Chapter Summaries

Ye Han and Han Yuwan burned the bodies of five Black Water Sect disciples and collected their treasures before escaping Wilds Valley. After returning safely toward the Azure Profound Sect, Han Yuwan asked to cultivate in Ye Han’s Cave Abode.

• Ye Han tried to search the fallen Cultivators, but Han Yuwan stopped him and warned that their sect tokens could expose their killers.
• Han Yuwan burned all five bodies and destroyed the Black Water Sect tokens, while Ye Han gathered the Storage Bags and treasures.
• The pair left the canyon under the Invisibility Cloak and found signs that the five disciples had killed at least two other Cultivators.
• Ye Han and Han Yuwan traveled safely out of Wilds Valley and raced through a forest toward the Azure Profound Sect.
• Han Yuwan asked Ye Han if she could cultivate in his Cave Abode after they returned to the sect.

Han Yuwan asked Ye Han to let her use his Cave Abode for her Foundation Establishment breakthrough, and he tried to discourage her by demanding the Spirit Stones needed to power its Spiritual Energy Formation. She agreed anyway and left to turn in her mission, while Ye Han worried about the Purple Cauldron’s reaction to the Black Bead.

• Han Yuwan asked to use Ye Han’s Cave Abode and offered to compensate him, so Ye Han demanded that she replenish the Spirit Stones for its Spiritual Energy Formation.
• Han Yuwan agreed to pay the cost, despite Ye Han warning that activating the Formation required over a thousand Spirit Stones.
• Han Yuwan said she would return later and took the Earthwalker Demon Beast to the Azure Profound Sect’s mountain gate to turn in her mission.
• Ye Han reflected on the loot he had gained and wondered what had changed after the Purple Cauldron absorbed the Black Bead.

Ye Han returned safely to Seven Mysteries Peak and examined the Purple Cauldron after it absorbed the Black Bead, finding it had turned black and granted him a glimpse of sword intent. He began assessing his spoils from Wilds Valley and discovered the Black Bead had wielded powerful spirit artifacts.

• Ye Han returned to his cave abode on Seven Mysteries Peak and reflected on the dangers of his trip and his growing sense of belonging to the Azure Profound Sect.
• Ye Han remembered that Han Yuwan would soon come to his cave abode to attempt a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Realm.
• Ye Han summoned the Purple Cauldron and saw that it had turned completely black after absorbing the Black Bead, leaving him concerned about its aura and his state of mind.
• Ye Han realized the cauldron's aura had helped him fight with unusual skill and execute the Qing Xuan Sword Technique, giving him a trace of sword intent.
• Ye Han examined his spoils from Wilds Valley and identified the Ghost Skull Mirror and Bone Skeleton Shield as spirit artifacts used by the Black Bead.

Ye Han examined the treasures and spoils he had taken from the Black Water Sect disciples, finding several useful artifacts, spirit stones, pills, and medicines before Han Yuwan arrived. Han Yuwan told him she had completed the mission and entered his cave abode, praising its rich spiritual energy.

• Ye Han sorted through the disciples’ spoils, choosing to keep useful treasures such as the Cloud-Treading Boots, Vajra Bell, and Thousand-Faces Mask while setting aside other items for later.
• Ye Han found over two thousand Spirit Stones, several Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, pills, aged spirit medicines, and a larger Storage Bag, then packed the treasures away.
• Han Yuwan called for Ye Han to open his cave abode’s door after completing the mission.
• Ye Han welcomed Han Yuwan inside, and she remarked that his cave abode had unusually rich Heaven and Earth spiritual energy.

Han Yuwan stayed in Ye Han’s cave abode to cultivate and attempt Foundation Establishment, while the two reached a more respectful understanding. Ye Han offered her several spoils as advance congratulations, and Han Yuwan was surprised by his generosity.

• Han Yuwan gave Ye Han twelve Mid-Grade Spirit Stones as rent for using his cave abode, but Ye Han said they could power its spiritual energy formation.
• Han Yuwan apologized for imposing and respected Ye Han’s secrets, so he invited her to use the Cultivation Room and urged them both to heal their injuries.
• Han Yuwan considered how the cave abode, its spiritual energy formation, and her Foundation Establishment Pill gave her a sixty-percent chance of success.
• Ye Han gave Han Yuwan a Storage Bag, Healing Pills, three mid-grade Qi Refining Pills, and a High-Grade Magic Artifact saber as advance congratulations on her Foundation Establishment.

Ye Han accepted Han Yuwan’s advice to avoid the dangerous Black Market and received a white jade token to trade his spoils safely at Heavenly Peace Market in Azure Cloud City. After recovering from his injuries in seclusion, he left Seven Mysteries Peak for the city to exchange most of his spoils for Spirit Stones and cultivation resources.

• Han Yuwan accepted Ye Han’s Healing Pills, Qi Refining Pills, and fire-attribute saber, then warned him that his other spoils could attract attention if sold within the sect.
• Ye Han said he planned to sell the spoils at the Black Market, but Han Yuwan cautioned him about dangerous cultivators there and offered a safer alternative.
• Han Yuwan explained that trusted sect and lineage marketplaces bought goods of unknown origin through introductions, and Ye Han agreed to visit one.
• Han Yuwan gave Ye Han a white jade token for Heavenly Peace Market in Azure Cloud City and told him to present it to the shopkeeper.
• Ye Han spent seven or eight days recovering in his cave abode, then left Seven Mysteries Peak for Azure Cloud City.

Ye Han traveled toward Azure Cloud City in disguise while struggling with damaged cultivation and the Purple Cauldron’s sinister changes. Near the city, a panicked female cultivator ran up to him and begged for help.

• Ye Han activated the Thousand-Faces Mask and wore the Cloud-Treading Boots as he set out for Azure Cloud City.
• Ye Han avoided relying on the blackened Purple Cauldron, whose aura stirred murderous intent and threatened to drive him into cultivation deviation.
• Ye Han determined that depleted qi and blood and damage to his meridians and foundation had weakened his cultivation, and learned that a Nine-Turn Blood-Replenishing Pill could speed his recovery.
• Ye Han traveled through mortal settlements toward the Azure Cloud Mountains and decided he would visit Green Ox Village after reaching Azure Cloud City.
• As Ye Han passed a valley, a beautiful female cultivator ran toward him and cried, “Fellow Daoist! Save me!”

Ye Han escaped a suspicious female Cultivator who pursued him, then reached Azure Cloud City and its guarded entrance. As he joined the queue to enter, he spotted the woman again.

• A wounded-looking female Cultivator begged Ye Han for help, but he recognized her speed and appearance as suspicious and fled.
• The woman chased Ye Han, hoping to take his valuable Cloud-Treading Boots, while he used a Tailwind Talisman to widen the gap.
• The woman stopped pursuing Ye Han, cursed him, and introduced herself as the Red Lady before leaving to seek another target.
• Ye Han ran farther to make sure the Red Lady was gone, then continued toward Azure Cloud City and noticed patrols protecting the area.
• Ye Han reached the city gate, joined the queue after seeing Cultivators pay two Spirit Stones to enter, and spotted the Red Lady nearby.

Ye Han entered Azure Cloud City and went to Heavenly Peace Market to buy pills, while a suspicious female cultivator continued following him. After he showed the market assistant Han Yuwan’s white jade token, the assistant recognized him as an honored guest.

• Ye Han recognized a seductive female cultivator who had approached him before and reflected on how his growing cultivation and the Purple Cauldron might have intensified his murderous nature.
• Ye Han entered Azure Cloud City after paying two Spirit Stones and observed the city’s cultivators, shops, and bustling stalls.
• Ye Han found Heavenly Peace Market, sensed the female cultivator following him, and entered without her.
• Ye Han told the assistant he wanted pills, then presented his white jade token once the female cultivator was outside.
• The assistant examined the token, treated Ye Han as an honored guest, and invited him to follow.

Ye Han used Han Yuwan’s White Jade Token to receive honored-guest treatment at Heavenly Peace Market and brought goods to sell. After seeing the value of his additional Storage Bags, the market’s Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator changed his attitude and began a careful appraisal.

• An attendant recognized Ye Han’s White Jade Token and escorted him to a side hall, where a middle-aged Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator received him.
• Ye Han asked to sell goods, and the cultivator appraised his first Storage Bag at four hundred and thirty-two spirit stones, confirming the token earned him a fair price.
• Ye Han produced six more Storage Bags, prompting the cultivator to discover valuable goods, including two second-rank demon beast carcasses and high-grade magic artifacts.
• The cultivator asked Ye Han to wait while he appraised everything and ordered spirit tea for him.

Ye Han sold a large haul of seized treasures at Heavenly Peace Market, while his deliberate disguise convinced the appraiser that he was a powerful cultivator. After agreeing to sell everything for 13,362 Spirit Stones, Ye Han noticed that the appraiser, Han Qiushui, shared Han Yuwan’s surname.

• Ye Han drank the Spirit Tea while Han Qiushui grew more convinced that Ye Han concealed formidable cultivation and wealth.
• Han Qiushui appraised the Storage Bags’ contents and inferred that Ye Han had killed at least seven or eight cultivators to obtain the mixed collection of treasures.
• Han Qiushui presented Ye Han with an itemized list valuing the goods at 13,362 Spirit Stones, including 3,300 for a High-Grade Magic Artifact saber.
• Ye Han confirmed that nothing was missing and agreed to sell all the listed items to Heavenly Peace Market.
• Han Qiushui introduced himself, and Ye Han wondered whether his surname connected him to Han Yuwan.

Ye Han sold his stored materials at Heavenly Peace Market and used the proceeds to buy cultivation supplies, while placing a deposit for scarce three-hundred-year wood dragon root. As he left the market, a beautiful female cultivator confronted him, accusing him of being heartless and trying to run away.

• Ye Han showed Han Qiushui a list of expensive cultivation supplies and asked him to buy as much as the market could provide with the proceeds from his materials.
• Han Qiushui explained the market's purchase limits, and Ye Han agreed to buy the available items despite the lack of three-hundred-year wood dragon root.
• Han Qiushui returned with Ye Han's purchases and the remaining spirit stones, then offered to search for the missing wood dragon root in exchange for a deposit.
• Ye Han paid two thousand spirit stones toward a three-month reservation for three-hundred-year wood dragon root and left the market with only a few hundred spirit stones.
• A beautiful female cultivator appeared in front of Ye Han and accused him of being heartless and trying to escape.

Ye Han turned Red Lady’s public accusation back on her, then slipped out of the Heavenly Peace Market through a back door to avoid her. He disguised himself with the Thousand-Faces Mask and left Red Lady waiting outside.

• Red Lady accused Ye Han of abandoning her, but Ye Han claimed she had betrayed him and taken his treasures, turning the onlookers against her.
• Red Lady claimed she was carrying Ye Han’s child, and Ye Han dismissed her and went back into the Heavenly Peace Market.
• Han Qiushui arranged for Ye Han to leave through the back door, while guards kept Red Lady outside.
• Ye Han rewarded the attendant with two Qi Refining Pills, changed his clothes, and used the Thousand-Faces Mask to disguise himself.
• Ye Han saw Red Lady still waiting outside and decided to avoid provoking her because her cultivation was higher than his.

Ye Han followed the Purple Cauldron’s reaction to a talisman seller in Azure Cloud City and became interested in the man’s unusually powerful talismans. He bought a large quantity as a way to investigate what the Purple Cauldron had sensed on the seller’s person.

• Ye Han wandered through Azure Cloud City’s market and noticed the Purple Cauldron trembling inside his Storage Bag.
• Ye Han traced the reaction to a pale, gaunt Cultivator selling many kinds of talismans.
• Ye Han questioned the seller about his prices and learned that he claimed the talismans were thirty percent more powerful than ordinary ones.
• Ye Han agreed to buy ten of each talisman at the seller’s asking price so he could investigate the object that had interested the Purple Cauldron.

Ye Han bought talismans from the rogue cultivator Ye Chunsheng and learned how to contact him, while suspecting an object on Ye Chunsheng’s person had attracted the Purple Cauldron. After leaving Azure Cloud City, Ye Han heard Ye Chunsheng confronting someone called Red Lady and stopped to investigate.

• Ye Han bought 120 basic-grade and 20 intermediate-grade talismans from Ye Chunsheng for 480 Spirit Stones.
• Ye Chunsheng said he was a rogue cultivator, gave Ye Han a Messaging Talisman, and denied having unusual talismans while covering his chest.
• Ye Chunsheng ended his stall rental and left, and Ye Han watched him head into the market to spend his Spirit Stones.
• Ye Han found no other sign that the Purple Cauldron reacted, left Azure Cloud City in disguise, and put on his Invisibility Cloak beyond the patrol zone.
• Ye Han heard spell explosions in a secluded valley and recognized Ye Chunsheng shouting at Red Lady, so he stopped to check whether Ye Chunsheng was in danger.

Ye Han secretly watched Ye Chunsheng battle Red Lady, who was trying to capture him. When Red Lady feigned retreat and ambushed Ye Chunsheng, Ye Han intervened with three sword strikes.

• Ye Han followed the Purple Cauldron’s reaction into the valley and found Ye Chunsheng fighting Red Lady.
• Red Lady attacked Ye Chunsheng with ghostly souls from her Soul-Summoning Banner while he defended himself with talismans.
• Ye Chunsheng revealed a powerful Sword Talisman, and Red Lady appeared to give up and retreat.
• Ye Chunsheng tried to leave, but Red Lady stabbed him through the chest with a bone spike and sent a skeletal fist toward his head.
• Ye Han sent three streaks of sword light at Red Lady from behind.

Ye Han ambushed Red Lady to stop her from finishing off Ye Chunfeng, then seized the injured man and fled. Red Lady recognized Ye Han and raced after him, determined not to let him escape.

• Ye Han attacked Red Lady with spells and talismans while vines and illusions failed to keep her from evading him.
• Red Lady unleashed yin souls from her Soul-Summoning Banner, while Ye Han saw that Ye Chunfeng was gravely wounded by a bone spike.
• Ye Han used a Tailwind Talisman to rush to Ye Chunfeng, grabbed him, and tried to flee rather than risk exposing the Purple Cauldron.
• Red Lady sent bone spikes after Ye Han, but he escaped their reach with his Cloud-Treading Boots and carried Ye Chunfeng away.
• Red Lady recognized Ye Han despite his changed appearance and pursued him after boosting her speed with a Tailwind Talisman.

Ye Han fled with the injured Ye Chunfeng as Red Lady pursued them, attacking him and coveting his Black Bone Shield. Red Lady’s blood-burning spell began to close the gap, and Ye Chunfeng, near death, recognized Ye Han and asked him for a favor.

• Red Lady recognized Ye Han and chased him with a Tailwind Talisman while he carried Ye Chunfeng toward safety.
• Red Lady attacked Ye Han with her blood-red sword, but the Black Bone Shield blocked and reflected the strike, prompting her to covet it.
• As Ye Han’s Tailwind Talisman faded, he used one made by Ye Chunsheng to speed up, while Red Lady burned her qi and blood to catch him.
• Red Lady continued closing in despite Ye Han boosting the Cloud-Treading Boots, and Ye Chunfeng warned that he was dying.
• Ye Chunfeng recognized Ye Han as the cultivator who had bought his talismans and asked him for a favor.

Ye Han fled Red Lady through an exhausting pursuit, then suddenly stopped and revealed that his spell power had recovered and his killing intent had transformed. Red Lady attacked him with bone spikes, yin souls, and sword rays, but Ye Han evaded the spikes as the confrontation turned in his favor.

• Red Lady chased Ye Han for over a hundred li, repeatedly attacking his Black Bone Shield while he used talismans and speed-enhancing shoes to stay ahead.
• Ye Chunfeng asked Ye Han to deliver two Spirit-Calming Pills to Fairy Jade Orchid, but Ye Han tossed him aside and fled alone.
• Without Ye Chunfeng slowing him down, Ye Han increased his speed, while Red Lady continued pursuing despite the toll the Blood Transformation Art took on her.
• Ye Han abruptly stopped and revealed that his spell power had fully recovered, releasing a killing intent that alarmed Red Lady.
• Red Lady attacked Ye Han with bone spikes, yin souls from the Soul-Summoning Banner, and dozens of sword rays, but he dodged the bone spikes.

Ye Han used the Purple Cauldron to restore his spell power and unleash its killing intent against Red Lady, who answered with powerful treasures and a horde of yin souls. Red Lady’s demon beast skeleton broke through Ye Han’s defenses, leaving him backed against the Black Bone Shield as the battle continued.

• Ye Han lured Red Lady into a long pursuit to exhaust her, then secretly took out the Purple Cauldron and regained his spell power.
• Ye Han used the Qing Xuan Sword Technique and Thorn Bracelet to repel Red Lady’s sword attacks and yin souls.
• Red Lady swallowed a blood-red pill, strengthened herself with a blood essence technique, and unleashed more powerful yin souls from her gourd.
• Red Lady summoned a ten-foot demon beast skeleton and rode it into battle against Ye Han.
• The skeleton broke through the Thorn Bracelet’s defenses, forcing Ye Han to use the Black Bone Shield while Red Lady’s attacks drove him backward.