Chapter Summaries

Chen Beiwu and Li Wan'er divided up the Azure Python Blood Wyrm and cooked a feast from its meat. After eating wyrm spinal marrow, Chen Beiwu began trying to open the Deep Pool Acupoint and break through to the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining.

• Li Wan'er gave Chen Beiwu the wyrm gallbladder and agreed to give the Three-Colored Star Toad ten percent of the wyrm meat.
• Chen Beiwu cooked dozens of wyrm dishes with help from Golden Egg and Iron Egg.
• Li Wan'er and the Three-Colored Star Toad eagerly ate the feast, while Chen Beiwu saved food for his companion beasts.
• Iron Egg offered its food to Chen Beiwu before eating, and Golden Egg followed suit after sensing its master's reaction.
• Chen Beiwu drank wyrm spinal marrow soup and circulated the Qi Refining Aperture Condensation Method to open the Deep Pool Acupoint.
• Li Wan'er recognized that Chen Beiwu was attempting a breakthrough, while the Three-Colored Star Toad doubted he would succeed.

Chen Beiwu used Golden Egg’s help to refine the hui serpent spinal marrow essence and broke through to the tenth layer of Qi Refining. He discovered that his body had already gained some leakproof characteristics, ahead of what his cultivation method predicted.

• Golden Egg and Iron Egg became overheated after eating hui serpent meat, while Chen Beiwu struggled to refine the potent spinal marrow essence.
• Li Wan'er reassured the Three-Colored Star Toad that she could help Chen Beiwu if his breakthrough went wrong, but chose not to use her Three-Revolution Qi-Origin Pill.
• Golden Egg finished refining the meat and found blood-colored scales growing along its golden scales.
• Chen Beiwu joined the Qi Refining Aperture Condensation Method with the Myriad Laws Return to Flow Jianmu Heavenly Book, and Golden Egg helped him refine the boiling essence.
• Chen Beiwu condensed the deep pool acupoint, advanced to the tenth layer of Qi Refining, and found that his body had gained leakproof characteristics.

Chen Beiwu discovered that the wyrm marrow had strengthened his spirit seeds and helped Golden Egg and Iron Egg grow, then returned to the sect and sought a way to earn contribution points. He arrived at the Formation Hall to look for work that could fund the cultivation methods he needed.

• Chen Beiwu examined his enlarged spirit seeds and wondered whether reaching the tenth layer of Qi Refining had made them easier to transform.
• Li Wan'er reassured Chen Beiwu that Golden Egg was unharmed after eating Wyrm Spinal Marrow, and Chen Beiwu explained how the Azure Python Blood Wyrm might influence Golden Egg's Flowing Golden Scales.
• Chen Beiwu fed wyrm meat to Iron Egg and cooked more for Li Wan'er before they returned to the Mirror Moon Sect.
• Three days later, Chen Beiwu realized that buying advanced Qi Refining methods required more sect contribution points and decided to seek Formation Hall missions.
• Chen Beiwu reached the Formation Hall with Golden Egg, where passing disciples showed awe at the insignia on his Daoist robe.

Chen Beiwu applied to join the Mirror Moon Sect’s Formation Hall and impressed the examiners by repairing a damaged formation almost immediately. The entrance examination was still underway when he submitted his disk, leaving Zhou Quan and the others stunned.

• Chen Beiwu arrived at the Formation Hall and applied to join, meeting Sun Ying and four other applicants.
• Zi Ling explained the hall’s benefits, and Chen Beiwu said he was a First-Tier Formation Master.
• Yun Yishu arrived and began the entrance examination, which required applicants to repair an incomplete formation within one incense stick.
• Chen Beiwu identified the damaged formation’s spirit pivot hubs and repaired it in one uninterrupted breath.
• Chen Beiwu submitted his formation disk while the other applicants were still working, shocking Sun Ying and leaving Zhou Quan nearly ruining his own disk.

Chen Beiwu impressed Yun Yishu by repairing the damaged formation quickly and with an unconventional extra formation-core junction, earning a place in the Formation Hall. After the other candidates completed the first assessment, Sun Ying began setting up a second-tier upper-grade bewildering formation, and Zhou Quan volunteered to enter first.

• Chen Beiwu finished repairing the formation in under half a quarter of an hour, and Yun Yishu praised his work and accepted him into the Formation Hall.
• Zhou Quan, Zi Ling, and Zhao Qingxue completed the assessment, while the rugged man failed to finish before the incense burned out.
• Zhao Qingxue and Zhou Quan examined Chen Beiwu's Formation Disk and saw that he had repaired two formation-core junctions.
• Yun Yishu announced that the second assessment would determine the candidates' annual stipends by testing how quickly they could break a formation.
• Sun Ying prepared a second-tier upper-grade bewildering formation, and Zhou Quan volunteered to enter first.

Chen Beiwu entered the Six-Gate Heart-Confusing Formation and escaped in less than a quarter of an hour, earning a position as a formation walker. Yun Yishu recognized his achievement and took him to meet Deputy Hall Master Lin, leaving Zhou Quan envious and bitter.

• Zhou Quan broke the Six-Gate Heart-Confusing Formation in one quarter and thirty marks and qualified as a guard formation master.
• Chen Beiwu entered the formation, noticed it could seal his senses and divine sense, and found a way out by walking beyond its range.
• Chen Beiwu emerged after thirty marks, breaking Yun Yishu's record and qualifying as a formation walker with an annual salary of one thousand contribution points.
• Sun Ying asked how Chen Beiwu had broken the formation, and he said he had relied on intuition.
• Yun Yishu left Sun Ying to oversee the examination and took Chen Beiwu to meet Deputy Hall Master Lin, while Zhou Quan watched with envy.

Chen Beiwu impressed Hall Master Lin with his Formation Dao talent and received a well-paid post as a formation patrol envoy. As he prepared to patrol outside the sect, Yun Yishu gave him a modified formation for protection.

• Yun Yishu questioned Chen Beiwu about his goals in the Formation Hall, and he admitted he wanted contribution points for the Seven-Turn Qi Refining Cycle and a Spirit-Merging Pill.
• Yun Yishu urged Chen Beiwu to give up beast taming and focus on formations, but he insisted that beast taming and formations could complement each other.
• Yun Yishu introduced Chen Beiwu to Hall Master Lin, who tested his formation knowledge and offered him a position as a formation patrol envoy in the western Ten Thousand Desolate Sea Region.
• Chen Beiwu accepted the post, and Hall Master Lin tried to arrange a match with his niece before Yun Yishu escorted Chen Beiwu away.
• Yun Yishu gave Chen Beiwu a modified Eight-Gate Mind-Confusing Formation that could hold off powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators, then explained that setting up a formation differed from activating one.

Chen Beiwu learned about Yu Shuiyao’s Illuminating Art before traveling with Yun Yishu to inspect Qingsu Island. There, he met the island’s officials and recognized the hawk on Yu Pan’s shoulder as a possible Heaven-Eyed Black Kite.

• Yun Yishu explained that Yu Shuiyao’s Illuminating Formation Disks let even cultivators without formation knowledge deploy formations, though Chen Beiwu could not learn the art yet.
• Yun Yishu told Chen Beiwu that the sect had assigned him to inspect Qingsu Island and took him there.
• Lu Lei, Wei Bichun, Xiao Qing, and Yu Pan discussed the new inspector, learning that Chen Zi'ang was a disciple of True Person Zhu.
• Chen Beiwu arrived with Yun Yishu and heard the four officials introduce their roles on Qingsu Island.
• Chen Beiwu noticed the hawk perched on Yu Pan and suspected it was a Heaven-Eyed Black Kite, a powerful descendant of the Heaven-Inspecting 𬸚𬸦.

Chen Beiwu learned that Yu Pan’s Heaven-Eyed Black Kite was a rare treasure beast and considered taking it for himself, while Yu Pan sought a way to use his position to find a hidden flood dragon corpse. After entering the grand formation’s hub, Chen Beiwu remained impossible for the beast to assess, leaving Yu Pan cautious but willing to abandon her search if necessary.

• Chen Beiwu recognized the Heaven-Eyed Black Kite’s extraordinary potential and decided to look for an opportunity to take it.
• The cultivators misread Chen Beiwu’s interest in Yu Pan, while Yu Pan considered obtaining his Formation Patrol Envoy token to search the grand formation’s hubs for the flood dragon corpse.
• Lu Lei hosted Chen Beiwu and Yun Yishu at the Drunken Fragrance Residence, and Yun Yishu later left Qingsu Island.
• Yu Pan led Chen Beiwu to the Sea-Gathering Island-Returning Grand Formation’s hub, and Chen Beiwu used his token to enter it.
• Yu Pan asked the Heaven-Eyed Black Kite whether they could defeat Chen Beiwu, but it said they could not and admitted it could not see through him.
• Yu Pan decided she could give up the flood dragon corpse and earn sect merit for Flood Dragon Blood Pills if her search failed.

Chen Beiwu inspected the Sea-Gathering Island-Returning Grand Formation and considered how to obtain Yu Pan’s Heaven-Eyed Black Kite. Lu Lei and the others then offered him spirit stones to overlook problems with Qingsu Island’s formations, but Chen Beiwu refused and left the confrontation unresolved.

• Chen Beiwu inspected the formation nexus, where Golden Egg cultivated amid dense water-aspected spiritual energy.
• Chen Beiwu decided to pursue ownership of Yu Pan’s Heaven-Eyed Black Kite through an exchange rather than force.
• After finishing his inspection, Chen Beiwu agreed to meet Lu Lei at Yu Pan’s invitation, suspecting the summons was unusual.
• Lu Lei, Xiao Qing, and Yu Pan asked Chen Beiwu to negotiate over the Sea-Gathering Island-Returning Grand Formation, where twelve of Qingsu Island’s thirty-six formations had problems.
• Lu Lei offered Chen Beiwu fifteen thousand low-grade spirit stones and future payments in exchange for ignoring the formation issues, but Chen Beiwu refused.

Chen Beiwu bargained with Lu Lei, Xiao Qing, and Yu Pan over the corruption surrounding Qingsu Island, accepting a bribe while pretending to cooperate. In Xiao Qing’s private chamber, he revealed his real intentions by activating a formation, leaving her trapped as Yu Pan witnessed the Eight-Gate Mind-Confusing Formation rise.

• Xiao Qing tried to charm Chen Beiwu into ignoring the problems with Qingsu Island’s formations, while Lu Lei offered him a withered thunder branch.
• Chen Beiwu demanded fifty thousand spirit stones, then accepted Lu Lei’s counteroffer of twenty-five thousand and agreed to go with Xiao Qing.
• Lu Lei suspected Chen Beiwu was pretending to cooperate and planned to bind him to their scheme through dual cultivation with Xiao Qing.
• In the private chamber, Chen Beiwu suddenly revealed a green jade Formation Disk and activated a powerful formation as Xiao Qing attacked him.
• Yu Pan saw eight bronze gates rise and recognized the Eight-Gate Mind-Confusing Formation.

Chen Beiwu escaped Qingsu Island after discovering that Lu Lei and the other senior figures had compromised many of the sect’s grand formations. He sent Yun Yishu a warning and asked her to spare Yu Pan’s spirit beast, leaving the sect to respond to the alleged corruption.

• Yu Pan chose to help Lu Lei break the Eight-Gate Mind-Confusing Formation and rescue the others.
• Chen Beiwu used the Fivefold Water-Locking Formation and Illusory Mist Dusk to distract Xiao Qing, then escaped through the Ten Directions Gate.
• Xiao Qing told Lu Lei and Yu Pan that Chen Beiwu had gotten away, and the three Foundation Establishment cultivators faced the approaching Market Cultivator Guard.
• Chen Beiwu reached a crude cave abode and sent a Message Transmission Talisman to Yun Yishu while studying the Moonheaven Dew and Withered Thunder Branch.
• Yun Yishu read Chen Beiwu’s report about Lu Lei and the compromised grand formations and recognized that he had rendered the sect a great service.

Chen Beiwu used the Moonheaven Dew and Withered Thunder Branch to begin transforming his spirit seeds, then returned to the Mystic Spirit Lake with Golden Egg and Iron Egg. The chapter ended with a disguised snake beast trapping Golden Egg in its coils.

• Chen Beiwu and Golden Egg refined the Moonheaven Dew and Withered Thunder Branch, restoring balance between the Azure Wood Spirit Seed and Clear Vast Spirit Seed.
• Chen Beiwu learned the spirit seeds would take three to five years to transform and wondered whether improving his Qi Refining Aperture Condensation Method could shorten the process.
• Chen Beiwu stayed away from the sect while Senior Sister Yun dealt with the situation on Qingsu Island, then traveled toward the Mystic Spirit Lake with Golden Egg and Iron Egg.
• Chen Beiwu spotted a spider-like beast near a cliff and told Golden Egg to capture it alive.
• Golden Egg attacked the beast, but it revealed itself as a pitch-black snake with ghost-face markings and coiled around Golden Egg.

Chen Beiwu watched Golden Egg kill a Spider-Tailed Ghost-Faced Viper after it ambushed him, then encountered a wounded Azure Thunder Tiger fleeing from Pei Xiao and his Sand-Roaming Falcon. As Chen Beiwu prepared to leave, the cornered tiger suddenly gathered strength to fight rather than submit.

• The Spider-Tailed Ghost-Faced Viper ambushed Golden Egg, but its fangs broke against his scales, and Golden Egg crushed it with a tail sweep.
• Chen Beiwu reminded Golden Egg to use his divine sense, then sensed the injured Azure Thunder Tiger racing nearby as Iron Egg warned of danger.
• Chen Beiwu hid with Golden Egg and prepared the Ten Directions Gate, then followed the tiger after hearing an eagle cry and realizing it was pursued.
• Pei Xiao and his Sand-Roaming Falcon attacked the Azure Thunder Tiger, using the falcon's earth powers and Pei Xiao's Five Tones Shaking Birds to overpower it.
• Chen Beiwu decided to leave, but the Azure Thunder Tiger suddenly surged with power and showed it would rather die than submit.

Pei Xiao pursued the wounded Azure Thunder Tiger to the Mystic Spirit Lake, where a mysterious formation helped the tiger turn the fight around. The tiger survived Pei Xiao’s deadly arrow with a mutated innate ability and tore the Sand-Swimming Falcon in half.

• Pei Xiao used his Windbreaking Spirit Bow to wound the Azure Thunder Tiger while pursuing it toward the Mystic Spirit Lake, and Chen Beiwu quietly followed.
• At the lake, the Azure Thunder Tiger feigned weakness before healing its wound and unleashing its strength under the protection of a mysterious formation.
• The formation slowed the Sand-Swimming Falcon, allowing the Azure Thunder Tiger to attack Pei Xiao and his Spirit Pet and send them crashing into the lake.
• Pei Xiao fired a talisman-enhanced arrow that blasted a huge hole in the Azure Thunder Tiger’s waist and pinned it to a distant cliff.
• The Azure Thunder Tiger emerged with a mutated Thunder Wraith ability, caught the Sand-Swimming Falcon, and tore it in half.

The Azure Thunder Tiger killed Pei Xiao after a brutal battle, but Chen Beiwu and Golden Egg attacked the wounded beast. The tiger appeared to defeat them with Thunder Wraith Entanglement, only for an ink-black Spirit Sword to behead it from behind.

• The Azure Thunder Tiger overcame Pei Xiao's talismans and killed him, though it suffered severe injuries.
• Golden Egg sensed the tiger was near its limit and attacked while it fed on the Sand-Swimming Falcon.
• Chen Beiwu detonated the Fivefold Water-Locking Formation, but the Azure Thunder Tiger survived and struck at him and Golden Egg.
• Chen Beiwu escaped the tiger's attack and sent water blades against it while Golden Egg transformed to hold it off.
• The Azure Thunder Tiger burned its blood essence and unleashed Thunder Wraith Entanglement, piercing Golden Egg and vaporizing Chen Beiwu.
• An ink-black Spirit Sword appeared from behind and severed the exhausted Azure Thunder Tiger's head.

Chen Beiwu defeated the Azure Thunder Tiger, destroyed the ghost tiger that emerged from its corpse, and salvaged the beasts’ valuable remains. He opened the fallen Foundation Establishment cultivator’s Storage Ring and discovered a wealth of spirit stones and treasures, including three sealed jade boxes.

• Chen Beiwu recalled Golden Egg after the Azure Thunder Tiger’s defeat, then pinned and destroyed the ghost tiger that rose from the tiger’s corpse.
• Chen Beiwu summoned Iron Egg and, the next morning, processed the tiger and falcon carcasses into food for himself and his pets.
• Chen Beiwu took the falcon-controlling cultivator’s Storage Ring and buried the cultivator with Golden Egg’s help.
• Chen Beiwu refined the Storage Ring’s imprint and found spirit stones, cultivation supplies, three spiritual artifacts, and three sealed jade boxes.

Chen Beiwu examined the sealed treasures and discovered rare materials, including marrow blood from a Third-Realm Rift-Splitting Golden Peng, though none suited his immediate needs. He then identified the rusty bracelet in the Storage Ring as the Windplume Pei Clan’s Soul-Contract Lock, a spiritual artifact designed to subdue and control eagle demon beasts.

• Chen Beiwu opened a jade box and found Five-Pollution Earth Marrow, which could advance an earth-attribute spirit beast’s bloodline but risked corrupting its soul.
• Golden Egg opened another box, triggering a corrosive black mist, but Chen Beiwu’s Tideborn Silk Armor protected them.
• Chen Beiwu opened the last box with his Cold Pool Spirit Sword and found marrow blood from a Third-Realm Rift-Splitting Golden Peng.
• Chen Beiwu inspected the Storage Ring’s books and jade slips, finding the Windplume Pei Clan’s beast-taming methods crude and outdated.
• Chen Beiwu identified the rusty bracelet as the Soul-Contract Lock, which could restrain an eagle demon beast and punish it by scouring its soul essence.

Chen Beiwu deciphered the formations protecting Spirit Lake and crossed safely to its central island, where he found a ruined wooden house and a set of remains. He left the chapter at the threshold of discovering what the remains concealed.

• Chen Beiwu tested Spirit Lake’s formation with twigs and sent Golden Egg to find a swimming Spirit Monster that could follow instructions.
• Chen Beiwu used a Grayrock Rat to confirm that the lake held both a Spirit-Gathering Formation and a deadly ice formation whose shifting paths could be navigated.
• When a Jade-Scale King Snake appeared, the Grayrock Rat fled and froze; Chen Beiwu and Golden Egg crossed the lake, and Chen Beiwu killed the snake while Golden Egg swallowed its poisonous miasma.
• Chen Beiwu reached the central island, killed two more Jade-Scale King Snakes with Golden Egg, and entered a ruined wooden house.
• Chen Beiwu discovered remains seated on a meditation cushion inside the house.

Chen Beiwu examined the books and records in Qian Yuan’s cabin, learning how the former owner had searched in vain for his ancestor’s tomb and left incomplete legacies. When Chen Beiwu broke the restriction on Qian Yuan’s Storage Ring, a spectral soul attacked him, but he cut it down and stopped Golden Egg from eating it.

• Chen Beiwu found a formation manual, an incomplete artifact-forging legacy, and a partial copy of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Soul-Devouring Formation in the cabin.
• Chen Beiwu read Qian Yuan’s record and learned that the cultivator had lost his Lineage to the Yun Household and had spent over two centuries searching for his ancestor’s tomb at Mystic Spirit Lake.
• Qian Yuan’s final message said that his legacies were incomplete and that a Yun Household descendant’s blood and soul could undo the restriction on his Storage Ring.
• Chen Beiwu used Cold Pool to break the restriction covering Qian Yuan’s remains and retreated when a spectral soul burst out to attack him.
• Chen Beiwu split the spectral soul with Cold Pool and stopped Golden Egg from consuming it.