Chapter Summaries

Jing Wen, a mortal with no spiritual roots, chose to implant his dead mother Red Rose’s Baleful Bead rather than remain helpless before the Black Fiend Cult. He survived its deadly backlash and reached Qi Refining, First Layer, but the bead’s cultivation consumed his blood and vitality.

• Jing Wen recalled how Red Rose, mortally wounded, gave him the Baleful Bead she had carved from her own dantian and warned that it could help him survive.
• Jing Wen weighed the bead’s dangers against his lack of spiritual roots and decided to use it.
• The Baleful Bead attached itself to Jing Wen, and he cut open his abdomen so it could enter his body and fuse with his dantian.
• Jing Wen used the Burning Blood Art to guide the bead’s energy through his meridians, temporarily suppressing its attack on his life force.
• Jing Wen swallowed a Blood-Replenishing Pill and reached Qi Refining, First Layer, then stepped outside into the morning light.

Jing Wen sought a way to escape the Black Fiend Cult after his mother Red Rose died, and he used a carefully staged display of filial grief to secure permission to leave the Capital City. He departed determined to gain power and make his way toward Jing Prefecture.

• Jing Wen hid from the Black Fiend Cult’s enforcers and decided he had to flee before he was sacrificed in the Blood Pool.
• Jing Wen went to the cult’s stronghold, Still Garden, and told Steward Li that Red Rose had died and left him her belongings.
• Jing Wen offered Steward Li Red Rose’s possessions and claimed his mother had transferred her Baleful Bead to him, prompting Steward Li to enroll him in the Reconnaissance Squad.
• Jing Wen asked to escort his mother’s coffin to Jing Prefecture, and Steward Li granted him permission to go.
• Jing Wen overheard three cultivators mock Red Rose and her son, then left resolved to gain enough power to escape the cult’s control.

Jing Wen traveled away from the capital with Red Rose’s coffin, studied basic spells, and buried her in a secluded place. He vowed to avenge her by targeting the Black Fiend Cult and the Yue Kingdom’s high-level cultivators, then left her grave to pursue cultivation and revenge.

• Jing Wen practiced the Object-Driving Technique and assessed the limits and risks of cultivating with his Baleful Bead.
• After six days on the road, Jing Wen decided to leave the caravan and gave up his unused fare rather than argue with the caravan leader.
• Jing Wen carried Red Rose’s coffin to a secluded hill, buried her without a marker, and promised to live well and avenge her.
• Jing Wen blamed the Black Fiend Cult and the Yue Kingdom’s late qi refining and stronger cultivators for Red Rose’s death, while excluding Han Li and Xiang Zhili from his revenge targets.
• Jing Wen resolved to follow the Black Fiend Cult’s cultivation path and kill his chosen targets before leaving Red Rose’s burial place at sunset.

Jing Wen traveled to Rosy Cloud Mountain and used a display of power to secure a place as an honored guest of the Seven Mysteries Sect. He learned that Doctor Mo was away from Divine Hand Valley and planned to meet him, while the sect leader considered how to recruit Jing Wen's help.

• Jing Wen reviewed the cultivation techniques he had learned and considered focusing on pill refinement if he could not find Han Li or Mo Juren.
• A month later, Jing Wen intimidated the Seven Mysteries Sect's guards by making the stone path crack beneath him.
• The sect leader welcomed Jing Wen and offered him a place as an honored guest while he recuperated.
• Jing Wen asked about physicians, and the sect leader told him that Doctor Mo of Divine Hand Valley was away.
• Jing Wen entered the sect with the leader, intending to meet Doctor Mo, while the leader considered how to win him over.

Jing Wen saved Han Li from Li Feiyu, then used his strength and knowledge to demand Yellow Dragon Pills in return. Han Li agreed to repay the debt, and after Jing Wen left, he chose to use Li Feiyu’s secret to pursue martial arts manuals.

• Li Feiyu woke from the Marrow-Extracting Pill’s effects and threatened to kill Han Li, but Jing Wen disarmed and knocked him unconscious.
• Jing Wen revealed himself as a resident expert of the Seven Mysteries Sect and demanded ten bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills as repayment for saving Han Li.
• When Han Li claimed he had no pills, Jing Wen lifted him with the Object-Driving Technique and arranged for him to repay the debt in monthly installments.
• Jing Wen offered to intervene in Han Li’s future troubles for more pills, then left Li Feiyu in Han Li’s hands.
• Han Li decided not to kill Li Feiyu and instead saw an opportunity to obtain martial arts manuals; Jing Wen secretly watched him give Li Feiyu a pill before departing.

Jing Wen took Han Li’s Yellow Dragon Pills after inspecting the formula and used them to advance to the second level of Qi Refining. He planned to obtain ten more bottles from Han Li to reach the fourth level.

• Jing Wen examined Han Li’s weak Yellow Dragon Pills, identified that the ingredients were too young, and pressured Han Li into lending him a booklet of pill formulas.
• Jing Wen memorized the booklet’s formulas, took the pill bottle, and left Han Li to reflect on the Little Green Bottle’s ability to mature herbs.
• Jing Wen used a display of supernatural movement to frighten patrolling Seven Mysteries Sect disciples and reinforce his reputation as an unfathomable expert.
• Jing Wen consumed the Yellow Dragon Pills while cultivating the Burning Blood Art and broke through to the second level of Qi Refining.
• Jing Wen decided that ten more bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills should help him advance to the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Han Li used the Little Green Bottle to produce improved Yellow Dragon Pills, but Jing Wen pressured him to deliver three bottles each month. Jing Wen began refining pills himself, successfully made Iceheart Pills, and then turned to Blood-Replenishing Pills to support his cultivation.

• Han Li used the Little Green Bottle to ripen herbs and secretly refined several bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills.
• Han Li delivered two improved bottles to Jing Wen, who asked for three bottles the following month and hinted he should use Doctor Mo's herbs.
• Jing Wen revealed that he had acquired a mundane Pill Furnace and began experimenting with pill refining.
• After two failed attempts, Jing Wen successfully refined three low-quality Iceheart Pills.
• Jing Wen considered recipes for pills to aid his Black Fiend Cult cultivation and began refining Blood-Replenishing Pills.

Doctor Mo revealed his past as Mo Juren and explained that he needed Han Li to reach the fourth layer of the Evergreen Technique to restore his vitality. He forced Han Li to swallow a Corpse Worm Pill and threatened his family, leaving Han Li to promise he would reach the required layer within a year.

• Han Li met Doctor Mo upon his return to Divine Hand Valley with a tall, cloaked stranger and concealed his progress in the Evergreen Technique.
• Doctor Mo swiftly sealed Han Li's acupoints, took his iron tube, and revealed that he was Mo Juren, the thirty-seven-year-old Ghost Hand.
• Mo Juren explained that he needed help from someone at the Evergreen Technique's fourth layer, and that a recent battle had left him with at most a year to live.
• Mo Juren released Han Li's acupoints but made him swallow a Corpse Worm Pill that would hatch unless Han Li took an antidote within a year.
• Mo Juren threatened Han Li's family, and Han Li promised to reach the fourth layer within a year.

Han Li asked Jing Wen to kill Mo Juren, who had threatened him with a Corpse Worm Pill and threatened his family. Jing Wen agreed to act the next day in exchange for 160 bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills, while privately planning to secure the right to use Han Li’s Little Green Bottle.

• Han Li visited Jing Wen with twenty bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills and asked whether Jing Wen would still kill someone in exchange for pills.
• Han Li named his master, Mo Juren, and offered the pills, then promised to gather twenty more if they were not enough.
• Jing Wen explained that Mo Juren was protected by a powerful Black Armored Man and a Cultivator, and demonstrated his own spell to show the danger.
• Jing Wen set the price at 160 bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills and told Han Li that Mo Juren’s medicinal ingredients and Medicine Fields could supply what he needed.
• Han Li accepted the deal, and Jing Wen promised to make Mo Juren disappear the next day.

Jing Wen prepared to confront Mo Juren and Yu Zitong, while the Seven Mysteries Sect leader grew suspicious of Jing Wen’s motives. At Divine Hand Valley, Mo Juren refused to treat Elder Li and announced that he would enter seclusion.

• Jing Wen reviewed the dangers posed by Mo Juren, Qu Hun, and Yu Zitong and decided to act soon, using a Concentration Pill to guard against soul attacks.
• Jing Wen packed a Fire Wall Talisman, a flying sword, and medicines, and anticipated obtaining a storage pouch from Yu Zitong and Venerable Golden Light.
• The Seven Mysteries Sect leader recalled Jing Wen’s request to have disciples treated by Doctor Mo, ordered a guard to carry out his instructions, and resolved to watch Jing Wen.
• Elder Li arrived at Divine Hand Valley to seek treatment, while disciples gathered outside hoping Doctor Mo would see them.
• Doctor Mo refused Elder Li, claimed he was too depleted to treat anyone, and announced that he would enter seclusion starting that day.

Jing Wen ambushed Mo Juren and forced Yu Zitong’s remnant soul to reveal the location of his storage pouch. He then destroyed Yu Zitong before he could become a threat, leaving Jing Wen with Mo Juren’s belongings but not the pouch.

• Jing Wen used the Water Ball Technique to immobilize Mo Juren and scattered his belongings with spiritual power.
• Jing Wen found the control bell but sensed no trace of Yu Zitong’s primordial spirit among the objects.
• Jing Wen threatened to burn Mo Juren’s body, prompting Yu Zitong to emerge and identify himself as a former seventh-layer Qi Refining cultivator from the Yu family of Jing Prefecture.
• Yu Zitong revealed that his storage pouch was hidden in a limestone cave at Sunset Glow Mountain and described the family items inside to prove his identity.
• Jing Wen struck Yu Zitong with water and fire spells, destroying his remnant soul because he considered him a threat and of little value.

Jing Wen took the unconscious Mo Juren to his residence, then traveled to a remote valley to retrieve Yu Zitong’s storage pouch. After examining and burning unwanted contents, Jing Wen headed back to Divine Hand Valley.

• Jing Wen brought Mo Juren to his residence and told Han Li to wait outside because the room contained poisonous gas.
• Han Li watched Jing Wen leave and realized that Mo Juren was no longer a threat to him.
• Jing Wen searched a desolate valley and found Yu Zitong’s remains and storage pouch.
• Jing Wen examined the pouch’s sword, spirit flower, stones, pills, talismans, books, and talisman-making supplies, and wondered whether Yu Zitong’s family practiced demonic cultivation.
• Jing Wen burned the items he did not need and returned toward Divine Hand Valley.

Jing Wen reassured Han Li that Mo Juren would leave and could no longer threaten him, while revealing that a cultivator had controlled Mo Juren and tried to possess Han Li. Han Li accepted Jing Wen’s terms for delivering pills in exchange for protection and the promise of immortal arts, while Jing Wen turned to deal with the unconscious Mo Juren.

• Jing Wen told Han Li that Mo Juren would leave Divine Hand Valley and revealed that a cultivator had sought to possess Han Li through him.
• Jing Wen said he had killed the cultivator and reduced the payment for Mo Juren and the Black Armored Man, setting the total at one hundred and twenty bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills.
• Jing Wen assured Han Li that Mo Juren would work for him in Lan Prefecture, gave Han Li an antidote, and promised protection.
• Han Li agreed to deliver five bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills each month, and Jing Wen promised to teach him immortal arts after he delivered all one hundred and twenty bottles.
• Jing Wen sent Han Li away and approached the unconscious Mo Juren with blood-red light gathering at his fingertip.

Jing Wen decided to raise his own Foundation Establishment cultivators and recruited Mo Juren, offering him a path to cultivation through the demonic Spirit Seizure method. Mo Juren left to seek someone with a spiritual root, while Jing Wen privately considered using him to test whether a Baleful Bead could be transferred.

• Jing Wen concluded that the Yue Emperor claimed Foundation Establishment cultivators as future Blood-Congealing Five Elements Pills, so he resolved to cultivate his own candidates.
• Jing Wen woke Mo Juren, revealed that he was a cultivator, and tested Mo Juren's adaptability as Mo tried to bargain and then offered his service.
• Jing Wen offered Mo Juren the Spirit Seizure method and the Burning Blood Art, explaining that Mo would need to find someone with a spiritual root, preferably a blood relative.
• Jing Wen gave Mo Juren a pill that restored several years of lifespan and warned him to practice discreetly because demonic cultivation would attract enemies.
• After Mo Juren departed with the Burning Blood Art formula, Jing Wen said he intended to use him to test whether a Baleful Bead could be transferred.

Jing Wen broke through to the qi refining seventh layer, then traded Han Li a spell manual for one hundred bottles of pills while keeping its cultivation method for a later deal. Han Li left eager to study the spells, now owing Jing Wen 159 bottles of pills.

• Jing Wen broke through from the qi refining sixth layer to the seventh using spiritual energy and baleful qi.
• Han Li delivered several bottles of pills, and Jing Wen suggested he search the mountains for millennium spirit medicine to count toward his debt.
• Jing Wen offered Han Li a manual of eight basic spells and demonstrated the Fireball Technique and Wooden Shield Technique.
• Han Li offered one hundred bottles of pills for the spells, and Jing Wen split the manual, giving him the spell instructions while withholding the cultivation method.
• Jing Wen told Han Li that his total debt was now 159 bottles of pills, and Han Li left excited to study the spells.

Jing Wen confronted the Seven Mysteries Sect elders over the Wild Wolf Gang and revealed his overwhelming strength when they challenged him. He offered the injured fourth elder a chance to survive three moves from his servant, Qu Hun, who arrived at the end of the chapter.

• Jing Wen asked why the herbs for his pill refining had grown scarce, and the sect master blamed the Wild Wolf Gang for attacking herb-gathering parties.
• Jing Wen declared that the Wild Wolf Gang would be destroyed, while several elders questioned whether he could defeat them alone.
• The fourth elder taunted Jing Wen, who seized him from a distance and hurled him into a pillar, leaving him badly injured.
• Jing Wen offered to spare the fourth elder if he could withstand three moves from Jing Wen's servant.
• Qu Hun burst into the hall, landed before Jing Wen, and addressed him as Master.

Jing Wen killed the Fourth Elder to cow the Seven Mysteries Sect, then offered Qi-Blood Pills in exchange for herbs and urged the sect to invite Venerable Golden Light. The sect prepared to act against the Wild Wolf Gang, unaware that Jing Wen’s real goal was to lure Venerable Golden Light to the sect.

• Qu Hun killed the Fourth Elder with a single punch after Jing Wen used the quarrel as an excuse to establish his authority.
• The sect leader and elders agreed to destroy the Wild Wolf Gang and asked Jing Wen how they should proceed.
• Jing Wen introduced Qi-Blood Pills and offered to trade them for herbs, prompting the elders to plan herb-gathering efforts.
• The sect leader resolved to use control over pill distribution to reward allies and strengthen his influence.
• Jing Wen said he could not lead the campaign himself and advised the sect to invite Venerable Golden Light to destroy the Wild Wolf Gang.
• Jing Wen revealed that luring Venerable Golden Light to the Seven Mysteries Sect was his true purpose, since he wanted to avoid confronting the man in his lair.

Han Li mastered the Fireball Technique by guiding his Qi with intent and realized the Nameless Formula might have helped him enter immortal cultivation. After using the Little Green Bottle to accelerate his spirit medicine, he decided to try growing a millennium spirit medicine to repay Jing Wen.

• Han Li stopped forcing the Fireball Technique, followed the principle that Qi followed intent, and successfully conjured a flame and then a fireball.
• Han Li wondered whether the energy from the Nameless Formula Mo Juren had taught him was spiritual energy and decided to ask Senior Jing.
• Han Li set the Little Green Bottle beneath the moonlight, collected its green liquid, and used it to rapidly grow Yellow Essence Grass seedlings.
• Han Li considered using millennium spirit medicine to repay Jing Wen faster and decided to try growing one, planning to claim he had found it in the mountains.

Venerable Golden Light accepted the Seven Mysteries Sect’s plea for help against the Wild Wolf Gang, but Jing Wen ambushed and subdued him, taking his prized talisman treasure. Jing Wen forced Golden Light to swallow a Heart-Eroding Pill and ordered him to deal with the gang while keeping the encounter secret.

• Venerable Golden Light demanded three thousand taels of gold and a hundred-year-old medicinal herb from the Seven Mysteries Sect in exchange for his help.
• After the sect agreed to his terms, Venerable Golden Light traveled there in a grand procession and promised to confront the Wild Wolf Gang.
• At the sect’s banquet, Jing Wen trapped Venerable Golden Light in a water ball and knocked him unconscious.
• Jing Wen searched Golden Light’s Storage Bag, took the Small Sword Talisman Treasure, and found an Ascension Token he could not use.
• Jing Wen made Golden Light swallow a Heart-Eroding Pill and ordered him to defeat the Wild Wolf Gang without revealing what had happened.
• After Jing Wen vanished, Venerable Golden Light concealed his humiliation from the sect and announced that he would visit the Wild Wolf Gang soon.

Jing Wen reached the qi refining tenth layer and traded the Azure Leaf Sword and the seventh and eighth layers of the Evergreen Technique to Han Li for fifteen stalks of millennium spirit medicine, secured by a heart-demon oath. After Han Li left, Jing Wen revealed that he viewed Han Li’s supposed plant-and-wood sacred body as a “Beast-of-burden sacred body.”

• Jing Wen completed six months of pill-supported cultivation, reached the qi refining tenth layer, and prepared to explore the Cultivation World.
• Han Li delivered a second millennium spirit medicine, and Jing Wen concluded that Han Li possessed a plant-and-wood sacred body rather than discovering the Little Green Bottle.
• Jing Wen demonstrated the Azure Leaf Sword, and Han Li agreed to pay seven stalks of millennium spirit medicine for it.
• Jing Wen told Han Li that the Evergreen Technique had thirteen layers, and Han Li agreed to pay eight more stalks for its subsequent portions.
• Han Li swore to repay fifteen stalks of millennium spirit medicine and received the manual containing the seventh and eighth layers.
• After Han Li departed, Jing Wen privately called his supposed plant-and-wood sacred body a “Beast-of-burden sacred body.”