Chapter Summaries

Lin Ke decided to establish a breeding farm for the five poisons so he could cultivate spirit insects for future breeding, while Fang Tong recovered from his wounds. After refining the Gu Tablet, Lin Ke gave it to Lin Can to study, and she finished her insect jelly with enough energy to produce an amethyst longhorn beetle.

• Lin Ke abandoned the dangerous search for toads and scorpions needed to breed a summer-winter mosquito, but told Fang Tong to gather more snakes, geckos, and centipedes for a five poisons breeding farm.
• Lin Ke explained that he needed to breed ordinary five poisons creatures in quantity because they could be made into gu, essential materials for future spirit-insect breeding.
• Fang Tong thanked Lin Ke and left to recover, while Lin Ke realized the Gu Tablet's blood refinement had ended and refined the spirit artifact himself.
• Lin Ke stored the Gu Tablet in the Embracing Origin Palace, where Lin Can asked whether she could eat it and then read the knowledge recorded on it.
• Lin Can finished all six insect jellies and had enough energy to produce an amethyst longhorn beetle.

Lin Ke and Lin Can created an Amethyst Longhorn Beetle whose innate ability could enlarge its carapace, giving Lin Ke hope of gaining a defensive skill. Zong Ya appraised it and warned that troubled times might be coming, while Lin Ke remained committed to the Green Mulberry Garden as a possible refuge.

• Lin Can created an Amethyst Longhorn Beetle after Lin Ke encouraged her, and it hatched from a purple-marked egg.
• Lin Ke brought the beetle to Zong Ya, who used a Bronze Treasure Mirror to identify its near-mid-grade spirit quality and its ability to enlarge its carapace.
• Lin Ke realized the beetle's defensive skill could address a weakness in his cultivation and considered having Lin Can nurture one toward mid-grade quality.
• Zong Ya explained that the Insect Mirror was restricted and invited Lin Ke to join the Spirit Insect Cave, but Lin Ke chose to remain at the Green Mulberry Garden.
• Zong Ya warned Lin Ke that the Beast Venerable's fury and the sect master's trip to the Mu Mansion suggested troubled times ahead, and Lin Ke proposed making the garden a refuge for them.

Lin Ke used the Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method to take on the Amethyst Longhorn Beetle’s Amethyst Carapace, giving him a reliable defense as he considered entering the Poison Tempering Mountains. As Golden Silkworm Peak’s silk production surged, he struggled to find a safe way to sell the valuable Blackgold Silkworm silk and decided he might need to learn sewing.

• Lin Ke transformed with the Amethyst Longhorn Beetle and activated its Amethyst Carapace, discovering that the method let him use the insect’s skill at little spiritual-power cost.
• Lin Ke had Lin Can direct a Stinger Hawk Moth to attack his carapace, and the defense repelled the stinger without taking damage.
• Lin Ke judged that the Amethyst Longhorn Beetle gave him enough protection to consider the Poison Tempering Mountains, though he was not yet ready to enter them.
• Five days later, Golden Silkworm Peak’s Blackgold Silkworms produced four times as much silk, giving Lin Ke enough surplus to earn a substantial sum.
• Lin Ke worried that selling the rare silk would reveal his identity, so he considered learning to sew and turn it into garments himself.

Lin Ke refused Han Yun and Han Fu’s early inspection after realizing Li Le had sent them to cause trouble. After they left, he went to another mountain to create a space for raising insects, but his first attempt to excavate a cave caused it to collapse.

• Lin Ke recognized Han Yun and Han Fu as Discipline Hall disciples and learned they had come to inspect his sect assignment early, supposedly at Li Le’s request.
• Lin Ke denied requesting the inspection and refused to show them his blackgold silkworm silk, while Han Yun and Han Fu tried to question him about his spirit insect.
• Han Yun and Han Fu left after failing to inspect the site, warning Lin Ke they would return in a month.
• Lin Ke resolved to deal with Li Le if he got the chance, then headed to another mountain to prepare an insect-rearing space.
• Lin Ke used the Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning technique to excavate a cave, but the unsupported passage collapsed behind him.

Lin Ke spent his Spirit Stones on spells and a cultivation manual, then hollowed out a mountain to create a concealed insect-breeding facility. After a month of progress with his cultivation, spells, and insects, he learned that a Discipline Hall steward had arrived.

• Lin Ke bought Turn Earth to Steel and the Gusu Silk Chronicle, leaving himself with five hundred Spirit Stones.
• Lin Ke used Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning and Turn Earth to Steel to hollow out a mountain and build Insect-Breeding Mountain.
• Over the following month, Lin Ke practiced his spells, expanded the underground complex, bred insects, and produced enough Blackgold Silkworm silk to make inner armor.
• Lin Can formed a cocoon and buried herself in the soil as if entering a growth phase.
• Lin Ke arranged for the farmers inside Insect-Breeding Mountain to remain hidden during the sect inspection and told Fang Tong to protect Golden Silkworm Peak from pests.
• A messenger announced that a steward from the Discipline Hall had arrived.

Lin Ke used a Recording Stone to document the collection of his Blackgold Silkworm silk and confronted Han Yun and Han Fu when their mortal steelyard underweighed it. After revealing enough spiritual power to be recognized as a genius, he secured the correct weight and his stipend, then let the stewards leave.

• Lin Ke went out with two jin of Blackgold Silkworm silk and a Recording Stone to meet Han Yun and Han Fu, who had arrived early to collect it.
• Han Yun weighed the silk on a mortal steelyard and claimed it amounted to only one jin and two liang.
• Lin Ke pointed out the underweight, warned Han Yun and Han Fu about making an enemy of him, and displayed spiritual pressure that marked him as a genius.
• Han Yun acknowledged that his steelyard read short, returned the excess silk, and gave Lin Ke his monthly stipend of one hundred and fifty low-grade spirit stones.
• Lin Ke stored the silk and spirit stones, crushed the Recording Stone, and politely sent Han Yun and Han Fu on their way.

Lin Ke secured completion of the sect mission, made preparations to protect Green Mulberry Garden during the Sect Grand Tournament, and learned that the Golden Wing Sect was expanding recruitment amid rising tensions with the Cloud Frontier Beast Venerable. The chapter ended with Shi Ping and Huang Fuqi recognizing Lin Ke as the disciple whose cultivation had once fallen after repeated tournament failures.

• Lin Ke returned to Green Mulberry Garden and told Fang Tong the sect mission was complete, while advising him to keep the workers inside Insect-Breeding Mountain until the tournament passed.
• Lin Ke planned to buy a formation at Yi-Wa Market and gave Fang Tong instructions for managing Golden Silkworm Peak and Insect-Breeding Mountain in his absence.
• On his way to the heart of the sect, Lin Ke heard disciples discuss the Cloud Frontier Beast Venerable's fury, the sect master's absence, and preparations for the Sect Grand Tournament.
• Lin Ke asked Shi Ping and Huang Fuqi about expanded recruitment and learned that Fang Tong's son could seek entry through the Transmission Elder if he met the requirements.
• Lin Ke suspected the sect was preparing for war and connected the Beast Venerable's anger to the loss of his Mysterious Bead.
• Shi Ping and Huang Fuqi recognized Lin Ke from his past tournament failures and the fall of his cultivation from the ninth layer of Qi Refining to the first.

Lin Ke met Huang Fuqi and Shi Ping, learned that Huang Fuqi served the powerful True Person White Dew, and arrived with them at the Golden Wing Sect’s grand gathering. After parting ways, Lin Ke explored the floating buildings while awaiting the Sect Grand Tournament.

• Huang Fuqi introduced himself as a disciple of True Person White Dew and praised Lin Ke for breaking through Li Le’s blockade.
• Lin Ke dismissed Li Le and spoke with Huang Fuqi and Shi Ping about True Person White Dew and the possibility of joining his disciples someday.
• Lin Ke, Huang Fuqi, and Shi Ping arrived at the vast plaza where hundreds of thousands of Golden Wing Sect disciples had gathered.
• Shi Ping and Huang Fuqi invited Lin Ke to visit them and departed without exchanging contact details because Lin Ke did not own a Mystic Vein Book.
• Lin Ke flew to the plaza’s second tier of floating buildings to explore before the Sect Grand Tournament began.

Lin Ke explored the bustling shops before attending the Golden Wing Sect’s Year Festival, where the Golden-Wing Queen’s immense phantom appeared over the gathering. The festival’s opening sacrifice followed, while Lin Ke wondered whether the Queen had noticed him and felt newly aware of the path ahead.

• Lin Ke browsed the shops and auction houses, then waited six hours for the Sect Grand Tournament and Year Festival to begin.
• A powerful divine sense announced the festival, and tens of thousands of Dao Foundation Stage bees gathered above the plaza.
• The supreme elders appeared and welcomed the Golden-Wing Envoy, whose enormous bee-headed phantom briefly loomed over the crowd.
• Disciples excitedly claimed the Golden-Wing Queen had looked at them, while Lin Ke wondered if her gaze had singled him out.
• The leading supreme elder sacrificed a pig, ox, sheep, chicken, duck, and goose, and their remains scattered beyond the Golden Wing Sect.

Lin Ke entered the Golden Wing Sect’s Grand Tournament, but the Transmission Elder discovered his Dao Foundation breakthrough and exposed Li Le’s attempt to rig his match. She declared Lin Ke the tournament champion and warned him that war was approaching, so his younger relative should delay joining the sect.

• Lin Ke entered the tournament and was assigned to face Du Hui, who had been placed in his group by steward Duan Ligang at Li Le’s request.
• When the Transmission Elder called for outer disciples who had reached the Dao Foundation Stage to rise, Lin Ke and Li Le, Duan Ligang, and Zong Ya took to the air.
• The Transmission Elder punished Duan Ligang for interfering in sect affairs and threatened to confront Li Le’s father; Li Le left the grounds without responding.
• The Transmission Elder told Lin Ke he need not compete in the outer disciples’ matches and declared him the champion, entitling him to the tournament rewards.
• Lin Ke asked about admitting a younger relative, and the Transmission Elder advised that the relative wait because war was nearing and Qi Refining cultivators would become cannon fodder.

Lin Ke considered the possibility that the Cloud Frontier Beast Venerable was starting a war and wondered whether Fang Tong should send his son to join the sect. After thanking Rain Spider True Person for her concern, he suspected the Golden-Wing Queen’s earlier gaze might explain her change in attitude, then watched the Sect Grand Tournament until its final match began.

• Lin Ke reasoned that the Cloud Frontier Beast Venerable might have launched a war and considered warning Fang Tong about sending his son to the sect.
• Rain Spider True Person recalled Lin Ke’s past and offered to protect him from Li Le, prompting Lin Ke to thank her while wondering why she had changed her opinion of him.
• Lin Ke connected Rain Spider True Person’s attention to the Golden-Wing Queen’s gaze during the Year Festival, though he could not determine its cause.
• Lin Ke watched Qi Refining Stage disciples combine basic spells in inventive ways and gained inspiration from their matches.
• The two-day Sect Grand Tournament ended with the announcement of the final match between Lin Quan-meng and Fang Du.

During the Year Festival, Lin Quan-meng revealed that she had mastered Axi Moon Dance intent at the Qi Refining Stage, startling the spectators and stopping her fight with Fang Du. A red-haired supreme elder appeared and declared that she was destined to become his disciple.

• Lin Quan-meng and Fang Du fought evenly, using their spirit insects and weapons as the spectators discussed their skills.
• Fang Du trapped Lin Quan-meng with his ground spider and sent his poisoned spiked hammer toward her, but she closed her eyes and awakened the intent of the Axi Moon Dance.
• Rain Spider True Person stopped Fang Du’s hammer and freed Lin Quan-meng after sensing her profound power.
• Lin Ke recognized that Lin Quan-meng had mastered intent at the Qi Refining Stage and considered her an exceptional prodigy.
• A supreme elder froze the plaza with the Scorpion-Tail Stinger Origin Artifact and announced that Lin Quan-meng was destined to study under him.

Lin Quan-meng comprehended Moon Dance intent and became Hua Wujiang’s disciple, then challenged Lin Ke for first place in the Sect Grand Tournament. Lin Ke’s formidable Amethyst Carapace withstood her attacks, and their spar continued as Lin Quan-meng tested whether his spiritual power would last.

• Hua Wujiang accepted Lin Quan-meng as his disciple after she comprehended Moon Dance intent, and she asked True Person Rain Spider to decide whether she or Lin Ke ranked first.
• Hua Wujiang proposed that Lin Quan-meng and Lin Ke spar for first place, praised Lin Ke’s composure, and identified him as possessing the Myriad-Leak Body.
• Lin Ke agreed to fight Lin Quan-meng, and True Person Rain Spider and Hua Wujiang watched from above.
• Lin Quan-meng sent Stick Insect and her flying sword against Lin Ke, but his Amethyst Carapace blocked their attacks and left Stick Insect dazed.
• Lin Quan-meng acknowledged Lin Ke’s defensive skill, questioned whether his spiritual power could endure, and resumed attacking; Lin Ke invited her to find out.

Lin Ke fought Lin Quan-meng to test the limits of his defense, then withdrew his barrier to practice other spells against her. As their battle intensified, True Person Rain Spider revealed that the Golden-Wing Queen might have taken an interest in Lin Ke, alarming Hua Wujiang.

• Lin Ke's unshaken defense after a long fight amazed the watching disciples and drew renewed interest from the sect's Supreme Elders.
• Lin Ke withdrew his barrier and told Lin Quan-meng he wanted to use her as a whetstone to practice his spells.
• Lin Quan-meng accepted the challenge and began performing the Axi Moon Dance imbued with Moon-Jumping Dance Intent.
• True Person Rain Spider and Hua Wujiang discussed Lin Ke's unusual Dao Foundation and the possibility of taking him as a disciple.
• True Person Rain Spider said the Golden-Wing Queen had seemed to glance at Lin Ke during the last Year Festival, and Hua Wujiang urgently decided to notify the Chief Supreme Elder.

Lin Ke and Lin Quan-meng fought an increasingly fierce arena battle, each recognizing the other's strengths as Lin Ke used inventive spells to counter her footwork. When Lin Quan-meng staked everything on a sudden acceleration, Lin Ke unleashed Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning with a vast surge of spiritual power, stunning the tournament spectators.

• Lin Ke used dust, mud, and scalding steam to track Lin Quan-meng and hinder her movement, while she marveled at his control and inventive spell use.
• Lin Quan-meng realized Lin Ke was no ordinary Dao Foundation Initial Stage cultivator and accelerated to attempt a decisive final clash.
• Lin Ke embraced the exhilaration of combat and released a cry as his spiritual power surged.
• Lin Ke poured nearly forty percent of his spiritual power into Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning, raising thousands of huge earthen spikes into the air.
• The spectators and Dao Foundation disciples were stunned by the scale of Lin Ke's technique and the amount of spiritual power he displayed.

Lin Ke’s Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning technique produced a Golden Core-level strike, and Hua Wujiang explained how Lin Ke’s Myriad-Leak Body and sixty-percent Dao Foundation made it possible. After Hua Wujiang expounded the technique’s Dao, Lin Ke gained new insights, while the crowd celebrated his strength and Lin Quan-meng’s talent.

• Hua Wujiang confirmed that Lin Ke’s strike had reached Golden Core strength and explained the Myriad-Leak Body’s unusual cultivation and ability to unleash all its spiritual energy at once.
• Lin Ke exhausted his mental power and dropped the earthen spikes, realizing the attack worked best against groups or fast opponents and would be less effective against flying cultivators.
• Hua Wujiang expounded the principles of the Mountain-Moving and Sea-Overturning technique, and Lin Ke listened and gained new understanding.
• Hua Wujiang carried Lin Quan-meng away and asked Rain Spider True Person to take extra care over the youngsters’ affairs.
• The spectators cheered and discussed Lin Ke’s Myriad-Leak Body, Lin Quan-meng’s mastery of intent, and Hua Wujiang’s rare discourse on the Dao.

After winning first place in the Sect Grand Tournament, Lin Ke celebrated the Year Festival while pondering Li Le’s strange interest in Zong Ya. At an auction, he reconsidered a clue about Zong Ya’s cultivation and was alarmed when the next item was introduced as a slave with a constitution meant for use as a cultivation cauldron.

• Rain Spider True Person declared Lin Ke the tournament champion and announced the ten-day Year Festival.
• Lin Ke celebrated while cultivating, reflected on his strengths, and worried that Li Le’s interest in Zong Ya concealed something.
• Lin Ke went to an auction house to rest and search for clues about Li Le and Zong Ya.
• Lin Ke recalled that Zong Ya’s discomfort during cultivation had once eased after she ate a spiritual meal.
• The auctioneer presented a Clam Maiden with the Spirit Xun Saint Wind Body as a slave who could be refined into a cultivation cauldron, and Lin Ke reacted with alarm.

Lin Ke suspected that Li Le intended to use Zong Ya as a cauldron and felt a sudden premonition that she was in danger. Rain Spider True Person found Zong Ya and brought Lin Ke to confront Li Le and his father, True Person Yuan Yong.

• Lin Ke overheard information that made him suspect Li Le wanted Zong Ya for her unusual constitution and hurried to find her.
• Lin Ke went to Rain Spider True Person and realized his unusual urgency might be a sudden premonition that Zong Ya was in danger.
• Rain Spider True Person searched for Zong Ya with her mental power and discovered Li Le had cornered her.
• Rain Spider True Person took Lin Ke beyond the Year Festival grounds, where they found Zong Ya with Li Le and True Person Yuan Yong.
• Rain Spider True Person challenged True Person Yuan Yong for allowing Li Le to oppose her.

True Person Yuan Yong offered Lin Ke an Ape-Arm Scorpion and spirit stones if he stopped opposing Li Le’s pursuit of Zong Ya, but Rain Spider True Person defended Zong Ya and fought Yuan Yong. While they battled, Lin Ke clashed with Li Le and realized he needed a powerful spirit insect to match his opponent’s advantages.

• True Person Yuan Yong offered Lin Ke an Ape-Arm Scorpion and ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones, but Rain Spider True Person refused to let him coerce Zong Ya.
• True Person Yuan Yong attacked Rain Spider True Person, and the two used the Moisture-and-Egg Transformation Method as they fought away among the clouds.
• Li Le threatened Lin Ke and Zong Ya, while Lin Ke used earth magic to protect Zong Ya and attack Li Le.
• Lin Ke and Li Le exchanged spells, with Li Le relying on several Ape-Arm Scorpions and a flying sword to defend himself.
• Lin Ke recognized that his vast spiritual power was not enough to overcome Li Le’s equipment and concluded that he needed a powerful spirit insect.

Lin Ke and Rain Spider True Person defeated Li Le and rescued Zong Ya, but an uprising by the demons of the Poison Tempering Mountains abruptly canceled the Dao Foundation Sect Grand Tournament. As fighting broke out among the sect’s higher-ups, Lin Ke and Zong Ya separated to prepare for the coming danger.

• Rain Spider True Person arrived, knocked Li Le away, and freed Zong Ya from the spider threads binding her.
• Rain Spider True Person invited Lin Ke and Zong Ya to watch the Dao Foundation Sect Grand Tournament, but an alert announced that the demons of the Poison Tempering Mountains had rebelled and a Nascent Soul cultivator had self-detonated.
• Rain Spider True Person rushed off as the sect’s higher-ups began fighting, and she told Lin Ke and Zong Ya to return because the tournament was canceled.
• Lin Ke urged Zong Ya to shelter at the Green Mulberry Garden, while Zong Ya agreed and went to the Spirit Insect Cave to buy supplies.
• Lin Ke returned to the Green Mulberry Garden and ordered Fang Tong to summon everyone.