Chapter Summaries

Wang Yan and Ye Shisan met Grandpa Blacksmith, who told them the Ye Family Stockade had been destroyed and Ye Shisan’s father was dead. After Wang Yan explained that Shi Nu had betrayed them, Ye Shisan tried to rush back, but Grandpa Blacksmith warned that a core condensation realm cultivator was there.

• Wang Yan returned Ye Shisan’s Black Mother Iron Rod, and the two continued toward the Ye Family Stockade before stopping to rest at a stream.
• Card Fairy urged Wang Yan to abandon the rescue, but Wang Yan decided to see what had happened before giving up.
• Grandpa Blacksmith arrived and told Ye Shisan that his father and the people of the Ye Family Stockade were dead.
• Grandpa Blacksmith accused Wang Yan of leading the cultivators to the stockade, but Ye Shisan defended him and blamed Shi Nu.
• Wang Yan recounted the ambush, and Grandpa Blacksmith accepted that Shi Nu had betrayed the stockade.
• Ye Shisan ran toward the stockade to save his father, but Grandpa Blacksmith stopped him and warned that a core condensation realm cultivator was there.

Wang Yan stopped Ye Shisan from rushing blindly to the Ye Family Stockade and helped him prepare to scout it safely. After recovering their strength, the three reached the valley and chose to enter through Blacksmith Ye’s old mine rather than confront the masked guards at the entrance.

• Ye Shisan charged toward the stockade, but Wang Yan kicked him into a stream and warned that he could not face a Core Condensation Realm cultivator alone.
• Wang Yan urged Ye Shisan to stay alive and avenge his father if necessary, and Ye Shisan agreed to follow Wang Yan’s lead.
• Blacksmith Ye explained that the Clan Chief had activated the Mountain-Destroying Mechanism, that he had escaped from a collapsed mine, and that he had found Ye Shisan by following the stockade’s scent marker.
• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan took Qi-Returning Pills and rested while Blacksmith Ye prepared fish, then the group set out with Ye Shisan carrying the old man.
• After reaching the valley, Ye Shisan recognized four masked cultivators guarding the entrance, but Wang Yan stopped him from approaching and led the group toward the mine.

Wang Yan, Ye Shisan, and Blacksmith Ye entered a hidden mine tunnel beneath the mountain and found a way into the stockade chief’s residence. Wang Yan and Ye Shisan reached a storeroom full of black mother iron ore, and Wang Yan began secretly packing it into his Storage Bags.

• Blacksmith Ye led Wang Yan and Ye Shisan through a concealed entrance beneath a boulder and into an old mine tunnel.
• The group found the blocked passage and learned that a side tunnel led to a storeroom beneath the stockade chief’s residence.
• Wang Yan gave Ye Shisan the Fire Spirit Sword to quietly dig through the wall while Blacksmith Ye kept watch.
• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan opened the storeroom, where they found weapons and a large supply of black mother iron ore.
• Wang Yan sent Ye Shisan up through the hatch to keep watch, then began putting the ore into his Storage Bags.

Wang Yan and Ye Shisan encountered Black-Clad Masked Cultivators after discovering the Ye Family Stockade’s dead, and Ye Shisan attacked in a rage. Red Second Madam overwhelmed them in battle, leaving Ye Shisan badly wounded as her flying knives closed in for another strike.

• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan advanced through a passage and overheard cultivators say that everyone at the Ye Family Stockade had been killed.
• Ye Shisan’s rage exposed their presence, and he charged through the shattered doorway toward Red Second Madam.
• Wang Yan joined the fight, but Red Second Madam dodged his attacks and drove Ye Shisan back with her flying-knife magic artifacts.
• Wang Yan blasted a nearby Black-Clad Masked Cultivator and hurled him into the knives’ path, but Red Second Madam redirected them toward Ye Shisan.
• A flying knife pierced Ye Shisan’s chest and sent him crashing into the mountain wall, while Red Second Madam ordered her knives to attack him again.

Blacksmith Ye sacrificed himself to save Ye Shisan, allowing Wang Yan to escape with him as Red Second Madam pursued them. After tending Ye Shisan’s wounds, Wang Yan tried to persuade him to flee, but the masked cultivators broke through the storeroom door before they could decide what to do.

• Blacksmith Ye threw himself in front of Ye Shisan and was torn apart by Red Second Madam’s flying knife, then his corpse exploded as Wang Yan led Ye Shisan into the passage.
• Wang Yan collapsed the passage behind them with fireballs and carried the unconscious, poisoned Ye Shisan back through the storeroom.
• Red Second Madam ordered the Black-Clad Masked Cultivators to clear the passage while she flew around the mountain to search for another entrance.
• Wang Yan refused to leave through the entrance for fear Red Second Madam would spot them, treated Ye Shisan’s wounds, and woke him.
• Ye Shisan demanded revenge for Blacksmith Ye and his father, while Wang Yan struggled to answer; then a crash signaled that the masked cultivators had broken through the storeroom door.

Wang Yan tried to keep Ye Shisan from charging at the pursuers by promising that the dead could be resurrected, then led him deeper into the mine in search of an escape. As Red Second Madam caught up, Wang Yan and Ye Shisan collapsed the tunnel behind them, but she deflected the falling rocks and closed to within a few dozen yards.

• Ye Shisan prepared to fight to the death, but Wang Yan stopped him and claimed that people could be resurrected through immortal cultivation.
• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan searched for another way out as their pursuers entered the mine, and Ye Shisan remembered a sealed passage leading to an underground river.
• Red Second Madam taunted Ye Shisan about his father, and Wang Yan blasted the tunnel ceiling to bring rocks down between them and their pursuers.
• Wang Yan told Ye Shisan to use the Black Mother Iron Rod to collapse the passage, but Ye Shisan struck the rocks around them and endangered Wang Yan.
• Red Second Madam caught up and used her Dark Green Long Spear to deflect the falling rocks, reaching within a few dozen yards of Wang Yan and Ye Shisan.

Wang Yan and Ye Shisan fled Red Second Madam through the mountains, but Wang Yan was wounded and fell into a hidden underground river. Red Second Madam retrieved her Dark Green Spear and pursued them into the flooded passage.

• Ye Shisan smashed rocks at Red Second Madam, but she destroyed them with her Dark Green Spear and defended herself against Wang Yan’s Thousand Spirit Arrow with a Red Jade barrier.
• Red Second Madam struck Wang Yan through his Golden Light Shield Defense Talisman, piercing his shoulder and sending him through a rock wall into a bottomless pit.
• Ye Shisan leaped after Wang Yan, while Wang Yan caught himself on a jutting rock and fired his Thousand Spirit Arrow at Red Second Madam, wounding her shoulder and thigh.
• Wang Yan fell into the darkness, and Ye Shisan plunged after him; Red Second Madam followed them down the pit to recover her Dark Green Spear.
• Red Second Madam retrieved her spear from the mouth of a river passage, raised a Golden Light Shield Defense Talisman, and entered the passage after Wang Yan and Ye Shisan.

Wang Yan and Ye Shisan escaped Red Second Madam by swimming upstream through the underground stream, then discussed Ye Shisan’s wish to resurrect his family and their plans for revenge. The chapter ended with Ye Shisan revealing that he might already have reached full completion of the Cultivation Realm.

• Red Second Madam emerged from the waterfall and searched for Wang Yan and Ye Shisan, unaware they had stayed inside the mountain.
• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan climbed out of the underground stream after traveling upstream, while Red Second Madam searched outside for them.
• Wang Yan comforted Ye Shisan over the deaths of his family and admitted he had never seen his own parents.
• Ye Shisan vowed to follow Wang Yan and help make a talisman to revive the people of the Ye Family Stockade, including his father and Grandpa Blacksmith.
• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan agreed to recover their strength, seek revenge later, and go to the Firecloud Sect after reaching full completion of the Cultivation Realm.
• Ye Shisan told Wang Yan that he might already have reached full completion of the Cultivation Realm.

Wang Yan reached full completion of the Cultivation Realm and drew an Ironwood Shield Card, a mid-grade Spirit Artifact card, from the Lottery Cube. After testing the shield, he heard Ye Shisan urgently calling to him outside the cave.

• Wang Yan used the remaining fire-type Spirit Stones in a formation to break through to full completion of the Cultivation Realm.
• Wang Yan recalled how Ye Shisan had reached full completion while forcing his way through the underground stream, and how their hidden cave had abundant spiritual energy.
• Wang Yan asked Card Fairy to activate the Lottery Cube and drew an Ironwood Shield Card.
• Card Fairy explained that Wang Yan could use the Ironwood Shield with certain other cards but could not yet combine it with the Water-Fire Blast Card.
• Wang Yan activated the Ironwood Shield and tested its swift movement before Ye Shisan urgently called to him from outside the cave.

After reaching full completion of the Cultivation Realm, Wang Yan and Ye Shisan escaped their underground refuge and searched the mountains for a route to the Firecloud Sect. They found black-clad cultivators sheltering in a cave, and Wang Yan confronted them.

• Ye Shisan caught a Great Snowfish, and Wang Yan roasted it; its chaotic spiritual energy forced them to meditate for more than two hours.
• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan left the underground stream, plunged from the waterfall into a pool, and fled through the rain and darkness.
• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan debated where to find the Firecloud Sect, then followed Card Fairy's suggestion to seek a map and shelter from the rain.
• After spotting a fire among the cliffs, Wang Yan changed his mind and led Ye Shisan toward it, suspecting the occupants were Black-Clad Masked Cultivators.
• Four black-clad cultivators discussed their search for Wang Yan and Ye Shisan and gossiped about Red Second Madam before Wang Yan's voice rang out, threatening to turn them into ghosts.

Wang Yan and Ye Shisan ambushed the black-clad cultivators occupying the Ye Family Stockade and questioned the sole survivor about their plans. After learning of the Guileful Poison Sect’s scheme and Shi Nu’s role, Wang Yan urged Ye Shisan to avenge his father as the captive attacked.

• Ye Shisan drew the four black-clad cultivators out of their cave while Wang Yan ambushed them with the Thousand Spirit Arrow, badly wounding all four.
• Wang Yan killed one attacker who tried to fight back and blocked another’s flying knife with the Ironwood Shield.
• Ye Shisan tried to kill the last survivor, but Wang Yan stopped him and demanded answers about the Ye Family Stockade.
• The captive identified himself as a disciple of the Guileful Poison Sect and said the sect planned to seize the Azure Spirit Mountain Range as a foothold for an attack on the Cloud Nation.
• The captive revealed that Shi Nu had been planted in the Cloud Nation Imperial Family and activated the mechanism that destroyed the stockade after the sect learned its people could forge powerful weapons.
• After promising to spare the captive, Wang Yan told Ye Shisan to avenge his father; the captive lunged at Wang Yan, and Wang Yan argued that Ye Shisan—not he—would kill him.

After killing the last black-robed cultivator, Wang Yan and Ye Shisan set out for the Firecloud Sect, with Ye Shisan seeking a path to avenge the Ye Family Stockade and Wang Yan urging him to grow stronger first. As they neared Firecloud Market, a flying cultivator suddenly turned and headed toward them.

• Ye Shisan killed the black-robed cultivator, and Wang Yan gathered the spoils and burned the bodies.
• Wang Yan left the grieving Ye Shisan to follow, then explained that the Wicked Poison Sect was too powerful for them to confront and insisted they continue to the Firecloud Sect.
• Wang Yan persuaded Ye Shisan not to warn the other households about the Wicked Poison Sect and gave him a Storage Bag with Spirit Stones and pills.
• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan searched their maps for the route to the Firecloud Sect, then traveled through a dangerous, mist-covered mountain range toward Firecloud Market.
• A Core Condensation Realm cultivator flew past, turned around, and shot toward Wang Yan and Ye Shisan.

Wang Yan and Ye Shisan traveled toward the Firecloud Market to register for the Firecloud Sect, whose recruitment was closing soon. They met Situ Lou Lou, a Core Condensation Realm cultivator who gave them directions, but Wang Yan suspected his friendliness concealed a scheme.

• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan learned that Firecloud Sect recruitment would close in three or four months and that they should register at the Firecloud Market.
• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan traveled to the Six-Finger Mountain Range and encountered Situ Lou Lou, a Core Condensation Realm cultivator.
• Situ Lou Lou asked if they were heading to the Firecloud Market, then warmly introduced himself as Martial Uncle Situ.
• Situ Lou Lou gave Wang Yan and Ye Shisan directions, and they thanked him before setting off along the route he indicated.
• Wang Yan told Ye Shisan he suspected Situ Lou Lou had an ulterior motive, while Situ Lou Lou flew away, pleased that he had completed two more tasks.

Wang Yan and Ye Shisan traveled to Firecloud Market, where Wang Yan remained wary of the major sects' recruitment and their connection to the Cloud Mountain Treasure Land. At the market entrance, Wang Yan avoided the line for cultivators at full completion of the Cultivation Realm, and a Firecloud Sect cultivator stopped them as they reached the toll point.

• Wang Yan suspected the five major sects were recruiting disciples to enter the Cloud Mountain Treasure Land, but decided to investigate further before committing.
• Ye Shisan spotted the road to Firecloud Market, and Wang Yan warned him to keep their meeting with Senior Situ Lou Lou and the talisman secret.
• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan traveled several hundred miles to the enormous Firecloud Market, listening to cultivators discuss the benefits of joining the Firecloud Sect.
• At the entrance, Wang Yan steered Ye Shisan away from the short line for cultivators at full completion of the Cultivation Realm after noticing a red-robed Core Condensation Realm woman handing them red talismans.
• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan reached the faster line, where the sign required five spirit stones per person, but a voice stopped Ye Shisan as he approached.

Wang Yan tried to keep Ye Shisan out of trouble at Firecloud Market, but Huā Tiánlíng pressured them to accept Firecloud Sect recruitment talismans. Suspicious of the recruitment and the rival cultivators distributing the talismans, Wang Yan discarded every talisman and led Ye Shisan away.

• A market guard demanded five Spirit Stones from each visitor, and Wang Yan paid for himself and Ye Shisan before shoving his argumentative junior inside.
• Wang Yan scolded Ye Shisan for nearly provoking a Firecloud Sect cultivator, then sealed Ye Shisan’s acupoints to stop him from speaking.
• Huā Tiánlíng intercepted them and insisted they join Firecloud Sect, giving them red talismans after Wang Yan claimed they came from the Ma Family of Azure Spirit Mountain.
• Wang Yan told Huā Tiánlíng that Situ Lou Lou had already given them talismans, but she ordered them to discard his and report under her name instead.
• Wang Yan collected the talismans from Ye Shisan and his Storage Bag, pressed all four into a stone, and threw it over a cliff.

Wang Yan and Ye Shisan explored Firecloud Market and confirmed that Huā Tiánlíng and Situ Lou Lou were recruiting Cultivation Realm cultivators on sect assignments. After a suspicious trader hinted that newcomers were coming to their deaths, Wang Yan offered him Spirit Stones for information and agreed to hear what he knew.

• Wang Yan explained that the recruitment token was unnecessary because Huā Tiánlíng and Situ Lou Lou were using cultivators to complete their assignments, then sealed Ye Shisan’s acupoints again after warning him to cause less trouble.
• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan toured Firecloud Market, where Wang Yan learned that the two recruiters had been sent by the Firecloud Sect and that Huā Tiánlíng had influential backing.
• Wang Yan noticed Firecloud Sect disciples monitoring the market but found little information about recruitment or the Cloud Mountain Treasure Land.
• A cloaked middle-aged cultivator offered Wang Yan and Ye Shisan cheap magic artifacts, then muttered that another pair was coming to their deaths.
• Wang Yan stopped the cultivator and offered him twenty Spirit Stones for information, and the cultivator told him to follow so they could talk elsewhere.

Wang Yan learned that the great sects were recruiting cultivators to send them into the deadly Cloud Mountain Treasure Land, and he reluctantly agreed to let Ye Shisan join the Firecloud Sect with him. He and Card Fairy planned their preparations, and the pair left a Cultivator Market disguised in cloaks bearing Firecloud Sect emblems.

• Wang Yan paid a middle-aged cultivator twenty Spirit Stones for information about the sects and the Cloud Mountain Treasure Land, then took Ye Shisan to a secluded spot.
• Wang Yan told Ye Shisan that disciples from the Five Great Sects would have to hunt for treasure and fight one another in the Cloud Mountain Treasure Land, and he initially urged Ye Shisan not to join the Firecloud Sect.
• Card Fairy reminded Wang Yan that Ye Shisan had exceptional aptitude, strength, and loyalty, so Wang Yan agreed they would join the Firecloud Sect together.
• Wang Yan asked Ye Shisan to stand guard and discussed with Card Fairy the equipment, materials, and treasures they needed to prepare before the treasure land opened.
• Wang Yan decided that selling some black mother iron ore could fund their preparations, then led Ye Shisan into a Cultivator Market.
• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan emerged from the market wearing black cloaks with Firecloud Sect emblems.

Wang Yan and Ye Shisan wore Firecloud Sect protection cloaks to sell Wang Yan’s black mother iron ore safely in Firecloud Market. An appraiser offered ten thousand Spirit Stones per jin, and Wang Yan revealed he had over a hundred jin before insisting the old man handle the deal himself.

• Wang Yan explained to Ye Shisan that the cloaks protected them in Firecloud Market and led him into a large establishment to sell materials.
• A female cultivator escorted Wang Yan to the appraisal room, where he entered alone and presented a piece of black mother iron ore.
• The old appraiser examined the ore and offered ten thousand Spirit Stones per jin, while Card Fairy told Wang Yan the price was somewhat lower than expected.
• Wang Yan revealed more than a dozen pieces weighing at least a hundred jin, startling the appraiser.
• When the appraiser said he needed to call someone authorized, Wang Yan threatened to take the ore elsewhere, so the old man agreed to inspect it and take responsibility.

Wang Yan sold black mother iron ore, earning a fortune, while the white-robed cultivator learned the ore could help him finish forging something important. Wang Yan then spent heavily at the Cultivator Market on equipment for Ye Shisan, who wondered why Wang Yan had bought so little for himself.

• Situ Lou Lou delivered more than a hundred and twenty jin of black mother iron ore to the white-robed cultivator, who praised him and rewarded him and Elder Ning.
• Situ Lou Lou considered searching for the cultivator who sold the ore but decided against it because his master had not ordered him to.
• Wang Yan left with a fortune in Spirit Stones and persuaded Ye Shisan that selling his Black Mother Iron Rod had been worthwhile.
• Wang Yan bought Ye Shisan an Earth Spirit Gold Staff, Earth God Armor, and Earth Gang Shield, along with several other treasures.
• Wang Yan paid nearly a hundred thousand Spirit Stones for the purchases and several large-capacity Storage Bags, and Ye Shisan asked why he had not bought himself any Spirit Artifacts.

Wang Yan and Ye Shisan stocked up on pills and materials in Firecloud Market before deciding to join the Firecloud Sect for access to resources that Spirit Stones could not buy. They reached the sect’s branch hall and entered the registration office, while the cultivators following them turned away.

• Wang Yan explained that he had no use for more Spirit Artifacts yet and that Ye Shisan needed defensive treasures to support his fighting style and protect him.
• Wang Yan spent over a hundred thousand Spirit Stones buying materials, then reconsidered joining the sect when Ye Shisan pointed out how wealthy he was.
• Card Fairy reminded Wang Yan that major sects reserved crucial cultivation resources for their members, convincing him that joining the Firecloud Sect was worthwhile.
• Wang Yan and Ye Shisan changed back into their clothes and headed for the branch hall as several cultivators followed them through the market.
• The followers withdrew when Wang Yan and Ye Shisan reached the Firecloud Sect’s branch hall, and the pair went through the registration door.