Chapter Summaries

Lu Shang, a transmigrator with a five-element spiritual root, reached Foundation Establishment with help from his system and sought a remote mountain where he could live in seclusion. The system ordered him to haul timber and stone by the next afternoon, threatening to seal him for ten years; after he finished, a brilliant light appeared as his palace reward was granted.

• Lu Shang celebrated reaching Foundation Establishment and explained that he had avoided other cultivators while living in a remote country near the Far West.
• Lu Shang asked System Sis for a palace, and she issued a mission requiring him to bring enough timber and stone to the mountain before the next afternoon.
• Lu Shang struggled to find suitable materials nearby, then repeatedly carried timber and stone from elsewhere to the site.
• Lu Shang continued hauling materials through the next day while System Sis told him he still had not brought enough.
• Lu Shang completed the mission, and a brilliant light appeared as the system announced his palace reward.

Lu Shang joked about avoiding cultivation until System Sis forced him to pursue Core Formation with a demanding mission. He set out to find a secluded place to cultivate and learned that a cave abode lay farther up the mountain.

• Lu Shang admired the palace, complained about its lavish style, and teased System Sis for not giving him a cultivation technique.
• Lu Shang resisted cultivating and suggested starting a sect, but System Sis refused and threatened to reclaim the palace if he recruited disciples.
• System Sis issued Lu Shang a mission to reach Core Formation before age fifty, with a ten-year sealing penalty for every year overdue and two cultivation techniques as rewards.
• Lu Shang panicked at the deadline, then agreed to cultivate after System Sis refused to change the mission.
• After searching the palace for a private place to cultivate, Lu Shang asked System Sis for help and learned there was a cave abode farther up the mountain.

Lu Shang cultivated in seclusion for decades in a crude cave abode, advancing from Foundation Establishment to the Core Formation Stage. As he formed his core, bloody-brown lightning surged into his dantian, and System Sis told him not to stop it.

• Lu Shang explored the bare cave abode, questioned System Sis about it, and began cultivating beside a small pool.
• After twenty-two years, Lu Shang learned he had reached late Foundation Establishment and was close to Core Formation, then resumed his seclusion.
• As Lu Shang cultivated, his spiritual energy turned bloody brown and began producing quiet threads of lightning.
• Lu Shang pushed through the final threshold and successfully formed his core.
• The gathered lightning stopped, then burrowed toward Lu Shang's dantian, and System Sis told him to let it enter.

Lu Shang reached the core formation stage, found that the system was updating, and spent twenty-three years learning the first two levels of the Mystic Desolation True Demon Art. After System Sis returned with a changed voice and a Super Lottery feature, she explained that Lu Shang’s breakthrough reward was ready to be issued.

• Lu Shang discovered that System Sis was updating and chose to learn the Mystic Desolation True Demon Art while waiting.
• Lu Shang cultivated for twenty-three years and formed a crimson spiritual-energy armor around his body after mastering two levels.
• System Sis finished updating and told Lu Shang how long he had cultivated and that the art could be practiced even in the Immortal Realm.
• Lu Shang noticed System Sis’s voice had changed, explored the panel, and found the Super Lottery feature.
• System Sis explained that lottery points came from completing missions and reaching cultivation stages, then announced Lu Shang’s core formation reward.

Lu Shang used his lottery tickets to obtain the Silver Frost Dragon Halberd, then spent decades stabilizing his cultivation before leaving his cave to pursue the system’s missions. With the Blood Trial approaching, he chose to infiltrate Spirit Beast Mountain and prepared to pass himself off as one of its Qi Refining disciples.

• Lu Shang spent all forty lottery tickets and received the Silver Frost Dragon Halberd, which the system had automatically made his bonded treasure.
• Over several decades, Lu Shang stabilized his cultivation, mastered the first level of the Heavenly Origin Sword Art, and advanced to middle Core Formation.
• Lu Shang left his concealed cave after System Sis persuaded him to pursue missions that could not be completed in his remote retreat.
• After reaching the Yue Kingdom with half a month remaining before the Blood Trial, Lu Shang decided to infiltrate a sect rather than wait.
• Lu Shang ruled out Yellow Maple Valley and the Covering Moon Sect, then chose Spirit Beast Mountain and planned to disguise himself as a Qi Refining disciple.

Lu Shang entered the Blood Trial to gather forty spirit plants while disguised as a Spirit Beast Mountain disciple, and used the system’s boost to early Foundation Establishment Stage to fight off Fire Lizards. After destroying an ambush with his Frost Dragon Halberd, he discovered how powerful the weapon was and worried about the Storage Bags left behind.

• Lu Shang began searching the black-rock terrain for forty spirit plants, but a Fire Lizard attacked him and he killed it with a kick.
• Four or five more Fire Lizards surrounded Lu Shang, and he quickly killed them with the Wild Desolation True Demon Art.
• Lu Shang entered a woodland and discovered two Spirit Beast Mountain disciples preparing an ambush, then quietly approached them while they searched for him.
• Lu Shang drew his Frost Dragon Halberd and killed the two disciples with one slash that also cut and froze nearby trees.
• System Sis warned Lu Shang that the halberd consumed a great deal of spiritual power, and Lu Shang later found the disciples’ battered Storage Bags still contained intact items.

Lu Shang wandered through the Blood Secret Realm, collecting spirit herbs and killing cultivators who resisted him. He rescued Han Yunzhi from Feng Yue and warned her to stay near the realm’s edge.

• Lu Shang decided to avoid Yellow Maple Valley and planned to wait near the exit, unaware that spirit insects had alerted Spirit Beast Mountain disciples to his presence.
• Lu Shang killed a Yellow Maple Valley man who refused to surrender his storage pouch, then took the drugged woman’s spirit herbs, gave her pills, and left.
• After sleeping in a tree, Lu Shang counted thirteen spirit herbs and followed cries for help.
• Lu Shang killed Feng Yue, a Bone-Dissolving Dock disciple, with a single punch after Feng Yue attacked him.
• Han Yunzhi thanked Lu Shang, and he advised her not to venture farther into the secret realm; she ran toward its edge.

Lu Shang ventured into the Blood Secret Realm’s central area, collected spirit herbs, and entered the Ancient Cultivator's Cave Abode after Nangong Wan. He completed his missions and left the cave carrying the unconscious Nangong Wan.

• Lu Shang traveled toward the realm’s central area and took fourteen spirit herbs from a Covering Moon Sect disciple who discovered his Foundation Establishment-level cultivation.
• Lu Shang followed Nangong Wan to the Ancient Cultivator's Cave Abode, where he found her fighting the Ink Flood Dragon without Han Li.
• Lu Shang rescued Nangong Wan, killed the Ink Flood Dragon, collected two Storage Bags and the Wooden Box, and copied the Great Development Technique.
• After the Ink Flood Dragon’s aura caused Lu Shang and Nangong Wan to kiss, System Sis warned him that others were entering, so Lu Shang knocked Nangong Wan unconscious and attacked the newcomers.
• Lu Shang completed both missions and carried Nangong Wan out of the cave.

Lu Shang reached the secret realm’s exit, slaughtered the cultivators blocking it, and emerged disguised as a Spirit Beast Mountain disciple. After revealing his middle Core Formation cultivation, he fled while the elders argued over his identity and the survivors reported the frozen corpses.

• Lu Shang met Han Yunzhi near the exit and ignored her warning, approaching the group fighting there.
• Lu Shang unleashed the Frost Dragon Halberd, freezing and shattering the cultivators in his path, then recovered his spiritual energy and warned Han Yunzhi to be more vigilant.
• Lu Shang emerged from the secret realm wearing Spirit Beast Mountain robes and received a Concealment Art and a sword technique manual from his mission.
• Lu Shang revealed his middle Core Formation aura, claimed to be a rogue cultivator from the Heavenly South, and flew away as the elders debated whether to pursue him.
• The elders questioned the returning disciples, who reported that the area near the exit had been sealed in frost and contained at least fifteen or twenty corpses.

After learning that Han Li had become Gu Huojin instead of being reborn, Lu Shang decided to help Qi Yunxiao and Xin Ruoyin, whose suffering at the hands of the Fu family had left them desperate. He temporarily treated Xin Ruoyin’s Dragon-Yin Body and left Qi Yunxiao with talismans and a letter, though he could not cure her completely.

• The system told Lu Shang that Han Li had become Gu Huojin, and Lu Shang decided to seek out Qi Yunxiao and Xin Ruoyin and take revenge on the Fu family for their sake.
• Four years later, Lu Shang found Qi Yunxiao closing his shop and followed him to Xin Ruoyin, who was gravely ill.
• Lu Shang used a thousand-year-old spirit herb to stabilize Xin Ruoyin and told Qi Yunxiao she would wake within two or three days.
• Lu Shang returned as promised, further suppressed Xin Ruoyin’s condition, and gave Qi Yunxiao two talismans and a letter for her.
• Qi Yunxiao learned Lu Shang’s name as Lu Shang vanished, then Lu Shang cast several spells before leaving.

Lu Shang attended Yan Family Castle’s Treasure Grabbing Assembly, where the Ghost Spirit Sect and Yan Family Castle attacked the gathered cultivators. After Dong Xuan’er sought his protection, Lu Shang confronted Wang Chan, struck him, and left with her, making himself an enemy of the Ghost Spirit Sect’s young master.

• Lu Shang arrived at Yan Family Castle’s Treasure Grabbing Assembly with a Spirit Controlling Sect guest elder token and noticed Wang Chan watching Dong Xuan’er.
• The Ghost Spirit Sect and Yan Family Castle launched a massacre, and Yan Family Castle activated the Ten Thousand Ghosts Formation against the Seven Sects’ disciples.
• Dong Xuan’er fled to Lu Shang for protection, and he displayed his token while confronting Wang Chan.
• Lu Shang struck Wang Chan, then tossed Dong Xuan’er to him and escaped from the assembly.
• Wang Chan ordered an investigation into Lu Shang and put him on his Must-Kill List, while Lu Shang remained confident that he could defeat him.

Lu Shang received a mission to help defend the Yue Kingdom and kill a Core Formation demonic-path cultivator, then visited the Mo Residence and discovered Zhang Tie guarding the family as a puppet. He gave a Mo family woman a bracelet to control Zhang Tie and left, unaware that his appearance had made a lasting impression on her.

• Lu Shang learned that the Fu family patriarch had fled to a sect and received a system mission to defend the Yue Kingdom and kill at least one Core Formation cultivator.
• Lu Shang visited a restaurant near the Mo Residence and learned from a waiter that a black-clad man had protected the family and that they had buried an empty coffin.
• Lu Shang entered the Mo Residence at night and found Zhang Tie serving as a lifeless puppet.
• A white-clad Mo family woman entered the bedroom, but Lu Shang concealed himself from her.
• Lu Shang gave the woman a bracelet that let her command Zhang Tie and explained how to keep the puppet running.
• Lu Shang left the Mo Residence, unaware that the woman had been deeply affected by meeting him.

Lu Shang attended a meeting aboard a spirit vessel to gather information about the demonic invasion, but the cultivators suspected him of being a spy and he left. He later sensed Nangong Wan approaching and questioned whether she had kept or passed on the ancient cultivation art from the Blood Trial.

• Lu Shang joined a meeting of Yue Kingdom elders and rogue cultivators aboard a spirit vessel, hoping to learn about the demonic invasion while pursuing his own mission.
• Lu Shang recognized Nangong Wan and exchanged a look with her, revealing that they remembered meeting during the Blood Trial.
• A cultivator questioned Lu Shang's unfamiliar identity and middle Core Formation cultivation, prompting Lu Shang to leave the meeting after the others voiced suspicion.
• Lu Shang flew to another spirit vessel, reflected on the coming invasion, and planned to kill a demonic Core Formation cultivator to complete his mission.
• Lu Shang sensed Nangong Wan approaching and asked whether she had taken the ancient cultivator's art from the Blood Trial and handed it over.

Nangong Wan secretly tried to help Lu Shang leave, but he confronted the other cultivators and defeated their challenge with the Wild Desolation True Demon Art. Afterward, Nangong Wan admitted she had stayed because she was worried about him, while Lu Shang remained unsettled by her feelings.

• Nangong Wan asked Lu Shang whether he was a demonic cultivator and privately urged him to leave, offering to repay him for saving her in the past.
• Lu Shang exposed their private conversation to the other spirit boat and accepted a challenge from a Core Formation cultivator.
• Lu Shang revealed his demonic aura, transformed into a towering four-armed demon, and overpowered the cultivators who attacked him.
• Li Huayuan stopped Lu Shang from continuing the fight, and the other cultivators agreed to investigate whether he belonged to the Six Demonic Sects.
• Nangong Wan told Lu Shang she had stayed because she was worried about him, then left after he tried to dismiss her.
• Lu Shang wondered how Nangong Wan had grown attached to him, unaware that the Maiden Reincarnation Art had locked onto his aura under the Ink Flood Dragon's influence.

After killing a demonic cultivator while out of control, Lu Shang learned from System Sis that his soul was merging with the world and received a mind-cleansing art. He inspected a spirit mine’s teleportation formation, captured its White Jade Spider, and encountered Chen Qiaoqian as he left.

• Lu Shang killed a demonic cultivator in a sudden fit of murderous intent, then learned from System Sis that his soul’s merger with the world could make him lose control.
• System Sis gave Lu Shang the Pure Leaf Soul-Cleansing Art, and he left to find a secluded place to practice it.
• Lu Shang inspected the teleportation formation to the Chaotic Star Sea and captured the White Jade Spider and its eggs.
• A Foundation Establishment disciple challenged Lu Shang, but Lu Shang’s aura revealed his Core Formation strength, and the disciple followed him through the mine.
• Lu Shang recognized Chen Qiaoqian, the Yellow Maple Valley disciple he had saved in the Blood Secret Realm, and asked whether she was from the Chen Family.

Lu Shang protected Chen Qiaoqian from the Ghost Spirit Sect’s invasion and killed two Core Formation Cultivators, but Wang Chan struck him with a Mountain-Shaking Talisman. Lu Shang survived the blast and retaliated against Wang Chan, whose defensive treasures blocked his sword qi.

• Lu Shang killed a Spirit Beast Mountain disciple who attacked him, then revealed to Chen Qiaoqian that Spirit Beast Mountain had sided with the Spirit Controlling Sect.
• Lu Shang led Chen Qiaoqian out of the Spirit Mine and confronted the invading Ghost Spirit Sect, where Wang Chan recognized him and ordered his followers to seize Chen Qiaoqian.
• Lu Shang swiftly killed the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators who tried to pursue Chen Qiaoqian, then fought two Core Formation Cultivators who joined forces against him.
• Lu Shang transformed into a towering four-armed demon and killed both Core Formation Cultivators with the Silver Frost Dragon Halberd.
• Wang Chan used a Mountain-Shaking Talisman against Lu Shang, gravely wounding him, and Lu Shang retaliated with more than a hundred streaks of sword qi that Wang Chan’s defensive treasures blocked.

After escaping Wang Chan’s talisman attack, Lu Shang decided to flee the Heavenly South for the Chaotic Star Sea. He infiltrated a Ghost Spirit Sect spirit mine and escaped through its Teleportation Formation as Wang Chan tried to stop him.

• Wang Chan’s talisman blast appeared to destroy Lu Shang, but Lu Shang survived by repeatedly using Blood Thunder Escape to travel more than a hundred li away.
• Lu Shang chose to head to the Chaotic Star Sea and, a month later, disguised himself as an unconscious Foundation Establishment disciple to approach the spirit mine.
• Lu Shang entered the mine and hurried toward its Teleportation Formation after realizing the paths were suspiciously empty and Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators began attacking him.
• Wang Chan ordered hundreds of cultivators to destroy the formation and sent a Core Formation cultivator wielding a blood-colored blade after Lu Shang.
• The Teleportation Formation activated and flung the Core Formation cultivator back, allowing Lu Shang to escape while Wang Chan shouted in fury.

Lu Shang arrived in the Chaotic Star Sea and began searching for an inhabited island and demon beasts to hunt. A fifth-grade beast led a horde toward three merchant ships, leaving Steward Chang and the crew expecting to die.

• Lu Shang emerged from a remote teleportation formation, damaged it to prevent its use, and vowed to take revenge on the Ghost Spirit Sect's young master.
• Lu Shang decided to raise his cultivation before venturing farther and flew through the Outer Star Sea in search of an inhabited island.
• Lu Shang sensed a fifth-grade demon beast swimming with more than a hundred lower-grade beasts following behind it.
• Bubbles rose around three merchant ships, and Steward Chang recognized the signs of an approaching Sea Race demon beast horde.
• Old Wang collapsed when Steward Chang told him what was coming, while Steward Chang recalled surviving a past horde only because a Nascent Soul Star Official intervened.

Lu Shang rescued three cargo ships from a pack of demon beasts and learned about the remote Guluan Islands from Steward Chang. He planned to settle on an uninhabited island nearby, study the Chaotic Star Sea, and continue cultivating.

• Demon beasts attacked the three ships, and a huge fifth-rank beast smashed one of them apart.
• Lu Shang arrived, drove back the giant beast, and used sword qi and his own strength to kill or wound the rest of the demon beasts.
• Steward Chang organized the surviving guards, and Lu Shang brought demon beast corpses aboard the ships for the mortals to use.
• Steward Chang introduced himself as Chang Hao and explained that the ships were returning to the Guluan Islands.
• Steward Chang told Lu Shang that the Guluan Islands comprised twenty-seven main islands in the Outer Star Sea, far from nearby Teleportation Formations.
• Lu Shang planned to settle on an uninhabited island near the Guluan Islands and study the Chaotic Star Sea.

Lu Shang arrived in the Guluan Islands and asked Steward Chang to sell the remains of a fifth-rank demon beast. He then found a remote island and prepared a cave abode for secluded cultivation.

• Lu Shang disembarked at the Guluan Islands, and Steward Chang concealed how he had obtained the demon beast carcasses.
• After failing to find a buyer, Lu Shang asked Steward Chang to sell the fifth-rank demon beast remains and keep his identity secret.
• Lu Shang found an uninhabited island and carved out a cave abode.
• Lu Shang furnished the cave with a stone table and bed, set up a formation to detect visitors, and checked the abode before settling in.