Chapter Summaries

Wang Yan infiltrated the Lü Household camp and rescued the battered Ma Laosan from a Mountain Cave, killing the black-robed Fifth Elder and two guards. As Wang Yan carried Ma Laosan up the cliff to escape, Fairy Purple Smoke pursued them.

• Fairy Purple Smoke quieted the Lü Household cultivators and went to investigate the disturbance while Wang Yan slipped toward the rear of the valley.
• The Fifth Elder learned Lü Zijun had left with a woman hours earlier and ordered Ma Laosan brought out from the Mountain Cave.
• Wang Yan killed the two guards and confronted the Fifth Elder inside the cave, cutting him down with the Truefire Moon Wheel.
• Wang Yan accidentally killed another Lü Household disciple with the Moon Wheel, then fed Ma Laosan pills and carried him away.
• Wang Yan climbed the cliff instead of fleeing through the valley, but Fairy Purple Smoke caught up and confronted him.

Wang Yan outwitted Fairy Purple Smoke and escaped with Ma Laosan while she pursued a series of decoys through the forest. Fairy Purple Smoke returned to the valley and entered the tent to find out what had happened there.

• Fairy Purple Smoke attacked Wang Yan, but he tricked her with a false warning and fled into the forest.
• Fairy Purple Smoke used a talisman to pursue Wang Yan, broke through his illusion, and blasted through a barrage of Explosive Fire Talismans.
• Fairy Purple Smoke found Wang Yan's taunting message on a tree and chased him for dozens of miles, while Wang Yan emerged from the ground carrying Ma Laosan and escaped in another direction.
• Fairy Purple Smoke realized she had been tricked again and returned to the valley, where she noticed the Lü Household cultivators looked dejected.
• A Purple Flame Sect cultivator urged Fairy Purple Smoke to enter the tent, and she stepped inside and saw something that darkened her expression.

Fairy Purple Smoke blamed Lü Zijun’s death on the Masked Cultivator and left the Lü Household to answer to its patriarch. Wang Yan escaped with Ma Laosan and his wives, but explosions near Ma Valley signaled an attack as they approached.

• Fairy Purple Smoke told the Lü Household that the Masked Cultivator had rescued Ma Laosan, killed Lü Zijun, and escaped, then left them to explain the death to their patriarch.
• The Lü Household cultivators realized Lü Zijun had likely been captured while alone and wondered where their Fifth Elder was.
• Aboard the Flying Boat, Ma Laosan thanked Wang Yan for rescuing him and said the Lü Household had threatened to join the Purple Flame Sect against the Ma Family.
• Madam Ma told Ma Laosan that the other Ma Family cultivators who had accompanied him had been killed.
• Wang Yan and Ma Laosan heard explosions near Ma Valley, and Wang Yan offered to go ahead and investigate while Ma Laosan hid with his wives.

Wang Yan returned toward Ma Valley after arranging a message for Ye Shisan and discovered Ma Ang and Elder Du fighting a Purple Flame Sect cultivator. After the woman fled and the two pursued her, Wang Yan spotted attackers at Ma Valley’s restriction array and flew over to earn credit.

• Wang Yan sent a Message Transmission Talisman to Ye Shisan and flew toward Ma Valley.
• Wang Yan watched Ma Ang and Elder Du battle a female cultivator from the Purple Flame Sect, and Card Fairy identified Ma Ang’s blue treasure as the Water-Type Immortal Card Artifact.
• Card Fairy told Wang Yan that he could not use the Fire-Type Immortal Card Artifact like Ma Ang used his treasure because it was Wang Yan’s dantian.
• The female cultivator escaped, and Ma Ang and Elder Du pursued her.
• Wang Yan saw cultivators from the Lü Household and the Purple Flame Sect attacking Ma Valley’s restriction array and flew toward them; explosions and screams soon rang out.

After Wang Yan helped the Ma Family repel the Lü Household and Purple Flame Sect, the three lineages were forced into an alliance under the Purple Flame Sect. The chapter ended with Ma Ang announcing that he and Elder Du would seek the treasure marked on the Old Ancestor’s map to strengthen the Ma Family.

• Ma Ang praised Wang Yan’s contributions, promoted him to Third Elder, and doubled his benefits.
• Three days later, a Wang Household envoy reported that the Wang Family Ancestor had negotiated an agreement making the Ma, Wang, and Lü lineages subordinate to the Purple Flame Sect and barring outside sects from their territory.
• Ma Ang accepted the agreement after Elder Du raised no objections, resolving the Ma Family’s immediate danger but preventing it from joining the Wicked Poison Sect.
• At a council meeting, Wang Yan warned that the agreement left the Ma Family weaker than the Wang and Lü households, and Ma Ang agreed with his assessment.
• Ma Ang announced that he and Elder Du would travel to Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain to seek the treasure and opportunity marked on the Old Ancestor’s map.

Wang Yan traveled with Ma Ang and Elder Du to Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain, hoping to get the Water-Type Immortal Card Artifact while avoiding the Lü Household’s demand that he apologize for Lü Zijun’s death. After reaching the mountain’s hidden entrance, Ma Ang revealed it would open under the full moon that night and brought out the treasure map.

• Wang Yan deliberately lost a game of Fairy Chess to Elder Du so the Ma Family would not be reluctant to let him leave, while he discussed his plans with Card Fairy through voice transmissions.
• Ma Ang changed his expedition party after the Purple Flame Sect demanded that Wang Yan apologize to the Lü Household, and Wang Yan set out with Ma Ang and Elder Du.
• After more than a month of travel, the party reached the mist-shrouded mountain, where Ma Ang explained that Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain appeared only once every twelve years.
• Ma Ang told Wang Yan to search the mountain’s outer area for spirit medicines, but Wang Yan privately intended to disregard the instruction.
• When the full moon rose and the mountain’s mist turned purple, Ma Ang announced that the time had come and took out the Treasure Map of Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain.

Ma Ang activated the Treasure Map, transforming it into a Flying Carpet that carried the cultivators toward Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain. After they fought off Man-Eating Black Crows, including a Golden Core Stage leader, Ma Ang guided them into the violet mist and ignored a group calling after them.

• Ma Ang used his blood and a hand seal to transform the Treasure Map into a Flying Carpet, revealing it as the key to Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain.
• Man-Eating Black Crows swarmed the Flying Carpet, and Elder Du, Wang Yan, Ma Ang, and the Ma Family cultivators attacked them as Ma Ang sped toward the mountain.
• A Golden Core Stage Man-Eating Black Crow struck the Flying Carpet with a sound-wave attack, but Wang Yan's Explosive Fire Talismans and Elder Du's poisonous mist weakened it.
• Ma Ang announced that they had reached the violet mist, then ignored five or six cultivators flying out of a nearby valley and steered the Flying Carpet into it.

Wang Yan searched Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain for a way to exploit its formations and found a herb garden protected by a restriction array. He brought three Ma Family cultivators there and stepped into the formation, leaving them to follow him inside.

• Ma Ang divided the cultivators, sending Wang Yan and three Ma Family disciples to gather spirit medicine while he and Elder Du continued with their plan.
• Wang Yan suspected Ma Ang wanted to search his storage items, but he relied on his Immortal Card Artifact to evade detection.
• Wang Yan and Card Fairy discussed using a formation to trap or capture the others, and Card Fairy began studying how to control a nearby formation.
• Wang Yan found an ancient herb garden surrounded by powerful restriction arrays and waited while Card Fairy examined them.
• Wang Yan brought the three Ma Family cultivators to the garden, claimed they should try breaking the formation before notifying Ma Ang, and walked into it.

Wang Yan passed through the herb garden’s formation and discovered two True Immortal Spirit Treasures beside the remains of a cultivator killed by a Heavenly Tribulation. When he touched the skeleton, it awakened and sent a gray spectral figure into his body.

• Card Fairy guided Wang Yan through the formation to a vast herb garden and urged him to inspect its building.
• Wang Yan found a charred cultivator’s remains, a gold-and-jade platter, and a golden cauldron inside the ruined building.
• Card Fairy identified the platter and cauldron as True Immortal Spirit Treasures, and Wang Yan prepared to claim them.
• Wang Yan kowtowed to the dead cultivator and reached out to move the skeleton.
• The skeleton’s blue light immobilized Wang Yan, and a gray spectral figure overcame his defenses and plunged into his body.

Wang Yan and Card Fairy fought off the Purple Mountain Medicine Sage’s possession, but his soul began to dissolve when he discovered Wang Yan had no Dantian. Card Fairy saved him by transferring him into Wang Yan’s defensive puppet, bound by a servitude restriction, and proposed that they help each other.

• Purple Mountain Medicine Sage invaded Wang Yan’s body, and Card Fairy joined Wang Yan in resisting the possession.
• Purple Mountain Medicine Sage took control of Wang Yan, but he was horrified to discover that Wang Yan had no Dantian and was forced out as his soul began to dissolve.
• Card Fairy offered to preserve Purple Mountain Medicine Sage in Wang Yan’s defensive puppet in exchange for help with pill refinement.
• Wang Yan followed Card Fairy’s instructions, and she used his body to transfer Purple Mountain Medicine Sage into the puppet and place a servitude restriction on him.
• Purple Mountain Medicine Sage objected to becoming Wang Yan’s puppet, but Card Fairy explained that the puppet was his only chance to survive and said they could help each other.

Wang Yan persuaded the Purple Mountain Medicine Sage to cooperate and learned how to use Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain’s teleportation array to reach the summit. As Ma Ang and Elder Du fought their way through the mountain’s wooden puppets, the puppets suddenly stopped and opened a path.

• The Card Fairy convinced the Purple Mountain Medicine Sage that helping Wang Yan could let them rebuild their bodies, and Wang Yan promised to help him recover.
• The Purple Mountain Medicine Sage agreed to cooperate, and Wang Yan returned the defense puppet to its Immortal Card to nourish the Sage’s soul.
• Wang Yan learned that Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain was the Sage’s movable cave abode and that Ma Ang and Elder Du were heading toward his Treasure Tower.
• The Purple Mountain Medicine Sage let Wang Yan take the Five-Element Spirit Jade Tablet and Medicine God Spirit King Cauldron, then told him where to find a teleportation array to the summit.
• The Purple Mountain Medicine Sage suggested that pills might repair Wang Yan’s damaged dantian, though he needed to recover much of his cultivation first.
• While Wang Yan teleported toward the summit, Ma Ang, Elder Du, and Ma Family cultivators fought hundreds of wooden puppets until the puppets withdrew and opened a path.

Wang Yan used the Purple Mountain Medicine Sage’s guidance to lure Ma Ang and Elder Du toward a trapping formation on Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain. After Wang Yan appeared with the Medicine God Spirit King Cauldron and was blasted back into the mist, the two Golden Core cultivators pursued him into the formation.

• Ma Ang and Elder Du sent the other Ma Family cultivators to find the Third Elder, then climbed toward the summit together.
• Wang Yan watched from above and, with the Purple Mountain Medicine Sage’s help, descended into the plaza’s formation to draw the two elders in.
• Ma Ang and Elder Du detected the restriction formation, paused to study it, and retreated when the mist began to surge.
• Wang Yan emerged from the mist holding the Medicine God Spirit King Cauldron, then fled back inside when the elders recognized him.
• Ma Ang struck Wang Yan with a giant hand of spiritual light, but the cauldron released golden energy and the blast threw Wang Yan into the mist.
• Elder Du and Ma Ang argued briefly over Wang Yan’s presence, then followed his aura into the formation from opposite sides.

Wang Yan and the Purple Mountain Medicine Sage trapped Ma Ang and Elder Du in the Chain of Ten Thousand Beasts Formation, where the two Golden Core cultivators mistook each other for enemies. With only one day before their invitations would teleport them out, Wang Yan devised a plan to stop them from escaping.

• Ma Ang and Elder Du charged into the formation, where its shifting illusions separated them and made them attack each other.
• The Purple Mountain Medicine Sage confirmed that the formation could hold even a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, but said killing the two Golden Core cultivators would be difficult.
• Wang Yan learned that Ma Ang's Water-Type Immortal Card Artifact could not be seized safely while Ma Ang lived, and the Card Fairy lacked the power to deal with it.
• Wang Yan and the Purple Mountain Medicine Sage realized Ma Ang and Elder Du would be teleported out in one day, even from inside the formation.
• Wang Yan proposed a plan to approach the trapped cultivators, and the Purple Mountain Medicine Sage agreed to drain their magic power while Wang Yan prepared several items.

Wang Yan and the Purple Mountain Medicine Sage used a Spirit Cannon inside the formation to kill Ma Ang and obtain the other half of the Water-Type Immortal Card Artifact. After repairing the artifact, Wang Yan advanced to the early core condensation realm, while the Ma Family learned that its ancestor and several elders had died.

• Wang Yan fired the Spirit Cannon at Ma Ang, whose senses were obstructed by the formation, and killed him after dozens of blasts.
• Wang Yan obtained the other half of the Water-Type Immortal Card Artifact and turned the cannon toward Elder Du.
• Ma Ang's soul-bound life lamp shattered, and the Ma Family Grand Elder ordered Ma Valley sealed after several more elders' lamps went out.
• Wang Yan and Card Fairy repaired the Water-Type Immortal Card Artifact over several days.
• Wang Yan's cultivation broke through to the early core condensation realm.

Wang Yan returned from the Moon-Embracing Treasure Mountain with his cultivation at the early Core Condensation Realm and reunited with Ye Shisan in the Azure Spirit Mountain Range. They headed back to the Firecloud Sect, where Wang Yan learned Ye Shisan had completed all their sect missions and hinted that he had brought back useful items.

• Wang Yan flew toward the Cloud Nation using his new water-fire fusion cultivation method, traveling faster than ordinary cultivators at his level.
• Ye Shisan flew back from his delayed mission and wondered whether Wang Yan was already waiting for him.
• Wang Yan used the Little Bell to contact Ye Shisan after finding him absent from their meeting place in the Azure Spirit Mountain Range.
• Ye Shisan arrived, and Wang Yan confirmed that he had reached the early Core Condensation Realm before the two flew toward the Firecloud Sect.
• Ye Shisan said he had completed all their sect missions, and Wang Yan mentioned that he had brought back useful things for Ye Shisan.

After returning to the Firecloud Sect, Wang Yan settled on Yellow Cloud Peak and planned to focus on cultivation, repairing his Water-Type Immortal Card Artifact, and developing his other abilities. After more than a month of seclusion, he received a message from Venerable Gray Three and went to his cave abode.

• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan returned to the Firecloud Sect, submitted proof of their mission, collected their rewards and sect merit points, and returned to their separate peaks.
• Wang Yan visited Venerable Gray Three, but his master was in seclusion; Bing Ning was surprised by Wang Yan's early Core Condensation cultivation and treated him with greater regard.
• Wang Yan planned to cultivate, practice artifact refining, repair his Water-Type Immortal Card Artifact, and research auxiliary Immortal Cards while the Card Fairy and Purple Mountain Medicine Sage worked on their own tasks.
• Ye Shisan wanted to leave the sect to fight, and the Card Fairy agreed that actual combat suited him, so Wang Yan let him go alone.
• Wang Yan cultivated on the Five Elements Spirit Jade Mat with medicinal liquid and improved considerably over a little more than a month.
• Venerable Gray Three sent Wang Yan a Message Transmission Talisman summoning him, and Wang Yan flew to his master's cave abode.

Wang Yan visited Venerable Gray Three, who praised his rapid cultivation, gave him Scripture Pavilion tokens, and offered to pass on his dual cultivation method. After discussing the offer with Card Fairy, Wang Yan flew toward Mystery Cloud Peak to visit Zhang Qiulin and Zhang Qiulang.

• Venerable Gray Three welcomed Wang Yan and praised his advancement to the early core condensation realm.
• Venerable Gray Three gave Wang Yan three Scripture Pavilion Spirit Tokens and advised him to focus on cultivation.
• Venerable Gray Three offered Wang Yan his dual cultivation method and a chance to become his successor, but Wang Yan hesitated and accepted the Jade Slip only to examine it.
• Wang Yan asked Card Fairy whether Venerable Gray Three was testing him or wanted him to inherit the dual cultivation path.
• Wang Yan flew toward Mystery Cloud Peak to visit Zhang Qiulin and Zhang Qiulang, while Card Fairy teased him about his motives.

Wang Yan failed to visit Zhang Qiulin and Zhang Qiulang, then spent more than a year cultivating and refining Immortal Cards before taking sect missions to overcome his bottleneck. After completing the missions and breaking through the Heart-Control Art’s fourth layer, he headed back to Firecloud Sect and sensed Linlang nearby.

• Wang Yan learned that Zhang Qiulin and Zhang Qiulang were in secluded cultivation and that Lingyunzi wanted them as dual cultivation partners, but their master and the women had not agreed.
• Wang Yan returned to his Cave Abode, set aside Venerable Gray Three’s dual cultivation method, and cultivated for more than a year, refining several Immortal Cards.
• Wang Yan descended the mountain to gain experience and test his cards, killing a Four-Armed One-Horned Beast with his Water-Fire Spirit Sword Card.
• Wang Yan completed his remaining sect missions after killing several Core Condensation Realm cultivators, and he broke through the Heart-Control Art’s fourth layer along the way.
• Wang Yan flew toward Firecloud Divine Mountain and recognized a familiar aura near the sect, asking Card Fairy whether it was Linlang.

After sensing Zhang Qiulin and Zhang Qiulang, Wang Yan found them fleeing from Lingyunzi and hid them with a mysterious ability. He misled Lingyunzi about their whereabouts, but the golden core cultivator suddenly stopped and turned a threatening gaze back on him.

• Wang Yan used his Invisibility Card to follow Zhang Qiulin and Zhang Qiulang as they secretly crossed a valley.
• Zhang Qiulin and Zhang Qiulang attacked Wang Yan when he startled them, then stopped once they recognized him.
• Wang Yan realized the women were fleeing Lingyunzi and used a five-colored light to hide them.
• Lingyunzi pursued Wang Yan and asked whether he had seen the two women.
• Wang Yan pretended to admire Lingyunzi and claimed the women had vanished beneath a treasure, then watched Lingyunzi fly toward Firecloud Divine Mountain.
• Lingyunzi abruptly stopped, turned around, and stared viciously at Wang Yan.

Wang Yan sheltered Zhang Qiulin and Zhang Qiulang in his Cave Abode Secret Realm after Lingyunzi harassed them, then secluded himself to advance his cultivation. He had already reached great completion of the Core Condensation Realm and successfully refined a mysterious treasure, surprising even Card Fairy.

• Wang Yan lied to Lingyunzi by claiming to be Yue Yang, then returned to his cave abode with Zhang Qiulin and Zhang Qiulang hidden in the Cave Abode Secret Realm.
• Zhang Qiulin and Zhang Qiulang asked Wang Yan to let them stay and cultivate in his secret realm, and he agreed on the condition that they use only the second floor and keep their cultivation there secret.
• Wang Yan secluded himself to cultivate while Zhang Qiulin and Zhang Qiulang followed his rules and trained on the second floor.
• More than three months later, Wang Yan revealed that he had reached great completion of the Core Condensation Realm half a month earlier and had now successfully refined a mysterious treasure.
• Card Fairy expressed surprise at Wang Yan's success, and Wang Yan questioned whether Card Fairy had arranged for him to draw the treasure.