Chapter Summaries

Wang Yan killed the burly cultivator and used his corpse to lure the Fang Bear Beast into an ambush. The beast destroyed the tree where Wang Yan was hiding, and Wang Yan launched a final attack as it struck.

• Wang Yan crippled the burly cultivator with four Fireball Spells, then killed him with a bone knife as the Fang Bear Beast approached.
• Wang Yan took the burly cultivator's corpse and fled into the woods with the Water-Fire Blast Card, drawing the Fang Bear Beast after him.
• The Fang Bear Beast found the female cultivator's corpse, ate it, and searched the area while Wang Yan hid motionless in a tree.
• The Fang Bear Beast initially left the burly cultivator's corpse, then returned and tore it down from the tree.
• Wang Yan hurled bamboo tubes at the Fang Bear Beast, blinding it with their contents, and sprang from the tree as the beast smashed the trunk apart.

Wang Yan killed the newly advanced Core Condensation Realm Fang Bear Beast with a close-range Water-Fire Blast, then collected its remains and the belongings of two dead cultivators. Seven or eight days later, the long-robed youth led several cultivators through the forest while a middle-aged man berated him for provoking the beast and losing a Thousand Spirit Arrow.

• Wang Yan used the brawny cultivator's corpse and black-furred ape blood to lure and blind the Fang Bear Beast, then blasted its open mouth with his Water-Fire Blast Technique.
• The wounded Wang Yan cautiously checked that the Fang Bear Beast was dead and learned from Card Fairy that it had only just reached the Core Condensation Realm.
• Wang Yan recovered the brawny cultivator's weapons and found a large storage bag, then vowed to return and kill Wang Ziling.
• Wang Yan collected the female cultivator's and brawny cultivator's belongings, found another storage bag among the female cultivator's remains, and dissected the Fang Bear Beast.
• Seven or eight days later, the long-robed youth fled through the forest with five or six cultivators as a middle-aged man scolded him for provoking the Fang Bear Beast and losing his Thousand Spirit Arrow.

Wang Yan cultivated in the Fang Bear Beast’s lair, recovering from his injuries and improving his magical power, then examined the belongings he had taken from the Ma Family cultivators. Card Fairy identified the Thousand Spirit Arrow as a Spirit Artifact and found something valuable in an unreadable jade slip, leaving Wang Yan eager to learn more.

• Wang Yan cultivated among the lair’s depleted Fire Spirit Stones for seven or eight days, healing his injuries and increasing his magical power.
• Wang Yan emptied the Ma Family cultivators’ Storage Bags and sorted through their pills, spirit stones, Magic Artifacts, and other possessions.
• Wang Yan set aside three items he could not use or identify: the Thousand Spirit Arrow, a beast-hide map, and a jade slip written in strange script.
• Wang Yan persuaded the still-annoyed Card Fairy to examine the items, and she revealed that the Thousand Spirit Arrow was a Spirit Artifact that advanced Cultivation Realm cultivators could partially activate.
• Card Fairy dismissed the beast-hide sheet as a map, then examined the jade slip and exclaimed that it contained something good.

Wang Yan learned that a jade slip contained part of the Heart-Control Art, then exhausted the cave’s spiritual energy and decided to return to the Wang Household to deal with Wang Ziling. After collecting his hidden spoils, he entered a pool to catch fish, where a beast roared and a muffled blast sounded.

• The Card Fairy identified the jade slip’s writing as Ancient Clerical Script and said it contained a third of the Heart-Control Art, promising to translate and adapt it for Wang Yan.
• Wang Yan used his remaining Cultivation Pills and cultivated in the cave until its spiritual energy ran out, improving his cultivation substantially.
• Wang Yan decided to return to the Wang Household and confront the threat posed by Wang Ziling, whom he believed had reached minor completion of the Cultivation Realm.
• Wang Yan left the cave and set out to retrieve the Demon Beast materials and other spoils he had hidden nearby.
• After nightfall, Wang Yan reached a pool, stripped off his tattered clothes, and entered the water to catch fish before a beast roared and a muffled blast sounded.

Wang Yan hid underwater while the Ma Family cultivators rested nearby and learned they were searching for a stolen map to Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain. He tried to escape after the Third Elder flew away, but the long-robed young man spotted something near the pool.

• Card Fairy warned Wang Yan that a Core Condensation Realm cultivator and the escaped Ma Family youth were approaching, so Wang Yan hid beneath the pool.
• The Third Elder and three Ma Family cultivators arrived with a Red-Crowned Snake, and the Third Elder ordered the long-robed young man to prepare it.
• The Third Elder told the young Ma Family members that their missing little sister had stolen a map to Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain, a rumored treasure site whose location was unknown.
• The Third Elder flew away on his sword, leaving the young Ma Family pair to rest while Wang Yan planned to escape through the pool.
• As Wang Yan approached the far shore, the long-robed young man shouted and the young man and woman rose with their magic artifacts ready.

Wang Yan escaped the Ma Family cultivators and realized they were searching for a valuable map to Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain. He altered an identity token to frame Wang Ziling, then waited near the Wang Household as the Ma Family arrived.

• Wang Yan avoided discovery by the Ma Family cultivators and escaped while they were distracted.
• Wang Yan and the Card Fairy concluded that the Ma Family wanted the map and Thousand Spirit Arrow, and Wang Yan decided to frame Wang Ziling with the map.
• Wang Yan changed the name on his identity token to Wang Ziling and left it where the Ma Family might find it.
• Wang Yan hid near the Wang Household and waited for the Ma Family, who arrived as he watched.

Wang Yan returned to the Wang Household and asked an old man about Wang Ziling, learning that Wang Ziling had gained the clan head’s favor and was rumored to have poisoned over a hundred villagers. The old man warned Wang Yan to leave before Wang Ziling found him, while Wang Yan remained determined to learn more.

• Wang Yan evaded the Ma Family cultivators and entered the Wang Household through a hidden route.
• Wang Yan visited the old man’s cottage, ate his meat, and asked about Wang Ziling.
• The old man said Wang Ziling had excelled in the Back Mountain Trial, reached greater mastery of the Cultivation Realm, and become the clan head’s disciple.
• Wang Yan suspected Wang Ziling had taken the Century Green Shade Herb, and the old man said there was no report of him handing it over.
• The old man warned Wang Yan to flee and revealed rumors that Wang Ziling had poisoned more than a hundred people in a village.

Wang Yan learned that Wang Ziling had entered the Cultivation Chamber and decided to watch the Ma Family instead of confronting him immediately. After the Ma Family failed to buy Wang Ziling, Wang Yan disguised himself as a frightened passerby, but Third Elder Ma stopped him to ask questions.

• Old Meat told Wang Yan that Wang Ziling had received the patriarch’s permission to cultivate in the mountain’s Cultivation Chamber, and Wang Yan left the cabin determined to deal with him.
• Wang Yan explained to Card Fairy that Old Meat was a mortal martial arts master and gatekeeper, then decided to watch for the Ma Family’s next move.
• Wang Yan changed clothes on a distant cliff and waited until Third Elder Ma and the three young people left the Wang Household without Wang Ziling.
• Wang Yan approached the Ma Family on the road, pretended to panic, and tried to run when Third Elder Ma called to him.
• Third Elder Ma blocked Wang Yan’s path, while the Ma Family’s young man and woman cut off his retreat; he offered Spirit Stones for answers and threatened him if he refused.

Wang Yan deceived the Ma Family cultivators into paying him for information about Wang Ziling, then hid near the Wang Household and began practicing the Heart-Control Art. That night, explosions erupted on Azure Spirit Mountain as the Ma Family's plan unfolded, leaving a masked cultivator watching the young man and woman from the trees.

• Wang Yan told the Ma Family's Third Elder that Wang Ziling had reached major completion of the Cultivation Realm and shared details about his cultivation in exchange for Spirit Stones.
• After the Ma Family group left, Wang Yan hid near a cliff and discussed their likely plans with Card Fairy, who urged him to practice the Heart-Control Art.
• Card Fairy claimed Wang Ziling might struggle to advance further because he had relied on pills, and promised to teach Wang Yan a fast way to master spells once he reached major completion.
• The Ma Family's Third Elder considered attacking the Wang Household that night, then examined the Spirit Token after a disciple questioned how it had ended up in a cave.
• Explosions and fighting broke out on Azure Spirit Mountain that night, while a masked cultivator in gray watched the young man and woman from a tree.

A masked cultivator ambushed and killed two cultivators waiting in the woods, then fled with their belongings. The Third Elder arrived to find the young man dying and vowed that the Ma Family would pursue the attacker.

• The young woman and young man waited for the Third Elder’s plan, but a human head fell from the tree and alerted them to danger.
• The masked cultivator in gray blasted the young woman with a combined flame attack, then dodged the young man’s Ice Swords and charged him with the Longblade Magic Artifact.
• The young man used Ice Armor and a shield to withstand the attack, but the masked cultivator knocked him down and shattered his armor with another combined flame strike.
• The masked cultivator cut Wang Ziling in half, took his shield and Storage Bag, searched the young woman, and escaped into the woods.
• The Third Elder arrived and heard Wang Ziling identify himself and ask his grandfather for vengeance before he died.
• The Third Elder collected the bodies and fled after cursing that the Ma Family would pursue the masked cultivator.

Wang Yan ambushed Ma Family cultivators seeking Wang Ziling, then chose to set aside his revenge and focus on cultivation. At Azure Spirit Mountain, the Clan Chief ordered Wang Ziling placed under watch, while Wang Ziling remained unaware of why the Ma Family was targeting him.

• Wang Yan killed the long-robed Ma Family cultivator and the young woman in an ambush, then wounded the young man before escaping.
• Wang Yan searched the cultivators’ Storage Bags and, after the Card Fairy urged patience, decided to cultivate before pursuing Wang Ziling again.
• The Clan Chief learned that the intruder had escaped and concluded that Ma the Third had attacked Azure Spirit Mountain.
• Wang Ziling told the Clan Chief he had not left the mountain since the Back Mountain Trial and declared his loyalty to the Wang Household.
• The Clan Chief ordered a guard to watch Wang Ziling and told him to remain in the Cultivation Chamber.
• Wang Ziling wondered why the Ma Family was after him and vowed to retaliate if they provoked him.

The Ma Family’s Clan Chief learned that Wang Ziling had the Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain Map and ordered his people to capture him when he traveled alone. Meanwhile, Wang Yan visited the Lü Family Marketplace to sell goods and prepare to learn how to refine Immortal Cards, beginning with a visit to the Spirit Beast Shop.

• The Third Elder told the Ma Family’s Clan Chief that his grandchildren had died and that his granddaughter had lost the Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain Map, which he believed Wang Ziling had taken.
• The Clan Chief rejected another attack on the Wang Household and ordered his people there to watch Wang Ziling and capture him alive when he went out alone.
• Wang Yan visited the Lü Family Marketplace to sell materials taken from Ma Family cultivators and demon beasts, avoiding the Wang and Ma marketplaces to stay safe.
• Wang Yan asked the Card Fairy how to sell his valuable goods without attracting attention, and she advised him to stay at an inn and buy materials for practicing Immortal Card refinement.
• Wang Yan entered the Spirit Beast Shop to sell demon beast materials.

Wang Yan provoked a powerful cultivator known as Fairy Purple Mist at the Lü Household’s Spirit Beast Shop, then improvised a claim that they were senior and junior siblings to escape her attack. The shop’s Lü Zijun escorted them to a private room, where Fairy Purple Mist warned him against mentioning someone connected to her.

• Wang Yan joined the line at the Spirit Beast Shop and insulted the black-clad woman ahead of him, prompting her to strike him with purple-red flames.
• Wang Yan dodged the attack and pretended to be Fairy Purple Mist’s junior brother when the shop guards arrived.
• Lü Zijun came downstairs and offered the pair a private guest room, which Fairy Purple Mist accepted.
• Lü Zijun introduced himself and asked Fairy Purple Mist about her identity, but she gave only her surname and sharply warned him not to mention a certain person.

Wang Yan sold his goods at the Lü Family Marketplace with help from Fairy Purple Smoke and left with more than three hundred Spirit Stones. When he saw Lü Household enforcers threatening a young stallholder, he hesitated to intervene until they moved to seize the boy’s goods, and a voice suddenly shouted for them to stop.

• Wang Yan joked with Lü Zijun while Fairy Purple Smoke introduced him as her junior brother, then the three went into the shop to trade materials.
• Lü Zijun offered generous prices for Fairy Purple Smoke’s goods, and Wang Yan sold his own materials and unwanted treasures, keeping the Thousand Spirit Arrow and selected crafting supplies.
• Lü Zijun secretly sent a cultivator to follow Wang Yan and Fairy Purple Smoke after they left the shop.
• Fairy Purple Smoke warned Wang Yan not to provoke her again and flew away on her Purple Jade Ruyi, while Card Fairy teased him and urged him to buy materials and pills.
• Wang Yan noticed Lü Household enforcers demanding tax from a young stallholder and preparing to confiscate half his goods when an unseen person shouted, “Stop!”

A Black Youth stopped Lü Household cultivators from extorting a Fair-Skinned Girl, who had disguised herself as a boy, and Wang Yan stepped in to buy her talismans. He bought her entire stock and a book, while Card Fairy noticed something unusual about the talismans.

• The Black Youth offered three Spirit Stones to cover the Fair-Skinned Youth’s tax, and Wang Yan helped rally the crowd against the Lü Household cultivators.
• The Lü Household cultivators accepted the three Spirit Stones and left, and the Fair-Skinned Youth revealed she was a girl disguised on her grandfather’s advice.
• Wang Yan approached the stall and asked the Fair-Skinned Girl about her blank talismans while noticing a Lü Household cultivator watching nearby.
• The Fair-Skinned Girl agreed to sell her talismans for ten Spirit Stones per bundle and include a book, and Wang Yan bought all the bundles.
• Card Fairy remarked that the talismans were unusual as Wang Yan took them.

Wang Yan bought talisman-making supplies from a fair-skinned girl and warned her to leave the marketplace, then went to shop for an Array-Drawing Brush. As he considered an expensive brush, Card Fairy called it trash, leaving him suspicious of the clerk’s recommendation.

• Wang Yan bought all three dozen talismans and four boxes of homemade cinnabar from the fair-skinned girl for fifty Spirit Stones, then learned she had made the talismans herself.
• Wang Yan warned the fair-skinned girl to leave the marketplace, and she returned some of her Spirit Stones to the dark-skinned young man who had helped her.
• A gray-robed figure swept up the fair-skinned girl and her stall, then vanished; nearby cultivators speculated about the figure’s cultivation realm.
• Wang Yan entered a sundries shop to buy an Array-Drawing Brush, and a clerk urged him to purchase a Blue Jadeite Purple Tiger Brush for 150 Spirit Stones.
• As Wang Yan prepared to bargain for the brush, Card Fairy called it trash, making him suspect something was wrong.

Wang Yan bought a shabby Purple-Spotted Bamboo Brush after Card Fairy recognized its valuable handle, then noticed a Lü Household cultivator following him and saw the Lü Household men tailing the Black Youth. While waiting at the Pill Shop, he learned the Firecloud Sect would recruit disciples who had reached full completion of the Cultivation Realm and heard that pill prices had risen.

• Card Fairy warned Wang Yan against buying the expensive Blue Jadeite Purple Tiger Brush and guided him to a Purple-Spotted Bamboo Brush among the shop’s used goods.
• Wang Yan bought the Purple-Spotted Bamboo Brush for ten Spirit Stones, unaware that the shop assistant had overlooked its value.
• At the Pill Shop, Wang Yan saw the Black Youth buy pills and leave, then noticed three Lü Household cultivators following him.
• Wang Yan spotted his own Lü Household tail and reasoned that Lü Zijun had likely sent the pursuer.
• Wang Yan overheard that the Firecloud Sect planned to recruit disciples who had reached full completion of the Cultivation Realm.
• A customer protested that Spirit Fortune Pills had risen to fifteen Spirit Stones a bottle, and the shop assistant blamed high demand.

Wang Yan avoided being cheated at the Lü Household marketplace, bought a Fire Spirit Sword, and booked an inn room to mislead the cultivator following him. Just as the Card Fairy told him his pursuer had left and urged him to escape, footsteps sounded outside his door.

• Wang Yan spotted a Pill Shop assistant passing off two extra Spirit Fortune Pill bottles as genuine, returned them, and watched another cultivator argue over being shortchanged.
• Wang Yan asked the Card Fairy what he needed and avoided the Treasure Shop, searching market stalls with her help instead.
• Wang Yan spent a little over fifty Spirit Stones on a mid-grade Fire Spirit Sword and noticed a cultivator was still following him.
• Wang Yan booked an inn room for two days to make his pursuer think he would stay, then planned to leave under cover of darkness.
• Wang Yan asked how to repair the Purple-Spotted Bamboo Brush, and the Card Fairy told him to soak its tip in beast blood mixed with Spiritual Energy Pills for three days.
• The Card Fairy said Wang Yan's pursuer had left and urged him to hurry out, but footsteps sounded outside his door, so Wang Yan readied his Water-Fire Blast Card.

Wang Yan grew wary of the Lü Household’s attempts to monitor him and secretly escaped the inn, but a Lü Household cultivator pursued him. Wang Yan lured the pursuer to a cave and entered, leaving the cultivator waiting outside to ambush him.

• Wang Yan refused the inn attendant’s suspicious offer of a meal and resolved to cultivate seriously, beginning to treat the Purple-Spotted Bamboo Brush with Spiritual Energy Pills and beast blood.
• Lü Zijun learned that Fairy Purple Smoke had left and ordered his men to watch Wang Yan and slip something into his room, then turned his attention to cultivation.
• A Lü Household cultivator recognized Wang Yan sneaking out behind the inn and decided to chase him for his wealth rather than report back to Lü Zijun.
• Card Fairy warned Wang Yan that the cultivator, who was at major completion of the Cultivation Realm, was following him, and Wang Yan deliberately led him away from the marketplace.
• Wang Yan entered a small cave, and the Lü Household cultivator crept up to its entrance and waited for him to fall asleep.

Wang Yan killed the Lü Household cultivator who ambushed him, escaped far from the Lü Family Marketplace, and considered joining the Firecloud Sect to find a place to cultivate. As the Card Fairy began to explain spell-sealing cards, a nearby voice searching for someone interrupted them.

• The Lü Household cultivator entered Wang Yan’s cave and attacked a decoy, but Wang Yan ambushed him with fireballs and killed him.
• Wang Yan searched the corpse, took the cultivator’s Storage Bag, and fled dozens of li from the Lü Family Marketplace to avoid Lü Zijun.
• Wang Yan rested in a concealed tree while the Card Fairy urged him to seek a suitable cultivation place and consider joining the Firecloud Sect.
• The Card Fairy began to explain spell-sealing cards, then sensed someone approaching and told Wang Yan to conceal his aura.
• Wang Yan heard a distant voice angrily asking where someone had gone and worried that more pursuers were nearby.