Chapter Summaries

A shopkeeper and a young man left Forgetful River Quarter aboard a Cloud Radiance Sect vessel as news spread that Zhou Xun had formed a Superior True Core. The Lin family visited Zhou Xun ahead of his celebration, where he reunited with his old friend Xun Houqing and asked why he had never reached Foundation Establishment.

• A middle-aged shopkeeper caught a streak of fire, then left Forgetful River Quarter with a young man and boarded a Cloud Radiance Sect vessel bound for the sect.
• Song Zhide announced that Zhou Xun had formed a Superior True Core, and the Song family decided to send gifts and descendants to Forgetful River Lake.
• News of Zhou Xun's achievement spread across cultivation factions, and Rogue Cultivators began looking up to him as an example.
• Lin Anshu brought Lin Youshan, Xun Houqing, and other Lin family members to congratulate Zhou Xun and strengthen their ties with him.
• Zhou Xun greeted Xun Houqing as an old friend and asked why he had failed to break through to Foundation Establishment despite once reaching peak Qi Refinement.

Zhou Xun accepted Lin Youshan as a registered disciple and held a three-day celebration for achieving Core Formation, attended by powerful cultivation factions. After the guests departed, Lin Xueying remained behind to see Zhou Xun and began to address the letters between them.

• Zhou Xun comforted Xun Houqing after Houqing failed to break through and offered to take in an outstanding Xun descendant as a registered disciple.
• Lin Anshu asked Zhou Xun to accept his son Lin Youshan, and Zhou Xun tested Youshan's forty-four-point Superior Wood Spiritual Root before taking him as his fourth registered disciple.
• Zhou Xun hosted a Core Formation celebration at Forgetful River Lake, where cultivation families and major powers brought congratulatory gifts.
• True Person Yun An, True Person Feng Yu, True Person Zong Yu, and Lin Xueying arrived from the Cloud Radiance Sect and congratulated Zhou Xun.
• After the three-day celebration ended, Lin Xueying stayed behind and began speaking to Zhou Xun about the letters.

Zhou Xun revealed that Maple Moon True One had taken Lin Xueying as a disciple to claim her Water Moon Spiritual Body, and Lin Xueying learned why her Revered Teacher had targeted them. After reuniting with Lin Xueying, Zhou Xun reviewed the celebration gifts and returned to find Song Yiqing waiting in his cave abode.

• Zhou Xun explained Maple Moon True One's past pursuit of him and showed Lin Xueying a Jade Slip revealing her plans to seize the Water Moon Spiritual Body.
• Lin Xueying accepted the truth about Maple Moon True One and resolved to cultivate the Water Moon Spiritual Body, while Zhou Xun promised the Cloud Radiance Sect would need her leadership.
• Zhou Xun and Lin Xueying spent the night together after their reunion.
• Wei Qiuxin and Zhou Jinsong delivered the celebration gift register, and Zhou Xun reviewed the spirit herbs, Celestial Radiance Water, Clear Spirit Wood, Dragon Musk, and other offerings.
• Zhou Xun returned to his cave abode and found Song Yiqing waiting for him.

Zhou Xun welcomed Song Zhishu and Song Zhide to Forgetful River Lake, then introduced his new registered disciple, Lin Youshan, to his other disciples. He began discussing the spirit veins in his expanded territory, but the chapter ended before he explained the second matter.

• Song Yiqing told Zhou Xun that Song Zhishu and Song Zhide had come to Forgetful River Quarter, and Zhou Xun invited them to a banquet at Stillheart Pavilion.
• Zhou Xun warmly reunited with Song Zhishu, who had traveled from Clear Moon Quarter to congratulate him on forming a Superior True Core.
• After the banquet, Zhou Xun assured Song Zhishu that the Song Family descendants could stay at Forgetful River Lake.
• Zhou Xun introduced Lin Youshan as his new registered disciple, and Zhou Jinsong and the other disciples welcomed him.
• Zhou Xun assigned Lin Youshan to study under Zhou Jinsong, then announced that his territory included four Tier 2 spirit mountains and more than thirty Tier 1 spirit veins.

Zhou Xun distributed the ownerless Spiritual Veins and chose Forgetful River as his Daoist title. He then began expanding his Lightning Seed collection, successfully condensing another seed as he prepared to defend Xu Nation from Heaven Feather Sect.

• Zhou Xun awarded Hanging Universe Mountain to Zhou Jinsong, renamed it Prosper the People Mountain, and returned Five Willow Mountain to Fang Tianlun and his wife.
• Zhou Xun assigned Qiuxin and Xiuyin the remaining two Spiritual Veins and answered cultivation questions from his disciples and subordinates.
• Zhou Xun chose Forgetful River as his title, and the others greeted him as Forgetful River True One.
• Zhou Xun began condensing Lightning Seeds to strengthen himself against Heaven Feather Sect's invasion and refined eighty-one strands of spiritual lightning arcs.
• Zhou Xun fused the lightning arcs with nine drops of essence blood and successfully formed a new Lightning Seed.

Zhou Xun’s incarnation condensed twenty-four Lightning Seeds and demonstrated the greatly increased power of the Violet Firmament True Thunder Formation. He then paused seed condensation to recover and spent the following months tempering his body, refining Dan, crafting talismans, and cultivating, with his Foundation Establishment progress continuing steadily.

• Over a year, Zhou Xun’s incarnation condensed twenty-four Lightning Seeds, doubling their previous number.
• Zhou Xun tested the incarnation against his true body and five Bloodfiend Spawns, finding that its thunder domain, Thunder Escape, and lightning ropes overwhelmed their defenses.
• Zhou Xun stopped condensing Lightning Seeds because the lightning pool’s heavenly thunder had weakened and the incarnation needed to recover its divine sense.
• Zhou Xun’s true body and incarnation practiced their respective body-tempering methods, then the true body refined three Tier 2 High-Grade Wood Essence Pills while the incarnation completed a Tier 2 High-Grade Wood Blade Talisman.
• Over the following half year, Zhou Xun cultivated, crafted talismans, refined Dan, tempered his body, and studied puppetry; at age seventy-one, his Dantian held 146 drops of liquid magical power and his eighth Foundation Establishment level was more than halfway complete.

Zhou Xun used a Tier 3 Lower Grade Spirit Condensing Grass to advance his Purple Luo Flower to Tier 4, then absorbed its essence and reached the peak of the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment. The chapter ended by introducing Wei Hong, who had settled in Forgetful River Quarter and opened a pill shop rather than follow his father’s plan to seek Zhou Xun’s help.

• Zhou Xun assessed his cultivation progress and planned to use a Tier 3 Lower Grade Spirit Condensing Grass to help the Purple Luo Flower advance.
• Zhou Xun used the grass’s essence to raise the Purple Luo Flower to Tier 4 Lower Grade.
• Zhou Xun extracted the flower’s Tier 4 essence, absorbed it, and gained enough spiritual power to reach the peak of the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment.
• Zhou Xun tested his spiritual root sensitivity and found that his Wood Spiritual Root had reached sixty-four points.
• Wei Hong, the son of Wei Shangyi, was revealed as a Tier 1 Mid-Grade Pill Refinement Master who had opened Wei's Pill Shop in Forgetful River Quarter instead of seeking refuge with Zhou Xun.

After failing to break through to Late-Stage Qi Condensation despite using a Spirit Gathering Pill, Wei Hong offered the Luo Family’s rare Spirit Talisman inheritance to Zhou Xun in exchange for joining his service. Zhou Xun accepted and assigned Wei Hong to work at Dan Hai Pavilion, where he could obtain another Spirit Gathering Pill more easily.

• Wei Hong sold pills until he had saved sixteen hundred Spirit Stones, then spent them on a Spirit Gathering Pill.
• Wei Hong’s attempt to break through failed when his Spirit Energy fell into disorder, leaving him without the funds to buy another pill.
• Wei Hong went to meet Zhou Xun and offered the Luo Family’s Spirit Talisman inheritance.
• After examining the Jade Slip, Zhou Xun confirmed the inheritance was rare and asked what Wei Hong wanted in return.
• Wei Hong asked to serve Zhou Xun, who accepted him into Forgetful River Lake and assigned him to work at Dan Hai Pavilion.

Zhou Xun rewarded Wei Hong for the Luo Family’s Treasure Talisman inheritance, then studied its methods and advanced to the ninth level of Foundation Establishment while improving his talisman skills. A year later, Wang Erniu visited him at Forgetful River Lake, and the two reunited after several years apart.

• Zhou Xun gave Wei Hong resources to cultivate through Foundation Establishment and a Tier 3 Low-Grade talisman inheritance in exchange for the Luo Family’s Treasure Talisman inheritance.
• Zhou Xun studied the inheritance’s Treasure Talisman and Talisman Formation methods and considered combining its nurturing technique with his Talismans Infusion Art.
• Zhou Xun practiced drawing talismans, completed a Tier 2 High-Grade Sword Rain Talisman, and reached the ninth level of Foundation Establishment.
• A year later, Wei Qiuxin sent Zhou Xun a message that the Golden Light Sword Immortal had arrived to visit.
• Zhou Xun greeted Wang Erniu, who had reached the peak of the fifth level of Foundation Establishment, and Wang Erniu excitedly called him Big Brother.

Zhou Xun celebrated his core formation with Wang Erniu, who gifted him a powerful sword manual, then spent two quiet years cultivating. After Song Yiqing reached the peak of Qi Refinement, Zhou Xun prepared her to pursue Foundation Establishment.

• Zhou Xun welcomed Wang Erniu with Peach Blossom Wine, which helped Wang Erniu break through a bottleneck in his cultivation.
• Wang Erniu congratulated Zhou Xun on forming his core and gave him the Celestial Origin Sword Manual, a technique reaching the Nascent Soul Late Stage.
• Wang Erniu stayed for over a month before returning to Golden Ape Valley, and Zhou Xun resumed his cultivation and talisman crafting.
• Over the next two years, Zhou Xun refined a Tier 3 Supreme-Grade Spirit Herb and raised his spiritual root to sixty-five points, while his avatar sought to refine the remaining Lightning Seeds.
• Song Yiqing visited Zhou Xun after reaching the peak of Qi Refinement, and he told her he would prepare a Foundation Establishment Pill and send her to the Epsilon-Ranked Cave Abode to prepare for a breakthrough.

Zhou Xun refined a supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Pill for Song Yiqing and guided her through her breakthrough, which appeared to go smoothly. The chapter then included an author’s correction describing how Zhou Xun had previously reached the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment while practicing talisman-making.

• Zhou Xun refined three Foundation Establishment Pills, including two premium pills, then enhanced the third into a supreme-grade pill for Song Yiqing.
• Zhou Xun spent three months teaching Song Yiqing about the trials of Foundation Establishment before giving her the pill.
• Song Yiqing swallowed the pill and began her breakthrough as Zhou Xun watched a vast, orderly Spiritual Qi vortex form above the cave abode.
• After an author’s correction, Zhou Xun completed a Sword Rain Talisman and, while cultivating, reached the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment.

Song Yiqing successfully achieved Foundation Establishment, and Zhou Xun encouraged her to keep cultivating so she could one day attempt Core Formation. After celebrating with their family and associates, Zhou Xun’s lightning-gathering incarnation returned with the pool filled.

• Song Yiqing emerged from seclusion after breaking through to Foundation Establishment, and Zhou Xun congratulated her before they spent the night together.
• Zhou Xun urged Song Yiqing to aim for Foundation Establishment Peak and promised to support her attempt at Core Formation, inspiring her to cultivate diligently.
• Zhou Xun held a small celebration for Song Yiqing, where his disciples, Fang Tianlun and Lin Xiuyin, Wang Shun, and the Song family gave her gifts.
• Zhou Xun gave Song Yiqing talismans and pills to protect her from danger.
• Half a year later, Zhou Xun’s incarnation returned to the cultivation chamber beneath Forgetful River Lake after filling the lightning pool with a year’s worth of heavenly lightning.

Zhou Xun finished refining all thirty-six Lightning Seeds and later advanced his pill-crafting skill to the Tier 2 peak. He began attempting to become a quasi-Tier 3 Pill Refinement Master by refining a quasi-Tier 3 Qi Recovery Pill, reaching the dangerous fusion stage.

• Zhou Xun refined eighty-one spiritual lightning arcs into each Lightning Seed, completing the twelve remaining seeds over four months.
• Zhou Xun concluded that his thirty-six Lightning Seeds could give the Violet Firmament True Thunder Formation Late-Stage Core Formation battle strength.
• Over the next year, Zhou Xun raised his pill-crafting skill to the Tier 2 peak and decided to pursue the quasi-Tier 3 level.
• Zhou Xun lit quasi-Tier 3 Spirit Soothing Incense and prepared his Mystic Pill Furnace, Dragon Spirit Charcoal, and herbs for a quasi-Tier 3 Qi Recovery Pill.
• Zhou Xun processed the herbs into medicinal liquid and began the dangerous fusion step.

Zhou Xun successfully refined his first quasi-Tier 3 Qi Recovery Pill, then learned that Zhou Jinsong and Shi Wanying were founding the Prosper the People Mountain Zhou Family. He arrived at their ceremony as guests gathered and paid tribute to Zhou Jinsong.

• Zhou Xun refined a quasi-Tier 3 Qi Recovery Pill, producing one proper pill and one inferior pill, and continued practicing for half a month.
• Zhou Xun received an invitation from Zhou Jinsong and Shi Wanying to attend their lineage-founding ceremony at Prosper the People Mountain, then realized the ceremony was that day.
• Zhou Jinsong and his family established control over Prosper the People Mountain and held a ceremony to announce the founding of the Prosper the People Mountain Zhou Family.
• Shopkeeper Tian arrived at the ceremony with a Tier 2 High-Grade Cloud Spirit Ginseng as a gift, and Zhou Jinsong personally welcomed him.

Zhou Xun arrived at Zhou Jinsong’s family-founding banquet as a True Core cultivator, impressing the gathered guests and praising Xu Qingxiao. The chapter left Zhou Jinsong more interested in matching Zhou Ping with Xu Shaoping and building ties with the Xu Family.

• Zhou Jinsong welcomed Xu Qingxiao and his daughter Xu Shaoping, then discussed the possibility of her marrying Zhou Ping.
• Zhou Xun left his underground cultivation chamber and flew to Prosper the People Mountain with magical power approaching True Core strength.
• The guests recognized Zhou Xun as Forgetful River True One, and Zhou Jinsong and his companions knelt to greet their teacher.
• Zhou Xun entered the hall and used his power to raise the gathered cultivators to their feet.
• Zhou Xun praised Xu Qingxiao’s cultivation and invited him to visit Forgetful River Lake, prompting Zhou Jinsong to take the match between Zhou Ping and Xu Shaoping more seriously.

After Zhou Xun's lineage ceremony, Zhou Ping became engaged to Xu Shaoping, and Zhou Xun returned to a quiet life. In the Hundred Thousand Swamps, Wang Erniu led an ambush against Heaven Feather Sect cultivators and killed their leader and another Foundation Establishment cultivator.

• Major powers sought marriage ties with the Zhou Family, but Zhou Ping and Xu Shaoping had already taken a liking to each other and their families arranged an engagement.
• After the ceremony, Zhou Xun returned to Lakeheart Island and resumed his peaceful life.
• As the Heaven Feather Sect began probing Xu Nation's defenses, Wang Erniu led six Foundation Establishment cultivators in an ambush in the Hundred Thousand Swamps.
• Wang Erniu and his squad destroyed a Heaven Feather Sect Spirit Skiff and killed a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator.
• Wang Erniu pursued the fleeing Foundation Establishment Late Stage Elder and killed him with his Natal Flying Sword.

As the Heaven Feather Sect’s cultivators endured Xu Nation’s siege, Zhou Xun advanced his talisman-crafting skill to the quasi-Tier 3 level. After mastering the Thousand Vine Talisman, he prepared to use the remaining hide of the Demon King Huyu to craft treasure talismans.

• The Heaven Feather Sect’s Second Elder revealed that the First Elder had left to break through to Late-Stage Core Formation and was expected to return within a few years, restoring the sect’s resolve to hold out.
• True Person Yun Yi surrounded the Heaven Feather Sect’s stronghold, while its cultivators refused to leave and the siege continued.
• At Forgetful River Lake, Zhou Xun used quasi-Tier 3 Spirit Soothing Incense to focus and successfully crafted his first quasi-Tier 3 Thousand Vine Talisman.
• Zhou Xun spent half a month practicing until he had stabilized his quasi-Tier 3 talisman-crafting skill.
• Zhou Xun prepared to craft treasure talismans and brought out the remaining hide of the Tier 3 Great Demon, the Demon King Huyu, as his carrier material.

Zhou Xun prepared beast-hide paper and special spirit ink, then attempted to refine treasure talismans for the first time. After repeated failures, he discovered his High-Grade Mystic Tool Talisman Brush could not transmit his True Dan-level mana and concluded he needed a Tier 3 Talisman Brush.

• Zhou Xun used the Edge of Utmost Sharpness and Icy Azure Flame to process the Demon King Huyu's hide, refining forty-one sheets of Treasure Talisman Paper from forty-four portions of material.
• Zhou Xun refined special spirit ink from Tier 3 Great Demon spirit blood, Dragon Blood Vine juice, and spiritual ores, obtaining enough for one hundred treasure talismans.
• Zhou Xun began refining a treasure talisman, but its Spirit Energy circuits ruptured and the paper burned; his second attempt failed in the same way.
• Zhou Xun's avatar inspected the process and identified that his High-Grade Mystic Tool Talisman Brush could not fully transmit his True Dan-level mana.
• Zhou Xun realized he needed a Tier 3 Talisman Brush, but such brushes were scarce and unavailable for purchase.

Zhou Xun sought a Tier 3 artifact refiner to make a Talisman Brush and decided to travel to Feng Nation after thinking of the cultivator surnamed Hu. He sent his incarnation to Fengyuan City, where he entered openly as a Core Formation cultivator and left the gate Elder Wenren Qing with a Longevity Pill.

• Zhou Xun realized Xu Nation had no Tier 3 artifact refiners and recalled that the cultivator surnamed Hu might have the skill to make a Talisman Brush.
• After divining an auspicious but turbulent omen, Zhou Xun sent his incarnation toward Fengyuan City instead of going himself.
• Zhou Xun’s arrival at Fengyuan City astonished travelers when he passed through its airspace-restriction formation as a Core Formation cultivator.
• Wenren Qing welcomed Zhou Xun and gave him a passage token for the city.
• Zhou Xun praised Wenren Qing’s long service and gave him a Tier 2 High-Grade Longevity Pill before disappearing into the city.

Zhou Xun visited Hundred Delights Pavilion in Fengyuan City and met its owner, Venerable Wen Yang, to ask about information on an Elder surnamed Hu. The chapter ended as Zhou Xun began to explain his inquiry.

• Zhou Xun arrived at Hundred Delights Pavilion to seek information about the Elder surnamed Hu, whom he had met decades earlier.
• An attendant was startled when Zhou Xun asked to see Venerable Wen Yang, and a shopkeeper recognized him as Forgetful River True One.
• The shopkeeper welcomed Zhou Xun to a private room and served him Clear Wind Tea while Wen Yang was summoned.
• Venerable Wen Yang arrived, greeted Zhou Xun with the respect due a True Core cultivator, and offered to help him.
• Zhou Xun told Wen Yang that he had come to inquire about a piece of information.