Chapter Summaries

Wang attended an auction, then refined Upper-Grade Pills and became a High-Grade Alchemist. After receiving new status and an upgraded cave abode from the Pill Alliance, he asked You Rou to investigate the Mountain-Sea Secret Realm for future simulations.

• Wang considered targeting a Black Wind Eagle egg with a Dark Demon Eagle bloodline in a future simulation, while the auction’s current egg sold for five hundred Spirit Stones.
• Wang bought herbs and special resources for body refinement, and the auction’s finale Realm-Breaking Pill was won by a Foundation Establishment cultivator in a black bamboo hat.
• At forty-seven years old in the thirty-second year, Wang refined a batch of Upper-Grade Pills and became a High-Grade Alchemist.
• You Rou visited Wang, offered him an upper-grade cave abode as standard treatment for High-Grade Alchemists, and invited him to share any needs.
• Wang asked You Rou to investigate information about the Mountain-Sea Secret Realm so he could prepare for future simulations.

After becoming a High-Grade Alchemist, you attracted visitors and declined the Green Pine Mountain Zheng Family’s offer to become its chief Alchemist. You Rou then revealed that the Mountain-Sea Secret Realm was the Mountain Sea Sect’s final fallback, and that the sect’s fall involved a violent clash between Mountain-Sea True Person and Blood-Sea True Person.

• You Rou agreed to investigate the Mountain-Sea Secret Realm and said it was connected to the vanished Mountain Sea Sect.
• Cultivators visited you with gifts after news spread that you had become a High-Grade Alchemist.
• The Green Pine Mountain Zheng Family’s Foundation Establishment Ancestor invited you to be the family’s chief Alchemist, but you declined because you did not want to leave your territory.
• At forty-eight, you found that your low-grade spiritual root and the Mountain Sea Art made cultivation progress extremely slow, but you remained hopeful about future simulations.
• You Rou reported that Mountain-Sea True Person and Blood-Sea True Person fought fiercely more than two hundred years ago, contributing to the Mountain Sea Sect’s destruction, before both vanished.

Wang learned more about the Mountain-Sea Secret Realm, refused You Rou’s offer to bind himself exclusively to the Pill Alliance, and received repeated aptitude improvements from the Mountain-Sea Artifact Spirit. After Shopkeeper Ouyang’s successors failed to reach Foundation Establishment, Wang successfully advanced to the Eighth Layer of Qi Condensation ahead of schedule.

• Vice Alliance Leader You Rou showed Wang a Memory Projection of the Mountain-Sea Secret Realm’s destruction and tried to persuade him to commit fully to the Pill Alliance, but he refused.
• The Mountain Sea Ring Artifact Spirit used its essence to transform Wang’s sinews and cleanse his marrow, temporarily improving his cultivation aptitude before going dormant.
• The artifact spirit repeated the transformation, while Wang reached Middle Stage Body Refinement and continued advancing through the Seventh Layer of Qi Condensation.
• Shopkeeper Ouyang’s two prospective successors failed to reach Foundation Establishment, and Wang began saving spirit stones to buy Market District assets during the expected downturn.
• Wang reached the peak of the seventh layer, broke through successfully, and entered the Eighth Layer of Qi Condensation seven or eight years ahead of schedule.

Zhou Qing advanced to the Eighth Layer of Qi Condensation and suspected Ye Feng had a rare treasure body or Dao body, making him consider profiting from Ye Feng rather than killing him. In the simulation, Alchemist Yun died and entrusted Zhou Qing with a token and the Yun Pill Workshop, while Zhou Qing advised Yun Shu to wait before relocating.

• Zhou Qing concluded that Ye Feng's extraordinary cultivation speed might come from a treasure body or Dao body and decided he should not simply kill him in the next simulation.
• Alchemist Yun gave Zhou Qing a jade token to take to Zhao Kan in Biyue Immortal City if he attempted Foundation Establishment, and asked him to guide Yun Shu and look after the pill workshop.
• After Alchemist Yun died, Yun Shu knelt before Zhou Qing and entrusted the Yun Pill Workshop to his care.
• Zhou Qing left the workshop's authority with Yun Shu as rogue cultivators began appearing near the Market Ward amid Ouyang Yangshen's failure to produce a Foundation Establishment successor.
• When Yun Shu considered moving the workshop to Listening Rain, Zhou Qing advised her to wait because the Ouyang Family had not sold its core businesses.

Wang bought the Pill Alliance’s Spirit Medicine Pavilion as Black Mountain Market District fell into chaos, then continued cultivating despite fearing he had missed his chance to advance. At seventy-two, he reached Qi Condensation Perfection, and the Mountain Sea Ring Artifact Spirit revealed that the Mountain Sea Art delayed old-age decline.

• Yun Shu agreed with Wang that the Yun Clan Pill Workshop should stay in the Market District and weather the crisis with the Ouyang Family.
• As the market deteriorated, Wang negotiated with You Rou and bought the Spirit Medicine Pavilion for three thousand spirit stones.
• Wang failed to reach the Ninth Layer of Qi Condensation by age seventy, but his expected old-age decline never came.
• At seventy-two, Wang reached the peak of the eighth layer, attempted a breakthrough, and successfully attained the Ninth Layer of Qi Condensation.
• The Mountain Sea Ring Artifact Spirit awakened, relieved that Wang had reached Qi Condensation Perfection, and explained that the Mountain Sea Art delayed old-age decline.

Zhou Qing learned more about the Mountain Sea Art and prepared to strengthen his body before attempting foundation establishment. After burying Dachun, he disguised himself as the Black-masked Man, subdued a band of rogue cultivators, and ordered them to slaughter the Qian Kingdom's imperial family.

• The Mountain Sea Ring Artifact Spirit explained that the Mountain Sea Art delayed aging and urged Zhou Qing to cultivate the Mountain-Sea Body Refinement Art to its third layer before attempting foundation establishment.
• In the fifty-ninth year, Dachun asked to leave, and Zhou Qing accompanied him away from Black Mountain to find a burial place.
• Dachun died near Black Mountain, and Zhou Qing buried him beneath a gravestone bearing the name Zhou Dachun.
• After mourning Dachun and reflecting that he was the last of the Zhou family, Zhou Qing put on a black mask and approached a gathering of rogue cultivators.
• Zhou Qing used a High-Grade Magic Tool to subdue the rogue cultivators' eighth-layer Qi Refining leader and demanded their obedience.
• Zhou Qing ordered the rogue cultivators to travel to the mortal world and slaughter the Qian Kingdom's imperial family.

Zhou Qing used rogue cultivators to probe and destroy the Qian Kingdom's imperial family, confirming that its strongest cultivators were only at the Middle Stage of Qi Condensation. Back in Black Mountain Market District Ward, he suspected the Ouyang Family had engineered the market's decline so it could secretly buy up properties at rock-bottom prices.

• Zhou Qing ordered sixteen rogue cultivators to attack the Qian Kingdom's imperial palace while he watched from outside.
• After the rogue cultivators subdued the imperial family's cultivators, Zhou Qing ordered them all killed and learned that the strongest had only reached the Middle Stage of Qi Condensation.
• At seventy-five, Zhou Qing returned to Black Mountain Market District Ward and began buying its depressed shop assets and properties.
• Zhou Qing noticed another buyer purchasing far more properties than he could afford and wondered how the force knew the market would recover.
• Zhou Qing concluded that the buyer was likely the Ouyang Family and suspected Market Master Ouyang Shen had already raised a Foundation Establishment successor and orchestrated the Ward's decline.

You suspected the Ouyang family had engineered the Black Mountain Market District’s decline to buy up its properties, so you limited your purchases and watched from outside as they restored order and attracted cultivators with a grand auction. The chapter ended with Ruan Hu of the Beast Taming Mountain arriving, and you suspected he had come to support the Ouyang family.

• You concluded that the Ouyang family might have secretly orchestrated the Market District’s decline and, in the sixty-first year, stopped buying after acquiring a tenth of its shops and properties.
• You left the Black Mountain Market District and entrusted further purchases to your apprentices to avoid drawing the Ouyang family’s attention.
• In the sixty-second year, Market Master Ouyang Shen cleared nearby bandit cultivators, introduced his Foundation Establishment successor Ouyang Qian, and announced an auction featuring a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• You chose not to attend the auction, reasoning that the Ouyang family knew you owned many properties and that you had other ways to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill.
• As the auction approached, Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived at the market, including Ruan Hu of the Beast Taming Mountain with his Dark Demon Eagle.
• You suspected Ruan Hu had come to lend the Ouyang family his backing rather than to bid at the auction.

Ruan Hu helped the Ouyang Family settle its conflicts with Foundation Establishment cultivators, restoring Black Mountain Market District’s prosperity. After selling his shops for a large profit, Zhou Qing continued cultivating the Mountain-Sea Body Refinement Art and prepared for Foundation Establishment.

• Ruan Hu arrived at Black Mountain Market District on his Dark Demon Eagle, and the auction ended with a Foundation Establishment Pill bought by a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
• Ouyang Shen, Ouyang Qian, and Ruan Hu negotiated compensation for cultivators whose shops and properties had been taken, securing the Ouyang Family’s position and restoring the market’s crowds.
• At age seventy-nine, Zhou Qing sold his twelve Black Mountain Market District properties to You Rou for a profit of sixty-eight thousand spirit stones.
• Zhou Qing reached the third level of the Mountain-Sea Body Refinement Art at age eighty, giving his body strength comparable to a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

Zhou Qing reached the third level of the Cloud Sea Body Refinement Art and prepared to attempt Foundation Establishment in Azure Moon Immortal City. After waiting three years in Listening Rain Market District to avoid a possible ambush, he traveled to the city and saw its immense formations and many Foundation Establishment cultivators.

• Zhou Qing learned that his third-level Cloud Sea Body Refinement Art should let him pass the Vital Blood Trial of Foundation Establishment.
• Zhou Qing decided to attempt Foundation Establishment in Azure Moon Immortal City, where a second-tier spirit vein could support his breakthrough.
• Zhou Qing stayed in Listening Rain Market District for three years, changing identities and buying craft inheritances to preserve knowledge across simulations.
• Zhou Qing left Listening Rain Market District disguised as an ordinary mid-Qi Refining cultivator and traveled toward Azure Moon Immortal City without encountering an ambush.
• Zhou Qing reached Azure Moon Immortal City and saw its vast third-tier spirit vein, immense formations, and several Foundation Establishment cultivators entering the city.

The cultivator visited Alchemist Zhao Kan in Azure Moon Immortal City and used Alchemist Yun’s token to secure a guaranteed Foundation Establishment Pill despite lacking a Twinborn Flower. After two months, the cultivator received a standard-grade pill and prepared to attempt foundation establishment.

• The cultivator entered Azure Moon Immortal City and used Alchemist Yun’s token to gain an audience with Alchemist Zhao Kan.
• The cultivator asked Zhao Kan to refine Foundation Establishment Pills and offered the herbs already gathered, missing only the Twinborn Flower.
• Zhao Kan agreed to supply the Twinborn Flower in exchange for the cultivator’s ingredients and guaranteed one pill.
• The cultivator explored the city and purchased craft inheritances, mainly in Alchemy and Beast Taming.
• Two months later, the cultivator received a standard-grade Foundation Establishment Pill from Zhao Kan’s attendant.
• The cultivator closed the jade box and prepared to attempt foundation establishment.

You began breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm in a second-tier cultivation abode and passed the qi-blood and Magic Power Trials, condensing thirteen drops of liquid mana. As you entered the divine sense trial, the Mountain Sea Ring turned blood-red and an illusory figure appeared beside you.

• You rented a mid-grade second-tier cultivation abode for a month and began your Foundation Establishment attempt.
• You activated the Mountain Sea Art’s Foundation Establishment method and passed the Vital Blood Trial with your strengthened physique.
• You swallowed the Foundation Establishment Pill and passed the Magic Power Trial, condensing thirteen drops of liquid mana.
• You began the divine sense trial, confident in the control you had developed through pill refining.
• The Mountain Sea Ring turned blood-red, and an illusory blood-colored figure appeared beside you and sighed, “At last...”

The blood-colored figure revealed himself as Blood-Sea True Person, who had posed as the Mountain Sea Ring Artifact Spirit to prepare the protagonist's body for possession. The protagonist completed Foundation Establishment while Blood-Sea True Person invaded his body, then detonated his divine sense and died rather than let the True Person possess him.

• Blood-Sea True Person explained that Mountain Sea had sealed his soul essence inside the Mountain Sea Ring and admitted he intended to possess the protagonist's body.
• The protagonist asked to reach Foundation Establishment before being possessed, then asked whether his cultivation arts had flaws and requested the Core Formation section of the Mountain Sea Art.
• Blood-Sea True Person permeated the protagonist's flesh and dantian with the Blood Sea Ring's power while the protagonist continued transforming his divine sense.
• The protagonist passed the divine sense, qi-blood, and Magic Power Trials and entered the Foundation Establishment Realm, though Blood-Sea True Person controlled his body.
• The protagonist rejected the idea of fleeing by possessing another cultivator, detonated his divine sense, and died.

After ending the simulation by detonating his divine sense to thwart the Blood-Sea True Person’s possession, Zhou Qing inherited his Foundation Establishment cultivation, skills, methods, and memories. The simulation system began calculating his experiences and announced that he had awakened a purple talent.

• Zhou Qing recalled how he destroyed the Blood-Sea True Person’s intended vessel and resolved to face him in future simulations.
• Zhou Qing chose to inherit his cultivation, realm, skills, cultivation methods, and memories from the simulation.
• Zhou Qing advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm, gaining thirty drops of liquid mana and divine sense that reached thirty zhang.
• Zhou Qing assessed his enhanced power and concluded that he could contend with cultivators at the second or third level of Foundation Establishment.
• The illusory text began calculating Zhou Qing’s experiences and announced that he had awakened a purple talent.

After awakening the purple talent Unyielding Will, Zhou Qing realized it could help him resist the Blood-Sea True Person’s possession and other soul attacks. He consolidated his Foundation Establishment cultivation, assessed his alchemy progress and simulation cooldown, then set out with Dachun to go home.

• Zhou Qing awakened Unyielding Will and concluded it could help him resist the Blood-Sea True Person’s possession and soul attacks.
• Zhou Qing stayed in his cave abode to familiarize himself with his Foundation Establishment strength and found he could not advance his cultivation there without pills.
• Zhou Qing refined pills and determined that his alchemy skills were nearing the second tier.
• Zhou Qing checked that his next simulation would be available after a cooldown of nearly ten months and planned to rent a cave abode on a second-tier spirit vein in Azure Moon Immortal City.
• After several days, Zhou Qing left the cave abode with Dachun and said they were going home.

Zhou Qing left Black Mountain Market District with Dachun, keeping his Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation hidden to avoid disrupting future opportunities. On their journey toward the Mortal Qian Kingdom, he used his power to kill three rogue cultivators and take their loot.

• Zhou Qing left his Pill Alliance cave abode and reflected on the Mountain-Sea Secret Realm and his long-term goal of reaching Core Formation.
• Zhou Qing checked that no cultivators were nearby, then flew with Dachun toward the mortal realm.
• Zhou Qing came upon three rogue cultivators who had killed a man and a woman in a forest.
• Zhou Qing crushed the three rogue cultivators with his Mountain Sea Magic Power and collected their storage bags and magic tools.

Zhou Qing used nine subdued late qi refining Rogue Cultivators to seize control of the Qian Kingdom’s Imperial Palace, where they discovered demon cult cultivator Lu Mu. After learning Lu Mu had offered the emperor a life-prolonging secret art, Zhou Qing summoned him to learn more.

• Zhou Qing spared nine late qi refining Rogue Cultivators from the hideouts he raided and bound their lives to strands of his Mountain Sea Magic Power.
• Zhou Qing sent the nine to infiltrate the Imperial Palace while Dachun returned to the Zhou Residence to gather Zhou Qing’s family.
• The nine subdued the emperor and the palace cultivators without killing indiscriminately, then reported that Lu Mu had been hiding in the palace.
• Zhou Qing learned that Lu Mu had used a demon cult secret art and mortal blood essence to recover from his injuries, while promising to prolong the emperor’s life.
• The nine Rogue Cultivators subdued Lu Mu, and Zhou Qing summoned him; Lu Mu met the white-robed Zhou Qing and kowtowed in fear.

Zhou Qing enthralled and questioned Lu Mu, then searched his soul and confirmed how Lu Mu had aided the Qian Emperor in the events leading to the Zhou Family’s destruction. After returning to the Zhou residence and revealing he was a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator who could fly, Zhou Qing warned his family that the Qian Emperor’s struggle against the eldest prince would bring about their extermination.

• Zhou Qing used the Soul-Enthralling Spell to question Lu Mu about his demonic cultivation, his past, and his influence over the Qian Emperor.
• Lu Mu revealed that the Qian Emperor had acted from his own greed and that Lu Mu had falsely promised to extend his life; Zhou Qing then searched Lu Mu’s soul and burned his corpse.
• At the Zhou residence, Zhou Shizhong and the family waited anxiously for Zhou Qing to return.
• Zhou Qing returned, demonstrated his cultivation, and told his family he could fly as a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.
• Zhou Qing warned the Zhou Family that the Qian Emperor planned to move against the eldest prince and that the ensuing power struggle would destroy their family.

Zhou Qing thwarted the Qian Emperor’s plan to destroy the Zhou Family, but Zhou Shizhong refused to seize the throne and chose to relocate the family to the Lie Kingdom. After ensuring the family was safe and warning the Eldest Prince, Zhou Qing turned back to cultivation.

• Zhou Qing revealed that the Qian Emperor planned to eliminate the Zhou Family and demonstrated that he controlled the emperor and the royal immortal cultivators.
• Zhou Qing brought the bewitched Qian Emperor before the Zhou Family, and the emperor admitted he intended to kill Zhou Shizhong and spare no family members.
• Zhou Shizhong refused to overthrow the Li Family and decided to take the Zhou Family to its properties in the Lie Kingdom.
• Zhou Qing sent the Qian Emperor back to the palace after tampering with his body so he would die within a month, and he resolved to kill Lu Mu as well.
• Zhou Qing warned the Eldest Prince about the Qian Emperor’s plans and told him not to search for the Zhou Family.
• A month later, Zhou Qing watched the Zhou Family settle in Jiangnan and concluded that his worldly affairs were settled before returning to cultivation.

Zhou Qing arrived at Azure Moon Immortal City to establish a safe long-term residence and tested how its spirit-vein cave abodes affected his simulation cooldown. He rented a lower-grade second-tier cave abode for eight months, leaving himself ready to cultivate there while keeping a low profile.

• Zhou Qing reached Azure Moon Immortal City, which he had chosen for its stability, fair law enforcement, and range of cave abodes.
• Zhou Qing disguised his appearance, entered through the Foundation Establishment cultivators’ gate, and headed to the inner-city cave abode district.
• Zhou Qing wondered where Alchemist Zhao Kan was but decided not to investigate him in reality.
• Zhou Qing tested upper-, middle-, and lower-grade second-tier cave abodes and found their final simulation cooldowns were five months and twenty-two days, six months and nineteen days, and seven months and three days, respectively.
• Zhou Qing rented a lower-grade second-tier cave abode for eight months to avoid attracting attention by renting one beyond his means.