Chapter Summaries

Xiao Hua gave up on catching an Emerald Bird himself and planned to seize one from another cultivator, while the Lineage families revealed methods for locating the birds. Cai Zhuoxia found an Emerald Bird but had to rush toward it as several stronger cultivators arrived.

• Xiao Hua decided to wait for other cultivators to find Emerald Birds before trying to steal one from someone weaker.
• Cai Zhuoxia activated a Spirit Seeking Talisman with her heart's blood and followed its crane through the mountains.
• Yun Zichong, Yun Lan, and Yun Feng used their family's Spirit Seeking artifact to locate an Emerald Bird and set off after it.
• Cai Zhuoxia followed her weakening crane toward the mountain's foot, then fled into the forest when Le Chongqi, Cheng Ming, and several other cultivators appeared.
• Cai Zhuoxia spotted an Emerald Bird hovering above a jade-green spirit fruit and charged toward it while reaching for her storage pouch.

Cai Zhuoxia and rival cultivators pursued an Emerald Bird with spirit-seeking techniques, but competing ambushes and talisman attacks disrupted the capture. The bird escaped, and Yun Zichong prepared to confront the cultivators who had attacked Yun Lan and Yun Feng.

• Cai Zhuoxia tried to capture the Emerald Bird, but a spider attacked it and the bird escaped; she burned the spider and web with a Fireball Talisman.
• Cheng Ming used an inherited Spirit Guiding technique to track the bird, while Le Chongqi urged him to hurry after it.
• Yun Zichong, Yun Lan, and Yun Feng followed their Spirit Seeking radiance to a stream, where they discovered two cultivators pursuing the bird with special talismans.
• Yun Lan and Yun Feng approached the cultivators, but two attackers emerged from beneath the stream and launched talismans at them.
• The two cultivators trapped the Emerald Bird in threads of light, but Sword Talismans struck them; one was wounded, allowing the bird to escape.
• Yun Zichong failed to seize the bird with a giant green hand, then flew toward the cultivators attacking Yun Lan and Yun Feng and prepared a blood-activated talisman.

Yun Zichong helped Yun Lan and Yun Feng kill two opponents, while Mo Yang’s group set off for another Emerald Bird on Huanhua Sect’s rear mountain. Xiao Hua hid and cultivated overnight, then headed toward a scream the next morning, where Cai Yingxia and two others confronted him and demanded the Emerald Bird.

• Yun Zichong used a blood-powered talisman to immobilize two cultivators, allowing Yun Lan and Yun Feng to kill them and take their storage bags.
• Mo Yang drove off the He Family’s sole survivor, used a sphere to locate another Emerald Bird, and led his group toward the rear mountain.
• Xiao Hua counted the deaths, hid from the fighting, practiced his staff techniques after dusk, and cultivated through the night.
• Xiao Hua heard a faint voice calling “Mother” at sunrise, then set out toward a nearby scream while wondering whether Cai Zhuoxia was alive.
• Cai Yingxia appeared using an Invisibility Talisman, and Cai Yuxia and a tall, fat cultivator confronted Xiao Hua and demanded the Emerald Bird.

Xiao Hua ambushed Cai Yingxia, Cai Yuxia, and Cultivator Gao with powerful Fireball Talismans, an Invisibility Talisman, and a demonic spear, killing two of them while Cai Yuxia escaped. Elsewhere, Yun Zichong captured an Emerald Bird and ordered the unconscious cultivator and the other fallen enemies killed.

• Xiao Hua blasted Cai Yingxia and Cultivator Gao with Fireball Talismans, then used his speed to stab Cai Yingxia from behind and take her storage bag.
• Cai Yuxia and Cultivator Gao pursued Xiao Hua, but he vanished from sight; after finding Cai Yingxia's tiny spear wound, they realized he had used an Invisibility Talisman.
• Xiao Hua ambushed Cultivator Gao with his demonic spear and turned invisible to evade the talismans he threw, while Cai Yuxia used a teleportation talisman to escape with Cai Yingxia's body.
• Xiao Hua regretted letting Cai Yuxia escape and noted that his nearly depleted Invisibility Talisman could only be used once or twice more.
• Yun Zichong destroyed a cage with an azure hand, captured the Emerald Bird, and warned nearby cultivators away before suffering backlash from his spiritual power.
• Yun Zichong recovered from the backlash and ordered Yun Lan and Yun Feng to kill the unconscious cultivator and the other fallen enemies.

Le Chongqi and Cheng Ming trapped an Emerald Bird, but their struggle over who would claim it exposed their conflicting plans and a hidden oath. Cheng Ming activated a Puppet Talisman planted in Le Chongqi’s palm, making Le Chongqi fear that his soul was leaving his body.

• Le Chongqi and Cheng Ming caught the Emerald Bird in a net beside a Jade Sap Fruit, while Cai Zhuoxia and another cultivator emerged to seize it.
• Le Chongqi’s Profound Iron needle killed the hidden cultivator, and Cai Zhuoxia escaped with a teleportation talisman.
• Le Chongqi attached a Spirit-Suppressing Talisman to the Emerald Bird and claimed it for himself, refusing to honor his agreement with Cheng Ming.
• Cheng Ming confronted Le Chongqi, and Le Chongqi threatened him with the Profound Iron needle.
• Cheng Ming recalled their oath and rang a strange bell, causing Le Chongqi to feel his body rise as if his soul were leaving it.
• Cheng Ming revealed that he had planted a Puppet Talisman in Le Chongqi’s palm when they swore their oath, and said it would stop working after noon if Le Chongqi kept his promise.

Le Chongqi and Cheng Ming fought over the Emerald Bird and the Soul Capturing Bell, but Xiao Hua seized the bird and escaped Cheng Ming’s attack. A Foundation Establishment cultivator then appeared and demanded that Xiao Hua hand over the Emerald Bird.

• Le Chongqi threatened to kill the Emerald Bird unless Cheng Ming gave him the Soul Capturing Bell, and Cheng Ming agreed to exchange the items.
• Cheng Ming revealed that the Soul Capturing Bells came as a male-and-female pair and used one to seize control of Le Chongqi.
• Le Chongqi launched a hidden attack with the Profound Iron needle and struck his own forehead as Xiao Hua appeared with the Emerald Bird.
• Xiao Hua escaped Cheng Ming’s talisman with a Flight Talisman, while Le Chongqi’s needle pierced and killed Cheng Ming.
• Xiao Hua collected the Profound Iron needle, storage bags, and Soul Capturing Bells, then encountered a youth and a Foundation Establishment old man who demanded the Emerald Bird.

Xiao Hua escaped Yu Tong’s attempt to take the Emerald Bird, but the Huanhua Sect’s selection officials dismissed his accusation and offered him a menial position instead. The chapter ended with Xiao Hua facing a choice between accepting the fire-tending boy post and continuing to seek justice.

• Yu Tong’s Foundation Establishment granduncle suppressed Xiao Hua, snatched his Emerald Bird, and vanished after Xiao Hua escaped with a teleportation talisman.
• Xiao Hua returned to the hall and learned that Cai Yingxia had left and that Cai Yuxia was the only member of the Qingyang Cai Family to emerge.
• The Huanhua Sect announced that Yun Zichong, Mo Yang, and Yu Tong had passed the selection.
• Xiao Hua accused Yu Tong of taking the Emerald Bird, but Yu Tong and the Huanhua Sect officials rejected his claim.
• Xiao Hua challenged Yu Tong to a contest, and a Foundation Establishment cultivator instead offered him a fire-tending boy position.

Xiao Hua rejected Martial Uncle Liu’s offer to become a fire-tending boy and left the Huanhua Sect’s hall, while the discovery of a Good Karma Token diverted the sect’s attention. He escaped a pursuit and, studying Le Chongqi’s belongings in a cave, discovered how Le Chongqi had controlled the Profound Iron needle.

• Xiao Hua refused the fire-tending position, denounced the unfair treatment he had faced, and walked out of the hall.
• Yi Ming announced that the ninety-ninth Good Karma Token had appeared, and Martial Uncle Liu turned his attention to its young holder, who wanted to become a Golden Core cultivator’s disciple.
• Martial Uncle Liu dismissed Xiao Hua’s complaints and ordered a disciple to pursue him; Cai Zhuoxia left the hall and later went to rest alone in a cave.
• Xiao Hua escaped the Huanhua Sect disciples pursuing him and hid in a cave, where he tried and failed to control the Profound Iron needle using the booklet’s hand seals.
• Xiao Hua searched Le Chongqi’s storage bag, took its pills and spirit stones, and found a second booklet that explained how Le Chongqi had activated the needle without divine sense.

Xiao Hua mastered the blood-recognition method for the Profound Iron needle and learned about Good Karma Tokens from Cai Zhuoxia. After they discussed the events at the Huanhua Sect, Cai Zhuoxia planned to return to Luyang, while Xiao Hua decided to seek Fire Marrow Blazing Crystals alone.

• Xiao Hua used the booklet’s technique to claim the Profound Iron needle and tested its speed and piercing power.
• Xiao Hua searched Cheng Ming’s storage pouch and found Soul Incantation booklets, strange yellow talismans, pills, and spirit stones.
• Xiao Hua summoned Cai Zhuoxia and explained why he had left the Huanhua Sect before becoming trapped there.
• Cai Zhuoxia explained that Good Karma Tokens let their holders make a request of the sects that issued them.
• Cai Zhuoxia said she would return to Luyang, and Xiao Hua chose to go alone to find Fire Marrow Blazing Crystals.

Xiao Hua and Cai Zhuoxia set out for Yanlin Mountain Marsh to seek Fire Marrow Blazing Crystals, which Xiao Hua needs to obtain a cultivation art from Xunyan Sect. On the way to Yanyuan City, Cai Zhuoxia warned him that his rapid cultivation might mean he was neglecting the refinement of his realm, leaving Xiao Hua to consider her advice.

• Xiao Hua told Cai Zhuoxia he knew where to find Fire Marrow Blazing Crystals, and she gave him directions to Yanlin Mountain Marsh.
• After initially declining to go, Cai Zhuoxia caught up with Xiao Hua and agreed to accompany him via Yanyuan City and its Teleportation Array.
• Xiao Hua and Cai Zhuoxia flew to Yanyuan City over more than ten days while Xiao Hua cultivated and consumed pills.
• Cai Zhuoxia examined Xiao Hua's Burning Heaven Art and judged it crude, then warned that rapid breakthroughs could harm his Dao Foundation if his realm had not kept pace.
• Xiao Hua said his cultivation had advanced naturally without bottlenecks, and Cai Zhuoxia urged him to be careful before they planned to rest and prepare in Yanyuan City.

Xiao Hua and Cai Zhuoxia explored Yanyuan City, where Cai explained the difference between dual-cultivation partners and concubines before they settled at an inn. Xiao Hua later visited a pill shop seeking Qingyi Pills, where he met Xue Xue, another cultivator looking to buy them.

• Xiao Hua and Cai Zhuoxia saw a flying carriage pulled by Feathered Beasts, and Cai explained that its beautiful female passenger was a Golden Core cultivator’s concubine and furnace cauldron.
• Cai Zhuoxia described the fate of female cultivators who became concubines, then suggested that she and Xiao Hua rest at an inn before visiting the trading market the next day.
• Xiao Hua left the inn alone and entered a pill shop to ask whether it sold Qingyi Pills.
• A clerk confirmed the shop had recently received Qingyi Pills and invited Xiao Hua upstairs to meet the shopkeeper.
• Xue Xue introduced herself, asked to inspect the pills, and teased Xiao Hua about possibly buying them all before he could.

Xiao Hua and Xue Xue sampled Mind-Intoxicating Fruits and then inspected cultivation pills offered by Shopkeeper Liu. Xue Xue negotiated a purchase, while Xiao Hua recognized that the shop’s Qi Nurturing Pills were inferior to those refined by Xiao Yuehong.

• Xiao Hua ate a Mind-Intoxicating Fruit and experienced its waves of dizziness and comfort, while Xue Xue explained its effects and teased him into considering another.
• Shopkeeper Liu arrived and mentioned that a sect alchemist had been killed and his storage bag stolen, then presented four kinds of pills for sale before the Bidding Convention.
• Xue Xue inspected the pills first and invited Xiao Hua to examine them; Xiao Hua judged the Qi Nurturing Pills inferior to Xiao Yuehong’s pills.
• Shopkeeper Liu quoted the prices, and Xue Xue bargained for ten Qi Nurturing Pills and twenty Marrow Cleansing Pills.
• Xue Xue paid eleven high-grade spirit stones and asked Shopkeeper Liu to give her one extra Qi Nurturing Pill instead of returning the remaining mid-grade spirit stones.

Xiao Hua bought a large supply of Qingyi, Jinglian, and Gui Ji Pills from Shopkeeper Liu, who suspected he had ulterior motives. After Xue Xue realized the pills might be useful at the upcoming Bidding Convention, she offered Xiao Hua her invitation talisman in exchange for half his Qingyi Pills, leaving him reluctant to part with them.

• Xiao Hua asked Shopkeeper Liu about Qingyi, Jinglian, and Gui Ji Pills, then agreed to buy all the shop's stock of the three kinds for thirty top-grade spirit stones.
• Shopkeeper Liu warned Xue Xue not to interrupt and said the Imperial Pill Sect had brought out the pills because it needed spirit stones and wanted to trade for other goods.
• Xiao Hua paid Shopkeeper Liu, transferred the jade bottles into his storage pouch, and told Xue Xue he no longer feared her coveting his spirit stones.
• After they left the shop, Xue Xue realized the pill sale might be connected to the Bidding Convention and asked Xiao Hua to share some of his pills.
• Xue Xue offered her Bidding Convention invitation talisman in exchange for half of Xiao Hua's Qingyi Pills, but Xiao Hua said he had planned to trade the pills for more spirit stones.

Xiao Hua traded half his pills to Xue Xue for spirit stones and an invitation to Yanyuan City's Bidding Convention, unaware that Imperial Pill Sect disciples were tailing him. At a Fu Family shop, he discovered a recruitment notice for talisman-makers and learned that talented outsiders could join the family and potentially become core disciples.

• Xiao Hua gave Xue Xue half the Qingyi Pills in exchange for the agreed spirit stones, then accepted her Bidding Convention invitation and communication talisman.
• Xue Xue teased Xiao Hua about having a dual-cultivation partner, and he hurriedly took his leave.
• Shopkeeper Liu ordered Imperial Pill Sect disciples to keep watching Xiao Hua and wondered whether he was connected to Martial Uncle Bian's death or the Sect Master's plans.
• Xiao Hua visited Fu Family Talismans to look for talisman-making supplies, while Imperial Pill Sect disciples continued to watch him from outside.
• Xiao Hua read the Fu Family's notice seeking talisman-making disciples and learned from the clerk that skilled outsiders could be selected as core disciples and learn the family's inherited techniques.

Xiao Hua visited the Fu Family shop to buy talismans and learned that the family was recruiting disciples. After discussing the opportunity with Cai Zhuoxia, he still had not decided whether to join, and she began assessing his prospects.

• Xiao Hua bought Earth Evasion Talismans, talisman paper and ink, and several Thousand Mile Sound Transmission Talismans from the Fu Family shop.
• Xiao Hua asked about an Essence Nourishing Talisman, and shopkeeper Fu Yingmin explained that the Fu Family no longer knew how to make it.
• Fu Yingmin urged Xiao Hua to consider joining the Fu Family and told him that Yanyuan City would have one selection slot in half a year.
• Xiao Hua returned to the inn and asked Cai Zhuoxia whether he should join the Fu Family.
• Cai Zhuoxia said Fu Yingmin had correctly judged Xiao Hua as a promising Rogue Cultivator but had misjudged his cultivation, then heard Xiao Hua ask directly whether he should enter the family.

Xiao Hua and Cai Zhuoxia discussed the Fu family’s offer and agreed to attend Yanyuan City’s Bidding Convention. They reached the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, where Cai Zhuoxia explained that its darkened entrance concealed restrictions meant to protect bidders.

• Cai Zhuoxia warned Xiao Hua that joining the Fu family would not secure him cultivation techniques and said the Cai family would treat him better, though Xiao Hua thanked her for the advice.
• Xiao Hua told Cai Zhuoxia about the Bidding Convention and his invitation from Xue Xue, and Cai Zhuoxia cautioned him to beware of possible traps.
• Shopkeeper Liu questioned why Xiao Hua had bought so many pills and ordered one Imperial Pill Sect disciple to keep watching him.
• After two days of cultivating, Xiao Hua met Cai Zhuoxia and followed her to the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, where she pointed out Yanyuan City’s protective formation and the city’s major sect-owned establishments.
• At the pavilion entrance, Xiao Hua hesitated at the dark passage, and Cai Zhuoxia explained that its restrictions blocked divine sense and let bidders conceal their appearances and cultivation.

Xiao Hua attended the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion’s Bidding Convention and watched host An Chengmo open the auction. He placed the winning bid on a Kongmeng Stone, becoming the convention’s first buyer.

• Xiao Hua and Cai Zhuoxia entered the hall separately, and Xiao Hua chose not to offer any of his belongings for bidding.
• Xiao Hua took a seat on the second floor as the attendees gathered and the convention began.
• An Chengmo appeared on the platform, welcomed the attendees, and introduced the first item, a Kongmeng Stone.
• A cultivator opened bidding at ten mid-grade spirit stones, then Xiao Hua raised the bid to eleven.
• An Chengmo declared Xiao Hua the winner, and the attendant brought him the Kongmeng Stone.

Xiao Hua bought overlooked crafting materials and unexpectedly drove the bidding for a mysterious willow branch to two hundred and twenty top-grade spirit stones after Xunyan Sect bid against him. He won the branch, which he placed in his space, as the convention moved on to spirit talismans.

• Xiao Hua paid eleven middle-grade spirit stones for the Kongmeng Stone and watched bidders raise the price of black gold to eighteen middle-grade spirit stones.
• Xiao Hua bought crafting materials that other cultivators ignored, then observed spirit herbs sell for high prices.
• An Chengmo presented an unidentified, withered willow branch with a starting bid of fifty top-grade spirit stones, and Xunyan Sect offered sixty.
• Xiao Hua bid against Xunyan Sect until his offer reached two hundred and twenty top-grade spirit stones, whereupon the Xunyan Sect disciple withdrew and Xiao Hua won the branch.
• Xiao Hua tossed the willow branch into his space, and An Chengmo began auctioning spirit talismans with a Lightning Attracting Talisman.

Xiao Hua watched rare talismans and pills sell for high prices at the Bidding Convention and realized the Imperial Pill Sect was using his lower-grade pills to drive up demand for its own products. Shopkeeper Liu grew suspicious of Xiao Hua and ordered him watched, while Xiao Hua planned to use his Jinglian Pills to advance his cultivation.

• An Chengmo auctioned a Lightning Drawing Spirit Talisman for sixty high-grade spirit stones after Fellow Daoist He persuaded Fellow Daoist Jiang to yield it to him.
• Xue Xue's Qingyi Pills sold for far more than Xiao Hua's original price, and Xiao Hua concluded the Imperial Pill Sect would profit most from the resulting demand for its better pills.
• Cultivators bid fiercely on Marrow Cleansing Pills, with one hundred bottles selling for an average of nearly five high-grade spirit stones each.
• Shopkeeper Liu questioned a disciple about Xiao Hua, suspected he might be connected to Heaven Abandonment, and ordered people to watch him.
• Xiao Hua intended to consume all eight hundred Jinglian Pills himself to progress from the early fourth Qi Cultivation layer to the fifth, as An Chengmo introduced the Qi Nurturing Pills.

An Chengmo auctioned hundreds of Qi Nurturing Pills and twenty Foundation Establishment Pills, stirring alarm among the major sects and revealing that wealthy bidders had bought most of the Foundation Establishment Pills. As the convention neared its end, Xiao Hua spotted three golden-foil sheets resembling those in his space, but another cultivator claimed them too.

• An Chengmo sold all eight hundred Qi Nurturing Pills at an average of eleven high-grade spirit stones per five-pill bottle, while Xunyan Sect sought to learn which sect had supplied them.
• An Chengmo announced twenty Foundation Establishment Pills, and the three great sects bought only three as ten concealed cultivators acquired the other sixteen at an average price of fifteen supreme-grade spirit stones each.
• Xiao Hua wondered why Qing Fengmin had possessed so many Foundation Establishment Pills and suspected that one wealthy bidder was connected to Xue Xue.
• An Chengmo offered previously unsold items, and Xiao Hua reached for a Soul-Seizing Talisman, but another cultivator took it first.
• Xiao Hua spotted three golden-foil sheets resembling the foil in his space and moved to buy them, but another cultivator said he wanted them as well.