Chapter Summaries

Chun Xiaobai learned that his Inner Sect Cave Abode’s grand array drew power from Azure Cloud Sect’s earth vein but cost two thousand low-grade spirit stones per day to activate. Realizing how much money the Sect could earn from its fees, he resolved to seize sects and collect rent, then paid to run his own array for a month.

• Chun Xiaobai tried to activate the Formation Disc’s spirit-gathering array, but it did not respond.
• Fang Yuan investigated and told Chun Xiaobai that the Cave Abode arrays drew power from underground earth veins.
• Fang Yuan explained that activating Chun Xiaobai’s second-level grand array cost two thousand low-grade spirit stones per day.
• Chun Xiaobai calculated how much Azure Cloud Sect could earn from its fees and vowed to seize sects and collect rent.
• Chun Xiaobai gave Fang Yuan the Formation Disc and a Storage Bag, ordering him to pay for a month of array use.

Chun Xiaobai discovered that the Sect charged heavily for formations that drew on underground spiritual veins and decided to exploit his formation skills to profit from the mountaintop array. After finding its buried foundation and touching it with the Heaven-Rending Hand, he was overwhelmed by a vastly more complex formation diagram.

• Chun Xiaobai activated the Spirit-Gathering Array and learned from Fang Yuan that the Sect charged two thousand spirit stones a day for the mountaintop residence.
• Fang Yuan explained that the formation could be upgraded through the Sect, and Chun Xiaobai plotted to secretly raise its tier and sell cultivation tickets.
• Chun Xiaobai used the Heaven-Rending Hand to trace the array to its foundation beneath the pavilion.
• Chun Xiaobai, Fang Yuan, and Bai Jin'er dug through the pavilion floor and uncovered a rune-covered blue-green stone slab.
• Chun Xiaobai touched the slab with the Heaven-Rending Hand and nearly toppled after a far more complicated formation diagram flooded his mind.

Chun Xiaobai recognized the stone slab’s formation diagram as part of an ancient Mountain-Guarding Grand Array and used the principles of his Heaven-Rending Hand and Heaven-Sealing Finger to understand it. He began manipulating the diagram to change the Spirit-Gathering Array’s tier, though he still understood only a fraction of the grand array.

• Chun Xiaobai realized the stone slab’s dense formation diagram was an ancient original, far more complex than an ordinary fourth-tier formation.
• After struggling to decipher it, Chun Xiaobai recognized that Heaven-Rending Hand and Heaven-Sealing Finger embodied the principles of opening and sealing.
• Chun Xiaobai understood that the diagram governed a powerful ancient Mountain-Guarding Grand Array connected to the Azure Cloud Sect’s formation hubs.
• Chun Xiaobai decided he knew enough to alter the mountaintop Spirit-Gathering Array’s tier and began manipulating the formation diagram.

Chun Xiaobai seized control of the mountain’s Spirit-Gathering Array and raised its spiritual qi concentration to sixty times the normal level, then sent Bai Jin'er and Fang Yuan to sell entry tickets. After sleeping for two days, he woke to find them still missing and feared something had happened to them.

• Chun Xiaobai revoked the Spirit Affairs Hall’s control of the formation and increased the Spirit-Gathering Array’s concentration to sixty times normal.
• Chun Xiaobai told Bai Jin'er and Fang Yuan to sell mountain entry tickets for two thousand spirit stones a day, with the first batch limited to ten thousand.
• Bai Jin'er and Fang Yuan hurried down the mountain to sell tickets while Chun Xiaobai went upstairs to recover by sleeping.
• Chun Xiaobai woke two days later, found the courtyard empty, and worried that Bai Jin'er and Fang Yuan had run into trouble.

After Fang Yuan and Bai Jin'er were mistaken for scammers while selling tickets to Chun Xiaobai’s high-Spiritual-Qi cultivation cave, Chun Xiaobai realized their lack of credibility had doomed the pitch. He decided to recruit a reputable Inner Sect spokesperson and resolved to kidnap someone for the role.

• Fang Yuan and Bai Jin'er returned injured and explained that disciples had beaten them for selling cultivation tickets, while the Enforcement Hall had punished Bai Jin'er by making her sweep the streets.
• Chun Xiaobai gave them third-tier Qi-Restoring Pills and Bone-Mending Salve, then sent them inside to recover.
• Chun Xiaobai considered why Inner Sect disciples distrusted the deal and worried that the Sect Master would punish him for secretly using the Cave Abode’s Spirit-Gathering Array at its highest setting.
• Chun Xiaobai concluded that a reputable spokesperson could make the disciples trust the offer.
• Chun Xiaobai decided he could not afford to waste another day and planned to kidnap someone to promote the cultivation business.

Chun Xiaobai ordered Fang Yuan and Bai Jin'er to gather information on notable inner sect disciples for his brand ambassador plan, then examined Crow Daoist’s treasures and a Purple-Gold Token. He received an Inner Sect Celebrity Directory that Fang Yuan and Bai Jin'er had bought from a street stall.

• Chun Xiaobai pulled Fang Yuan and Bai Jin'er away from cultivation and explained his plan to recruit a brand ambassador.
• Chun Xiaobai sent Fang Yuan and Bai Jin'er to collect names, backgrounds, and strengths of notable inner sect disciples.
• Chun Xiaobai failed to absorb the spiritual qi in the air, then sorted through Crow Daoist’s treasures and ate several bottles of pills.
• Chun Xiaobai examined a Purple-Gold Token and guessed it belonged to a Grand Supreme Elder of the Azure Cloud Sect.
• Fang Yuan and Bai Jin'er returned with a street-stall copy of the Inner Sect Celebrity Directory, and Chun Xiaobai began reading it.

Chun Xiaobai chose Bai Yutang, the Azure Cloud Sect’s celebrated Poetry Sage, as a potential spokesperson for his business and sent Fang Yuan to recruit him. Bai Yutang arrived after hearing Chun Xiaobai’s name and an offer of ten million spirit stones for a single word, then greeted him with a poem and a formal bow.

• Chun Xiaobai selected Bai Yutang from the Famous Names Register because of his fame, eloquence, and influence among Inner Sect disciples.
• Fang Yuan warned Chun Xiaobai that Bai Yutang resisted force and valued integrity, while Bai Jin'er defended Bai Yutang as a modest gentleman.
• Chun Xiaobai dismissed Bai Yutang’s principles as a matter of price and sent Fang Yuan with ten million spirit stones to invite him.
• Fang Yuan returned with Bai Yutang, who had declared a destined connection with Chun Xiaobai after hearing his name and the offer.
• Bai Yutang recited a poem about the mountain scenery, turned to Chun Xiaobai, and introduced himself with a scholar’s bow.

Chun Xiaobai tried to recruit Bai Yutang into Black Wind Stronghold, but Bai Yutang denounced the bandits and rejected the offer. When Chun Xiaobai raised the pay and promised unlimited profit sharing, Bai Yutang immediately knelt and accepted.

• Chun Xiaobai welcomed Bai Yutang into the courtyard while Bai Yutang praised his rough manner as sincere and noble.
• Bai Yutang recited poetry, and Chun Xiaobai invited him to join Black Wind Stronghold as a paid subordinate.
• Bai Yutang realized Chun Xiaobai and his companions were bandits, condemned them, and announced he would leave without reporting them to the Sect.
• Chun Xiaobai offered Bai Yutang one million spirit stones a month, then raised the offer to five million plus a profit-sharing bonus, but Bai Yutang angrily rejected the money.
• Chun Xiaobai promised ten million spirit stones with no upper limit on the monthly profit share, and Bai Yutang turned back, knelt before him, and accepted.

Chun Xiaobai recruited Bai Yutang by offering him a salary of ten million spirit stones a month, then explained his plan to sell tickets for spiritual qi usage rights. Bai Yutang recognized the Sect’s ancient Heaven and Earth Boundless Formation behind the scheme and took charge of ticket sales, while preparing to offer a suggestion.

• Bai Yutang praised Chun Xiaobai and accepted his offer of ten million spirit stones a month, shocking Fang Yuan and Bai Jin'er.
• Chun Xiaobai invited Bai Yutang to join the meeting and told Fang Yuan and Bai Jin'er to learn from his enthusiasm.
• Chun Xiaobai explained his plan to sell tickets granting spiritual qi usage rights.
• Bai Yutang identified the Azure Cloud Sect’s Mountain-Guarding Grand Array as the ancient Heaven and Earth Boundless Formation and praised Chun Xiaobai for altering its permissions.
• Chun Xiaobai assigned Bai Yutang to sell the tickets, and Bai Yutang promised to sell them all within a day before asking to make a suggestion.

Chun Xiaobai rejected Bai Yutang’s plan to charge higher prices for cultivation tickets and insisted on selling them for two thousand spirit stones each. After the group quickly sold over five hundred tickets, Chun Xiaobai noticed that nearly all the buyers were women and ordered Bai Yutang to recruit male disciples and keep the operation discreet.

• Bai Yutang proposed scarcity pricing for the entry tickets, while Chun Xiaobai chose a lower fixed price to avoid harming poorer disciples and attracting suspicion.
• Bai Yutang, Bai Jin'er, and Fang Yuan left to sell tickets, dividing the work between publicity, payments, and maintaining order.
• The three sold more than five hundred tickets in under an hour and brought the buyers to a cultivation spot at the foot of the mountain.
• Chun Xiaobai saw that the buyers were almost all female disciples and worried that the gathering looked conspicuous.
• Chun Xiaobai told Bai Yutang to recruit male disciples for balance and to prioritize keeping their business secret.

Chun Xiaobai’s entry-ticket scheme brought in more than a hundred million spirit stones in three days, while Bai Yutang gained the Sect’s admiration and new titles. As demand continued to outstrip capacity, Fang Yuan turned away a crowd of disciples after the latest tickets sold out.

• The first two days of tickets sold out quickly, and Bai Yutang became celebrated among the female disciples as the elegant benefactor behind the spiritual-qi opportunity.
• Bai Jin'er complained that Bai Yutang received the praise, but Chun Xiaobai told her to focus on guarding their spirit stones.
• Bai Yutang enjoyed his rising prestige and gave Chun Xiaobai the ten thousand spirit stones he had earned by writing calligraphy for a disciple.
• Chun Xiaobai reflected on Bai Yutang’s ambition and decided the praise he received should come at a price.
• Chun Xiaobai expanded ticket sales to thirty thousand, earning more than a hundred million spirit stones in three days.
• The thirty thousand tickets sold out within moments, and Fang Yuan refused the waiting disciples’ pleas for extra entry, telling them to return the next day.

Disciples crowded around Chun Xiaobai’s mountain to wait for Entry Tickets, drawing the attention of Third Elder Lu Qingshan and ordinary elder Wang Daxi. Wang Daxi suspected the gathering concealed an opportunity and began sneaking closer to investigate.

• The disciples who missed out on Entry Tickets joined the long queue, while those already waiting refused to give up their places.
• Lu Qingshan spotted the crowd while searching for the person who had clubbed the Sect Master, but found no suspicious figures and left.
• Wang Daxi investigated the camp-like gathering and realized that the disciples seemed to be waiting for something.
• Hoping to earn a promotion, Wang Daxi crept toward Chun Xiaobai’s mountain to uncover the opportunity.

Wang Daxi investigated why disciples were gathering outside a mountain whose gates were open and discovered they were protecting a powerful cultivation opportunity inside. He disguised himself as an Inner Sect disciple and listened in, learning that disciples who entered could make rapid breakthroughs.

• Wang Daxi questioned a disciple who had descended from the mountain, but the disciple denied knowing anything and hurried away.
• Wang Daxi tried to stop another disciple, who escaped using a third-tier Swift Travel Talisman, convincing him that the mountain concealed a major secret.
• Wang Daxi changed into green Inner Sect robes and joined the disciples camped near the mountain.
• Wang Daxi overheard a foundation establishment early-stage disciple claim he would advance within three days, and heard the others say it would be possible if he could get inside.
• Wang Daxi realized that entering the mountain could give him a chance at rapid cultivation and great advancement.

Wang Daxi discovered that the Cave Abode’s spiritual qi was powerful enough to give him hope of reaching the Nascent Soul Realm. Meanwhile, Chun Xiaobai celebrated Black Wind Stronghold’s huge profits and left Bai Jin’er exasperated when he misunderstood her hint about a bandit queen.

• Wang Daxi paid two thousand spirit stones to enter the Cave Abode and was stunned by its exceptionally dense spiritual qi.
• Wang Daxi began cultivating in a corner, drawing the attention of nearby disciples with his rapid absorption of spiritual qi.
• Chun Xiaobai counted over two hundred million spirit stones earned in five days and gave Bai Jin’er Storage Bags to distribute as bonuses.
• Chun Xiaobai ordered Bai Jin’er to improve the food and add a rocking chair and swimming pool to Black Wind Stronghold’s temporary branch.
• Bai Jin’er suggested that Black Wind Stronghold needed a bandit queen, and Chun Xiaobai agreed before considering several women and declaring them unsuitable.

Bai Jin'er realized Chun Xiaobai saw her only as a sister and resolved to claim the Stronghold Madam’s position by force. Meanwhile, Chun Xiaobai upgraded the mountain’s spiritual-qi formation, and Wang Daxi broke through a long-standing bottleneck.

• Chun Xiaobai asked Bai Jin'er to find him a suitable wife, leaving her heartbroken and determined to win him over by force.
• Chun Xiaobai wandered among the disciples, mistook Wang Daxi in disguise for an old disciple, and let him cultivate undisturbed.
• Chun Xiaobai decided to raise the mountain’s spiritual-qi concentration from sixty times to seventy times and returned to modify the Formation Disc.
• Wang Daxi broke through the mid Golden Core bottleneck that had held him back for twenty years.

After discovering that the unusually dense spiritual qi in Chun Xiaobai's Cave Abode had helped him break through to late Golden Core, Wang Daxi devised a way to profit from the apparent array malfunction. He brought a group of old friends to the Cave Abode, and they were stunned when they finally entered.

• Wang Daxi left Chun Xiaobai's Cave Abode after his trial pass expired and hid his identity to avoid alerting the Sect.
• Wang Daxi realized he could earn money by referring old friends to the mountain and decided to charge each one fifty thousand spirit stones.
• Wang Daxi summoned his old friends and proved his breakthrough by revealing his late Golden Core aura, persuading them to pay.
• Wang Daxi gave the old men Inner Sect disciple robes, and they joined the queue outside Chun Xiaobai's Cave Abode.
• The old men waited until the next day to enter Chun Xiaobai's Cave Abode, where they were stunned.

Chun Xiaobai enjoyed the mountain’s greatly increased spiritual qi and planned to expand the cultivation grounds to earn more ticket revenue. When Bai Yutang proposed raising ticket prices, Chun Xiaobai rejected him and laid down Black Wind Stronghold’s rules against exploiting the poor.

• The spiritual qi around the mountain reached seventy times its usual density, allowing Wang Daxi and the other elderly Golden Core cultivators to advance their cultivation.
• Bai Jin'er served Chun Xiaobai tonic soup while he rested in a magical rocking chair, then he began his daily patrol of the mountain.
• Chun Xiaobai spotted rows of elderly inner sect disciples meditating beneath a pine tree and chose not to disturb them.
• Chun Xiaobai decided to expand the grounds and raise the daily ticket limit from thirty thousand to fifty thousand, then summoned Fang Yuan, Bai Jin'er, and Bai Yutang to discuss the plan.
• Bai Yutang suggested raising ticket prices, but Chun Xiaobai rebuked him and declared that Black Wind Stronghold must not bully the poor; Fang Yuan affirmed the stronghold’s rules.

Chun Xiaobai sold out fifty thousand entry tickets while Bai Jin'er's Beauty Soup left him with insomnia, pimples, and excessive internal heat. After exhausting their savings on cultivation, the Elderly Sightseeing Group decided to earn referral fees, and Chun Xiaobai noticed that elderly people had gathered at the foot of his mountain.

• Chun Xiaobai ordered his men to sell entry tickets at affordable prices, and Bai Jin'er continued serving him her Beauty Soup.
• Fifty thousand entry tickets sold out in under seven minutes, earning Chun Xiaobai a hundred million spirit stones.
• Chun Xiaobai developed insomnia, pimples, and excessive internal heat, then decided to patrol his mountain and exercise.
• The Elderly Sightseeing Group ran out of spirit stones after cultivating and selling their protective artifacts.
• The elders decided to earn referral fees by recruiting customers and raced off to find them.
• Chun Xiaobai spotted a crowd of elderly people at the foot of his mountain.

Chun Xiaobai struggled with a mysterious rising heat that he suspected came from opening his divine treasury, while Bai Jin'er secretly believed her drug was taking effect. The next day, he arrived at the foot of the mountain to find young and elderly disciples fighting over cultivation spots and demanded to know what had happened.

• Chun Xiaobai found thousands of elderly disciples cultivating beneath an old pine and told Bai Yutang to keep younger disciples away from them.
• After a female disciple collided with him, Chun Xiaobai felt an inexplicable surge of desire, checked for poison, and cooled himself in the pool.
• Bai Jin'er served Chun Xiaobai beauty soup, which reignited the heat, so he asked her to make heat-clearing soup instead.
• Chun Xiaobai suspected the strange heat was a side effect of opening his divine treasury and resolved to advance his realm quickly.
• The next day, Chun Xiaobai found young and elderly disciples arguing over cultivation spots while Bai Yutang tried to mediate.
• Chun Xiaobai stopped the confrontation and asked what had happened.

Chun Xiaobai settled a dispute between young disciples and a crowd of elderly Azure Cloud Sect disciples over cultivation space. As he left to cool down, a young Junior Sister whispered that she suspected the old disciples were elders in disguise.

• Bai Yutang called Chun Xiaobai Big Senior Brother, and a young disciple asked him to judge the dispute over the cultivation area.
• Wang Daxi and a young disciple argued over whether the old disciples had crossed the boundary into the young disciples’ reserved territory.
• Chun Xiaobai told Bai Yutang to assign the old disciples another area, but both sides objected to giving up their preferred cultivation spots.
• Chun Xiaobai scolded both the young disciples and the old disciples until they settled down to cultivate.
• Chun Xiaobai left to take a cold bath, and a young Junior Sister whispered that the old disciples might all be elders in disguise.