Chapter Summaries

Zhou Qing obtained an ancient cultivation book after his servant manipulated Lin Peiqin into wagering the Lin Household heirloom, and he learned it described a method for sensing qi and entering the Qi Refining Stage. As the countdown that appeared when he transmigrated reached zero, Zhou Qing watched for its activation.

• Zhou Dachun told Zhou Qing that Lin Peiqin had lost heavily gambling and wagered a family heirloom for ten thousand taels.
• Zhou Qing examined the heirloom, an ancient book titled "Qi Introduction Art," and learned that cultivating required spiritual root aptitude.
• Zhou Dachun reported that the eldest prince had volunteered to lead a campaign against the northern barbarians, and Zhou Qing worried about the succession and the Zhou family's political ties.
• Zhou Qing studied the book's breathing method and considered whether he had spiritual root aptitude.
• The countdown in Zhou Qing's vision reached zero.

Zhou Qing began a future simulation and prepared for trouble while cultivating, but a sudden palace crisis led to an attack on the Zhou residence. He escaped with Dachun's help and reached one of his secret bases, where he discovered Dachun had survived.

• Zhou Qing learned how the simulation system worked and started a simulation, during which he warned Zhou Shizhong about the eldest prince's trip to the northern battlefield.
• Zhou Qing prepared secret bases across the capital, sensed qi at seventeen, and learned that the emperor had suddenly fainted.
• Armored attackers stormed the Zhou residence and accused Zhou Shizhong of treason, so Zhou Qing tried to escape through the back gate.
• Dachun confronted the attackers to give Zhou Qing time to flee, and Zhou Qing escaped to one of his secret bases.
• Hours later, Dachun arrived at the secret base alive, and Zhou Qing exclaimed that he was not dead.

Zhou Qing reached the Qi Refining Stage, used the hidden map in the Qi Introduction Art to find Black Mountain Market, and investigated ways to earn a living there. The simulation ended with him choosing between becoming a craft apprentice, saving for discipleship, or leaving the Market.

• Zhou Qing entered the Qi Refining Stage after ten years of cultivation in the simulation and discovered a hidden map in the Qi Introduction Art.
• Zhou Qing took Dachun to Black Mountain Market, left him at the mountain's foot, and registered with the guards to enter.
• Zhou Qing spent two months learning about jobs and found that spirit farming paid poorly while craft training required either a costly apprenticeship gift or years of bonded service.
• Zhou Qing faced three choices: become an apprentice, save spirit stones to become a disciple, or leave Black Mountain Market.

Zhou Qing chose to become Pill Master Yun’s apprentice, spending years cultivating spirit plants and advancing his Qi Refining. When a secret realm emerged near Black Mountain Market, Ye Feng planned to leave the workshop to seek its treasures, and Zhou Qing lent him fifty spirit stones.

• Zhou Qing chose apprenticeship and signed a thirty-year Spirit Contract to serve Pill Master Yun, beginning ten years of spirit cultivation.
• Zhou Qing befriended fellow apprentice Ye Feng, saved better-quality Waste Pills, and reached the second layer of Qi Refining.
• A secret realm emerged near Black Mountain Market, but Zhou Qing stayed away and recorded information about it.
• Ye Feng told Zhou Qing he wanted to enter the secret realm and needed a hundred spirit stones to secure Pill Master Yun’s permission to leave.
• Zhou Qing decided to lend Ye Feng fifty spirit stones.

Zhou Qing became a low-grade pill master, gained his freedom, and advanced to the fourth layer of Qi Refining while building his livelihood in the Black Mountain Market. Years after he had believed Ye Feng dead, Ye Feng returned from the Cloudsea Secret Realm as a Late Qi Refining cultivator, and Zhou Qing went to meet him.

• Zhou Qing broke through to the third layer of Qi Refining and later learned that Ye Feng had likely died in the Cloudsea Secret Realm.
• Zhou Qing trained under Pill Master Yun, failed once to break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining, and succeeded in refining low-grade pills independently.
• Pill Master Yun released Zhou Qing from his spirit contract but allowed him to stay at the pill workshop and earn the market rate for refining pills.
• Zhou Qing joined the Pill Alliance, rented a tier-one mid-grade cave abode, and continued cultivating.
• Ye Feng returned to the pill workshop as a Late Qi Refining cultivator, and Zhou Qing entered the hall to meet him.

At nearly sixty, Zhou Qing learned that Ye Feng had no intention of repaying the fifty spirit stones he had borrowed, while Pill Master Yun revealed his own rift with Ye Feng and entrusted Zhou Qing with pill-refinement insights. As the Black Mountain Market grew unstable, Zhou Qing helped Yun Shu prepare to move the workshop, advanced as a pill master and cultivator, and finally felt his vitality decline as he entered old age.

• Ye Feng boasted about his secret-realm opportunity, dismissed Zhou Qing’s idea of joining him, and left without repaying the fifty spirit stones.
• Pill Master Yun confirmed his displeasure with Ye Feng, said Ye Feng would not meet Master Zhao, and entrusted Zhou Qing with a jade slip of pill-refinement insights.
• As Ouyang Shen failed to produce a Foundation Establishment successor and Rogue Cultivators gathered near Black Mountain Market, Yun Shu began moving the Pill Workshop’s assets to the Listening Rain Market District.
• After Pill Master Yun died, Yun Shu took charge, and Zhou Qing gradually relinquished his authority while remaining in Black Mountain Market as most of the workshop relocated.
• Zhou Qing used Pill Master Yun’s insights to become a mid-grade pill master, then spent his savings to break through to the fifth layer of Qi Condensation.
• At seventy, Zhou Qing sensed his vitality declining and realized he had entered old age.

In the simulation, Zhou Qing reached old age and discovered that Zhou Dachun had waited at Black Mountain for him until his death. As Zhou Qing’s life ended, he learned that Ouyang Shen had returned with a newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator to clear out the robber cultivators.

• At seventy-one, Zhou Qing left the Market District and met Zhou Dahu, Zhou Dachun’s grandson, who explained that his grandfather had stayed at Black Mountain waiting for the young master.
• Zhou Qing took Dahu to the Qian Kingdom’s capital, saw that the Zhou Residence had become the Lu Residence, and chose not to seek revenge on the imperial family.
• Zhou Qing returned to Black Mountain Market and entrusted Dahu to Yun Shu, who promised him a place in the Yun Clan Pill Workshop.
• As Black Mountain Market declined and his pill toxins worsened, Zhou Qing lay dying and asked Yun Shu whether she had news of Ouyang Shen.
• A cultivator reported that Ouyang Shen had appeared with a newly advanced female Foundation Establishment cultivator to clear out the robber cultivators, and Zhou Qing died after hearing the news.

After the simulation ended, Zhou Qing inherited his peak cultivation, skills, and memories, becoming a Fifth Layer of Qi Refining cultivator and mid-grade alchemist at sixteen. He also learned key events that could shape future simulations and awakened the Pill Toxin Bane talent.

• Zhou Qing chose to inherit his peak cultivation, skills, cultivation methods, and memories rather than a treasure.
• Zhou Qing gained the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, decades of alchemy experience, and knowledge of future events, including a secret realm near Black Mountain Market and the Market Ward's eventual recovery.
• Zhou Qing learned that Market Master Ouyang had found a newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator to succeed him and restore order around Black Mountain Market.
• The simulation awarded Zhou Qing the white talent Pill Toxin Bane, which made his body resistant to most pill toxin.

Zhou Qing left the Zhou Residence with Dachun and traveled to Black Mountain Market, hoping to join the Pill Alliance and use its spiritual-energy-rich cave abodes to hasten his next simulation. There, he encountered Pill Master Yun, an old acquaintance from his previous simulation.

• Zhou Qing learned that his next simulation would refresh after a long cooldown, which he could shorten by staying in a place rich in spiritual energy.
• Zhou Qing left a letter for his family and set out for Black Mountain Market with Dachun, giving travel as his excuse.
• Zhou Shizhong accepted Zhou Qing’s departure, trusting Dachun to keep him safe.
• After reaching Black Mountain Market, Zhou Qing left Dachun at the foot of the mountain and went to the Pill Alliance to seek membership as a Mid-Grade Alchemist.
• The Pill Alliance’s female cultivator led Zhou Qing to the examination room, where he came face to face with Pill Master Yun.

Zhou Qing demonstrated his alchemy skills to Pill Master Yun by refining Qi Nourishing Pills for the Pill Alliance’s Mid-Grade Alchemist assessment. He produced fourteen pills, including a Premium pill, and agreed to sell the batch to the Alliance.

• Pill Master Yun asked Zhou Qing which mid-grade pill he would refine for the assessment, and Zhou Qing chose Qi Nourishing Pills.
• Zhou Qing used the Pill Alliance’s furnace and Earthfire to refine a batch of Qi Nourishing Pills while Pill Master Yun watched.
• Zhou Qing produced fourteen pills: eleven ordinary pills, two standard pills, and one Premium pill.
• Pill Master Yun praised Zhou Qing’s skill and asked to buy the pills for the Pill Alliance.
• Zhou Qing agreed to sell the batch, explaining that he needed spirit stones and avoided consuming pills in reality because of pill toxin.

Zhou Qing settled into Black Mountain Market, earned spirit stones from selling Qi Nourishing Pills, and used his new cave abode to shorten the simulation cooldown. After nearly ten quiet months, the countdown reached zero, leaving him ready to run another simulation.

• Pill Master Yun bought Zhou Qing's fourteen Qi Nourishing Pills for five hundred and twenty spirit stones and led him to his assigned cave abode.
• Zhou Qing saw that the cave abode's spiritual energy reduced his simulation cooldown enough to give him time for two simulations before the Zhou Family faced the Fourth Prince's purge.
• Zhou Qing brought Dachun into the cave abode and confirmed that Dachun had no spiritual root aptitude.
• Zhou Qing bought a pill furnace, tested a first-tier high-grade inn room, then chose not to stay there so he would not attract attention.
• Zhou Qing kept a low profile while fulfilling Pill Alliance assignments, and nearly ten months later his simulation countdown reached zero.

Zhou Qing began his second simulation by befriending Pill Master Yun and sharing future alchemy insights to improve his own prospects and gain access to Yun’s teacher, Alchemist Zhao. He returned to the Zhou residence and revealed his cultivation to his family, preparing to warn them about the Fourth Prince’s planned rebellion.

• Zhou Qing visited Pill Master Yun and shared a small portion of the alchemy insights from Yun’s future self, earning Yun’s gratitude and advancing his own knowledge.
• Zhou Qing asked Pill Master Yun to watch over his cave abode and servant while he traveled to the Qian Empire.
• Zhou Qing returned to the Zhou residence after more than half a month, reuniting with Madam Zhou, Zhou Wen, Zhou Wu, and Zhou Shizhong.
• Zhou Qing decided to tell Zhou Shizhong that the Fourth Prince was preparing a rebellion so the Zhou family could alert the Qian Emperor.
• Zhou Qing told his family he was an immortal cultivator and demonstrated his power by burning a table with a fireball.

Zhou Qing revealed his cultivation and warned Zhou Shizhong that the Fourth Prince planned to rebel, but the Qian Emperor used the warning to move against the Zhou Family. Zhou Qing escaped to Black Mountain Market and spent years cultivating and studying alchemy, where he encountered Maple Leaf.

• Zhou Qing showed the Fireball Spell to Zhou Shizhong and warned him that the Fourth Prince planned to rebel while the Eldest Prince campaigned north.
• Zhou Shizhong went to report the plot to the Qian Emperor, but soldiers attacked the Zhou Residence and accused Zhou Shizhong of treason.
• Zhou Qing escaped the Zhou Residence and concluded that the Qian Emperor was secretly backing the Fourth Prince to eliminate the powerful Eldest Prince.
• Zhou Qing left his family imprisoned and returned to Black Mountain Market rather than risk falling into the Qian Emperor's trap.
• Over the following years, Zhou Qing helped Pill Master Yun advance, studied high-grade alchemy inheritances, and cultivated to halfway through the fifth level of qi refining.
• At age twenty-five, Zhou Qing spotted Maple Leaf near the Yun Clan Pill Workshop.

Wang tracked Ye Feng, intending to take the opportunities Ye Feng would find in a future secret realm to advance his own cultivation. After monitoring the Zhou family’s fate and preparing carefully, Wang successfully broke through to the sixth layer of Qi Refining.

• Wang visited the Yun Clan Pill Workshop, noticed Ye Feng watching from a corner, and reasoned that his connections would let him keep track of Ye Feng.
• Wang planned to ambush Ye Feng after he escaped a secret realm ten years later, when Ye Feng would be badly injured and carrying valuable opportunities.
• In the eleventh year, Wang confirmed that Ye Feng had become Pill Master Yun’s apprentice on the same schedule as in the previous simulation.
• In the twelfth year, Wang sensed that his parents and two elder brothers were still alive and reflected on how the Zhou family had been caught in the Qian imperial family’s struggle for power.
• In the thirteenth year, Wang prepared for a breakthrough and successfully reached the sixth layer of Qi Refining.

Zhou Qing reached the sixth layer of Qi Refining, improved his skills and prepared for the secret realm by training Dachun and stockpiling valuable pills. Four years later, the secret realm emerged beyond Black Mountain Market.

• Zhou Qing failed to refine a high-grade pill but learned from the attempt and made progress toward becoming a High-Grade Pill Master.
• Zhou Qing switched cultivation pills after developing resistance to Qi Nourishing Pills.
• Dachun told Zhou Qing he had reached the fourth level of the Blazing Sun Body Tempering Art, then demonstrated his strength in a sparring match.
• Zhou Qing began stockpiling healing and lifesaving pills ahead of the expected rise in demand when the secret realm opened.
• Zhou Qing mastered three Tracking Spells, received another pill-refining inheritance from Pill Master Yun, and observed Ye Feng struggling among Yun's apprentices.
• In the twentieth year, Zhou Qing saw that the secret realm had emerged beyond the market.

Zhou Qing prepared to exploit the Cloudsea Secret Realm by tracking Ye Feng, whose request to explore it was approved by Pill Master Yun after he paid a hundred spirit stones. Zhou Qing followed Ye Feng toward the secret realm, intending to use him to gather intelligence and seize an opportunity.

• Zhou Qing recalled that the Cloudsea Secret Realm had once belonged to the fallen Core Formation-level Cloudsea Sect and planned to focus on Ye Feng rather than compete for all its resources.
• Ye Feng pleaded with Pill Master Yun for permission to explore the secret realm, and Zhou Qing supported his request.
• Pill Master Yun agreed to lift Ye Feng’s spiritual contract in exchange for a hundred spirit stones, which Ye Feng gathered with help from other apprentices.
• Zhou Qing planted three tracking arts on Ye Feng when they met outside the pill workshop.
• Zhou Qing disguised himself and followed Ye Feng after he left the market for the Cloudsea Secret Realm.

You waited outside the Cloudsea Secret Realm for Ye Feng, then tracked him to a hidden exit and killed him while he was weakened. After claiming Ye Feng’s valuable treasures, you discovered a sky-blue ring that spoke with an aged voice.

• You waited at the Cloudsea Secret Realm’s entrance for Ye Feng while cultivators came and went.
• You sensed Ye Feng’s tracking mark several li away, left the entrance, and found him in a feeble, mortal-like state.
• You killed Ye Feng with a high-grade Golden Needle Talisman, destroyed his body, and erased the traces.
• You searched Ye Feng’s storage pouch and found rare Foundation Establishment ingredients and valuable magic tools.
• You tried to refine Ye Feng’s sky-blue ring, which spoke to you in an aged voice and asked whether you had awakened it.

Zhou Qing encountered the artifact spirit inside the Mountain Sea Ring and accepted it as his master, hoping to gain guidance for his cultivation. After returning to Wushan Market, he learned Pill Master Yun was leaving to attempt Foundation Establishment and began selling his stock of pills as Mountain Sea Secret Realm activity raised prices.

• The Mountain Sea Ring’s artifact spirit revealed itself and promised to nurture Zhou Qing into a True Person and restore the Mountain Sea lineage.
• Zhou Qing chose to accept the artifact spirit as his master, then returned to Wushan Market and prepared supplies for Dachun.
• Zhou Qing visited Pill Master Yun, who told him he would stay with Master Zhao for several years while attempting Foundation Establishment and entrusted him with the Yun Pill Workshop.
• Zhou Qing watched Pill Master Yun leave Wushan Market and began selling his stored healing and lifesaving pills as their prices rose.

Wang sold healing and lifesaving pills to earn spirit stones while following the Mountain Sea Ring Artifact Spirit’s guidance to strengthen his mana and body for Foundation Establishment. After years of cultivation and preparation, he used a realm-breaking pill obtained through Pill Master Yun’s contacts to reach the seventh layer of Qi Refining.

• Wang received the Mountain Sea Art and a body-refining technique from the Mountain Sea Ring Artifact Spirit, who warned that his mana and vitality were too weak for Foundation Establishment.
• Wang converted his mana to mountain sea mana and continued selling pills through You Rou, earning thousands of spirit stones each year.
• Pill Master Yun returned from Azure Moon Immortal City after failing to reach Foundation Establishment, and Wang left him undisturbed.
• Wang cultivated the Mountain Sea Art, learned new cultivation-pill formulas from the Artifact Spirit, and reached the peak of the sixth layer of Qi Refining.
• Wang purchased a late Qi Refining realm-breaking pill through Pill Master Yun’s contacts and broke through to the seventh layer.

After reaching the seventh layer of Qi Refining, Zhou Qing bought high-grade Qi Nurturing Pills and attended Black Mountain Market’s auction as a Late Qi Refining Senior Cultivator. He learned that an auction twenty-eight years earlier had featured a Black Wind Eagle egg with Dark Demon Eagle bloodline.

• Zhou Qing celebrated reaching the Late Qi Refining Period at age forty-six and reflected that the Mountain Sea Art had improved his chances of Foundation Establishment.
• Zhou Qing bought fifty Qi Nurturing Pills from Pill Master Yun, who warned him against taking too many before attempting Foundation Establishment.
• Zhou Qing attended the Black Mountain Market auction openly and joined Deputy Leader You Rou in the Alchemist Alliance’s private box.
• Ouyang De opened the auction by presenting a Black Wind Eagle egg and recounting that a Foundation Establishment cultivator from Beast Taming Mountain had once bought an egg with Dark Demon Eagle bloodline.
• Zhou Qing asked You Rou when that egg had been auctioned, and she said it was likely twenty-eight years earlier.