Chapter Summaries

He Pingsheng visited Mi Zangyuan to seek guidance on finding metal and earth Daoist laws, and Mi Zangyuan promised to invite him to a nascent soul cultivators’ Trading Fair. Back at the Alchemy Shop, He Pingsheng began seclusion in the basement to comprehend the five-element laws while improving his cultivation.

• He Pingsheng visited Mi Zangyuan, confirmed his powerful divine sense, and gave Su Yin a supreme-grade Origin-Reaching Pill for her upcoming core formation attempt.
• He Pingsheng asked Mi Zangyuan about obtaining metal and earth Daoist laws, and Mi Zangyuan offered to invite him to a future nascent soul cultivators’ Trading Fair.
• He Pingsheng returned to the Alchemy Shop and asked Cheng Daocai to clear the basement so he could enter seclusion.
• He Pingsheng extended the formation over the basement and began cultivating with Essence-Gathering and Mingwu Pills, sending his Dao-root tendrils into the earth.

After fifteen years of seclusion, He Pingsheng reached minor mastery of earth Daoist law and advanced to the fourth layer of the Golden Core Stage, while still lacking the metal attribute. Commandery Princess Weichuan returned his Soul-Nurturing Banner with compensation, and He Pingsheng invited her for spirit tea.

• He Pingsheng spent fifteen years comprehending earth Daoist law, consuming five supreme-grade Mingwu Pills and reaching minor mastery.
• He Pingsheng advanced from the second to the fourth layer of the Golden Core Stage and considered seeking a place rich in metal Daoist law to complete his five-element cultivation.
• He Pingsheng found that the Phoenix Egg had drained the fire attribute power from the scarlet fire crystals and decided to keep nurturing it.
• Xiao He told He Pingsheng that a visitor had left a Heartbond Talisman, and he asked her to summon the visitor.
• Commandery Princess Weichuan returned He Pingsheng's Soul-Nurturing Banner and gave him two hundred middle-grade spirit stones as compensation for borrowing it an extra ten years.
• He Pingsheng invited Commandery Princess Weichuan to the rear courtyard and offered her Century-Aged Immortal Brew.

He Pingsheng learned that the Phoenix Egg had hatched into a Variant-Blood Phoenix and heard Commandery Princess Weichuan’s invitation to compete in the Nine-Nation Grand Tournament. Weichuan explained that the tournament would be held at Tawenian Mountain, the neutral home of the powerful He Asks, He Thinks Sect.

• Commandery Princess Weichuan told He Pingsheng that the Ninth Prince had become Crown Prince and that the Thirteenth Prince had been sidelined.
• Weichuan revealed that the Phoenix Egg hatched more than a decade earlier after the Imperial Family roasted it in earthfire for ten years, producing a Golden Core Stage Variant-Blood Phoenix.
• Weichuan invited He Pingsheng to enter the upcoming Nine-Nation Grand Tournament, saying the Crown Prince admired his combat strength.
• Weichuan showed He Pingsheng a map and explained that Tawenian Mountain stood in a neutral territory at the center of the nine nations.
• Weichuan described the He Asks, He Thinks Sect’s two peak Spirit Transformation twin brothers and explained that the nations’ Golden Core disciples gathered at Tawenian Mountain every hundred years to settle disputes.

Commandery Princess Weichuan invited He Pingsheng to compete for a place in the Liang Kingdom’s team for the Nine-Nation Grand Tournament, offering a chance to request an item from the kingdom and a Commerce Association Operating License if he agreed. After accepting, He Pingsheng left to visit a large artifact refining shop in Redstone City.

• Commandery Princess Weichuan explained the Nine-Nation Grand Tournament and told He Pingsheng that he had to place in the top ten of the Royal Family’s selection to qualify.
• He Pingsheng hesitated because the tournament required golden core Dao access, but Weichuan noted that the selection was more than nine years away and promised he could request one item from the Liang Kingdom if he qualified.
• Weichuan offered He Pingsheng a court-issued Commerce Association Operating License on the Ninth Prince’s terms, and He Pingsheng agreed to compete.
• Weichuan departed after promising to send more tournament information, and He Pingsheng escorted her party out.
• He Pingsheng went to a large artifact refining shop, where a short old man greeted him.

He Pingsheng arranged for Master Lu to upgrade his Ten-Thousand Souls Banner and learned of the Purgatory Abyss in North Pole Commandery, where he hoped to hatch the Phoenix Egg. Remembering that Ruokai Mountain sounded familiar, he asked Cheng Daocai to travel to the Qi Kingdom and search for news of his lost sect and its members.

• He Pingsheng asked Master Lu to upgrade his Ten-Thousand Souls Banner with extreme yin azure gold and paid him twelve high-grade Essence-Gathering Pills; Master Lu promised to finish in two months.
• Master Lu told He Pingsheng about the earthfire-filled Purgatory Abyss beyond Ruokai Mountain in North Pole Commandery, and He Pingsheng decided it might help hatch the Phoenix Egg.
• He Pingsheng returned to his Alchemy Shop and asked Cheng Daocai to travel to Dingxiang Commandery in the Qi Kingdom to seek news of his lost sect, master, senior sister, and senior brothers.

He Pingsheng learned that the Zhongnan Dao Discussion was actually a trading fair where he might find the metal-attribute Power of the Laws he needed. He left Redstone City with Mi Zangyuan to attend the gathering on Zhongnan Mountain.

• He Pingsheng spent four hours telling Cheng Daocai about the Great Void Sect and the Cultivation Alliance, then sent him off with a voice-recording Jade Slip for Yu Ning.
• After two months of meditation and cultivation, He Pingsheng received his Ten-Thousand Souls Banner from Master Lu with thirteen layers of restrictions, making it a low-grade Mystic Treasure.
• He Pingsheng found that the Treasure-Gathering Basin could not enhance the banner again, so he stored it in his Dantian to nurture it.
• Six months later, Mi Zangyuan visited He Pingsheng and told him about the Zhongnan Dao Discussion, a trading fair beginning in seven days.
• Mi Zangyuan offered to yield any metal-attribute Power of the Laws they found, and he and He Pingsheng left Redstone City by Flying Boat for Zhongnan Mountain.

He Pingsheng arrived at Zhongnan Immortal Sect with Mi Zangyuan for the Dao Discussion Gathering and encountered Patriarch Ruokai again. After Ruokai revealed He Pingsheng’s ice and fire origin laws to the assembled cultivators, He Pingsheng returned to his lodging and set up formations to prevent spying.

• He Pingsheng and Mi Zangyuan reached Zhongnan Mountain and received temporary buildings at Zhongnan Immortal Sect.
• He Pingsheng recognized Patriarch Ruokai from their meeting at his Pill Shop years earlier, and Ruokai recognized him too.
• Patriarch Ruokai publicly mentioned He Pingsheng’s ice and fire origin laws, drawing the attention of the Great Nascent Soul cultivators.
• Mi Zangyuan rebuked Ruokai for revealing He Pingsheng’s secrets, and Bei Yezi defused the dispute before announcing the gathering’s rules.
• After the banquet, He Pingsheng returned to his building and installed a Divine-Sense Sealing Formation and a Warning Formation.

He Pingsheng attended Bei Yezi’s Dao Discussion Gathering, where Bei Yezi presented a Sumeru Pearl containing a small world and invited offers. After examining it, He Pingsheng learned from Mi Zangyuan that its sky and sunlight were synchronized with the Cultivation World, unlike a truly self-contained world.

• He Pingsheng followed Mi Zangyuan to the gathering and used his Divine Sense to discover Patriarch Ruokai was at the fourth layer of the Nascent Soul Realm.
• Patriarch Ruokai sat beside He Pingsheng and asked about trading for his ten-thousand-year ice marrow, but He Pingsheng said he still needed metal attribute laws.
• Bei Yezi showed the gathering a Sumeru Pearl containing a world about a hundred zhang across, with no Spirit Veins.
• He Pingsheng and the other cultivators extended their Divine Senses into the pearl to inspect its small world.
• He Pingsheng asked Mi Zangyuan about the sun inside the pearl, and Mi Zangyuan explained that its light, laws, and time were synchronized with the Cultivation World.

He Pingsheng traded two high-grade Mingwu Pills to Bei Yezi for a fourth-grade Sumeru Pearl, then offered Icefield Divine Dew in search of a material to help him break through the Golden Core Stage bottleneck. The gathering mocked his request, with Patriarch Ruo Kai declaring that even a hundred drops would not be enough.

• He Pingsheng learned the Sumeru Pearl was roughly fourth grade and decided to acquire it for the Phoenix he expected to hatch.
• He Pingsheng exchanged two high-grade Mingwu Pills for Bei Yezi’s Sumeru Pearl, while Patriarch Ruo Kai realized the pills might have been made from materials he had supplied.
• He Pingsheng rejected Ruo Kai’s claim to the pills, insisting their previous transaction was complete.
• Bei Yezi told He Pingsheng it was his turn to offer an item, so He Pingsheng presented ten drops of Icefield Divine Dew for a material that could help him break through the Golden Core Stage bottleneck.
• The cultivators laughed at He Pingsheng’s offer, and Ruo Kai said even a hundred drops would not secure such a material.

He Pingsheng traded his Icefield Divine Dew for a fourth-grade Golden Light Talisman and learned that the Greed and Anger Fruit was the Cultivation World’s only known treasure for breaking through the Golden Core bottleneck. He left the trading session planning to enhance the talisman, while worrying about his own two bottlenecks.

• He Pingsheng rejected the old monsters’ offers until he accepted a Golden Light Talisman from a fellow cultivator in exchange for his Icefield Divine Dew.
• He Pingsheng asked Mi Zangyuan about treasures that could break through the Golden Core bottleneck, and Mi Zangyuan explained the rarity and distribution of the Greed and Anger Fruit.
• He Pingsheng worried that the Greed and Anger Fruit was the only treasure that could break his two bottlenecks, but Mi Zangyuan told him that breakthroughs could also come through insight, perseverance, and opportunity.
• Bei Yezi ended the day’s trading session and said the gathering would continue the next day.
• He Pingsheng returned to his building and put the Golden Light Talisman into the Treasure-Gathering Basin to enhance it.

He Pingsheng brought a powerful Golden Silence Finger Talisman to the second day of the Dao discussion gathering and fended off Patriarch Ruokai’s questions about his master. The gathering began with Immortal Maiden Tantai displaying a metal-attribute glazed Nascent Soul and seeking ice-attribute laws in exchange.

• He Pingsheng read that his Fourth Grade supreme-grade Golden Silence Finger Talisman could manifest a finger powerful enough to bury a Nascent Soul Great Cultivator.
• He Pingsheng met Mi Zangyuan and entered the gathering, where Patriarch Ruokai pressed him about his treasures and the high-grade Mingwu Pills.
• He Pingsheng claimed that his master, True Person Taixu, could kill several cultivators like Ruokai with one palm, and Ruokai backed off when He Pingsheng offered to arrange a meeting.
• Bei Yezi began the day’s exchanges with Immortal Maiden Tantai, whose cultivation He Pingsheng could not discern.
• Immortal Maiden Tantai revealed a metal-attribute glazed Nascent Soul and offered to trade it for an object containing ice-attribute laws or another item she valued.

He Pingsheng traded ten-thousand-year ice marrow for a Glazed Nascent Soul and used Mi Zangyuan’s Dao Refining Method to extract its metal-attribute law. With all five elements’ Daoist laws gathered, he prepared to cultivate the Five Elements Unity Force as the final trading session ended.

• He Pingsheng exchanged ten-thousand-year ice marrow with Immortal Maiden Tantai for a Glazed Nascent Soul, then Mi Zangyuan offered a fourth-grade defensive Formation Plate in his place.
• After the second day’s trading ended, He Pingsheng decided with Mi Zangyuan to skip the final session because he had obtained what he wanted.
• Mi Zangyuan gave He Pingsheng a book containing a Dao Refining Method for extracting Daoist law from a Nascent Soul.
• He Pingsheng enhanced the Glazed Nascent Soul in the Treasure-Gathering Basin, refined one of the two resulting Nascent Souls, and absorbed its metal-attribute law.
• He Pingsheng completed his collection of all five elements’ Daoist laws, prepared to cultivate the Five Elements Unity Force, and dismantled his formations as the final trading session neared its end.

He Pingsheng used the Great Freedom Pearls to obtain spacious but spiritless inner spaces, then spent five years in secluded cultivation mastering Five Elements Unity Force, comprehending spear intent, and advancing to the fifth layer of the Golden Core Stage. He left seclusion and planned to visit Ruokai Mountain to see whether he could hatch the Phoenix Egg.

• Mi Zangyuan confirmed that he had obtained metal-attribute power of the laws and took He Pingsheng back to Redstone City.
• He Pingsheng enhanced the Sumeru Pearl into two Great Freedom Pearls, each containing a vast space without spiritual energy.
• He Pingsheng mastered Five Elements Unity Force and used it to strengthen his flame, Vajra Shield, and Yellow Turban Strongman divine abilities.
• He Pingsheng consumed the Spear Intent Crystal over several years and developed his own understanding of the way of the spear.
• He Pingsheng refined the thirteenth restriction on the Ten-Thousand Souls Banner, advanced to the fifth layer of the Golden Core Stage, and left seclusion to visit Ruokai Mountain.

He Pingsheng discovered that Xiao He had reached the Golden Core Stage and gave her defensive treasures and higher-level cultivation techniques. Ling Zhiwang then revealed that he had suffered wisdom severance, and He Pingsheng offered him an Icefield Divine Dew.

• He Pingsheng learned that Xiao He had reached the Golden Core Stage after surviving a six-nine heavenly tribulation.
• He Pingsheng gave Xiao He three magical treasures and the Golden Core and Nascent Soul chapters of a cultivation technique.
• Xiao He told He Pingsheng that Old Cheng had not returned, though his Life Tablet remained intact, and that Ling Zhiwang had come looking for him.
• Ling Zhiwang told He Pingsheng that he had suffered wisdom severance and planned to leave cultivation behind for a life of comfort.
• Ling Zhiwang asked to buy Ice-Origin Jiazi Dew, and He Pingsheng showed him a drop of Icefield Divine Dew instead.

He Pingsheng recruited Ling Zhiwang to manage a commerce association he planned to establish in Great Liang’s Imperial Capital, offering him Icefield Divine Dew in exchange for thirty years of service. Ling agreed and brought in Huang Shen to handle purchasing, while He promised to help Huang reach the Golden Core Stage if he proved himself.

• He Pingsheng showed Ling Zhiwang Icefield Divine Dew and offered it in exchange for thirty years managing his new commerce association.
• Ling doubted He Pingsheng could establish a commerce association in the Imperial Capital until He showed him the Imperial Crown Prince’s permit.
• Ling accepted the offer and asked to bring Huang Shen, a trusted purchasing specialist, to join the venture.
• He Pingsheng gave Ling the Icefield Divine Dew and met Huang Shen, a Foundation Establishment cultivator with water and wood Spirit Roots.
• He Pingsheng promised to provide Huang with the treasures needed to reach the Golden Core Stage if he performed well.

He Pingsheng sent Ling Zhiwang and Huang Shen to establish the Taixu Commerce Association, then traveled north toward the Purgatory Abyss. At the foot of the Ruokai Mountain Range, four Golden Core cultivators confronted him and demanded that he land because their sect prohibited flying.

• He Pingsheng gave Ling Zhiwang spirit stones and valuable pills to start the Taixu Commerce Association, and asked him to buy a hundred Golden Core Stage Poison Pellets.
• He Pingsheng visited Qiao Huizhu at the Free and Carefree Immortal Sect, then boarded an Immortal Ship to North Pole Commandery.
• He Pingsheng tried to enhance a middle-grade spirit stone in the Treasure-Gathering Basin, but the attempt failed.
• He Pingsheng reached Far North City, flew north, and found the verdant Ruokai Mountain Range amid the snow.
• Four Golden Core cultivators intercepted He Pingsheng, told him their sect forbade flying, and followed him to the mountain's foot after he landed.

He Pingsheng was forced to pay Ruokai Mountain cultivators to escort him toward the Purgatory Abyss, where Patriarch Ruo Kai intercepted him and demanded his ten-thousand-year ice marrow. He Pingsheng refused and challenged Ruo Kai, who attacked him with an Ice Arrow as he raised a shield.

• A Golden Core cultivator told He Pingsheng that flying was forbidden within ten thousand li of Ruokai Mountain and demanded spirit stones to take him to the Purgatory Abyss.
• He Pingsheng paid the escort fee and followed four Golden Core cultivators through the air toward the abyss.
• Patriarch Ruo Kai appeared, sent the four cultivators away, and threatened He Pingsheng while demanding his ten-thousand-year ice marrow.
• He Pingsheng said he had already traded the ice marrow and challenged Ruo Kai to fight.
• Ruo Kai attacked He Pingsheng with an Ice Arrow, and He Pingsheng formed a black shield to block it.

He Pingsheng endured Patriarch Ruo Kai’s full-strength attacks and proved their defenses were evenly matched. He then counterattacked with a black Ice Arrow that destroyed Ruo Kai’s Ice Mountain, leaving Ruo Kai determined to kill him before he grew stronger.

• He Pingsheng’s Black Shield withstood Ruo Kai’s first Ice Arrow, and Ruo Kai launched a much stronger second attack.
• He Pingsheng blocked the second attack with his Vajra Shield and Ancient Mystic Cauldron, emerging unharmed and gaining confidence in his strength.
• Ruo Kai questioned He Pingsheng’s unusual magic power, and He Pingsheng announced that he would counterattack.
• He Pingsheng launched a black Ice Arrow and replenished his magic power with Icefield Divine Dew while it flew toward Ruo Kai.
• Ruo Kai’s Ice Mountain blocked the black arrow but was destroyed, and the resulting blast damaged Ruokai Mountain.
• Ruo Kai resolved to kill He Pingsheng before he became strong enough to threaten Ruokai Mountain.

He Pingsheng survived Patriarch Ruo Kai’s Ten Thousand Mountains Flying Snow Divine Ability and counterattacked with the Heaven-Deficiency Divine Spear. He pierced Ruo Kai’s body, but Ruo Kai’s Nascent Soul escaped and fled toward Ruokai Mountain.

• Patriarch Ruo Kai trapped He Pingsheng in Ten Thousand Mountains Flying Snow, whose multiplying snowflakes shattered his Vajra Shield and blocked his Instantaneous Teleportation.
• He Pingsheng survived the snowflake barrage using the Seven-Buckle Sharp-Gold Armor and a Fourth Grade Heavenly Fire Condensed Armor talisman.
• After Ruo Kai’s Divine Ability ended, He Pingsheng summoned the Heaven-Deficiency Divine Spear and attacked with Five Elements Unity and supreme spear intent.
• Ruo Kai failed to teleport away and raised an Ice Mountain, but He Pingsheng’s spear pierced through it and struck Ruo Kai’s chest.
• Ruo Kai’s Ice Blue glazed Nascent Soul escaped his body and fled toward Ruokai Mountain.

He Pingsheng defeated Patriarch Ruokai, captured his Nascent Soul, and drew his soul into the Ten-Thousand Souls Banner despite Daoist Ruochong's plea for mercy. He then flew to the Purgatory Abyss, reflecting that he could escape a serious Nascent Soul opponent but could not reliably win a head-on fight.

• He Pingsheng used a Formless Big Dipper Nail to stop Ruokai's Glazed Nascent Soul and seized it, rejecting Ruokai's pleas and taking his ring.
• Daoist Ruochong arrived and asked He Pingsheng to spare his junior brother, but He Pingsheng pointed out that Ruochong had watched Ruokai try to kill him.
• He Pingsheng summoned the Ten-Thousand Souls Banner and pulled Ruokai's soul into it while Daoist Ruochong watched without intervening.
• He Pingsheng told Daoist Ruochong to seek him out if he wanted revenge, then flew toward the Purgatory Abyss.
• Four Golden Core cultivators discussed He Pingsheng's strength and resolved to treat everyone politely after realizing how close they had come to provoking him.
• He Pingsheng reflected that he had needed a Heavenly Fire Condensed Armor talisman to survive Ruokai's strongest attack and arrived above the Purgatory Abyss.