Chapter Summaries

Xu Qingtong and Huang Chengquan disabled the cave’s puppets, but Huang Chengquan turned hostile and tried to kill Xu Qingtong. Xu Qingtong killed him, collected his belongings, and found an unusual mirror that might be an ancient treasure.

• After two days of fighting, Xu Qingtong and Huang Chengquan exhausted the first puppet’s power, and Huang Chengquan claimed it for himself.
• Xu Qingtong suggested disabling the remaining puppets by opening their back mechanisms, and he and Huang Chengquan quickly stopped four more.
• When Xu Qingtong engaged the last puppet, Huang Chengquan attacked him, intending to use Xu Qingtong’s soul blood to enter the caves.
• Xu Qingtong defeated Huang Chengquan, ignored his pleas, killed him, and collected his soul.
• After recovering his magic power, Xu Qingtong searched Huang Chengquan’s belongings and found the Golden Light Slash spell and Xiang Chenxi’s mirror, which he suspected was an ancient treasure.

Xu Qingtong claimed Gu Zifeng’s belongings, broke through the middle stone door with puppets, and discovered Han Minghui’s hidden chamber and its treasures. After reading Han Minghui’s jade slip, he reached for the cupboard’s tiger-head rings.

• Xu Qingtong refined the Mysterious Light Mirror, sorted the spirit stones, and decided not to sacrifice Foundation Establishment cultivators to open the remaining doors.
• Xu Qingtong lodged strands of divine sense in puppets and had them attack the middle stone door while he practiced the Golden Light Slash.
• After a month, Xu Qingtong and the puppets broke open the door, and he cautiously entered the chamber after scouting it with a puppet and a rabbit.
• Xu Qingtong found a black sphere, cloud gold stone, and a jade slip in three boxes on a cupboard.
• Xu Qingtong learned from Han Minghui’s jade slip that the former Heavenly Mystery Palace elder had left the cave abode before attempting to reach the Nascent Soul Realm, then grasped the cupboard’s tiger-head rings.

Xu Qingtong explored Han Minghui’s legacy, learned about his puppet and formation arts, and opened the remaining chambers in the cave abode. After collecting a cauldron and resealing the chambers, he returned to Law City and began planning his next steps.

• Xu Qingtong inspected Han Minghui’s jade boxes, collected the artifact materials and jade slips, and promised to find someone to inherit Han Minghui’s legacy.
• Xu Qingtong studied the Han Clan Mechanism Art, activated the unfinished puppet Biyue, and learned that a fifth-tier demon beast’s soul could give her Golden Core early-stage strength.
• Xu Qingtong studied Research on Ancient Formations, identified the stone doors’ restrictions as likely Blood-Soul Restrictions, and practiced how to create them.
• Xu Qingtong opened the right chamber, found an unmarked ancestral tablet, then opened the left chamber and took its artifact-refining cauldron.
• Xu Qingtong resealed the chambers, left Han Minghui’s cave abode, and returned to Law City after two days.
• Xu Qingtong checked into a new room at the Tianya Inn and considered his plans for what came next.

Xu Qingtong considered his search for Dongfang Hui and the Anyang Sect, but focused on finding tiger-patterned white jade lotus for Third Senior Sister. He learned of an upcoming auction in Law City and sold his spare goods to raise funds for it.

• Xu Qingtong recalled that he needed to find Dongfang Hui and visit the Anyang Sect, but he did not know where to begin and remembered Yu Xuzi's warning about Jade Spring True Person.
• Xu Qingtong asked the Four Directions Hall shopkeeper about leads on tiger-patterned white jade lotus, and the shopkeeper advised him to wait for Law City's annual auction before pursuing them.
• Xu Qingtong bought an auction invitation for a hundred spirit stones and learned that bidders could face severe punishment for backing out or artificially raising prices.
• Xu Qingtong decided his funds might not suffice for the auction, so he took miscellaneous goods from his Storage Bag to the Thousand-Fate Gathering to sell.
• The shop assistant appraised Xu Qingtong's goods at about four hundred thirty thousand spirit stones and paid him four thousand three hundred middle-grade spirit stones.

Xu Qingtong studied spirit talismans and learned to inscribe a Blood-Soul Restriction onto jade tablets. After making two working talismans, he headed to the auction house.

• Xu Qingtong left the Thousand-Fate Gathering and secluded himself at the inn to cultivate and study ancient formations.
• Xu Qingtong failed to transfer the Blood-Soul Restriction onto simulated talisman paper, so he visited the Qi Treasure Pavilion for materials and books on spirit talismans.
• Xu Qingtong studied spirit talisman principles and practiced until he could simulate a Blood-Soul Restriction spirit talisman in his Niwang Palace.
• Xu Qingtong broke three jade tablets while trying to craft a real spirit talisman, then practiced coordinating his divine sense and spiritual power.
• Xu Qingtong successfully crafted a Blood-Soul Restriction spirit talisman and tested it by sealing the inn-room door.
• Xu Qingtong crafted two more spirit talismans, removed the restriction from the door, and set out for the auction house.

Xu Qingtong attended an auction and watched the first two items sell before accidentally bidding on an eight-hundred-year-old transformation grass. The chapter ended with his bid uncontested as the auctioneer counted it down.

• Xu Qingtong entered the Ding Arena, concealed his appearance beneath a cloak, and observed several powerful cultivators take the front-row seats.
• Ding Shisan explained the auction rules, then opened the auction with a high-grade Qianyuan Pill that sold for six thousand two hundred spirit stones.
• A supreme-grade flying sword named Flashing Rainbow sold to a woman in purple for fourteen thousand spirit stones, and Xu Qingtong withdrew his divine sense after it was painfully rebuffed.
• Ding Shisan presented an eight-hundred-year-old stalk of transformation grass, and Xu Qingtong thought of Xiao Qi before bidding three thousand four hundred spirit stones.
• No one outbid Xu Qingtong as Ding Shisan called his bid once, twice, and three times.

Xu Qingtong accidentally won Transformation Grass before watching bidders compete for the Three Saints Bell and a sixth-tier Ice Kite beast soul. He eagerly bid on the beast soul for his Jade Moon Puppet, but the auction was still underway as the price reached forty-one thousand Spirit Stones.

• Xu Qingtong reluctantly paid for the Transformation Grass after his casual bid won it.
• Ding Shisan demonstrated the Three Saints Bell by trapping and killing a gray-robed troublemaker, then began its auction.
• Shen Zhongyue tried to intimidate other bidders, but Ding Shisan warned him that the Juxian Merchant Association would remove him for breaking the rules.
• A male cultivator won the Three Saints Bell for thirty-seven thousand Spirit Stones.
• Xu Qingtong bid on the Ice Kite beast soul, and a female Golden Core cultivator and the drake-voiced man drove its price up to forty-one thousand Spirit Stones.

Xu Qingtong won a sixth-tier beast soul at the auction but failed to find the tiger-patterned white jade lotus he needed. After returning to the Tianya Inn, he prepared to open the beast soul’s jade bottle, then stopped with a grave expression.

• Xu Qingtong outbid the drake-voiced man, paying forty-eight thousand spirit stones for a beast soul and a jade slip explaining how to seal it.
• Xu Qingtong watched the stardust soil sell to Fellow Daoist Yun while he continued waiting for the tiger-patterned white jade lotus.
• Ding Shisan revealed a Vajra Śarīra, and several golden core cultivators competed for it until Shen Zhongyue won with a bid of eighty-five thousand spirit stones.
• Xu Qingtong returned to the Tianya Inn, activated the Blood-Soul Restriction, and took out the beast soul’s jade bottle before suddenly stopping.

Xu Qingtong developed a stronger Blood-Soul Restriction and used it to subdue the Ice Kite's soul. He made the Ice Kite his contracted Artifact Spirit after promising to free it once he formed his Golden Core, though help with taking human form remained conditional.

• Xu Qingtong studied ancient formations and devised a Blood-Soul Restriction that could restrain Divine Souls.
• He tested the restriction on Xiao Bai, confirmed it worked, and paid him with two jars of wine.
• Xu Qingtong strengthened the talisman with his Soul Blood and used it to seal the Ice Kite's soul as it emerged from the Jade Bottle.
• He offered to preserve the Ice Kite's intelligence and eventually free it, while warning that Xiao Qi could devour it if it refused.
• The Ice Kite agreed after Xu Qingtong promised to swear an oath, and he placed a Divine Soul brand on it and formed a Master-Servant Contract before removing the restriction.

Xu Qingtong rented a secure cave abode on Law Mountain and refined the Ice Kite's soul into the puppet Biyue. After testing Biyue's power, he gained confidence but decided to handle his other business before seeking revenge on the Corpse Fiend.

• Xu Qingtong rented a cave abode on Law Mountain after sensing a man in brocade robes following him from the city.
• Xu Qingtong studied the Han Clan Mechanism Art for three days, then began refining the Ice Kite's soul into Biyue.
• Xu Qingtong completed the refinement, named the puppet's new inhabitant Biyue, and had it practice moving in its body.
• Xu Qingtong tested Biyue's Ice Arrow against his Rushou Seal and saw that Biyue's attack was stronger.
• Xu Qingtong considered returning to the Valley of the Dead to settle accounts with the Corpse Fiend, but chose to take care of other business first.

Xu Qingtong left his cave abode and collected three clues to the tiger-patterned white jade lotus, then set out from Law City to investigate them. The brocade-robed man who had been watching him caught up and demanded his beast soul, and their fight began with both sides summoning weapons.

• Xu Qingtong spent the rest of his cave abode lease refining elixirs and Soul-Piercing Nails while the brocade-robed man watched for him outside.
• Xu Qingtong left Mount Law, collected three clues from the Four Directions Hall, and kept the other two tasks posted.
• Xu Qingtong read the clues and flew northwest aboard the Ink Cloud Shuttle, noticing the brocade-robed man pursuing him.
• Xu Qingtong prepared Biyue and Soul-Piercing Nails, then stopped to confront the brocade-robed man, who demanded the beast soul.
• Xu Qingtong pretended to surrender a Jade Bottle while ordering Biyue to attack, but the brocade-robed man dodged the Soul-Piercing Nails.
• Xu Qingtong summoned the Rushou Seal as the brocade-robed man summoned the Three Saints Bell and threatened to kill him.

Xu Qingtong and Biyue killed a brocade-robed man who turned out to be the grandson of Heavenly Mystery Palace Grand Elder Yan Zhongzi. Nangong Zhen helped conceal the traces of the killing and led Xu Qingtong to a restaurant in a nearby city, where they prepared to talk.

• Xu Qingtong used the Supreme Clarity Yin-Yang Cauldron to repel the brocade-robed man's Three Saints Bell, and Biyue killed the man with an Ice Arrow.
• Nangong Zhen arrived and told Xu Qingtong that the dead man was Yan Zhongzi's grandson, warning that Yan Zhongzi would soon investigate.
• Nangong Zhen disrupted the traces of qi at the scene while Xu Qingtong collected the man's Storage Bag and Three Saints Bell and burned his corpse.
• Yan Zhongzi arrived less than four hours later, found the traces obscured, and flew toward Law City in anger.
• Nangong Zhen and Xu Qingtong flew north for four hours, entered a small city, and went to a restaurant to talk over wine.

Xu Qingtong learned about Juxian Academy from Nangong Zhen and discovered that a token he had obtained was a Talent Recruitment Order. He left for Soulbreak Ridge in Canggen Mountain, considering how to prepare for the journey and whether to refine the Three Saints Bell.

• Nangong Zhen explained Juxian Academy’s standing, fields of study, admissions, and Talent Recruitment Orders to Xu Qingtong, who introduced himself as Chen Yu.
• Xu Qingtong showed Nangong Zhen his token, and Nangong Zhen confirmed it was a Talent Recruitment Order that would let him enter the academy without a time limit.
• Nangong Zhen offered to take Xu Qingtong to the academy and gave him Sound Transmission Talismans; the two exchanged talismans and parted.
• Xu Qingtong left the city on the Ink Cloud Shuttle and headed northwest toward Soulbreak Ridge in Canggen Mountain.
• While flying, Xu Qingtong reviewed his combat abilities and wondered whether refining the Three Saints Bell might alert the Heavenly Mystery Palace’s grand elder.

Xu Qingtong reached Heavenly Lake in search of a spirit herb and fought the fifth-tier beast guarding it. Biyue struck the beast with an Ice Arrow, and Xu Qingtong landed on Lakeside Island to search it.

• Xu Qingtong refined the Three Saints Bell while traveling, then reached Canggen Mountain and located Heavenly Lake.
• Xu Qingtong attacked the lake to draw out its guardian, a powerful aquatic beast, and tried to reason with it.
• The beast attacked Xu Qingtong, who tested the Three Saints Bell before using the Five Divine Seals and a Fire Dragon to drive it underwater.
• Xu Qingtong bombarded the lake with Golden Light Slashes, then waited as the wary beast stayed submerged.
• Xu Qingtong sent Biyue to watch the lake and flew toward Lakeside Island, where Biyue struck the beast with an Ice Arrow.
• Xu Qingtong landed on Lakeside Island and began surveying it.

Xu Qingtong explored a volcanic island with Xizi and discovered rare earth-melting gold and what appeared to be earth milk in a karst cave. After consuming a drop of the liquid, he reached the peak of middle-stage Foundation Establishment and waited for Xizi to retrieve the remaining treasures.

• Xu Qingtong sent Xizi to search the island, then followed it into a deep karst cave when it reported finding one.
• Xizi returned from the cave with a chunk of earth-melting gold and reported finding unusual white water farther below.
• Xu Qingtong sent Xizi back with a jade bottle to collect the ore and white liquid while he searched the island for tiger-patterned white jade lotus.
• Xizi brought back two more chunks of earth-melting gold and a bottle of the white liquid, which Xu Qingtong identified as likely earth milk.
• Xu Qingtong drank a drop of earth milk and refined its spiritual power, reaching the peak of middle-stage Foundation Establishment.

Xu Qingtong used Earth Milk to deepen his understanding of the five elements and broke through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. After Xizi finished gathering treasures beneath the cave, Xu Qingtong set out for Zhonglü City, where he planned to visit Juxian Academy.

• Xu Qingtong attempted a breakthrough using Earth Milk while Xizi returned with Earth-Melting Gold and reported that more Earth Milk remained below.
• Xu Qingtong discovered that Earth Milk contained all five elements and gained insight into their origin, transforming his Dao Heart Seed and magic power.
• Xu Qingtong refined more Earth Milk and broke through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, then stabilized his cultivation over two days.
• Xizi reported that she had gathered all the treasures beneath the cave, and Xu Qingtong departed with her for Qushui City.
• Xu Qingtong chose to travel through Zhonglü City so he could visit Juxian Academy, then crossed Canggen Mountain and flew northwest.

Xu Qingtong stopped in Shangshui City and intervened when Jia Zhengjing tried to claim a little girl as payment for supposedly damaged clothes. After saving Duoduo, he learned that she and her grandfather had fled a drought and had nowhere to turn.

• Xu Qingtong entered Shangshui City, drank at a restaurant, and listened to local gossip.
• Xu Qingtong found Jia Zhengjing demanding that an old man hand over his granddaughter Duoduo after she allegedly dirtied his Daoist robe.
• Xu Qingtong exposed Jia Zhengjing's excuse and drove him away by challenging him to surrender the robe for the compensation.
• Duoduo and her grandfather thanked Xu Qingtong, who urged them to leave before trouble returned.
• Duoduo's grandfather explained that a drought had driven them from their hometown, leaving Xu Qingtong wondering what they should do.

Xu Qingtong rescued Duoduo and her grandfather from Jia Zhengjing, then escorted them to Zhonglü City. After registering them for long-term stays, he hired Information Gatherer Bao to find them food, while remaining puzzled by Duoduo's changing spirit root.

• Xu Qingtong invited Duoduo and her grandfather to Zhonglü City, then used his aura to make Jia Zhengjing and his two brothers back down.
• On the way, Xu Qingtong discovered that Duoduo's spirit root kept changing between different elements.
• Xu Qingtong paid for long-term Identity Tokens for himself, Duoduo, and her grandfather after learning the city's entry requirements.
• Information Gatherer Bao offered to guide Xu Qingtong and his companions around Zhonglü City, and Xu Qingtong hired him for the day.
• Xu Qingtong asked Information Gatherer Bao to take them somewhere to eat.

Xu Qingtong found a home in Zhonglü City for Duoduo and her grandfather, taught Duoduo to cultivate, and considered whether to take her as his disciple. With no news from Information Gatherer Bao and plans to leave for Qushui City, Xu Qingtong wondered how Duoduo and her grandfather would support themselves, then spotted a shop and had an idea.

• Information Gatherer Bao found Xu Qingtong three houses to view, and Xu Qingtong rented a tidy courtyard and asked Bao to find a thousand-year-old tiger-patterned white jade lotus.
• Xu Qingtong taught Duoduo a basic cultivation technique, and she sensed spiritual qi and opened her dantian the following day.
• Duoduo accumulated magic power and broke through to the first Qi Refining layer, then asked Xu Qingtong to take her as his disciple.
• Xu Qingtong said he would teach Duoduo before leaving but would only accept her as a disciple if they met again and she still wished it.
• After waiting several days without news from Information Gatherer Bao, Xu Qingtong went out and worried about how Duoduo and her grandfather would support themselves after he left.
• Xu Qingtong spotted a shop across the street and came up with an idea.

Xu Qingtong bought talisman-making supplies and learned that the thousand-year-old tiger-patterned white jade lotus was held at Juxian Academy, where only students could obtain it. He decided he would need to enter the academy after helping Duoduo get settled, and began teaching her to make talismans.

• Xu Qingtong bought talisman paper, brushes, and cinnabar at the Thousand Talisman Pavilion and learned the shop would pay three spirit stones for each high-quality low-grade talisman.
• Bao Qingping told Xu Qingtong that Juxian Academy's Many Treasures Pavilion held a thousand-year-old tiger-patterned white jade lotus, but only students could exchange merit for it.
• Xu Qingtong rewarded Bao Qingping and decided he would need to enter Juxian Academy to obtain the lotus.
• Xu Qingtong praised Duoduo's cultivation progress and gave her a jade slip containing talisman designs to study.
• Duoduo examined the jade slip with her divine sense and began tracing its lines with her hand.