Recaps

Qing Chen arranged to drug Li Muyun with specially prepared Five-Stone Powder and abducted the scholar-apothecary Li Yunyi to serve as part of his scheme. After the kidnapping, Qing Chen welcomed Li Muyun to Maple Grove Pavilion, where the plan was set to proceed.

• Qing Chen flattered Li Muyun and invited him to a private room at Maple Grove Pavilion, then ordered Niu Dali to abduct a handsome scholar who knew medicine.
• Niu Dali recruited eight former Twin Eagles Association men and rode to Clear Creek Village to seize Li Yunyi.
• Niu Dali's men bound Li Yunyi and injured his wife, Madam Wang, before carrying him back to the west gate and locking him in an abandoned granary.
• Qing Chen prepared infant millet shells and Five-Spider Fang, intending to use them in Five-Stone Powder for Li Muyun.
• Qing Chen met Li Muyun at Maple Grove Pavilion, where Li Muyun eagerly urged them to begin.

Qing Chen used drugged wine and conversation to draw information about immortal cultivation from Li Muyun. He learned Ford City had received a rare token for boarding an immortal ship, and resolved to pursue cultivation and take control of his fate.

• Qing Chen welcomed Li Muyun into the inner room, then waited for the medicine to make him excited and loosen his tongue.
• Li Muyun explained that immortal cultivation required an inborn spiritual root, and that the Jing Kingdom lacked what was needed to cultivate.
• Li Muyun told Qing Chen that a special token was required to board an immortal ship and cross to a place suited for cultivation.
• Li Muyun revealed that the city lord had received such a token from the sovereign, though he did not know where it was kept.
• Li Muyun said immortals orchestrated wars between kingdoms and distributed tokens and pills every thirty years.
• Qing Chen reflected on his past humiliations and resolved to climb to the top and control his own fate.

Qing Chen investigated a secret about the immortals and reflected on his rapid cultivation before breaking open the jade bottle from Northern Mang Mountain. After testing its pills on animals and prisoners, he discovered they strengthened martial artists but killed ordinary people, then swallowed portions himself to try to break through to second-rate.

• Qing Chen learned from Li Muyun that strange flagpoles and enormous patterns appeared on major battlefields, possibly connected to the immortals' purpose.
• Qing Chen reviewed how rare pills, diligent training, and studying the Taoist Canon had brought him close to becoming a second-rate master, while his Phantom Double lightness art had reached minor attainment.
• Qing Chen smashed and hacked at the jade bottle in his underground chamber until it cracked and released three green pills.
• Qing Chen tested pill powder on cats, dogs, and death-row prisoners, discovering it killed ordinary people but improved the internal force of a third-rate martial artist.
• Qing Chen swallowed a small portion of a pill and felt its potent medicinal current strain his meridians, then took another portion despite the pain.

Qing Chen used a pill to break through to second-rate master and enter Qi Refining Layer One, but found the spiritual energy on Immortal-Severing Island too thin for further progress. After cleansing his body and gaining strength and sharper senses, he turned his attention to finding the city lord’s token.

• Qing Chen endured the pill’s fierce spiritual energy and guided it into his dantian, breaking the shackle to become a second-rate master.
• Qing Chen circulated the Everlasting Spring Inner Vista Art through his meridians and reached Qi Refining Layer One.
• Qing Chen discovered that the spiritual energy around him was too thin to support meaningful cultivation.
• Qing Chen shed a layer of black grime and found his body, senses, and internal force greatly improved.
• Qing Chen reasoned that the city lord’s token was likely hidden in the city lord’s residence and began considering how to get inside.

Qing Chen broke into the city lord's treasury to search for valuables, but a powerful old man discovered him. After using a potent aphrodisiac to escape, Qing Chen evaded the guards and ended up hiding in a secluded loft.

• Qing Chen infiltrated the city lord's residence, incapacitated the treasury guards, and picked the lock.
• Qing Chen entered the treasury but was confronted by an old man who struck him and injured his shoulder.
• Qing Chen threw a packet of twentyfold aphrodisiac at the old man, then escaped through a rear window as the alarm sounded.
• Qing Chen fled toward the servants' courtyard, hid in a woodshed, and evaded searching guards.
• Qing Chen continued dodging pursuers across the residence and eventually hid in a secluded loft.

While fleeing pursuit, Qing Chen sneaked into the city lord's residence and found Zhao Ningyi bathing. The medicinal powder on his clothes affected her, and after she discovered him, he revealed the name Ximen Qing in hopes of gaining her help.

• Qing Chen slipped into a secluded loft in the city lord's residence while armored soldiers searched outside.
• He found Zhao Ningyi bathing and realized the potent medicinal powder on his clothes was affecting her.
• Qing Chen's stomach growled, alerting Zhao Ningyi, so he covered her mouth and pressed her down into the tub to keep her quiet.
• Zhao Ningyi questioned Qing Chen and offered help if he told her who he was.
• Qing Chen said his name was Ximen Qing and explained that he had entered the residence while fleeing his enemies.

After Zhao Ningyi helped Qing Chen escape the city lord’s residence through a secret passage, he returned to his lodgings and reconsidered how to obtain the immortal ship’s token. Li Muyun’s desperate request for Five-Stone Powder gave Qing Chen an idea involving Zhao Ningyi, whom he planned to approach later.

• Zhao Ningyi promised to keep Qing Chen’s identity secret and showed him a hidden passage leading from her loft to the moat.
• Qing Chen followed Zhao Ningyi through the passage, swam away into the night, and returned to his lodgings.
• The next day, Li Muyun asked Qing Chen for new things to help cure his craving for Five-Stone Powder.
• Li Muyun explained that his wife returned to the city lord’s residence on even-numbered days, giving him chances to seek medicine.
• Qing Chen realized Li Muyun’s wife was Zhao Ningyi and decided to wait before making his next move.

Qing Chen visited Li Muyun and met Li’s wife, Zhao Ningyi, who recognized him as the man she had been seeking under the name Ximen Qing. After Zhao repeatedly urged Li to drink, Li passed out, leaving Qing Chen and Zhao alone.

• Qing Chen told Li Muyun that bandits and strict inspections had delayed him from gathering the items Li wanted.
• Li Muyun invited Qing Chen to lunch, where Qing Chen met Zhao Ningyi, who recognized him as the masked man she had been searching for.
• Zhao Ningyi teased Qing Chen about the name Ximen Qing, while Qing Chen denied knowing what she meant.
• Zhao Ningyi served Qing Chen ants climbing a tree as Li Muyun brought out thirty-year-old wine and urged him to drink.
• Zhao Ningyi repeatedly encouraged Li Muyun to drink until he passed out, then ordered a maid to help carry him to his room.

Qing Chen secretly entered Li Muyun and Zhao Ningyi’s bedroom, then explained to Zhao Ningyi why he had pursued power and deceived her before persuading her that Li Muyun had exploited him. Over the next three months, Zhao Ningyi grew deeply attached to Qing Chen, and the chapter ended with him asking why he had sneaked into the city lord’s residence.

• Qing Chen immobilized Li Muyun and carried him to a side room before approaching Zhao Ningyi.
• Qing Chen and Zhao Ningyi became intimate, and he told her about his desperate past and ambition to climb higher.
• Qing Chen claimed that Li Muyun had used him to obtain drugs, companions, and silver, and Zhao Ningyi asked Qing Chen to stay with her.
• Over the next three months, Qing Chen met Zhao Ningyi several times through a secret passage, and her dependence and affection grew.
• Qing Chen met Zhao Ningyi in her secret chamber and asked why he had sneaked into the city lord’s residence.

Qing Chen sought a token to pursue immortal cultivation, and Zhao Ningyi promised to obtain one if he agreed to marry her should he lack the aptitude. Half a month later, he left his family in Hanchuan Ancient City and rode away to seek the immortal path.

• Qing Chen told Zhao Ningyi he wanted to investigate immortal cultivation and search for a token, while she explained the rarity of spiritual roots and offered to fetch one for him.
• Zhao Ningyi asked Qing Chen to promise he would stay with her and marry her if he could not cultivate; he agreed, and she said she would bring him a token in Sea City when the Condensed Jade Sect's envoy arrived.
• Half a month later, Qing Chen said farewell to Qing Jie, Second Mother, Qing An, and Qing Yun in Hanchuan Ancient City, giving Qing Jie advice and instructions for the family's foothold in Shu.
• Qing Chen declared that he would pursue the unknown immortal world and ride back once he succeeded, then rode away without looking back.

Qing Chen reunited with Zhao Ningyi in Sea City before the Condensed Jade Sect tested candidates for spiritual roots. Qing Chen qualified to board the immortals’ ship, leaving Zhao Ningyi behind as she tearfully wished him well.

• Qing Chen reached Sea City and learned from a local guide that distinguished visitors were gathering ahead of the Condensed Jade Sect’s arrival.
• Qing Chen met Zhao Ningyi at the Sea City Inn, where she gave him blue boots and Ford City’s token, and he gave her a piece of jade.
• Qing Chen and Zhao Ningyi went to the shore after the immortals’ arrival was announced by waves, thunder, and bells.
• An immortal tested the token holders, and Qing Chen was found to have a spiritual root and was invited aboard the ship.
• Zhao Ningyi ran after Qing Chen and cried out in disbelief, but a stern middle-aged man restrained her as Qing Chen boarded the ship.

As Qing Chen and the other new disciples sailed toward the Condensed Jade Sect, he reflected on cultivation and met the ambitions and attitudes of his companions. Their voyage was interrupted by a Red-Chain Sea Serpent, which Senior Brother Gu killed with his flying sword.

• Qing Chen told Xie Yu he wondered about the path of cultivation, while Yue Ting, Ding Buxing, and Xue Yubing shared their views and ambitions.
• The immortal ship was rocked by a collision, and someone announced that a late first-tier Red-Chain Sea Serpent had appeared.
• Senior Brother Gu attacked the serpent with his flying sword as it tried to smash the blade with its tail and block it with dark light.
• Senior Brother Gu shattered the serpent's dark-light attack and pierced its vital point, killing it as the passengers watched in shock.

Qing Chen arrived at the Condensed Jade Sect and learned about its history, rules, cultivation ranks, and halls. He received a token and a storage bag of joining rewards, then was directed to the outer sect residences and the Technique Transmission Hall.

• Senior Brother Gu brought Qing Chen and the other newcomers to the General Affairs Hall and explained the Condensed Jade Sect's history, cultivation method, hierarchy, and rules.
• Qing Chen learned that outer sect disciples had eight years to reach the middle Qi Refining stage or would lose their cultivation resources and become menial disciples.
• Senior Brother Gu warned the newcomers not to waste their time, then left them at the General Affairs Hall.
• A General Affairs disciple gave Qing Chen and the others tokens and storage bags containing their joining rewards.
• The General Affairs disciple told the newcomers to bind their tokens, follow their directions to the outer sect residences, and visit the Technique Transmission Hall.

Qing Chen arrived at Outer Disciple Peak, settled into his assigned cave abode, and discovered how much better he could cultivate in the Condensed Jade Sect. He headed for the Technique Transmission Hall to collect his cultivation arts and Fasting Pills, mindful of the three-day deadline and the eight-year requirement to reach the middle qi refining stage.

• Qing Chen and the new disciples followed their tokens down the mountain, where Senior Brother Gao explained how the sect’s formation guided them to their cave abodes and warned them to visit the Technique Transmission Hall within three days.
• Qing Chen followed his token to cave abode number five thousand five hundred and thirty-three and opened its restriction with the token.
• Qing Chen tried cultivating in the cave abode and felt spiritual energy far denser than on Immortal-Severing Island, giving him confidence he could reach the qi refining second layer within a year.
• Qing Chen examined his new disciple supplies: three spirit stones, two Qi Accumulation Pills, a gray Daoist robe, and a low-grade magical artifact short sword.
• Qing Chen set out for the Technique Transmission Hall, hoping to choose a better cultivation art and worrying that he had eight years to reach the middle qi refining stage.

Qing Chen entered the Scripture Repository to choose a cultivation art and learned from Qin Zigu that dangerous, flawed mystic-grade arts were hidden in the western corner. After weighing safer yellow-grade choices against the risks, he went to inspect the forbidden arts and uncovered black-wrapped jade slips marked “Danger.”

• Qing Chen bribed the repository guard, Qin Zigu, with a Qi Accumulation Pill and learned the entry rules and the value of contribution points.
• Qin Zigu told Qing Chen that the Everlasting Spring Inner Vista Art was not kept by the sect and warned him that flawed mystic-grade arts could ruin his foundation or kill him.
• Qin Zigu advised Qing Chen to choose the peak-tier yellow-grade Indestructible Vajra Body, and Qing Chen entered the repository under a strange sensation of being watched.
• Qing Chen compared several yellow-grade cultivation arts, weighing the safer Indestructible Vajra Body against the more powerful but perilous Seven Baleful Intents Heart Formula.
• Qing Chen decided to risk examining the flawed mystic-grade arts, walked to the dusty western corner, and lifted the black cloth marked “Danger” from several jade slips.

Qing Chen chose the dangerous Brahma Demon-Refining Art, believing its rapid cultivation and Foundation Establishment advantage were worth the risks. He returned to his cave abode to study it and realized the Demon Seed Golden Lotus could meet its demanding soul requirements, while Qin Zigu secretly reported his choice to Senior Brother Mo.

• Qing Chen examined three powerful but dangerous Mystic Grade cultivation arts and chose the Brahma Demon-Refining Art.
• Qin Zigu warned Qing Chen that the art could damage his soul and vital blood and shorten his life, but Qing Chen insisted on taking the risk.
• Qin Zigu copied the art after Qing Chen swore a heart-demon oath, then sent Senior Brother Mo a report about the new disciple's choice.
• Senior Brother Mo received the report while ill and struggling with the increasing difficulty of cultivating the art and his dwindling supply of Blood Pills.
• Qing Chen studied the art in his cave abode and learned that its first layer opened a Brahma Aperture and its third layer could improve his chance of Foundation Establishment.
• Qing Chen concluded that the Demon Seed Golden Lotus could strengthen his soul enough to meet the art's demands and resolved to gather more blood essence.

Qing Chen spent three years secretly cultivating the Demon Seed Golden Lotus and Brahma Demon-Refining Art while learning basic spells and conserving his resources. When his outer-sect probation ended, he went to the General Affairs Hall to begin taking sect missions and met Yue Ting again.

• Qing Chen tempered his soul for two hours using the cushion from Northern Mang Mountain, then recovered and refined demonic beast blood to open his first Brahma aperture.
• Qing Chen spent his days cultivating, buying demonic beast blood and corpses, and practicing basic spells and the Sword Control Art while hiding his identity at the market.
• Three years passed, and Qing Chen joined dozens of fellow disciples at the General Affairs Hall to hear that their probation had ended and they must now take sect missions.
• Yue Ting found Qing Chen at the hall and said he had searched for him throughout the past three years.

Qing Chen hid the true extent of his cultivation while discussing the sect’s disciples and their prospects with Yue Ting. During the sect duty assignments, he was sent to Yellow Bamboo Island for five years of garrison duty.

• Qing Chen told Yue Ting that he had reached the Qi Refining second layer, concealing his breakthrough to the third layer and worrying that he was running out of spirit stones and demon beast corpses.
• Yue Ting told Qing Chen that Xue Yubing had reached the third layer and might be promoted to the inner sect, while Ding Buxing had advanced slowly after choosing a weaker cultivation art.
• A middle-aged cultivator began assigning five-year sect duties, sending Ding Buxing to the Hundred Arts Hall, Xue Yubing to the Technique Transmission Hall, Yue Ting to the Hundred Herbs Hall, and Xie Yu to the Artifact Refining Hall.
• After the middle-aged cultivator left to answer Deacon Mo’s summons, Senior Brother Yu read Qing Chen’s assignment and sent him to Yellow Bamboo Island for five years of garrison duty.

Qing Chen learned that his assignment to Yellow Bamboo Island was likely arranged by Deacon Mo Qiuxian, whose sworn brothers included the cultivator who assigned him and Qin Zigu. He left Xie Yu determined to resolve the conflict with all three before departing.

• Qing Chen accepted five years of stipends after being assigned to guard Yellow Bamboo Island, while suspecting the assignment was meant to hinder him.
• Unable to determine who had arranged it, Qing Chen visited Xie Yu to ask about the General Affairs Hall and its stewards.
• Xie Yu told Qing Chen that the cultivator surnamed Yu, Deacon Mo, and Qin Zigu were sworn brothers, and that Yu was Mo's trusted aide.
• Qing Chen realized Qin Zigu may have told Mo Qiuxian that he had chosen the Brahma Demon-Refining Art.
• Xie Yu revealed that Mo Qiuxian had offered up the Brahma Demon-Refining Art to the sect, and Qing Chen left to prepare for his departure within three days.

Qing Chen suspected Mo Qiuxian planned to raise him as blood food because of his blood essence, then went to the Outer Disciple Peak market to stock up on protection. He left with only ten spirit stones but felt better equipped to survive.

• Qing Chen reasoned that Mo Qiuxian was slowing his cultivation so he could later devour Qing Chen’s blood essence.
• Qing Chen disguised his appearance and cultivation before heading to the market on Outer Disciple Peak.
• Qing Chen bought a bundle of spirit talismans from a bearded disciple for a hundred spirit stones after persuading him to name that price.
• Qing Chen bought a Dark Iron Shield for forty-two spirit stones by claiming that he had only that much left.
• Qing Chen paid seventy-five spirit stones for a Bewildering Tracks Warning Formation Disk with an added warning function.
• Qing Chen returned from his shopping spree with ten spirit stones remaining and a storage bag full of supplies.

Qing Chen arrived at Yellow Bamboo Island and inspected the island-warding formation in his new cave abode. Fearing Mo Qiuxian would come after him, he dug and concealed a fifty-zhang escape tunnel, then sensed someone touching the restrictions at the cave entrance.

• Qing Chen disembarked at Yellow Bamboo Island and questioned Mayor Chen about the island and its protective formation.
• Mayor Chen led Qing Chen to the formation abode, where Qing Chen checked the formation disc and confirmed it worked.
• Worried that Mo Qiuxian might send someone to find him, Qing Chen began digging an escape tunnel through the cave wall.
• Qing Chen completed a fifty-zhang tunnel to the yellow bamboo grove, hardened its walls, and concealed its entrance.
• Qing Chen sensed someone touching the restrictions he had set at the cave entrance.

Qing Chen rejected the old town chief’s offer of a maidservant, then heard the old man’s plea for help against the Wang Household. After learning the island’s martial forces included several powerful masters, Qing Chen considered how their vital blood could serve his demonic cultivation.

• Qing Chen refused the old town chief’s daughter-in-law as a caretaker and told him to have her deliver meals instead.
• The old town chief knelt and offered Qing Chen two spirit stones in exchange for help protecting his family.
• The old town chief explained that the Wang Household’s eldest son had become a second-rate master and was threatening to seize his position with his four brothers and more than twenty followers.
• Qing Chen learned that the old town chief also had a second-rate disciple and other martial arts followers, leaving both sides with sizable forces.
• Qing Chen considered using his spells to defeat the martial artists and wondered how enticing their vital blood would be to demons.

Qing Chen decided to use martial artists as bait to attract demonic beasts and obtain blood essence for cultivation. He pressured the old mayor into offering five spirit stones for protection, but suspected the old man was hiding more as the chapter ended.

• Qing Chen abandoned his plan to use mortals as bait and decided martial artists would be a more effective, less conspicuous source of vital energy and blood.
• Qing Chen hinted that the old mayor should provide resources in exchange for his help dealing with the unruly people.
• The old mayor claimed he had only two spirit stones, but after Qing Chen waited in silence, he confessed to having three more and offered all five for protection.
• Qing Chen agreed to handle the matter, while privately doubting the old mayor's story and suspecting he had additional spirit stones hidden away.

Chen Zhu'er returned to Yellow Bamboo Island to cultivate and report Condensed Jade Sect movements for Xu Jincheng, while her father tried to buy the island’s new cultivator’s favor. Neither Chen Zhu'er nor the old town mayor knew Xu Jincheng had made her a disposable spy, and Qing Chen was far more dangerous than they expected.

• The old town mayor told Chen Zhu'er he had paid five spirit stones to persuade the new island cultivator and warned her to keep her cultivation secret.
• Chen Zhu'er said Xu Jincheng had given her pills, advanced her to the Qi Refining Second Layer, and sent her back to report on Condensed Jade Sect movements.
• The old town mayor agreed to gather information and revealed he had sent his newly married daughter-in-law to serve the island cultivator.
• Chen Zhu'er showed her father the unusual voice transmission talismans, but he dismissed her concerns and told her to remain hidden and cultivate.
• The narrator revealed that Xu Jincheng had sent Chen Zhu'er to a secret contact point instead of Sea Prosperity Island and did not care whether she survived.
• The old town mayor planned to give Qing Chen more gifts, unaware that Qing Chen was no easy-to-fool novice.

Qing Chen reflected on the slow pace of cultivation on Yellow Bamboo Island and considered using mortal conflict to obtain more vital essence. When a nervous woman arrived with his meal, he cautiously let her into the cave abode and watched her closely.

• Qing Chen reviewed the Bewildering Trail Warning Formation and the escape tunnel he had prepared in case of danger.
• He lamented how slowly the thin spiritual energy on Yellow Bamboo Island advanced his cultivation and recalled how consuming blood essence had accelerated it.
• Qing Chen decided that he needed to set mortals against one another so he could obtain vital essence more quickly.
• After sensing someone touch his Spirit Contact Spell, Qing Chen used the Earth Escape Art to approach the cave entrance while staying hidden.
• Qing Chen saw a nervous woman carrying food, told her to follow his magical markers, and let her enter the cave abode.