin Jiumu about the teleportation formation and learned that the Four Demonic Sects obtained Blood Spring Spirit Water through sacrifices to a mysterious being. After nine blood shadows emerged from the demon cultivators’ corpses and merged, Li Ping pursued them to a Tuluo tribe, where they vanished.

• Li Ping learned from Yin Jiumu how the Four Demonic Sects had inferred his connection to Li Jingyu and discovered the teleportation formation.
• Yin Jiumu revealed the altar’s location and the Blood Spring Spirit Water’s effects before Li Ping killed him.
• Li Ping tested the Desolate Fire Sparrow’s spirit flame on Old Devil Wu’s corpse, causing blood shadows to emerge from all nine demon cultivators’ remains and merge.
• Li Ping pursued the merged blood shadow with the Desolate Fire Sparrow and decided not to raid the demon cultivators’ lair, planning instead to warn Bai Qing and the other factions.
• The blood shadow split into nine streaks and disappeared into a Tuluo tribe, where two core formation cultivators confronted Li Ping.

Li Ping and the Desolate Fire Sparrow destroyed a Tuluo city to prevent blood shadows from escaping, ultimately killing the monstrous blood giant formed by the remaining shadows. More than a month later, Li Ping reached the Yan Kingdom with several dozen Storage Bags from his journey.

• Li Ping killed the two Tuluo core formation cultivators who tried to flee, then ordered the Desolate Fire Sparrow to burn their bodies.
• Li Ping discovered that nine blood shadows were devouring the people in the earthen city and ordered the Desolate Fire Sparrow to burn the city while he blocked every escape.
• Li Ping and the Desolate Fire Sparrow killed two blood shadows, while the other seven devoured the remaining inhabitants and merged into a blood pool.
• A blood giant rose from the pool and attacked, but Li Ping struck it with the Illusory-Breaking Golden Eyes while the Desolate Fire Sparrow engulfed it in evil-slaying flames.
• After confirming the blood shadows were gone, Li Ping flew south and, over a month later, arrived in the Yan Kingdom with several dozen Storage Bags.

After killing the Four Demonic Sects’ ambushers and the Tuluo cultivators who tried to intercept him, Li Ping reached Heavenly Wound Immortal City and met Bai Qing. He passed on warnings and spoils before departing for Great Zhou, while news of his victories spread across the Western Wastes.

• Li Ping examined the Minor Teleportation Talismans and the Soul-Settling Stake taken from the Tuluo Holy Maiden, reflecting on how his powerful divine soul had let him defeat her.
• After waiting more than two months in Heavenly Wound Immortal City, Li Ping met Bai Qing and told him where the Four Demonic Sects’ cultivators were hiding and what dangers their blood shadows posed.
• Li Ping gave Bai Qing dozens of Storage Bags containing spoils from the demonic cultivators and Tuluo cultivators he had killed, and told him to share the intelligence with Qi Hanmo and the Academy.
• Bai Qing inventoried the valuable spoils, relayed Li Ping’s warning through Qi Hanmo, and returned to Great Ning after Li Ping departed.
• News spread that a mysterious cultivator had killed the Tuluo Holy Maiden and the Core Formation cultivators sent to intercept him, and Bai Qing realized how formidable the force his elder brother had defeated was.

A white-haired cultivator harvested the surviving Shuras and erased the ruins after learning that Yin Jiumu and Hua Wuji had died. Meanwhile, Li Ping reached Heavenly Dao City under a false identity and searched for a private cave abode, but the available choices all had drawbacks.

• The white-haired cultivator learned that ten Shuras had gone missing, subdued the Core Formation Cultivators at the ruins, and destroyed the site before flying toward Great Zhou.
• Qi Hanmo learned of Li Ping's victories and went with the Academy's Core Formation Cultivators to the ruins, but they found only sand.
• Xiao Qingwu decided to visit Li Ping in person to propose dual cultivation, while Ji Shuwen celebrated her uncle's growing reputation.
• Li Ping arrived at Heavenly Dao City, registered as Yan Buping, and began looking for a third-tier top-grade cave abode.
• Li Ping rejected the three available cave abodes because one was considered ill-omened and the others were too close to Nascent Soul cultivators, so the attendant suggested sharing a rental.

Li Ping rented the remaining island at Cold Emerald Lake after Bai Yaoyue approved him, then approached the Treasure-Gathering Tower to arrange alchemy commissions. The tower master, Shen Yu, was astonished to learn Li Ping was a third-tier middle-grade pill refiner and asked him to demonstrate his skill.

• Li Ping learned that Bai Yaoyue was seeking tenants to share the costly rent at Cold Emerald Lake, and he agreed to interview for its vacant island.
• Bai Yaoyue questioned Li Ping about his background and personal affairs, then approved him based largely on his appearance and bearing.
• Li Ping signed a sublease for the island, agreeing to pay seven thousand spirit stones every ten years.
• Li Ping abandoned his plan to open a shop and visited the Treasure-Gathering Tower to seek alchemy commissions through its customer network.
• Shen Yu, the tower master, welcomed Li Ping and asked him to demonstrate his claimed third-tier middle-grade alchemy skill.

Li Ping returned to Cold Emerald Lake after securing an alchemy partnership with the Treasure-Gathering Tower and learning that the war between the Immortal Alliance and the Eastern Sea demon race had eased. He refused Yao Ji’s offer to let Yao Household clansmen manage his island, then began concealing and protecting his new cultivation grounds with powerful formations.

• Li Ping refined ten perfect Earth-Replenishing Pills for Shen Yu and agreed to serve as a senior guest elder of the Treasure-Gathering Tower, prioritizing its alchemy commissions.
• Li Ping asked Shen Yu to seek production artifacts, artisan treasures, and fourth-tier star-attribute materials, then left Heavenly Dao City for Cold Emerald Lake.
• Li Ping reviewed the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion’s intelligence about the reduced fighting in the Eastern Sea and arrived at his island to find Yao Household cultivators still living there.
• Yao Ji offered to have his clansmen tend the island’s spirit fields, but Li Ping refused and insisted they leave because he valued his privacy.
• After Yao Ji and his clansmen departed, Li Ping began setting up a third-tier top-grade protective formation and a formation that could block even Nascent Soul divine sense probes.

Li Ping settled on Evergreen Island, tended his cultivation and spirit beasts, and met the other island masters of Cold Emerald Lake. While inspecting the subsidiary islands attached to his lease, he discovered that the master of the Leisurely Cloud Sect was an old acquaintance.

• Li Ping established Evergreen Hall, assigned Mysterious One to plant spirit herbs, and let his spirit beasts cultivate on the island.
• After consuming a phoenix blood fruit, Li Ping found that refining it would take too long and chose to prioritize his qi cultivation.
• Bai Yaoyue invited Li Ping to Cold Moon Island, where she introduced him to Yao Ji and Gong Fu.
• Li Ping named his island Evergreen Island and learned that nine subsidiary islands and their tenants came with his lease.
• After the gathering, Li Ping inspected the subsidiary islands and recognized an old acquaintance as the Leisurely Cloud Sect's master.

Li Ping discovered that Wu Ming had established his foundation through sheer luck, then returned to seclusion before traveling to Heavenly Dao City to fulfill seven pill-refining commissions. There, Shen Yu told him the Sage Emperor had reached the nascent soul late stage and shifted the Eastern Sea war, while Li Ping began refining the first client’s pills.

• Li Ping used a soul-bewildering technique and searched Wu Ming’s soul, confirming that Wu Ming had established his foundation with one Foundation Establishment Pill and had become the Leisurely Cloud Sect’s figurehead.
• Li Ping returned to Evergreen Island and cultivated in seclusion for three years before Shen Yu’s letter prompted him to travel to Heavenly Dao City for seven pill-refining commissions.
• Shen Yu told Li Ping that the Sage Emperor had secretly reached the nascent soul late stage and killed two fourth-tier demon cultivators, weakening the Eastern Sea demon race.
• Shen Yu introduced Li Ping to Fellow Daoist Su, who supplied the materials and deposit for third-tier middle-grade Black Flame Pills.
• Li Ping inspected Fellow Daoist Su’s materials, set up his Alchemy Furnace, and began refining the pills as Su worried that he had taken the first appointment slot.

Li Ping refined pills in Heavenly Dao City, brewed Origin-Replenishing Liquid, and discovered a slow method for removing pill toxins. Five years later, he prepared to return for more alchemy commissions and found that his Scarlet Flood Dragon was nearing advancement.

• Li Ping refined seven batches of third-tier middle-grade pills for Shen Yu's clients, earning spirit stones, pills, and a growing reputation in Heavenly Dao City.
• Li Ping used his earnings to obtain materials for Origin-Replenishing Liquid, then began brewing it on Evergreen Island and devised a method to nurture pills by letting their toxins separate over time.
• Meng Wanjun reached Core Formation in Meishan City and found a letter and a Life-Bound Treasure Flying Sword left by her young master.
• Five years later, Li Ping received word that twenty alchemy commissions had accumulated and inspected the fermenting liquid and sealed pills, finding that the pill toxins separated only very slowly.
• Li Ping noticed that his Scarlet Flood Dragon was drowsy with an unstable aura, indicating that it was close to advancing.

Li Ping bought a fourth-tier Beast Taming Banner from Shen Yu and prepared to seek fourth-tier demon beast blood essence at the Immortal Alliance auction so he could inherit its techniques. After returning to Evergreen Island, he collected rent from Wu Ming and urged him to marry and have children.

• Shen Yu told Li Ping that the Beast Taming Lin Household was selling its founding ancestor’s Beast Taming Banner for one hundred thousand spirit stones to fund a bid for Nascent Soul Formation Treasures.
• Li Ping inspected the banner, confirmed it held a fourth-tier Beast Tamer’s inheritance, and bought it at the asking price.
• After finishing his pill-refining work, Li Ping left Heavenly Dao City with the banner and planned to acquire fourth-tier demon beast blood essence at the auction, which would also be a major opportunity to obtain materials from the Sage Emperor’s slain demons.
• Li Ping returned to Evergreen Island, where Wu Ming delivered five years’ rent after waiting outside the island’s formation for three years.
• Li Ping paid Wu Ming ten spirit stones for his efforts and told him not to wait if Li Ping was absent next time, then advised him to marry and have children.
• Wu Ming returned toward the Leisurely Cloud Sect and resolved to follow Li Ping’s advice.

After Bai Yaoyue collected Evergreen Island’s rent, she invited Li Ping to join a team entering the Taimao Secret Realm, but he refused to avoid unnecessary danger. Wu Ming later visited with rent and revealed that he had married seven women at once.

• Bai Yaoyue arrived to collect seven thousand spirit stones in rent, and Li Ping invited her into Evergreen Hall.
• Bai Yaoyue discovered Li Ping owned a Third-Tier Puppet and invited him to join her team for the Taimao Secret Realm, which would open in twenty-two years.
• Li Ping declined Bai Yaoyue’s invitation, saying he preferred cultivation and avoiding combat, and she left without changing his mind.
• Wu Ming delivered five years’ rent and told Li Ping he had married seven women after agreeing to marry the daughters of seven lineages.
• Li Ping learned that Wu Ming’s seven wives had each borne him a child and were all pregnant again.

The Scarlet Flood Dragon advanced to the third tier, and Li Ping left Evergreen Island for the Immortal Alliance auction in Heavenly Dao City, disguised as Xiong Dahai. As the auction was about to begin, he considered his need to find the complete Marsh Water Life-Nourishing Art.

• The Scarlet Flood Dragon absorbed Evergreen Island’s spiritual qi and successfully broke through to the third tier, prompting Li Ping to consider materials for its future life-bound treasure.
• After another year of secluded cultivation, Li Ping marked his three-hundredth birthday, gathered his belongings and spirit beasts, and set out for Heavenly Dao City.
• Li Ping transformed himself into Xiong Dahai to hide his identity before traveling to the auction, where he expected to bid against Nascent Soul Cultivators for fourth-tier materials.
• At the venue, Li Ping paid for an ordinary seat in session A and spotted Shen Yu, Yao Ji, and Gong Fu among the attendees, while Bai Yaoyue remained unseen.
• While waiting for the auction to begin, Li Ping reflected on the Marsh Water Life-Nourishing Art’s benefits and decided to seek its complete version in Heavenly Dao City.

Li Ping bought the three-thousand-year-old Coiling Dragon Wood after realizing it could become a heavy Life-Bound Treasure for Scarlet Flood Dragon. As the auction continued, he saw his old enemy Chao Xuan bidding on heavenly meteoric iron.

• Fu Yu warned the auction attendees to keep disputes in check, and the elder began selling the opening items.
• Yao Ji and his spouse bought Black Flame Pills, while Li Ping waited for rarer offerings.
• The elder presented Coiling Dragon Wood, prompting Li Ping to plan a Coiling Dragon Pillar that would exploit Scarlet Flood Dragon's physical strength.
• Li Ping outbid Bai Yao of the Heavenly Refining Sacred Sect, paid 170,000 spirit stones, and took possession of the Coiling Dragon Wood.
• Li Ping watched two Nascent Soul Cultivators bid for heavenly meteoric iron and recognized one as Chao Xuan, who had successfully formed a Nascent Soul.

Li Ping attended the auction to obtain fourth-tier demon beast blood essence and was drawn into bidding for a rare Star Attribute spirit hide suited to his Life-Bound Treasure. After spending heavily and attracting Nascent Soul Cultivators’ attention, he faced a difficult choice over whether to bid for the hide.

• Li Ping saw Chao Xuan at the auction but kept his identity concealed, and he avoided bidding on most lots to limit attention.
• Li Ping won a bottle of fourth-tier demon beast blood essence for a hundred and ninety thousand spirit stones, bringing his spending on it and coiling dragon wood to three hundred and sixty thousand.
• Li Ping paid for the blood essence and resolved to stop bidding, though he still had nearly two million spirit stones and wanted more bottles.
• Bai Yaoyue could not afford the Soul-Fixing Pill, which the Beast Taming Lin Household won for four hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones, while Senior Tao offered to buy it if she became his concubine.
• The auctioneer presented a fourth-tier Starsea Phantom Shark spirit hide, and Li Ping recognized it as suitable banner cloth for his Life-Bound Treasure but hesitated to bid because of the attention it would attract.

Li Ping outbid Young Master Bliss for a fourth-tier Starsea Phantom Shark spirit hide, spending nearly all his wealth and angering the Nascent Soul cultivator. He left the auction hall to escape the city, but Tao’s subordinates and another hostile cultivator followed him.

• Li Ping bid two million one hundred and ten thousand spirit stones for the spirit hide after Young Master Bliss and True Lord Sky Void drove the price up.
• Young Master Bliss accused Li Ping of being a shill and threatened him, but Fu Yu upheld the auction result and awarded Li Ping the hide.
• Li Ping paid with spirit stones and thirteen treasures, then used a rear exit to leave the auction hall and fly toward the city’s outskirts.
• Two late-stage Core Formation cultivators sent by Young Master Bliss followed Li Ping and tried to lure him beyond the city walls.
• A brutish-faced cultivator who had lost the coiling dragon wood also pursued Li Ping, vowing to make him pay.

Li Ping killed the three Core Formation late-stage cultivators who pursued him, then escaped a Nascent Soul cultivator hunting him with a White Bone Banner. After hiding for several months without being found, he decided he could continue cultivating in Great Zhou.

• Li Ping confronted two of Elysian High Person’s subordinates, while Bai Yao arrived to demand the coiling dragon wood and negotiated with them over Li Ping’s possessions.
• Li Ping used the Soul-Settling Stake to kill the tall cultivator, Bai Yao, and the short cultivator, then destroyed the karma marks left by their sects and burned their corpses.
• A Nascent Soul cultivator wielding a White Bone Banner attacked Li Ping with wraiths, but Li Ping destroyed the wraiths with his golden vertical eye and escaped using the Bloodwing Escape Art.
• After searching for days, the dwarf with the banner failed to find Li Ping and was confronted by Old Ghost Tao, who accused him of killing Yin-Yang Valley disciples.
• Li Ping fled more than a hundred thousand li, resumed Yan Buping’s appearance, and waited for several months; when no one found him, he decided to remain in Great Zhou.