Chapter Summaries

Zhou Xun learned that the Beast Tide might erupt within two years and prepared by making Tier 2 talismans. When Wei Qiuxin reached the peak of Qi Refinement and asked for help with Foundation Establishment, she supplied the Dragon Heart Fruit Zhou Xun needed, and he refined three pills for her.

• Song Yiqing told Zhou Xun about the progress of his spirit beasts and gave him Wang Erniu’s letters warning that Red Leaf Square might fall when the Beast Tide erupted.
• Zhou Xun judged that the Beast Tide could begin within two years and spent half a month making Tier 2 talismans from his stored materials.
• Wei Qiuxin reached the peak of Qi Refinement and asked Zhou Xun for a Foundation Establishment Pill, offering to serve him for a hundred years.
• Wei Qiuxin gave Zhou Xun a well-preserved Dragon Heart Fruit, completing the ingredients he needed to refine Foundation Establishment Pills.
• Zhou Xun refined the ingredients and produced three genuine Foundation Establishment Pills.

Zhou Xun guided Wei Qiuxin through Foundation Establishment, and she succeeded on her first attempt. After celebrating her breakthrough, Wei Qiuxin chose to continue managing Forgetful River Lake for Zhou Xun.

• Zhou Xun gave Wei Qiuxin Foundation Establishment advice and Jade Slips, then offered to help her establish her foundation on Spirit Fish Island.
• Three days later, Zhou Xun redirected the island’s Spiritual Qi as Wei Qiuxin began her breakthrough, and he recognized that she had succeeded.
• After stabilizing her cultivation, Wei Qiuxin visited Zhou Xun to thank him, and he asked her to call him Island Lord.
• Wei Qiuxin invited Zhou Xun and Song Yiqing to a small Foundation Establishment celebration, where Zhou Xun and Song Yiqing gave her congratulatory gifts.
• Wei Qiuxin said she would continue managing Forgetful River Lake as before, and Zhou Xun returned to Lakeheart Island with Song Yiqing.

Zhou Xun broke through to the sixth layer of the Hundred Meridian Body Refining Art, greatly strengthening his physical body. He welcomed Feng Tingli, who arrived with materials for refining Tier 2 High-Grade Spirit Recovery Pills, and showed him the blooming lotuses at Stillheart Pavilion.

• Zhou Xun told Song Yiqing that he had secured her a place in next year's White Cloud Spirit Pool.
• Zhou Xun broke through to the sixth layer of the Hundred Meridian Body Refining Art and tested his strength by resisting a high-grade Mystic Tool and punching Tier 2 primal iron.
• Zhou Xun visited the beast enclosure and discussed the Blackscaled Armadillo's advancement and the Crimson Fire Luan's prospects with Song Yiqing.
• Feng Tingli arrived at Forgetful River Lake with five sets of materials for Tier 2 High-Grade Spirit Recovery Pills.
• Zhou Xun welcomed Feng Tingli and led him to Stillheart Pavilion, where Feng Tingli noticed the blooming Stillheart Lotuses.

Zhou Xun prepared to assist White Cloud True One with refining the Essence Crystallization Pill while strengthening his combat abilities ahead of the Beast Tide. During the journey to White Cloud Immortal City, he broke through to Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, though Song Yiqing mistook his true cultivation for a more modest advance.

• Feng Tingli delivered spirit herbs for Zhou Xun to refine Tier 2 High-Grade Spirit Recovery Pills and relayed Zhou Buqi’s request that Zhou Xun visit White Cloud Mountain after advancing.
• Over the next three months, Zhou Xun refined seventeen Spirit Recovery Pills, the Blackscaled Armadillo advanced to Tier 2 mid-grade, and the Sky-Shunning Talisman completed its cultivation.
• Zhou Xun left for White Cloud Immortal City with Song Yiqing, intending to help White Cloud True One refine the Essence Crystallization Pill while she went to the White Cloud Spirit Pool.
• Zhou Buqi told White Cloud True One that Zhou Xun had advanced to Tier 2 High-Grade Pill Refinement and could assist with refining the pill for Xing Huaian.
• As Zhou Xun traveled, his Spirit Wood True Art circulated on its own and his hundredth drop of liquid spiritual power formed, raising him to Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.
• Song Yiqing saw Zhou Xun’s breakthrough and believed he had advanced from Foundation Establishment Early Stage to Middle Stage.

After breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, Zhou Xun tested his increased spiritual power and divine sense, then returned to White Cloud Immortal City. He summoned his family to meet him, while Zhou Jimin eagerly prepared to pay his respects.

• Zhou Xun broke through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage and found his divine sense could extend eighteen hundred zhang.
• Zhou Xun celebrated his breakthrough with Song Yiqing during their flight back to White Cloud Immortal City.
• The eastern gate guards recognized Zhou Xun as a top-grade honored guest and escorted him into the city.
• Zhou Xun returned to his cave dwelling in Golden Springs Lane and sent two Message Talismans to Dan Hai Pavilion.
• Zhou Jinsong learned that Zhou Xun had summoned him and Shi Wanying, and decided to bring their children to pay their respects.
• Zhou Jimin heard that Zhou Xun had returned and eagerly prepared to visit him.

Zhou Xun reunited with his disciples and their family at his cave residence, learned how they and Dan Hai Pavilion had fared, and advised Zhou Jinsong and Shi Wanying about cultivation. He promised to refine two Foundation Establishment Pills for them as his final support.

• Zhou Jinsong’s family traveled with Old Taoist Chuyun and Wang Shun to visit Zhou Xun at Golden Springs Lane.
• Zhou Xun welcomed the group, and Zhou Jing and his siblings kowtowed to him while Zhou Ping bluntly remarked that he looked younger than his father.
• Zhou Xun learned that Zhou Jing had a nineteen-point Fire Spiritual Root and Zhou Ping had a twenty-one-point Earth Spiritual Root, and advised Zhou Jinsong to nurture Jing’er’s aptitude with fire-attributed spiritual items.
• After hearing how his disciples had progressed, Zhou Xun kept Zhou Jinsong and Shi Wanying behind and urged Shi Wanying to cultivate in seclusion until she reached the peak of Qi Condensation.
• Zhou Jinsong told Zhou Xun that he still lacked the main ingredient for Foundation Establishment Pills, so Zhou Xun offered to refine two from a Tier 2 Demon Core as his final support.

Zhou Xun arranged for Song Yiqing to use a White Cloud Spirit Pool token while he went to meet Zhou Buqi about his advancement to Tier 2 High-Grade Pill Refinement Master. Zhou Buqi confirmed his skill and brought him to meet White Cloud True One, whose hidden cave abode they entered.

• Feng Tingli gave Zhou Xun a token for a White Cloud Spirit Pool slot, and Zhou Xun instructed Song Yiqing to use it while he remained on White Cloud Mountain.
• Zhou Xun noticed that White Cloud Immortal City had grown crowded as cultivators fled markets near Hundred Savages Mountain or came seeking profits from demon beasts.
• Zhou Xun visited Zhou Buqi and proved his Tier 2 High-Grade pill-refinement skill by presenting a Qi Recovery Pill.
• Zhou Buqi declared that Zhou Xun could render a great service to White Cloud Immortal City and hurried him to White Cloud True One's cave abode.
• Zhou Buqi opened the concealed entrance at Clearwater Grotto, and he and Zhou Xun entered a passage filled with dense Spiritual Qi.

Zhou Xun met White Cloud True One, who selected him to assist with refining an important Dan and tested his Pill Crafting skills by asking him to process rare spirit herbs. Zhou Xun recognized the ingredients and methods as part of the Essence Crystallization Pill recipe, then began processing the herbs in the pavilion.

• Zhou Buqi led Zhou Xun through a passage into a hidden garden, where Zhou Xun paid respects to White Cloud True One.
• White Cloud True One praised Zhou Xun's Pill Crafting talent and revealed that he had chosen Zhou Xun as the third of three Tier 2 High-Grade Pill Refinement Masters to assist with refining a Dan.
• White Cloud True One gave Zhou Xun rare spirit herbs and a Jade Slip containing processing instructions, asking him to process the herbs within three days.
• Zhou Xun studied the instructions and recognized that the Dan White Cloud True One intended to refine was the Essence Crystallization Pill.
• Zhou Xun set up his pill furnace and Dragon Spirit Charcoal, warmed the furnace, and placed the first spirit herb inside.

Zhou Xun passed White Cloud True One’s test by expertly processing a batch of spirit herbs, impressing both White Cloud True One and Zhou Buqi. White Cloud True One planned to refine pills with his help in seven days and hinted that he would accept Zhou Xun as a disciple afterward.

• Zhou Xun selected and processed the spirit herbs with such skill that White Cloud True One praised his abilities to Zhou Buqi.
• White Cloud True One judged Zhou Xun’s talent exceptional and said he might eventually become a Tier 3 Mid-Grade Pill Refinement Master.
• Zhou Buqi suggested that White Cloud True One accept Zhou Xun as a disciple, and White Cloud True One said he would consider it after successfully refining the Essence Crystallization Pill.
• Zhou Xun perfectly fused the medicinal liquids within the time limit and passed White Cloud True One’s test.
• White Cloud True One gave Zhou Xun an Azure Spirit Pill and scheduled the pill-refining attempt for seven days later, hinting that he might accept him as a disciple.
• After leaving with Zhou Buqi, Zhou Xun agreed to call him Senior Brother, though White Cloud True One had not yet formally accepted him.

Zhou Xun considered the benefits of joining White Cloud True One's sect and prepared to refine the Essence Crystallization Pill. On the appointed day, he faced hostility from Lu Jinwen, while Grandmaster Hongyu apologized and acknowledged that Zhou Xun was about to become their fellow disciple.

• Zhou Xun declined Zhou Buqi's invitation and reflected that joining White Cloud True One's sect could help him obtain core-forming resources and Tier 3 spirit herbs.
• White Cloud True One told Xing Huaian that Zhou Xun's pill-refining talent could make him a Tier 3 Pill Refinement Master and become a major support for White Cloud Immortal City.
• Zhou Xun secluded himself for seven days to study the Essence Crystallization Pill's refinement method, then set out for White Cloud True One's cave abode.
• Zhou Xun encountered Grandmaster Hongyu and Lu Jinwen on White Cloud Mountain, where Lu Jinwen mocked and threatened him.
• Grandmaster Hongyu rebuked Lu Jinwen and stiffly apologized to Zhou Xun, recognizing that Zhou Xun was about to join their master's sect.

After Zhou Xun’s status as White Cloud True One’s prospective disciple became clear, Grandmaster Hongyu and Lu Jinwen apologized to him, and Zhou Xun accepted their reconciliation. He met Xing Huaian and reunited with Yufeng True One, Liu Bo'an, at Clearwater Grotto, where White Cloud True One welcomed him as a future pillar of White Cloud Immortal City.

• Lu Qingyuan told Lu Jinwen to apologize to Zhou Xun, warning him that Zhou Xun’s talent and future standing could threaten the Lu family.
• Lu Jinwen bowed and apologized to Zhou Xun, who forgave the past and urged Lu Qingyuan to visit him as a fellow Pill Refinement Master.
• Zhou Xun and Grandmaster Hongyu went to Clearwater Grotto, where Xing Huaian greeted them and recalled meeting Zhou Xun at Golden Cloud Valley.
• White Cloud True One praised Zhou Xun and Xing Huaian as pillars of White Cloud Immortal City’s future, prompting Grandmaster Hongyu to resolve to bring Zhou Xun a heavier gift.
• Zhou Buqi and Yufeng True One, Liu Bo'an, arrived, and Liu Bo'an examined Zhou Xun as White Cloud True One’s future Junior Brother.

Zhou Xun accepted White Cloud True One as his master and joined the others in preparing to refine an Essence Crystallization Pill. White Cloud True One began warming the furnace and gave Zhou Xun and two senior disciples strict instructions for processing their ingredients, leaving the rare pill refinement underway.

• White Cloud True One offered to take Zhou Xun as his disciple, and Zhou Xun knelt to accept him as his master.
• White Cloud True One led the group to the Alchemy Chamber and assigned Zhou Buqi to guard the cave dwelling.
• White Cloud True One revealed they were refining an Essence Crystallization Pill, whose main ingredient had come from Golden Origin Valley, where Zhou Xun had served with the relief force.
• White Cloud True One gave Zhou Xun, Bo'an, and Qing Yuan separate portions of spirit herbs and instructed them when to process and combine them with the Essence Crystal Fungus.
• White Cloud True One opened the jade box containing the fungus, set out the blue-gold pill furnace, and began warming it with azure flames.

Zhou Xun deliberately timed his processing of the spiritual herbs to preserve their medicinal potency, and White Cloud True One successfully refined two Essence Crystallization Pills. As Xing Huaian was expected to receive one, Zhou Xun considered whether he could claim the other, with Zuo Qifan and Yuan Pan’er as his main rivals.

• Zhou Xun finished processing the spiritual herbs at the last moment and explained that he had timed the work to maximize their medicinal potency.
• Liu Bo'an and Lu Qingyuan admired Zhou Xun's control and asked him for guidance, which he shared freely.
• White Cloud True One completed the pill refinement and produced two authentic Essence Crystallization Pills.
• The group congratulated White Cloud True One, while Xing Huaian celebrated the pills that could help him advance toward True Core or Golden Core.
• Zhou Xun considered the candidates for the second pill and identified Zuo Qifan and Yuan Pan’er as the strongest contenders.

Zhou Xun considered how to obtain one of White Cloud True One’s two Essence Crystallization Pills while concealing his exceptional cultivation, then returned home and gave Song Yiqing two mystic tools. News of his new discipleship spread through White Cloud Immortal City as Zhou Jinsong made a small breakthrough in pill refinement and learned about the upcoming ceremony.

• Zhou Xun decided to postpone revealing his Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation and seek another way to obtain an Essence Crystallization Pill.
• White Cloud True One ordered his disciples to keep the pills secret, stored them in an Essence Nurturing Bottle, and agreed to hold Zhou Xun’s disciple-acceptance ceremony at Azure Ape Hall seven days later.
• Six Tier 3 demonic beasts led a vast host of beasts out from deep within Hundred Savages Mountain in two directions.
• Zhou Xun returned to Golden Springs Lane, congratulated Song Yiqing on reaching the eighth layer of Qi Condensation, and gave her two mystic tools.
• Zhou Jinsong refined an inferior-grade Essence Gathering Pill at Dan Hai Pavilion, and Hu Yuanxiong told him that White Cloud True One had accepted another disciple and the ceremony would be held six days later.

After Zhou Xun became White Cloud True One’s disciple, Dan Hai Pavilion celebrated the new connection to the Immortal City, while Lu Qingyuan and Lu Jinwen visited Zhou Xun to congratulate him and make amends. Their exchange of Pill Crafting insights left Lu Qingyuan impressed by Zhou Xun’s exceptional talent and hoping to learn from him again.

• Hu Yuanxiong told Zhou Jinsong that Zhou Xun had become White Cloud True One’s disciple, making Zhou Jinsong a disciple-grandson.
• Wang Shun and other visitors spread the news through Dan Hai Pavilion, whose members celebrated and marched toward White Cloud Pill Emporium to settle old scores.
• Song Yiqing informed Zhou Xun that Grandmaster Hongyu and Lu Jinwen had arrived, and Lu Qingyuan congratulated Zhou Xun on joining their teacher’s sect.
• Lu Qingyuan presented Zhou Xun with two High-Grade Spirit Stones, which Zhou Xun accepted as a gift of reconciliation.
• Zhou Xun, Lu Qingyuan, and Lu Jinwen exchanged Pill Crafting knowledge, and Lu Qingyuan left impressed by Zhou Xun’s insights and eager to visit again.

Zhou Xun’s former rivals reconciled with him, while White Cloud True One entrusted Xing Huaian with an Essence Crystallization Pill and prepared to support his attempt at core formation. As Zhou Xun’s apprenticeship ceremony began, guests from across White Cloud Immortal City gathered at Azure Ape Hall.

• Lu Jinwen praised Zhou Xun’s generosity and pill-refining guidance as he and Lu Qingyuan returned to White Cloud Pill Emporium.
• White Cloud True One gave Xing Huaian two Essence Crystallization Pills, entrusted him with distributing one, and promised to guard him during his core-formation attempt.
• Lu Jinwen stopped his subordinates from retaliating against Dan Hai Pavilion and told them to treat it as a brother shop.
• Lu Qingyuan warned Lu Jinwen to prevent others from ruining their reconciliation with Zhou Xun.
• Feng Tingli and two squads of guards received guests at Azure Ape Hall for Zhou Xun’s apprenticeship ceremony.
• Daoist Li and a long-bearded Elder met on the way to the ceremony and agreed to attend together.

Zhou Xun officially became White Cloud True One’s twenty-third personal disciple and asked to study Pill Refinement. White Cloud True One gave him a Tier 3 Middle-Grade inheritance and arranged for Zhou Buqi to help him choose a Tier 3 cave abode, then asked about Zhou Xun’s leased Forgetful River Lake.

• Shopkeeper Hu warmly greeted Li Huaji and his companion after learning they knew Pill Refiner Zhou, then entered Azure Ape Hall with them.
• White Cloud True One held Zhou Xun’s apprenticeship ceremony, accepted him as his twenty-third personal disciple, and instructed him in the sect rules.
• After the ceremony, White Cloud True One asked what Zhou Xun wished to learn, and Zhou Xun requested instruction in Pill Refinement.
• White Cloud True One gave Zhou Xun a Tier 3 Middle-Grade Pill Refinement inheritance and allowed him to draw spirit herbs from the Immortal City, with the refined pills belonging to the city.
• White Cloud True One told Zhou Buqi to help Zhou Xun choose a Tier 3 cave abode in the White Cloud Mountain Range, then asked Zhou Xun about his lease on Forgetful River Lake.

Zhou Xun met White Cloud True One’s remaining disciples, and Forgetful River Lake was granted to him as his lineage’s territory. Meanwhile, a Beast Tide surged from Hundred Savages Mountain toward White Cloud Immortal City, and the shattered Mother-Child Resonance Ring alerted the city to the threat.

• White Cloud True One praised Zhou Xun’s management of Forgetful River Lake and placed the lake under his name, delighting Zhou Xun with its hidden top-grade spirit vein.
• White Cloud True One introduced Zhou Xun to his surviving disciples, including Liu Bo'an, Ding Jihe, Tian Yu, Yuan Pan'er, and Xing Huaian, then urged them to work together.
• Three great demons led countless demon beasts out of Hundred Savages Mountain, overrunning settlements and killing cultivators and mortals in their path.
• Stationed cultivators at Hundred Savages Mountain shattered their Mother-Child Resonance Rings to warn White Cloud Immortal City of the Beast Tide.
• The matching ring shattered inside the Immortal City, waking the guard who had been dozing beside it.

The Beast Tide erupted, prompting the Lin Lineage to begin evacuating Red Leaf Square and warn its residents. As Wei Hong prepared to flee with his family, his father revealed that he was a member of the Luo Family and charged Wei Hong with restoring its name.

• A guard reported the shattered jade ring to Feng Tingli, who realized the Beast Tide had erupted and rushed to inform Zhou Buqi.
• The Lin Lineage learned that the Beast Tide had begun and ordered its members to board the Spirit Skiff and evacuate within two hours.
• Lin Anshu and Wang Erniu spread the news through Red Leaf Square, while Wei Shangyi deduced that the Lin Lineage was abandoning the area.
• Wei Shangyi told Wei Hong to flee with his mother but chose to stay behind because he was old and near the end of his life.
• Wei Shangyi revealed that his true surname was Luo and that he belonged to the Spirit Talisman Luo Family, entrusting Wei Hong with restoring the family’s name.

Wei Hong learned of his Luo Family heritage and received the family’s Spirit Talisman Inheritance as the Beast Tide forced the Lin Family to flee Red Leaf Square. At White Cloud Immortal City, officials confirmed the Beast Tide had arrived and began discussing how to respond.

• Wei Shangyi gave Wei Hong the jade cylinder containing the Spirit Talisman Inheritance and told him to seek Zhou Xun if he needed a chance at Foundation Establishment.
• Wei Hong kowtowed to his dying father and left with the inheritance.
• Lin Anshu, Lin Yuanru, and Wang Erniu evacuated the remaining Lin Family members from Red Leaf Square and activated the clan grounds' Near Tier 3 Formation.
• Feng Tingli reported to White Cloud True One and the others that the Beast Tide had arrived, based on reports from cultivators monitoring Hundred Savages Mountain.
• Zhou Buqi proposed gathering nearby cultivators in White Cloud Immortal City, warning those farther away, and requesting aid from the Cloud Radiance Sect.
• Zuo Qifan proposed conscripting cultivators to defend the city, while Ding Jihe questioned whether conscription would cause panic.