Recaps

He Pingsheng visited the Trade Pavilion’s second floor for the first time and examined its pills, herbs, and magical items. He found useful goods but lacked the spirit stones to buy them, and left without purchasing anything.

• He Pingsheng passed the second-floor checkpoint after the gray-robed elder confirmed his cultivation level.
• He Pingsheng browsed the pill display and discovered that Grain-Avoidance Pills cost contribution points while cultivation pills required spirit stones.
• He Pingsheng asked a blue-robed disciple whether contribution points could be exchanged for spirit stones and learned that they could not be freely exchanged.
• He Pingsheng considered buying herbs to make Qi-Gathering Pills but abandoned the idea because he lacked spirit stones and the necessary alchemy equipment and skills.
• He Pingsheng examined expensive magical artifacts and talismans, realized he could not afford them, and left the shelves without buying anything.

He Pingsheng tried to sell an enhanced copy of Thirty-Six Alchemy Formulas at the sect’s supply hall, but the disciple there rejected it. After learning how Outer Disciples could earn spirit stones, he applied for a fire-attribute position tending Blazing Sun Flowers in Spirit Medicine Valley, though he still had to pass a test.

• He Pingsheng learned that a Paper Crane could carry a passenger ten thousand li in one day and could be used three times.
• He Pingsheng offered his enhanced Thirty-Six Alchemy Formulas to the blue-robed disciple, who refused to buy it and accused him of peddling a fraud.
• He Pingsheng asked how Outer Disciples could earn spirit stones and learned about trades, paid work, sales, and special sect missions.
• The blue-robed disciple told He Pingsheng that Spirit Medicine Valley was recruiting a fire-attribute disciple to tend Blazing Sun Flowers for 200 contribution points a month.
• He Pingsheng applied for the Spirit Medicine Valley position, but the blue-robed disciple warned that a senior brother would test his fire spiritual power.

He Pingsheng passed the fire spiritual power test and was accepted to tend the blazing sun flowers in Spirit Medicine Valley. True Person Withered Wood gave him a token and warned him to do the work carefully, leaving Wang Dun to show him how.

• Wang Dun tested He Pingsheng’s fire spiritual power and found it unusually pure.
• Wang Dun brought He Pingsheng to Spirit Medicine Valley, where He Pingsheng used the testing stone and revealed high-grade fire spiritual power.
• Wang Dun led He Pingsheng to meet True Person Withered Wood, who gave him a Black Token for the valley.
• True Person Withered Wood told He Pingsheng to tend the blazing sun flowers for the remaining three months of their flowering season and sent Wang Dun to teach him.

Wang Dun explained He Pingsheng’s duties tending the Blazing Sun Flowers, including replenishing their formation and collecting pollen for talisman ink. He Pingsheng moved into the garden’s cave and powered the formation stone until it turned gold, keeping his full ability a secret.

• Wang Dun explained that the Blazing Sun Flowers needed fire spiritual power supplied through a formation, and that the energy stone’s colors indicated how often it needed replenishing.
• Wang Dun told He Pingsheng to collect the flowers’ pollen every three to five days, grind it into powder, and hand it all over to Withered Wood True Person.
• Wang Dun showed He Pingsheng the cave he would live in and the jade bottles and tools for gathering pollen, then left him to settle in.
• He Pingsheng familiarized himself with the area, then poured his fire spiritual power into the formation stone until it turned gold.
• He Pingsheng stopped before the stone could turn purple, deciding not to reveal more of his ability.

He Pingsheng spent two months cultivating and collecting Blazing Sun Flower pollen for Withered Wood True Person, then was tasked with delivering the final harvest after the flowers withered. Short on cultivation resources, he secretly kept a bottle of pollen, and Wang Dun proposed that they hide even more and split the proceeds.

• He Pingsheng cultivated with Supreme Qi-Gathering Pills, collected and ground pollen every three days, and delivered ten bottles to Withered Wood True Person after two months.
• Withered Wood True Person rewarded He Pingsheng with two spirit stones, left the sect, and ordered Wang Dun to take He Pingsheng and the final pollen harvest to Horsehead Mountain for Shopkeeper Shi at Abundant Harmony Manor.
• He Pingsheng continued tending the flowers and collecting pollen while Wang Dun occasionally watched him.
• After the Blazing Sun Flowers withered, He Pingsheng collected a little over eleven bottles of pollen and secretly transferred one bottle into his own jade bottle.
• Wang Dun inspected the remaining bottles, suggested that he and He Pingsheng hide half a bottle, and offered to split the spirit stones from its sale.

He Pingsheng accompanied Wang Dun to the Horsehead Mountain market to sell True Person Kumu’s Blazing Sun Flower pollen. Shopkeeper Liu accepted the pollen for 1,008 spirit stones and began preparing a receipt for them.

• Wang Dun tested He Pingsheng by asking whether they should secretly sell some pollen, then rewarded him with three spirit stones when he rejected the idea.
• Wang Dun and He Pingsheng flew to Horsehead Mountain on a Paper Crane, and Wang Dun warned He Pingsheng not to use his divine sense carelessly.
• Wang Dun explained that Horsehead Mountain was a market serving the Daoist Profound Alliance and its rogue cultivators.
• Wang Dun presented eleven bottles of pollen at the Abundant Harmony Manor, where Shopkeeper Liu assessed them as ten and a half bottles of low-grade pollen worth 1,008 spirit stones.
• Shopkeeper Liu told Wang Dun and He Pingsheng to leave, then began writing them a stamped receipt so they could account for the sale to True Person Kumu.

He Pingsheng and Wang Dun explored a trading house and the stalls at Horsehead Mountain, where Wang Dun admired expensive storage bags and tried to buy pills. He Pingsheng resisted lending him Spirit Stones and bought a partly used Paper Crane so he could return to sell his Blazing Sun Flower pollen.

• Shopkeeper Liu gave He Pingsheng a signed and sealed contract, and Wang Dun persuaded him to look around Horsehead Mountain before leaving.
• Wang Dun showed He Pingsheng basic, intermediate, and advanced Storage Bags and explained their sizes and features, then showed him a Spirit Beast Bag.
• Wang Dun and He Pingsheng browsed the outside stalls, and Wang Dun stopped He Pingsheng from buying Blazing Sun Flower seeds.
• Wang Dun considered buying twelve Qi-Gathering Pills at a discount and asked He Pingsheng to lend him Spirit Stones.
• He Pingsheng said he only had five Spirit Stones and bought a Paper Crane with one activation left so he could return with his Blazing Sun Flower pollen.

He Pingsheng bought a damaged copy of the God-Communion Method and lent Wang Dun three spirit stones in exchange for an Alchemy Furnace as collateral. After enhancing the book with the Treasure-Gathering Basin, He Pingsheng discovered a complete soul-refinement method, the Mysterious Gate Tranquil Mind True Formula.

• He Pingsheng bought the incomplete God-Communion Method for two spirit stones and planned to enhance it with the Treasure-Gathering Basin.
• He Pingsheng lent Wang Dun his remaining three spirit stones, and Wang Dun bought a batch of Qi-Gathering Pills.
• Wang Dun left his Alchemy Furnace with He Pingsheng as collateral before the two returned to Spirit Medicine Valley.
• He Pingsheng put the damaged method in the Treasure-Gathering Basin overnight, and it produced the Heavenly Demon Soul-Sowing Method and the Mysterious Gate Tranquil Mind True Formula.
• He Pingsheng read the complete Mysterious Gate Tranquil Mind True Formula and learned that it refined the soul, strengthening divine sense and aiding pill refinement and combat.

He Pingsheng cultivated his divine sense and discovered that the Treasure-Gathering Basin had improved the Paper Cranes he placed inside. After Withered Wood True Person dismissed him from Spirit Medicine Valley, He Pingsheng left, while Withered Wood secretly searched Bamboo Peak’s plant ash for the reason behind his suggestion.

• He Pingsheng trained with the Mysterious Gate Tranquil Mind True Formula, enduring a day of pain to reach the first level of divine sense cultivation.
• The Treasure-Gathering Basin duplicated He Pingsheng’s Paper Crane, and he found that both cranes had twelve activations and flew twice as fast.
• He Pingsheng spent a month cultivating until his divine sense reached the second level of the Qi Refining Chapter.
• Withered Wood True Person returned, praised He Pingsheng for completing his pollen collection, and told him to leave Spirit Medicine Valley until next year.
• He Pingsheng suggested using plant ash from Bamboo Peak as fertilizer, but Withered Wood suspected he wanted to search the dump for something and sent him away.
• Withered Wood searched the plant ash and found only ash and discarded pills before leaving Bamboo Peak.

He Pingsheng used the Treasure-Gathering Basin to enhance fading Blazing Sun Flower pollen, then spent four months cultivating his divine sense until it reached the fourth level of the Qi Refining section. As snow fell, he prepared to fly to Horsehead Mountain’s market, leaving his sect identity concealed.

• He Pingsheng accepted Wang Dun’s alchemy furnace for safekeeping and returned to his courtyard with the pollen and other gains from the mountain.
• He Pingsheng placed the fading Blazing Sun Flower pollen in the Treasure-Gathering Basin, which transformed it into supreme-grade purple pollen.
• He Pingsheng cultivated the Mysterious Gate Tranquil Mind True Formula for four months and extended his divine sense beyond thirty zhang.
• He Pingsheng noticed that another year had passed and wondered why Wang Dun had not come to reclaim his furnace or repay the spirit stones.
• He Pingsheng packed his belongings in the Treasure-Gathering Basin, changed out of his sect Daoist robe, and flew toward Horsehead Mountain on a Paper Crane.

He Pingsheng sold two bottles of middle-grade blazing sun flower pollen for six hundred spirit stones and bought ingredients and pills at the Horsehead Mountain market. He learned that pill use could cause toxin to build up and that Clear Spirit Pills were used to purge it.

• He Pingsheng discovered that his divine sense cultivation technique let him see the middle-aged stallholder's eighth-level Qi Refining cultivation despite his own fourth level.
• He Pingsheng sold two bottles of middle-grade blazing sun flower pollen to a shopkeeper for six hundred spirit stones without revealing his origins.
• He Pingsheng carried the spirit stones through the market and bought twenty portions each of several Qi-Gathering Pill ingredients.
• He Pingsheng bought four batches of Qi-Gathering Pills, two from a shop and two from the middle-aged stallholder.
• The middle-aged stallholder explained that long-term pill use caused toxin to accumulate and that Clear Spirit Pills could purge it.

He Pingsheng learned that Wang Dun had been killed by an Inner Disciple from Bamboo Peak, leaving him grieving and troubled by how little Outer Disciples’ lives seemed to matter. He prepared to begin making Qi-Gathering Pills by enhancing his ingredients and Wang Dun’s Alchemy Furnace, studying alchemy, and gathering firewood.

• He Pingsheng left the Horsehead Mountain market, unknowingly evading the Blackwind Three Fiends, who failed to catch up with him.
• At the Outer Sect Hall, He Pingsheng learned that Wang Dun had been killed by an Inner Disciple from Bamboo Peak and left without pursuing the spirit-stone debt.
• He Pingsheng returned to his room and reflected bitterly on the deaths of Outer Disciples and the power of Inner Disciples.
• He Pingsheng examined his supplies, put herbs into the Treasure-Gathering Basin for enhancement, and later added Wang Dun’s Alchemy Furnace.
• He Pingsheng studied the basics of alchemy and the Qi-Gathering Pill formula, then went up the mountain to chop the firewood needed for pill-making.

He Pingsheng enhanced his alchemy ingredients and furnaces, refined a furnace, and began making Qi-Gathering Pills. After repeated failures, he succeeded on his seventeenth batch and established a success rate of about one in four.

• He Pingsheng enhanced forty sets of medicinal ingredients and two alchemy furnaces into supreme-grade magical artifacts.
• He Pingsheng spent two months refining the restrictions on a furnace so he could control it and summon it freely.
• He Pingsheng followed the Thirty-Six Alchemy Formulas to brew his first batch, but the pills exploded before they could fully form.
• He Pingsheng refined two batches a day, keeping the failed pills and reflecting on each attempt.
• He Pingsheng succeeded in refining pills on his seventeenth batch and continued, achieving success about once every four batches.

He Pingsheng reached the fifth layer of the Qi Refining Stage and went to the Outer Sect Hall to replenish his supplies, where he discovered the Great Void Sect was selecting inner disciples. After joining the selection, he surprised the examiners by revealing his age, cultivation, and five-element spiritual root.

• He Pingsheng refined forty batches of pills, then used the Treasure-Gathering Basin to enhance and double them into eighty batches of supreme-grade [Qi-Gathering Pills].
• He Pingsheng spent several months cultivating, reaching the fifth layer of the Qi Refining Stage in both the [Lihuo True Method] and the [Mysterious Gate Tranquil Mind True Formula].
• He Pingsheng went to the Outer Sect Hall for supplies and learned that the Great Void Sect was selecting twenty inner disciples from thousands of candidates.
• He Pingsheng joined a selection line and told the examiners that he had a five-element spiritual root and was seventeen years old.
• The male examiner reacted with surprise when He Pingsheng said he had reached the fifth layer of the Qi Refining Stage at seventeen with a five-element spiritual root.

He Pingsheng concealed his rapid cultivation by explaining that his alchemy profits let him consume pills, then prepared for a possible Inner Sect selection by learning a defensive spell and starting to cultivate his wood-type dantian. He successfully connected the wood dantian to his meridians, opening the way to cultivate a second dantian.

• He Pingsheng told the senior cultivators that his three-attribute spiritual roots and alchemy skills explained his fifth-layer Qi Refining cultivation, and the woman urged him to purge pill toxins and check the selection results in a month.
• He Pingsheng refined Grain-Avoidance Pills and used the Treasure-Gathering Basin to double his successful and failed batches into 240 supreme-grade pills.
• He Pingsheng mastered the Fire Shield Technique after practicing for a little over twenty days.
• He Pingsheng decided to cultivate his wood-type dantian with the Everlasting Spring Qi Circulation Art so he could continue progressing without drawing suspicion by rapidly advancing his fire-type dantian.
• He Pingsheng drew wood-attribute spiritual power into his meridians and, after a day of circulation, connected his wood-type dantian to them.

He Pingsheng was selected as one of the Great Void Sect’s top twenty disciples and escorted to Bamboo Peak. Zhao Ling'er explained the peak’s layout and took him to become a disciple of her master, Yu Ning.

• He Pingsheng reached the second layer of cultivation in his wood-aspect dantian and went to hear the Inner Sect selection results.
• The black-robed disciple named He Pingsheng among the twenty selected disciples, despite protests from Outer Disciples who had higher cultivation.
• Zhao Ling'er called He Pingsheng and Shen Shigu to join her, then questioned He Pingsheng about his ability to refine first-grade pills.
• Zhao Ling'er brought the two men by Paper Crane to Bamboo Peak and explained that the Grand Ancestor and three foundation-establishment disciples lived there.
• Zhao Ling'er sent Shen Shigu to Jade Virtue’s residence and told He Pingsheng that he would become Yu Ning’s disciple and her fellow disciple.

He Pingsheng became True Person Yu Ning’s ninth true disciple and received cultivation supplies and a residence. Yu Ning then tested his claimed pill-refining skill, leaving him to attempt Qi-Gathering Pills with ten sets of ingredients.

• Zhao Ling'er led He Pingsheng to Yu Ning Palace, where he bowed to True Person Yu Ning and greeted his fellow disciples.
• True Person Yu Ning accepted He Pingsheng as her ninth true disciple after learning that he practiced a basic method and cultivated fire-attribute qi.
• Yu Ning gave He Pingsheng a fire-attribute cultivation secret art, twenty spirit stones, and access to the regular benefits and residences for inner disciples.
• He Pingsheng chose a secluded residence, collected Daoist robes and an Inner Disciple Token, then returned to Yu Ning Palace.
• Yu Ning handed He Pingsheng ten sets of Qi-Gathering Pill ingredients and ordered him to prove his skill within ten attempts.
• He Pingsheng asked to use his own Alchemy Furnace, and Yu Ning agreed and allowed two servant disciples to tend the fire.

He Pingsheng refined his first batch of Qi-Gathering Pills before Yu Ning and was accepted as her direct disciple. Yu Ning assigned him a monthly pill quota, then made a Life Tablet for him so she would know if he died.

• He Pingsheng used his supreme-grade Alchemy Furnace to refine twelve low-grade Qi-Gathering Pills, and Yu Ning praised his success.
• Yu Ning made He Pingsheng her direct disciple, and his senior brothers and sisters asked him to refine pills for them.
• Yu Ning required He Pingsheng to provide five batches of Qi-Gathering Pills each month in exchange for fifty sets of ingredients, exemption from assignments, and annual contribution points.
• Yu Ning led He Pingsheng to a room of Life Tablets and explained that each tablet shattered when its owner died.
• He Pingsheng gave blood for his Life Tablet, and Yu Ning inscribed his name on it.

He Pingsheng received a Treasure Bag and cultivation method from Yu Ning, then tested his Treasure-Gathering Basin with a single spirit stone. After discovering it had produced two unusually powerful spirit stones, he sought Zhao Ling'er’s help finding a book on cultivation basics and headed for Jade Dragon Peak.

• Yu Ning gave He Pingsheng a Treasure Bag, the Blazing Fire Qi Refining Art, and twenty spirit stones, and told him to ask Zhao Ling'er about cultivation and sect rules.
• He Pingsheng visited his senior brothers and sisters, then returned to his courtyard and put up a sign saying he was in seclusion.
• He Pingsheng placed one spirit stone in the Treasure-Gathering Basin and woke the next morning to find two larger stones filling his room with dense spiritual energy.
• He Pingsheng stored the two stones in his dantian and asked Zhao Ling'er where he could find a book covering basic cultivation knowledge.
• Zhao Ling'er directed He Pingsheng to the Scripture Repository Hall on Jade Dragon Peak, and he went to the square to use a Teleportation Array.
• The Outer Disciple guarding the array recognized He Pingsheng’s status, greeted him respectfully, and offered to send him to the Great Void Hall.

He Pingsheng traveled to the Scripture Repository Hall and Treasury Hall to learn about cultivation and buy supplies. After reading the Cultivation Miscellany, he discovered that the spirit stones enhanced by his Treasure-Gathering Basin were only middle-grade, and wondered about supreme-grade spirit stones.

• He Pingsheng traveled through the Great Void Sect to Jade Dragon Peak and found the Scripture Repository Hall.
• An old man recognized He Pingsheng as Yu Ning's disciple and let him browse the first floor, where he bought the Cultivation Miscellany for ten spirit stones.
• He Pingsheng visited the Treasury Hall and bought a Flying Sword, a Greenwood Shield, a Fireball Talisman, and an Ice Needle Talisman for two hundred and seventy spirit stones.
• Back in his courtyard, He Pingsheng read that spirit stones came in four grades and realized the stones enhanced by his Treasure-Gathering Basin were only middle-grade.

He Pingsheng learned why his Treasure-Gathering Basin currently enhanced spirit stones only to middle grade, then enhanced his Treasury Hall purchases while refining pills. After delivering five batches to Zhao Ling'er, he entered her courtyard and noticed a yellow film of light at her doorway.

• He Pingsheng read that middle-grade spirit stones could support cultivation, while higher grades could sustain spirit veins and sects, and decided to avoid spending his enhanced stones or drawing attention.
• He Pingsheng refined five batches of Qi-Gathering Pills and enhanced his purchased items into supreme-grade magical artifacts and stronger talismans.
• He Pingsheng decided to keep several enhanced treasures and sell three magical artifacts to raise enough spirit stones for a Storage Bag.
• He Pingsheng brought the five batches of pills to Zhao Ling'er because Yu Ning was in seclusion, and Zhao Ling'er invited him into her flower-filled courtyard.
• He Pingsheng noticed an earthen-yellow film of light at Zhao Ling'er's doorway.

He Pingsheng learned how a Seclusion Formation could protect his courtyard and bought materials to set one up, hoping to keep the scent of his Supreme Qi-Gathering Pills from leaking out. Daoist Nun Feng questioned him about his spending, but Zhao Ling'er vouched for his pill-making, and he was allowed to go.

• Zhao Ling'er showed He Pingsheng how her Seclusion Formation worked and warned him about Senior Brother Huang spying on disciples.
• He Pingsheng bought first-grade Seclusion Formation materials at the Treasury Hall, spending all but fourteen of his spirit stones.
• He Pingsheng returned to his courtyard and studied the formation diagram, considering whether to enhance the formation.
• Daoist Nun Feng confronted He Pingsheng about spending over five hundred spirit stones, and he explained that he had inherited money and earned more by refining pills.
• Zhao Ling'er confirmed that He Pingsheng could refine pills, and Daoist Nun Feng left after learning his parents had died.

He Pingsheng cultivated in seclusion for three months and broke through to the sixth level of Qi Refining, then spent the following months cultivating multiple dantians and his mind formula. After upgrading his Seclusion Formation, he headed to Horsehead Mountain Market to sell magical artifacts and seek a Storage Bag.

• He Pingsheng set up a low-grade Seclusion Formation that concealed the scent of his supreme-grade Qi-Gathering Pills.
• After three months of cultivating and refining pills for Zhao Ling'er, He Pingsheng advanced to the sixth level of Qi Refining and resolved to slow his apparent progress.
• By winter, He Pingsheng had reached the sixth level in his fire- and wood-element dantians and cultivated the Mysterious Gate Tranquil Mind True Formula to its sixth level.
• He Pingsheng strengthened his Seclusion Formation into two sets of supreme-grade materials with a range of up to a hundred zhang.
• He Pingsheng told Zhao Ling'er he would be gone for a day, then flew to Horsehead Mountain Market in disguise with magical artifacts and formation materials to sell.

He Pingsheng sold two supreme-grade magical artifacts at Horsehead Mountain Market, earning 1,950 spirit stones, and then went to Kunlun Pool to buy a Storage Bag. The chapter ended as the shopkeeper showed him the three grades available.

• He Pingsheng sold a supreme-grade Alchemy Furnace for 800 spirit stones at a shop near Abundant Harmony Manor.
• He Pingsheng sold a supreme-grade Vine Armor Shield to a cultivator at Harmony Hall for 1,150 spirit stones.
• He Pingsheng counted his 1,950 spirit stones and decided to sell his formation materials rather than his supreme-grade Flying Sword.
• He Pingsheng entered Kunlun Pool and asked the white-haired shopkeeper to show him Storage Bags.
• The shopkeeper led He Pingsheng to a shelf and offered low-grade, middle-grade, and high-grade Storage Bags.

He Pingsheng bought a low-grade Storage Bag by trading supreme-grade Seclusion Formation materials and purchased an Earth-Attribute Cultivation Method and materials for a low-grade formation. As he flew back toward the Great Void Sect, the Blackwind Three Fiends spotted him and set out to pursue him.

• He Pingsheng traded his supreme-grade Seclusion Formation materials and six hundred spirit stones for a low-grade Storage Bag, then stored his remaining spirit stones inside it.
• He Pingsheng bought an Earth-Attribute Cultivation Method for thirty spirit stones and purchased materials for a low-grade Seclusion Formation.
• He Pingsheng left Horsehead Mountain Market on his Paper Crane and flew toward the Great Void Sect.
• The Blackwind Three Fiends emerged from hiding after He Pingsheng left and noted his rapid cultivation, valuable possessions, and new Storage Bag.
• The eldest of the Blackwind Three Fiends summoned a Flying Boat and ordered the second brother to wait while he and the third brother chased He Pingsheng.