Recaps

Xu Xuan helped repel a demonic cultivator raid on the herb garden, earning recognition from the Azure Wood Sect and promotion to steward disciple. Now formally in the outer sect, he prepared to visit the Scripture Pavilion and pursue the resources he needed.

• After Xu Xuan warned Li Jiangping about a sinister aura, demonic cultivators stole blood crystal grass from the herb garden’s storehouse despite strengthened guards.
• More than ten demonic cultivators attacked the herb garden, and Xu Xuan used Green Vine Entanglement to save Xu An before confronting a Spirit Treasury Realm attacker near the storehouse.
• Xu Xuan held off the Spirit Treasury Realm demonic cultivator while Li Jiangping and Manager Zhao helped fight the attackers, who eventually retreated with the storehouse preserved.
• The Steward Hall investigated Xu Xuan’s background and, recognizing his cultivation and service, appointed him the herb garden’s steward disciple.
• Xu Xuan moved into an outer sect courtyard residence, and Li Jiangping congratulated him as Xu Xuan prepared to visit the Scripture Pavilion’s first floor.

Xu Xuan settled into his role as an outer-sect steward while studying a method suited to his five elements spiritual root and quietly expanding his connections and plans. He learned that a strand of yi wood azure qi would be auctioned at Cloudmist Market, but he lacked the spirit stones to attend and began considering other ways to obtain it.

• Li Jiangping gave Xu Xuan the outer-sect rules and allowances, and Xu Xuan chose Treatise on the Fundamentals of the Five Elements and Spirit-Nourishing Formula at the Scripture Pavilion.
• Xu Xuan used his steward position to promote Xu An, Xu Ping, and others, discreetly send medicinal-garden scraps to Hundred Fragrance Valley, and build connections in the outer sect.
• Xu Xuan learned that the Azure Wood Sect was buying ores for formations and that the Mission Hall had posted a risky mission to explore the Southern Wilds, so he ordered Xu An and the others to gather information.
• Xu Xuan continued cultivating and planning for the qi of heaven and earth needed to enter Qi Refining while his influence in the medicinal garden grew.
• Xu Xuan heard that the Myriad Treasures Pavilion auction in Cloudmist Market would offer yi wood azure qi, but he could not afford the ten-spirit-stone deposit and began seeking another way to raise funds.

Xu Xuan quietly accumulated resources and investigated signs of demonic infiltration as the Azure Wood Sect prepared a dangerous suppression campaign. The chapter ended with disciples bringing back a slain patrol member after a demonic ambush at West Mountain.

• Xu Xuan earned spirit stones by secretly selling cheap inferior pills and gained contribution points by identifying damaged ancient talisman patterns.
• Xu Xuan gathered information about possible sources of qi of Heaven and Earth, while Li Jiangping warned him that demon-suppression missions could offer Sha Condensing Pills.
• Xu Xuan avoided the dangerous missions and focused on cultivating until Zhao Qian ordered him to secure pill ingredients and investigate possible demonic spies in the herb garden.
• Xu An reported that Black Three had been lurking near the storehouse and Old Wu had disappeared, so Xu Xuan ordered discreet surveillance and reported the disappearance to Manager Zhao.
• Xu Xuan found suspicious blood crystal grass withdrawals in the supply records and learned that missions awarding Sha Condensing Pills required defeating Qi Refining stage demonic cultivators.
• Disciples carried a mangled corpse into the Mission Hall and reported that demonic cultivators had ambushed them at West Mountain, killing Junior Brother Zhang.

After Yuan Qiu’s death left Hundred Fragrance Valley vulnerable to the Blood Refining Hall, Xu Xuan refused the sect’s request to take charge and sent Xu An in his place. He also directed the Xu Household to establish a foothold in the Southern Wilds while he remained in the Azure Wood Sect and continued cultivating.

• Xu Xuan strengthened security at the herb garden and began considering whether earth-vein qi could help him refine the five elements.
• Li Jiangping told Xu Xuan that Yuan Qiu had died and evil cultivators from the Blood Refining Hall were threatening Hundred Fragrance Valley.
• Xu Xuan declined to take charge of the valley and recommended Xu An, who Li Jiangping agreed could go in his stead.
• Xu Xuan secretly instructed Xu Ziyu to send capable people and funds to the Yue Kingdom in the Southern Wilds and establish a discreet foothold there.
• Xu An departed for Hundred Fragrance Valley, while Xu Ziyu sent trusted members of the Xu Lineage south; Xu Xuan stayed at the sect, tending the herb garden and cultivating.

Xu Xuan established the Cloud Arrival Trading House as a discreet channel for the Xu Household’s goods and supplies, then used its information network to profit from rising demand for war materials. As tensions between the Azure Wood Sect and the Profound Sword Gate grew, he stockpiled strategic resources and focused on advancing his cultivation.

• Xu Xuan and Xu Ping sold goods from Hundred Fragrance Valley under assumed identities, then Xu Xuan bought a small shop in Cloudmist Market and opened the Cloud Arrival Trading House.
• Xu Xuan used the trading house to move the Xu Household’s goods, acquire cultivation supplies, and gather information while sending resources and methods to Xu Ziyu and the clan at North Ridge Mountain.
• Shopkeeper Fang warned Xu Xuan that the Azure Wood Sect was stockpiling bloodstaunching vine and adamantine sand amid intensifying conflict with the Profound Sword Gate.
• Xu Xuan ordered his people to stop selling those materials, secretly buy more, and expand production and collection at Hundred Fragrance Valley.
• After the Mission Hall issued a purchase order at higher prices, the trading house sold part of its stock for a profit while Xu Xuan planned further sales and invested funds in combat supplies.
• Xu Xuan took an Essence Condensation Pill and cultivated toward the late Yellow Court stage.

After receiving reports of drought, crop failures, and rising tensions between the Profound Sword Gate and the Azure Wood Sect, Xu Xuan secretly stockpiled grain and summoned allied cultivation lineages to propose a futures agreement. The chapter ended with the household heads weighing his offer, unsure whether such a favorable deal could be genuine.

• Over three years, Xu Xuan strengthened his standing in the herb garden and supported Li Jiangping, while Li Jiangping used his connections to help Xu Ping and Xu Shun.
• After reading Shopkeeper Fang's reports, Xu Xuan ordered the Cloud Arrival Trading House and the Xu Household to gather intelligence, sell assets, borrow funds, and stockpile ordinary and spirit grain.
• Months later, worsening drought in the Kingdom of Wu and confirmed crop failures in the Yue Kingdom pushed grain prices upward and unsettled the market.
• Xu Xuan, disguised as Mr. Mo, told grain-trading lineage heads that sect patrols and military-supply quotas suggested war preparations between the Profound Sword Gate and the Azure Wood Sect.
• Xu Xuan proposed a futures agreement allowing the lineages to buy fixed quantities of spirit grain in two months at a set price, with only a thirty-percent deposit at risk.
• The gathered household heads reacted with surprise and suspicion as they considered the offer's apparent protection from losses.

Xu Xuan drew the Lineages into grain futures agreements, then sold grain from his secret stores as prices soared. On the delivery date, the Azure Wood Sect’s announcement of a high-yield rice strain sent prices crashing, leaving the Lineages facing the loss of their deposits.

• Xu Xuan persuaded the Lineage heads to sign grain futures agreements and collect deposits, then accepted a flood of orders from Cloudmist Market.
• Refugees, crop failures, and sect procurement orders drove grain prices sharply upward, while Shopkeeper Fang delayed fulfilling the agreements.
• Xu Xuan secretly released grain stocks from Hundred Fragrance Valley and the Southern Wilds onto the market in small batches.
• With prices at ten times normal and the Lineages demanding delivery, the Azure Wood Sect announced Wang Tong’s improved Jade Marrow Rice, triggering panic selling and a price collapse.
• On the delivery date, Shopkeeper Fang told the Lineage representatives they could void the agreements by forfeiting their deposits.

After profiting from the spirit-grain price collapse, Xu Xuan withdrew from the sect’s political turmoil and volunteered to survey the Southern Wilds. He completed his preparations and left the Azure Wood Sect, first detouring to Xu Household Market in Heyang Prefecture.

• Family Head Qian and the other lineages lost their deposits or took over spirit grain at the collapsed market price, while the Cloud Arrival Trading House gained renown.
• Xu Xuan converted his profits into cultivation supplies, strengthened his connections, and received rewards from the Steward Hall for helping solve the sect’s rice shortage.
• Xu Xuan volunteered to survey the Southern Wilds, and the sect promoted him into the inner sect and supplied him for the expedition.
• Xu Xuan transferred the medicinal garden and the Cloud Arrival Trading House’s public businesses to trusted people, then told Xu An, Xu Ping, and the others to lie low.
• Xu Xuan left the Azure Wood Sect with a few trusted attendants and traveled east to Xu Household Market in Heyang Prefecture.

Xu Xuan returned to Xu Household Market and reunited with Liu Yun as she lay dying, then took in her granddaughter Liu Qingchan after Liu Yun entrusted her to him. With his worldly ties renewed and then settled, he ordered Xu Ziyu to prepare the Xu clan to migrate south and establish a new foundation.

• Xu Xuan secretly entered the Xu Household's main residence and found Liu Yun near the end of her life, attended by Liu Qingchan.
• Liu Yun recognized Xu Xuan, and he held her hand and thanked her before she entrusted Liu Qingchan, the Liu Household's last bloodline, to his care and died.
• Xu Xuan comforted the grieving Liu Qingchan and discovered that she had reached the Yellow Court Realm at only thirty years old through the Grain Garment Art.
• Xu Xuan arranged Liu Yun's private burial beside Xu Daocheng and told Xu Ziyu that he would take the clan's core members, skilled artisans, wealth, texts, and spiritual seeds south to the Yue Kingdom.
• Xu Ziyu accepted Xu Xuan's order and began preparing the clan to leave, while one branch would remain to guard the ancestral hall and farmland.

Xu Xuan led most of the Xu Household south to Spiritual Expanse Mountain, where they founded the Lingyan Xu Lineage and began establishing a settlement. Their new neighbors soon took notice, and a Xiao Household patrol confronted them over the territory.

• Xu Xuan announced the migration, and most of the Xu Household's core members pledged to follow him south.
• After three days, the convoy departed the Xu Household Market and reached Spiritual Expanse Mountain months later.
• Xu Xuan chose a valley, named it Lingyan, and directed the Xu Household to build homes, cultivate spirit fields, and establish defensive formations.
• Xu An, Xu Ping, and others arrived with supplies and skilled people as the new settlement took shape.
• Xu Xuan learned that the Blacktooth Tribe and Xiao Household claimed influence over the surrounding area, then ordered the Xu Household to stay vigilant.
• A Xiao Household patrol led by a Meridian Opening cultivator arrived at the valley entrance and accused the Xu Household of trespassing on its territory.

Xiao Lang of the Xiao Household demanded tribute from the Xu Household, but Xu Qingchan rejected him and he left to seek reinforcements. Three months later, Xiao Household head Xiao Yuanshan arrived with a force to attack, and Xu Xuan led the Xu Household out to face them.

• Xiao Lang threatened the Xu Household with a settlement fee and annual tribute, but Xu Xuan explained that they had settled on what they believed was ownerless land.
• Xu Qingchan challenged Xiao Lang with her Sword Qi, and he withdrew with his attendants after threatening retaliation.
• Xu Xuan ordered the Xu Household to strengthen its defenses, monitor the Xiao Household and Black Tooth Tribe, and prepare for conflict.
• Xu Xuan used Azure Wood Sect tokens to imply the Xu Household had sect backing, gathered mountain resources, and improved the Metal and Stone Bulwark Formation.
• Three months later, Xiao Yuanshan arrived at Spiritual Expanse Mountain with two elders and more than thirty disciples, demanding that the Xu Household come out and die.
• Xu Xuan led Xu Qingchan, Xu Ziyu, the elders, and the armed disciples out to confront the approaching Xiao Household force.

Xu Xuan used a genuine Azure Wood Sect token to drive the Xiao Household away from Spiritual Expanse Mountain, then arranged for a sect elder to visit and protect the Xu Household. Elder Zhou arrived and, after hearing of the Xiao Household’s threats and demands for tribute, ordered a disciple to deliver his message to them.

• Xiao Yuanshan threatened to destroy Spiritual Expanse Mountain, but Xu Xuan revealed a genuine Azure Wood Sect inspector’s token and warned that attacking the Xu Household would make the Xiao Household enemies of the sect.
• Xiao Yuanshan withdrew with his people, while Xu Xuan warned his clan that the Xiao Household would likely return once it learned their true strength.
• Xu Xuan sent a secret letter to Li Jiangping asking him to arrange a Qi Refining cultivator’s visit, and ordered Shopkeeper Fang to procure spiritual materials and spirit stones.
• Li Jiangping persuaded Elder Zhou, a late Qi Refining stage cultivator, to visit Spiritual Expanse Mountain, where the elder’s arrival awed the Xu disciples.
• Xu Xuan told Elder Zhou how the Xiao Household had extorted and threatened the Xu Household, and Elder Zhou ordered a disciple to take his token to the Xiao Household on Azure Mist Peak.

Elder Zhou’s intervention drove the Xiao Household and the Black Tooth Tribe away from Spiritual Expanse Mountain, giving the Xu Household time to grow. Ten years later, Xu Xuan opened his life palace and stood before the Qi Refining bottleneck.

• Xiao Yuanshan apologized to Xu Xuan and withdrew after Elder Zhou warned him through Xu Xuan.
• Elder Zhou praised Xu Qingchan’s talent before departing, while the Black Tooth Tribe concealed its movements and stayed away from the mountain.
• Over the next ten years, the Xu Household prospered under Xu Ziyu and Xu Qingchan, who advanced to the late Spiritual Treasury stage and became its second strongest expert.
• Xu Xuan devoted himself to cultivation and, after refining his qi sea and yellow court, gathered his spiritual power to open his life palace.
• Xu Xuan formed a palace phantom in his sea of consciousness, greatly expanded his spiritual sense, and reached the barrier before Qi Refining.

Xu Xuan spent decades gathering five-element qi of nature to overcome the barrier to Qi Refining, while Xu Qingchan refined a Water Spirit Pearl and became a Qi Refining cultivator. As Xu Xuan aged and the Xu Lineage passed to Xu Xingzong, Xu Qingchan returned with the final strand of river qi for him.

• Xu Xuan ruled out obtaining innate mother qi or a concordance object for himself and began gathering qi of the five elements through formations and long periods of cultivation.
• Xu Xuan established qi-gathering formations around Spiritual Expanse Mountain and the nearby rivers, assigning members of his lineage to guard them.
• After many years, Xu Ziyu died at age 130, and Xu Xuan buried him behind Spiritual Expanse Mountain; Xu Xingzong became head of the Xu Lineage.
• Xu Xingzong, a metal-root cultivator whom Xu Xuan had trained since childhood, practiced spear techniques at the household grounds.
• Xu Qingchan returned as a Qi Refining cultivator with the final strand of qi of rivers, told Xu Xingzong to deliver it to Xu Xuan, and went to recuperate from injuries.

Xu Xuan broke through to Qi Refining by refining the Five Elements Essence Qi into Mystic True Qi, then learned that the Black Water Gate had threatened the Xu Lineage over Xu Qingchan’s injuries. He prepared to take Xu Qingchan to the Yue Capital Immortal Market while Xu Xingzong guarded the valley.

• Xu Xuan gathered the five strands of Five Elements Essence Qi and broke through to Qi Refining, forming Mystic True Qi far stronger than ordinary spiritual power.
• Xu Qingchan, Xu Xingzong, and the core lineage members congratulated Xu Xuan after his breakthrough.
• Xu Xuan noticed Xu Qingchan was injured, and she explained that cultivators had attacked her near the Sinking Sand River while she searched for Qi of Rivers.
• Xu Xingzong told Xu Xuan that the Black Water Gate had demanded five thousand spirit stones and several fishing grounds as compensation.
• Xu Xuan ordered Xu Xingzong to guard the valley and decided to take Xu Qingchan to the Yue Capital Immortal Market.

Xu Xuan and Xu Qingchan visited Yue Capital Immortal Market, where they bought Xu Qingchan defensive and offensive artifacts and learned that the Black Water Gate was hunting a wounded female cultivator over a cold jade marrow vein. When Black Water Gate disciples arrived searching for her, Xu Xuan began forming a plan.

• Xu Xuan bought Xu Qingchan a middle-grade Autumn Water Sword and Jade Wave Shield at the Hundred Refinements Pavilion.
• The shopkeeper told Xu Xuan about an upcoming auction featuring stellar iron and the Black Water Gate's recent clashes along the Sinking Sand River.
• At the Windwatch Teahouse, Xu Xuan and Xu Qingchan overheard that a female cultivator had used the cold jade marrow vein to defeat Old Monster Wu, prompting the Black Water Gate to offer a five-hundred-spirit-stone reward for her capture.
• Three Black Water Gate disciples entered the teahouse and said Elder Wu had ordered them to find the injured female cultivator before the auction.
• Xu Xuan realized the Black Water Gate wanted to conceal the cold jade marrow vein and quietly formed a plan.

Xu Xuan and Xu Qingchan ambushed three Black Water Gate disciples, framed the Blazing Sun Lineage, and escaped while the rival groups turned against each other. Over a decade later, the Lingyan Xu Lineage had grown prosperous, but Xu Xuan worried that his age made Foundation Establishment extremely unlikely.

• Xu Qingchan lured Senior Brother Chen and two Black Water Gate disciples into a rear corridor, where Xu Xuan’s talismans and their combined attacks subdued all three.
• Xu Xuan erased Xu Qingchan’s aura from the detection jade disc, redirected it toward the Blazing Sun Lineage, and arranged for it to reach the Black Water Gate station.
• Elder Wu mistook the disc’s signal for evidence against the Blazing Sun Lineage and led Black Water Gate forces to attack its base while Xu Xuan and Xu Qingchan left the market.
• Xu Xuan ordered the Lingyan Xu Lineage to search secretly for the buried cold jade marrow vein and use the Azure Wood Sect’s protection to deter local troublemakers.
• Over a decade, the Lingyan Xu Lineage grew to a thousand members, Xu Xingzong neared Qi Refining, and Xu Qingchan reached the third level of Qi Refining.
• Xu Xuan reflected that he had passed the prime age for cultivation and that anyone who failed to reach Foundation Establishment before sixty faced slim odds of doing so later.

Xu Xuan accepted that he could not achieve Foundation Establishment in this life and prepared resources, teachings, and safeguards for his next reincarnation and the Lingyan Xu Lineage. After entrusting Xu Qingchan with the lineage’s future, he watched the sunset, ready to await his next life.

• Xu Xuan hid resources and jade slips in fortified cave abodes on Spiritual Expanse Mountain for his next life.
• Xu Xuan told Xu Qingchan that Foundation Establishment was beyond his reach and charged her with protecting the Xu Household alongside Xu Xingzong.
• Xu Xuan gave Xu Qingchan a bronze box key and instructed her to bring a future spiritually rooted boy of pure heart to a secret vault.
• Xu Xuan compiled the Xu Lineage Qi Refining Art, established cultivation schools and rewards, and expanded the Azure Mystery Hall’s reach.
• Xu Xuan completed his preparations and watched the blood-red sunset, resolved to wait for his next reincarnation.

After his third life ended, Xu Xuan received the white register Luminous Insight and the crimson register Dragon Vigor and Tiger Might before reincarnating as Xu Chen, the twelve-year-old son of the Marquis of Martial Might. With a metal and earth dual spiritual root, an Exotic Beast Soaring Serpent totem, and the gifts from his past lives, he had already built an unusually strong foundation on the northern frontier.

• Xu Xingzong refined acquired sharp metal qi, broke through to Qi Refining, and became the Lingyan Xu Lineage's third Qi Refining immortal master.
• Xu Xuan watched the lineage prosper and spent his final years in peace atop Spiritual Expanse Mountain.
• The Book of Time recorded Xu Xuan's third life and granted him the white register Luminous Insight for his steadfast will and lasting legacy.
• The Book of Time also granted Xu Xuan the crimson register Dragon Vigor and Tiger Might, strengthening his body's foundation for his next life.
• Xu Xuan reincarnated as Xu Chen, whose Exotic Beast Soaring Serpent totem had brought imperial disfavor and led him to grow up in his father's northern fief.
• Xu Chen practiced the Evergreen Technique and Body Rebirth Technique, using his registers' gifts to develop strong spiritual roots, comprehension, and physical strength.

Xu Xuan learned that the Second Prince and imperial factions were watching his rare Soaring Serpent Bloodline, while his parents forbade him from leaving the estate. After his father returned and confirmed the threat, Xu Xuan secretly arranged to stockpile grain and travel to Spiritual Expanse Mountain.

• Zhao Mang invited Xu Xuan to patrol the border, while Xu Qingwan urged him to take care of himself; the Second Prince Chen Jing arrived and showed interest in Xu Xuan's Soaring Serpent Bloodline.
• Chen Jingxuan told Xu Xuan that the Emperor and Grand Preceptor viewed his bloodline as an omen and warned that Chen Jing had come to monitor him.
• Xu Xuan asked to travel south, but Chen Jingxuan refused and said he must remain within the estate until his father returned.
• Xu Xuan cultivated at night and learned that Chen Jing's guards were watching his courtyard and that someone had tried to enter the study.
• Xu Yue returned and reported that the Demon Suppression Bureau was investigating Xu Xuan, though the grand elder of Purple Sun Gate had temporarily suppressed the matter.
• Xu Xuan secretly ordered a hidden guard to tell Cloud Arrival Trading House to buy and stockpile grain, then instructed the guard to take him to Spiritual Expanse Mountain.

Xu Xuan passed the Cloud Arrival Trading House’s trials, advanced his cultivation, and uncovered signs of a threat from the Demon Suppression Bureau. After his father sent him to the Purple Sun Gate to grow stronger, Xu Xuan established himself by defeating a bullying disciple.

• Xu Xuan passed the trading house’s final assessment, received cultivation supplies, and ordered the managers to maintain his resources while obtaining a spear and manuals.
• Xu Xuan advanced to the Early Spirit Treasury Stage, planned purchases and investigations, then deflected a poisoned dart marked with the Demon Suppression Bureau’s runes.
• Xu Yue gave Xu Xuan a Purple Sun Gate token after questioning him about the attack and his trading house dealings.
• Xu Xuan entered the Purple Sun Gate as a nominal disciple and went to live at Green Bamboo Court.
• Dove Tiger tried to seize Xu Xuan’s assigned room, but Xu Xuan broke his arm with a punch and forced him to leave.

Xu Xuan spent his three-year term at the Purple Sun Gate cultivating, building his strength, and uncovering a clue linking a blood-colored jade pendant to the defunct Blood God Cult. As his departure approached, he learned the Chen Yue Imperial Family was investigating his soaring serpent bloodline, while the sect leader agreed to let him leave in three days.

• Xu Xuan defeated Liu Yunfeng barehanded, snapped his sword, and became too feared for the other outer disciples to challenge.
• Over two and a half years, Xu Xuan reached the qi sea pinnacle, mastered body-refinement techniques, studied the Scripture Pavilion, and earned the name “Ferocious God.”
• Xu Xuan killed an evil cultivator at Cloud Mountain Stockade and found a blood-colored jade pendant whose aura matched the dart that had struck him; he traced it to the Blood God Cult.
• After receiving his father's warning that his three-year term was ending, Xu Xuan packed his resources and prepared to leave the Purple Sun Gate.
• Su Yuqing told Xu Xuan that the Chen Yue Imperial Family's second prince was holding secret talks with the sect, then gave him a protective talisman before he departed.
• Chen Jing presented an imperial decree ordering an investigation into the soaring serpent bloodline, and Zhang Qingxuan agreed that Xu Xuan could leave the sect in three days.

Xu Xuan returned to the Purple Sun Gate and defied the second prince’s attempt to inspect his Soaring Serpent Bloodline, then journeyed to Spiritual Expanse Mountain to rejoin the Xu Lineage. Xu Xingzong welcomed him as a possible fulfillment of Ancestor Xuan’s prophecy and prepared to show him the ancestral grounds.

• Xu Xuan revealed his Spirit Treasury cultivation and powerful body, defeated the second prince’s attackers, and warned him that the state preceptor could not covet his bloodline.
• Xu Mingxuan told Xu Xingzong about the northern Xu branch and Xu Chen, prompting Xu Xingzong to ask the lineage to watch over him.
• Xu Xuan’s party reached Spiritual Expanse Mountain, where Xu Mingxuan welcomed them and led them through the formations.
• Xu Chen greeted Xu Xingzong and said he had returned to acknowledge his ancestors and sensed something he needed within the ancestral grounds.
• Xu Xingzong recognized Xu Chen’s resemblance to Ancestor Xuan, called him a possible fated figure, and eagerly led him onward.

Xu Xuan opened the Xu Lineage’s sealed inheritance vault and recovered the legacy he had left in a previous life. After five years of cultivation, he reached the first layer of Qi Refining and resolved to pursue Foundation Establishment while leaving the Lineage’s affairs to Xu Mingxuan.

• Xu Xuan solved the bronze puzzle box, used its talisman key to open the stone door, and entered the inheritance vault with Xu Xingzong and Xu Mingxuan.
• Xu Xuan received the inheritance jade slip, fully awakened the wisdom of his previous life, and shut himself inside the vault’s cultivation chamber.
• Xu Xuan activated the Spirit-Locking Array and cultivated with the chamber’s concentrated spiritual energy for five years.
• After receiving a metal-and-earth treasure from Xu Xingzong, Xu Xuan used it as his concordance object and broke through to the first layer of Qi Refining.
• Xu Xuan reflected on the Xu Lineage’s position and decided to pursue the Twelve-Story Tower of Qi Refining and an opportunity for Foundation Establishment.

After more than ten years of secluded cultivation, Xu Xuan reached the seventh layer of Qi Refining and returned to Spiritual Expanse Mountain. He learned that factions were challenging Xu Mingxuan’s leadership, offered to support him while staying out of the immediate dispute, then left to investigate the Sinking Sand River and the Black Water Gate.

• Xu Xuan emerged from seclusion at the seventh layer of Qi Refining and flew to Spiritual Expanse Mountain.
• Xu Mingxuan and the elders briefed Xu Xuan on the Lineage’s growth and the factions forming around Xu Linhai and Xu Linshan.
• Xu Mingxuan asked Xu Xuan for support against the elders’ ambitions, and Xu Xuan agreed while advising him not to upset the balance yet.
• A disciple reported that Xu Linhai wanted to discuss the copper mine shares, and Xu Mingxuan went to meet him while Xu Xuan stayed behind.
• Xu Xuan left Spiritual Expanse Mountain for the Sinking Sand River to investigate matters connected to Xu Qingchan’s injury by the Black Water Gate.