Chapter Summaries

White Raven and the ghost gods siphoned most of the Green Beetles meant for the workers, prompting an injured pair of ghosts and monsters to deliver a blood petition to Wang Quan. Wang Quan promised the workers their full wages, negotiated a larger payment with the ghost gods, and revealed a plan involving a Golden Core death-substitution Divine Ability.

• White Raven organized layers of underlings who took cuts of the wages, leaving the ghosts and monsters doing the work with only one Green Beetle each.
• Ghosts and monsters protested, plotted passive resistance, and sent a blood petition toward Wang Quan, but White Raven and Daoist Two Ravens pursued them.
• After a dangerous journey, two wounded ghosts and monsters delivered the petition to Wang Quan in City No. 95.
• Wang Quan healed the petitioners and promised that workers would receive a hundred Green Beetles in wages each day.
• Wang Quan offered the ghost gods two hundred Green Beetles per worker, requiring them to pass a hundred to the workers at the bottom of the hierarchy.
• Wang Quan told Ruo Jinghong and the others that he had a plan based on a Golden Core death-substitution Divine Ability, and Ruo Jinghong identified it as Money Can Buy Life.

Wang Quan proposed using Divine Abilities to mark Green Beetles so that ghosts and monsters who worked diligently would keep the money, while those who did not would face its life-buying power. He arranged for the cultivators to provide the Divine Ability imprints and share the resulting substitutes, then the ghost gods began distributing the coins outside the city.

• Mei Niang mistook Wang Quan's plan for a way to make others die in his place, but Wang Quan explained that diligent workers would lose the Divine Ability imprints on their Green Beetles.
• Ruo Jinghong warned that the plan could produce enormous numbers of substitutes, but Wang Quan offered to supply most of the Green Beetles and let the cultivators provide the imprints and share the substitutes.
• The cultivators celebrated Wang Quan's offer, and after their antics with Mei Niang, Wang Quan said he no longer wanted to harvest others now that he had the ability to choose.
• Mei Niang and the others delivered Hundred-Treasure Pouches filled with Green Fly Coins to ghost gods outside the city.
• Some ghost gods passed the coins to their underlings, while others kept a portion and urged their ghosts and monsters to work hard for Lord Flower-Scatter.

Wang Quan’s enormous workforce rapidly built the [Bygone Days] title, while he chose the [Time] and [History] traits for their links to historical fragments and protection against attempts to alter his past. Construction continued under his watch as he considered how the traits might affect future encounters.

• Wang Quan paid the ghosts fairly, and their gratitude drove more than a billion of them to build the title at remarkable speed.
• Ruo Jinghong, Mei Niang, and the other Golden Core cultivators were astonished by how much faster the ghosts worked than expected.
• Wang Quan arrived at the construction site aboard the Seventy-Two Paths of Smoke and Dust and watched over the project without directing its daily work.
• Wang Quan used two trait slots to select [Time] and [History] after deliberating for more than ten days.
• Wang Quan hoped [Time] would weaken historical beings and support [Bygone Days], while [History] would strengthen his historical existence against those seeking to kill him or change the past.

Wang Quan finished analyzing Golden Core Fundamental Methods and inspected the expanding construction project before rushing to Bitter Cold City after Ying Jiaren warned that the Way of Incense Worship had slowed her mind. He found her engulfed in poisonous incense worship that was driving the city’s inhabitants mad, and entered the city to stop her.

• Wang Quan analyzed all the Golden Core Fundamental Methods over three years while Ruo Jinghong, the ghosts, and the monsters continued developing the worlds and construction site.
• Wang Quan contacted Ying Jiaren, learned she was controlling over a billion ghosts and monsters through the Way of Incense Worship, and traveled to Bitter Cold City when he feared it had tainted her.
• Wang Quan found Ying Jiaren surrounded by vast clouds of incense worship as spirits burned one another to make incense for her.
• Golden Core Cultivators warned Wang Quan that the incense worship was poisonous and that Ying Jiaren might destroy Bitter Cold City, so he charged through the incense to reach her.
• Wang Quan found the city’s inhabitants behaving madly while Orthodox Cultivators stayed to work for Ying Jiaren, believing the dangerous outside world was worse.

Wang Quan visited Ying Jiaren, who was enduring poisonous incense worship to cultivate her Way of Incense Worship, and learned that most Bump Spirit Monsters were reincarnated powerful beings. After confirming their past lives, he wrestled with how to treat them, then took Mei Niang’s advice and returned to analyzing spells for refining Divine Abilities.

• Wang Quan warned Ying Jiaren that gathering so much incense worship could corrupt her, but she insisted she could withstand it and wanted to cultivate its Divine Abilities.
• Ying Jiaren told Wang Quan that nearly all Bump Spirit Monsters were reincarnated Evil who had once been powerful beings, and urged him not to go softhearted toward them.
• Wang Quan used spells on a Bump Spirit Monster’s brain and saw images of its lives as a cultivator and as Evil before ordering the brain cleaned thoroughly.
• Wang Quan asked Mei Niang how to treat powerful beings who had reincarnated, and she advised him to deal with them normally without worrying about their plans.
• Wang Quan declined Mei Niang’s offer to take him for pleasure and returned to analyzing spells and preparing to refine Divine Abilities.

Wang Quan rested, reflected on his golden core, and chose Shift Stars and Transpose the Dipper as the Greater Divine Ability he would cultivate. After spending ten months mastering star-related spells, he prepared to return to the Real World, leaving his Yang Spirit with Ruo Jinghong and Mei Niang.

• Wang Quan dreamed of a Great Sun that calmed his mind, then woke to see his golden core completing a cycle through his inner landscape.
• Wang Quan considered his Dao Seal’s Divine Abilities and chose Shift Stars and Transpose the Dipper, hoping it would also help nurture his golden core’s special Divine Ability.
• Wang Quan reasoned that cultivating Shift Stars and Transpose the Dipper could let him manipulate the stars corresponding to beings and permanently destroy evil in other worlds.
• Wang Quan spent ten months studying and deducing star-related spells until he had mastered them.
• Wang Quan told Ruo Jinghong he was returning to the Real World to refine Divine Abilities and left his Yang Spirit behind as a puppet for Ruo Jinghong and Mei Niang to use.

Wang Quan anchored a distant, dead star and spent ten years refining more than a thousand spells for the thirteen lesser divine abilities within [Shift Stars and Transpose the Dipper]. After confirming that Ruo Jinghong and Ying Jiaren were well, he began assembling enormous metal structures to combine his spells into lesser divine abilities.

• Wang Quan found and marked a distant star, then used a giant telescope to observe it and connect it to his Purple Mansion.
• Wang Quan gathered resources from Stone City and refined the spells needed for thirteen lesser divine abilities on a vast scale.
• Wang Quan spent ten years tempering the spells until they reached perfection, completing the first step of refining the divine ability.
• Wang Quan contacted Ruo Jinghong, who reported that all was normal in the Underworld, and Ying Jiaren, who said the incense-offering poison no longer affected her and her title was progressing smoothly.
• Wang Quan began refining lesser divine abilities by arranging huge metal spell structures and preparing to drive spells into them and fuse them together.

Wang Quan refined his Lesser Divine Ability, [The Long River Slowly Descends, the Dawn Stars Sink], using his Golden Core to greatly accelerate the process. After other Purple Mansion cultivators painted his extraordinary Purple Mansion and Divine Ability, the Divine Ability entered the Purple Mansion and took root.

• Wang Quan assembled more than seventy spells into the thirty-li-wide Lesser Divine Ability, [The Long River Slowly Descends, the Dawn Stars Sink], while Stone City's residents celebrated its creation.
• Wang Quan spent months refining the Divine Ability with Dharma Power, rites, starlight, incense, paper stars, and purple qi, gradually shrinking it.
• Wang Quan released his Golden Core, whose golden light rapidly polished the Divine Ability until it shrank to seven or eight li across.
• Wang Quan opened his vast, carefully furnished Purple Mansion, astonishing the Purple Mansion Cultivators who gathered to observe it.
• The Purple Mansion Cultivators collaborated to paint Wang Quan's Purple Mansion and Divine Ability in meticulous detail.
• Wang Quan's Divine Ability entered his Purple Mansion and took root in the place he had designated.

Wang Quan refined several Lesser Divine Abilities and learned that the All-Under-Heaven Dao Court’s second historical fragment would open in five years. He and Ying Jiaren agreed to participate, while Ruo Jinghong and the others weighed the danger and worried they had not been invited.

• Wang Quan completed his first Divine Ability, gained a larger Dharma Power reserve, and began cultivating more Lesser Divine Abilities.
• Over a decade, Wang Quan refined five Lesser Divine Abilities covering slaughter, interference with heavenly secrets, locating and tracing, escape, and defense.
• Wang Quan received notice that the second historical fragment would open in five years and agreed to descend.
• Wang Quan and Ying Jiaren agreed to enter the fragment together and said they would work together against their enemies.
• Ruo Jinghong told Wang Quan that Qian Xiuyue had persuaded Underworld ghosts and monsters to buy Sun Flower Spirits, spreading sunlight across the construction site.
• Wang Quan invited Ruo Jinghong and the others to consider joining the new fragment, but they feared its dangers and had not received invitations.

Wang Quan prepared to enter the historical fragment again, despite Mei Niang and other cultivators fearing its dangers. Four years into his preparations, he returned to the Drowning Dao Lower Court and offered Qian Xiuyue a magic treasure.

• Mei Niang told Wang Quan she feared the historical fragment and would not enter it, while he insisted that he wanted to go.
• Ruo Jinghong and Mei Niang discussed Wang Quan's decision with the other Dao Seal Cultivators, who brawled over his supposed abandoned treasures before cheering them on.
• Wang Quan spent the next several years refining divine abilities and confirmed to [All-Under-Heaven Dao Court] that he would enter the historical fragment again to face a golden-core-realm Liu Yong.
• Wang Quan traveled to the Drowning Dao Lower Court and gave Qian Xiuyue a magic treasure in gratitude for cultivating golden cores for him.

Wang Quan gave Qian Xiuyue an [All-Heavens Banner] and prepared her for his long journey, then traveled to the Second-Layer World to visit Senior Sister Round Face. He found her expanding a prosperous safe zone and arrived with another great treasure to give her.

• Wang Quan gave Qian Xiuyue an [All-Heavens Banner] and explained how she could use it to defend herself while he was away.
• Wang Quan warned Qian Xiuyue he might be gone for years or centuries, instructed her on protecting the Drowning Dao Lower Court, and toured the grounds with her.
• Wang Quan traveled to the Second-Layer World, concealed and guarded his Golden Core, and entered after reducing his cultivation realm to Purple Mansion.
• Wang Quan observed the bustling city and its residents before finding Senior Sister Round Face leading followers in expanding a safe zone.
• Wang Quan told Senior Sister Round Face he had come to bring her a great treasure.

Wang Quan prepared to leave for a historical fragment, entrusting Senior Sister Round Face and Stone City’s leaders with plans and protection. When the time came, he and Ying Jiaren entered the fragment, along with many Legend Cultivators, though some hesitated or were rejected as their black holes collapsed.

• Wang Quan gave Senior Sister Round Face a White Bone Ring and an Inverted Wisdom cheat, and she described her plans to expand the safe zone and develop her Lineage in the Second-Layer World.
• Wang Quan gave the Officiant, Dream, and Fairy Qin Magic Treasures and instructed them to abandon Stone City if they could not hold it in his absence.
• Legend Cultivators across the Polar Lands prepared to enter a historical fragment, hoping to destroy the Anchor Point planted by the one called Young Master and change history.
• After months of preparation, Wang Quan and Ying Jiaren entered the black holes opened by their identity tokens, followed by other Legend Cultivators.
• Some Legend Cultivators turned away and let their black holes collapse, while others tried to enter only for their black holes to collapse as well.

Wang Quan reunited with Ying Jiaren as cultivators gathered to enter a historical fragment, and he debated its nature with Jade-Playing Daoist Lian Nishang. The gathering ended with a bizarre cannon procession heralding the important figures’ arrival.

• Wang Quan crossed a black hole and arrived above a mountain range, where a spirit-monster cloud asked to join his expedition and he refused.
• Wang Quan reunited with Ying Jiaren, who admitted she was nervous about entering the historical fragment, and he promised to contact allies from the previous fragment.
• Jade-Playing Daoist Lian Nishang argued that people who broke an Anchor Point might inhabit a tributary spacetime, but Wang Quan countered that he had received promised Magic Treasures and the [Imperial Scripture] from people he met in a past fragment.
• Jade-Playing Daoist Lian Nishang accepted Wang Quan’s account, slapped himself, and tore up his book, while Ying Jiaren laughed and reminded them that Wang Quan’s claim was only a guess.
• A procession of female cultivators and spirit monsters arrived hauling a gigantic cannon, and its second blast killed spirit monsters on the barrel in a spray of blood.

The [All-Under-Heaven Dao Court] opened one hundred and eight historical fragments, and cultivators chose whether to enter them despite the danger. Wang Quan and Ying Jiaren entered separate fragments, and the other cultivators followed as the great cultivators debated the risks of changing history.

• Jade-Playing Daoist Lian Nishang prepared to welcome the great cultivators as they arrived after the cannon shots.
• A great cultivator explained that the fragments represented one hundred and eight historical anchor points, and several Legend Cultivators turned back rather than enter.
• Wang Quan and Ying Jiaren entered separate black holes, avoiding the [Liu Yong] fragment so they would not draw Liu Yong's attention.
• Jade-Playing Daoist Lian Nishang chose the second vortex, and the remaining cultivators rushed into the shrinking black holes.
• The great cultivators debated whether future travelers might kill their era's vulnerable geniuses, then cheered themselves up by deciding to enjoy the present.

Wang Quan entered a Historical Fragment as Fu Gui, a carpenter’s infant son whose fate was tied to Wang Ming, and chose a vessel near Wang Ming so he could kill him before he grew powerful. He planned to cultivate early and strike first, but the fragment forbade him from cultivating immortality until age sixteen, leaving him to pursue martial arts instead.

• Wang Quan stayed conscious while traveling through time and chose a vessel close to Wang Ming rather than one with a powerful bloodline or talent.
• Wang Quan found himself an infant in a ruined house and learned that he was Fu Gui, destined to meet Wang Ming at age six and become his close friend.
• Wang Quan learned that he would give Wang Ming the Spiritual Resonance Gourd, then later resent Wang Ming for withholding the Heart Scripture before being killed.
• Wang Quan resolved to cultivate from infancy and kill Wang Ming as soon as he could walk, but the fragment told him to wait until age sixteen to begin cultivating immortality.
• Wang Quan decided to practice martial arts, refine Innate True Qi, and use the Emperor’s methods while waiting for a chance to kill Wang Ming.

Wang Quan Fugui entered a historical fragment determined to kill Wang Ming, the anchor point, and tracked him down at Clear Wind Temple. Wang Quan wounded Wang Ming with an iron nail, and the temple master intervened as Wang Quan pursued him.

• As a child, Wang Quan searched nearby villages for Wang Ming and prepared an iron nail coated in manure water for the assassination.
• At six, Wang Quan accompanied his father to Clear Wind Township, joined Clear Wind Temple as a novice attendant, and recognized Wang Ming.
• Wang Ming recognized that Fu Gui had been replaced by a future cultivator and eagerly watched for other intruders while acting frightened.
• Wang Quan lunged at Wang Ming with the nail and slashed his face, leaving Wang Ming bleeding and crying for help.
• The Clear Wind Temple master snapped out of his surprise and hurled a length of straw rope at Wang Quan with a spell.

Wang Quan tried to kill True Lord Heart-Knower Wang Ming at Clear Wind Temple, but the two repeatedly thwarted each other’s attempts. Three days later, both were injured and still working as Daoist attendants, while Wang Quan wondered why Wang Ming was so difficult to kill.

• Wang Quan blamed Wang Ming for future calamities and pursued him, but Temple Master Clear Wind stopped the attack and assigned both boys to work and share a dormitory.
• Wang Quan and Wang Ming each plotted to kill the other while cleaning, then tried to choke each other with their rags until an older attendant separated them.
• While sweeping, Wang Quan and Wang Ming jabbed their brooms at each other, then both raised stones to strike before an older Daoist ordered them to move the stones elsewhere.
• Wang Quan and Wang Ming threw their stones at each other, knocked each other out, and spent three days recovering from their injuries.
• Wang Quan and Wang Ming resumed sweeping while bandaged, and Wang Quan wondered why Wang Ming had survived his repeated assassination attempts.

Wang Quan and True Lord Heart-Knower Wang Ming fought repeatedly while trying to persuade Temple Master Clear Wind to kill the other, but the temple master refused. Wang Quan then searched Clear Wind Temple for his childhood sweetheart and found Qing He, who had been trying to avoid him and was left in tears.

• Wang Quan and True Lord Heart-Knower Wang Ming fought with knives, and the senior Daoist stopped them before either could die.
• Wang Quan told Temple Master Clear Wind that Wang Ming was an Extraterritorial Heavenly Devil, but the temple master refused to kill him and arranged to hear from them on alternate days.
• Wang Quan decided to find his childhood sweetheart to recruit help against Wang Ming.
• Qing He tried to stay away from Wang Quan, believing he was dangerous and planning to kill Wang Ming after she turned sixteen and could cultivate spells.
• Wang Quan searched for every girl in Clear Wind Temple and found Qing He, his tenth candidate for a childhood sweetheart, leaving her in tears as he offered her malt sugar.

Wang Quan spent a year building a childhood-sweetheart network and trying to kill Xiao Ming, while learning that the historical figures resented their repeated roles in the resets. When Xiao Ming emerged from solitary, he saw Wang Quan’s waiting crowd and begged Temple Master Clear Wind to lock him away for three more years.

• Wang Quan comforted Qing He with malt candy, and she briefly felt nostalgic before suspecting his kindness hid ulterior motives.
• Over the following months, Wang Quan recruited his childhood sweethearts to help attack Xiao Ming and observed Temple Master Clear Wind and the senior Daoists’ reactions.
• After Xiao Ming severely injured one of the girls, time briefly froze; Temple Master Clear Wind healed her and confined True Lord Heart-Knower Wang Ming to solitary for a year.
• Wang Quan realized the historical figures might resent Wang Ming for repeating the fragment, then failed to reach Xiao Ming through the magically reinforced solitary room.
• During the year, Wang Quan and other cultivators from Future prepared to fight their historical opponents, while Wang Ming strengthened himself in confinement.
• When Wang Ming opened the door, he saw Wang Quan and a crowd of armed children waiting outside, so he shut it and pleaded with Temple Master Clear Wind for another three years in solitary.

Wang Quan turned Clear Wind Temple against Xiao Ming, who was confined and began training to challenge him once he turned sixteen. Meanwhile, Qing He failed to obtain Wang Quan’s cultivation teachings, and Wang Quan realized the Taboo [Emperor]’s methods had let him exceed the limits of ordinary strength.

• Temple Master Clear Wind locked Xiao Ming in solitary confinement after Wang Quan and the childhood companions urged him to kill Xiao Ming.
• Xiao Ming used his anchoring authority to suppress the temple’s Daoists and reflected that the historical fragment seemed to resent him for his past actions.
• Wang Quan threatened Xiao Ming outside the door, while Xiao Ming vowed to train until he could deal with Wang Quan.
• Xiao Ming began exercising in confinement, and the future cultivators also trained hard as they explored the historical fragment’s rules.
• Qing He tried to persuade Wang Quan to share his secret cultivation teachings, but he refused her and the other girls.
• Wang Quan recognized that the Taboo [Emperor]’s cultivation method had helped him break through history’s limits on ordinary strength.