Chapter Summaries

Lei Jun told Tang Xiaotang that she had been used to bolster Li Zhengxuan’s standing after her clash with Chen Yi, and distracted her by describing storybook villains. Meanwhile, Li Ming plotted to suppress the most promising young disciples, though Li Zhengxuan warned him against petty schemes.

• Tang Xiaotang told Lei Jun that Li Zhengxuan had stopped her from confronting Chen Yi, and that she had sensed malice from someone else at the scene.
• Lei Jun explained that Li Ming had likely engineered the clash so Li Zhengxuan could soothe Chen Yi and win favor among disciples from outside the Li Clan.
• Tang Xiaotang became fascinated by Lei Jun’s stories about villains and insisted she would rather be the protagonist.
• Li Ming reviewed a list of promising disciples, including Chen Yi, Shangguan Hong, Lei Jun, and Guo Yan, and decided they needed to be suppressed.
• Li Zhengxuan confronted Li Ming about the clash, and Li Ming admitted arranging the encounter between Tang Xiaotang and Chen Yi.
• Li Zhengxuan urged Li Ming to stop wasting effort on petty maneuvers and focus on improving himself and promoting the sect, but Li Ming later reconsidered the list of disciples.

Lei Jun refined the Night Wind Stone into his Wind Riding Talisman, giving him a swift, concealed fighting style, and prepared to enter the Cloud Sea Immortal Pool for cultivation. As the pool opened under Li Ming’s guidance, Lei Jun received a new set of omens warning that its different areas held varying rewards and dangers.

• Lei Jun refined Tang Xiaotang’s Night Wind Stone under Yuan Mobai’s guidance, making his Wind Riding Talisman quieter and more suited to concealment.
• Yuan Mobai told Lei Jun he could enter the Cloud Sea Immortal Pool and gave him a Golden Barrier Talisman for protection.
• Wang Guiyuan warned Lei Jun that the Immortal Pool’s unstable spiritual energy could harm cultivators.
• Li Ming led Lei Jun and the other young True Disciples to the Cloud Sea Immortal Pool and opened its illusory gate.
• As Lei Jun was about to enter, his Light Sphere offered four omens: the upper pool held a dangerous Sixth Grade Opportunity, while the middle pool was safe and the lower pools carried severe risks.

Lei Jun entered the Cloud Sea Immortal Pool with the other new disciples as Fang Jian warned them that evil-path Golden Breaking Talismans could pierce the Celestial Master Mansion’s Golden Barrier Talisman. Li Ming led the group to the pools and advised them to use the Middle Immortal Pool, while the Upper Immortal Pool was dangerously scorching.

• Lei Jun entered the Cloud Sea Immortal Realm with Li Ming and the other disciples, and Fang Jian arrived to join them.
• Fang Jian told the group that evil-path cultivators had used Golden Breaking Talismans to break a disciple’s Golden Barrier Talisman and injure him.
• Li Ming and Li Ying realized that their Natal Talisman Arts included the vulnerable Golden Barrier Talisman, while Lei Jun and Chen Yi appeared unaffected by the news.
• Li Ming guided the disciples through the clouds to the Cloud Sea Immortal Pool, where Lei Jun saw its three suspended tiers.
• Li Ming warned the disciples that the Middle Immortal Pool was suitable for their baptism, the Lower Immortal Pool lacked spiritual energy, and the Upper Immortal Pool was dangerously hot.

Lei Jun braved the blazing upper sea of clouds and gathered a Sixth Grade spiritual opportunity, then recovered in the Middle Immortal Pool as Li Ming searched for him. The chapter left Li Ming watching Lei Jun while Chen Yi headed for the Upper Immortal Pool in pursuit of another treasure.

• Lei Jun secretly rose toward the upper sea of clouds, where he spotted Chen Yi searching before Chen Yi gave up and descended toward the Upper Immortal Pool.
• Lei Jun used the Dragon Horse Scale to endure the scorching clouds and collected a frost-misted spiritual liquid in his Spirit Gathering Talisman.
• Lei Jun returned to the Middle Immortal Pool, where the water restored his Magic Power and further stabilized his Dao Foundation.
• Li Ming searched the pools, found Lei Jun in the Middle Immortal Pool, and watched as Lei Jun pretended to mistake someone below for Chen Yi.
• Li Ming went to the edge of the Middle Immortal Pool and frowned as he looked down.

Li Ming searched the Lower Immortal Pool for Chen Yi and found Heat Crystal Sand, while Lei Jun cultivated in the Middle Immortal Pool and discovered a rare Mist-Wreathed Cloud Crystal. Lei Jun met Shangguan Hong, but a scream from the Upper Immortal Pool interrupted them.

• Li Ming left the Middle Immortal Pool, found Heat Crystal Sand in the Lower Immortal Pool, and continued searching for Chen Yi.
• Lei Jun identified the frosted material in his Spirit Gathering Talisman as Mist-Wreathed Cloud Crystal and stored it away.
• Shangguan Hong arrived at the Middle Immortal Pool, where he and Lei Jun exchanged greetings as Shangguan Hong began cultivating.
• A miserable scream came from the direction of the Upper Immortal Pool, and Lei Jun looked up.

Lei Jun and the others found Chen Yi badly burned after he returned from the Upper Immortal Pool, then rushed to the Lower Immortal Pool when it triggered a disaster. The upheaval was suppressed, but Li Ming was recovered dead with Heat Crystal Sand and Spirit Gathering Talismans, leaving Elder Hu questioning why he had gone below.

• Lei Jun and Shangguan Hong found Chen Yi injured after he fell from the Upper Immortal Pool, and Chen Yi confirmed that he had gone there.
• Fang Jian, Li Ying, and the others gathered at the Middle Immortal Pool, where a violent disturbance began beneath them.
• Lei Jun and the others descended to the Lower Immortal Pool and saw its lakes surge into a vast vortex as the Minor Cave Heaven shook.
• Elder Hu, Li Xuan, and Zhang Jingzhen entered and helped suppress the disaster with giant Spirit Talismans.
• Li Xuan and Elder Hu searched the Lower Immortal Pool and brought up Li Ming's corpse, which bore Heat Crystal Sand and two used Spirit Gathering Talismans.
• Elder Hu questioned whether Li Ming had gone below to rescue others or to seek treasure.

After the Cloud Sea Immortal Pool incident, Lei Jun learned that Li Ming’s death was being presented as a heroic sacrifice, while the danger may have originated from changes in the mountain’s spiritual veins. Xu Yuanzhen exposed Li Ming’s misdeeds and challenged the Li family’s attempt to preserve its reputation, leaving the conflict with the Young Celestial Master unresolved.

• Zhang Jingzhen ordered the disciples to leave the Minor Cave Heaven, and the elders began investigating the Cloud Sea Immortal Pool disturbance and Li Ming’s death.
• Yuan Mobai told Lei Jun and Wang Guiyuan that outside spiritual energy had affected the pool and that the changes might be connected to the Contemporary Celestial Master’s long seclusion.
• Xu Yuanzhen returned with an improved Golden Barrier Talisman, then learned from Lei Jun that Li Ming may have arranged the earlier scheme against Xiao Tang.
• Xu Yuanzhen publicly produced evidence that Li Ming and other Li Clan Disciples had embezzled, neglected their duties, suppressed disciples of other surnames, and endangered fellow disciples.
• Li Xuan accused Xu Yuanzhen of pushing the feud too far, while Li Zhengxuan asked her to preserve Li Ming’s dignity; Xu Yuanzhen said she wanted the Li family’s reputations to suffer.

Xu Yuanzhen forced Li Zhengxuan and Li Ziyang to acknowledge responsibility for Li Ming’s crimes, while Lei Jun advanced to Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. After the mansion punished Li Ming’s associates, Tang Xiaotang decided to leave and see the world, and Xu Yuanzhen hinted that Lei Jun’s good days were coming.

• Xu Yuanzhen refused to trade Tang Xiaotang for the Celestial Writing Talisman, and Li Zhengxuan and Li Ziyang accepted responsibility for Li Ming’s crimes and promised an investigation.
• Li Ziyang ordered Li Xuan to investigate Li Ming’s associates and punish anyone else who had broken the rules, while Li Xuan privately resented Xu Yuanzhen’s intervention.
• Lei Jun opened the Eight Gates of his Dao Foundation and reached Foundation Establishment Middle Stage as the mansion announced punishments for Li Ming and his associates.
• Lei Jun explained how Xu Yuanzhen’s evidence undermined Li Ming’s reputation and helped clear Tang Xiaotang’s name, while Tang Xiaotang joked about the younger generation surpassing their elders.
• Tang Xiaotang decided to leave the mansion and explore the world, and Xu Yuanzhen told Lei Jun that good days were coming for him.

Lei Jun chose to cultivate in Yuan Mobai’s Azure Stone Ink Mine, using the Mist-Wreathed Cloud Crystal to neutralize the ink’s dangers while keeping clear of the Celestial Master Mansion’s political tensions. As Fang Jian and Shangguan Hong arrived to visit him, Wang Guiyuan told them Lei Jun might remain in seclusion for a year or two.

• Xu Yuanzhen recognized Lei Jun’s Mist-Wreathed Cloud Crystal and sent him to consult Yuan Mobai.
• Yuan Mobai explained that the crystal could counter Azure Stone Ink’s hidden dangers and help Lei Jun advance toward the Third Heaven.
• Lei Jun’s Sign Fortunes offered him a secluded Azure Stone Ink Mine cultivation opportunity or more dangerous opportunities if he stayed at the mansion, and he chose the mine.
• Yuan Mobai approved Lei Jun’s request to cultivate in the mine and moved his regular lessons to his private residence.
• Shangguan Hong and Fang Jian came to visit Lei Jun, but Wang Guiyuan told them Lei Jun had entered seclusion in the mine for the next year or two.

After Lei Jun was sent to cultivate at the Azure Stone Ink Mine, Fang Jian and Li Xuan suspected the order reflected a rift between Yuan Mobai and Xu Yuanzhen. Lei Jun discussed the mansion’s political factions with Wang Guiyuan, then continued cultivating with Azure Stone Ink, whose harmful effects the Mist-Wreathed Cloud Crystal prevented.

• Fang Jian and Shangguan Hong reacted with alarm to Lei Jun’s assignment at the Azure Stone Ink Mine, and Li Xuan urged Fang Jian to investigate and inform his father and Eldest Senior Brother.
• Xu Yuanzhen told Lei Jun to draw the others’ expressions when he reached the Third Heaven, while Wang Guiyuan explained that Fang Jian and Shangguan Hong had come to assess the situation.
• Lei Jun and Wang Guiyuan discussed Zhang Jingzhen’s imperial family ties, the powerful Great Tang clans, and rumors that the Li Clan might become the eighth great clan.
• Lei Jun returned to the mine and cultivated with Azure Stone Ink, which strengthened his Dao Foundation but normally damaged a cultivator’s body and vital blood.
• The Mist-Wreathed Cloud Crystal protected Lei Jun from Azure Stone Ink’s side effects, allowing him to advance his cultivation without paying its usual cost.

Lei Jun accelerated his Foundation Establishment cultivation with Azure Stone Ink and learned that Chen Yi’s accusation against Li Ming had reignited a feud within the Li Family. While mining for more ink, Lei Jun unearthed a Vermillion Point Brush that seemed perfectly suited to him.

• Lei Jun reflected on how cultivation resources could shorten his path through Foundation Establishment, then continued raising illusory screens on his Dao Foundation with Azure Stone Ink.
• Yuan Mobai praised Lei Jun’s progress, and Wang Guiyuan explained that Chen Yi had implied Li Ming ambushed him over a treasure at the Upper Immortal Pool.
• Lei Jun learned that Chen Yi’s renewed conflict with Li Ming’s branch of the Li Family followed Li Hongyu’s emergence from seclusion, while Yuan Mobai and Lei Jun remained uninvolved.
• Lei Jun returned to the mine and, after gathering more raw Azure Stone Ink ore, uncovered a black-and-blue Talisman Brush with a vermilion tip.
• Wang Guiyuan recognized the brush as the Vermillion Point Brush, and Lei Jun connected it to the Fifth Grade Opportunity from his earlier Auspicious Sign.

Lei Jun tested Yuan Mobai’s Vermillion Point Brush and found that it greatly improved his talisman-making success rate while adapting to his cultivation. As he continued cultivating in the Azure Stone Ink Mine, Tang Xiaotang returned and brought up the circumstances of Lei Jun’s first meeting with Xu Yuanzhen.

• Yuan Mobai told Lei Jun to keep the Vermillion Point Brush, and Lei Jun showed it off to Wang Guiyuan before beginning to test it.
• Lei Jun successfully made nine of ten Evil-warding Talismans, achieving a ninety-percent success rate with the brush.
• Lei Jun later reached a perfect success rate when making his two most practiced natal talismans, Divine Strike and Riding the Wind.
• Lei Jun continued cultivating in the Azure Stone Ink Mine until Tang Xiaotang visited and said she had worried after hearing he had been sent to mine ore.
• Tang Xiaotang mentioned Lei Jun’s first meeting with Xu Yuanzhen, prompting Lei Jun to recall how his bodily transmigration had nearly made him a target for the Celestial Master Mansion.

Lei Jun recalled how the green mountain purified the poison in his body, allowing him to survive and later join the Celestial Master Mansion, though the true nature of the Second Grade Opportunity remained uncertain. Tang Xiaotang shared that she had hunted Southern Wastelands Gu Masters for his sake, then revealed that she possessed both an Immortal Body bone structure and Pure Quiet Enlightenment.

• Lei Jun remembered how choosing the route through the green mountain spared him from the dangers awaiting him on the other paths and purified the toxins in his body.
• Lei Jun told Tang Xiaotang that the Gu Master Xu Yuanzhen had killed was likely responsible for the destruction near his supposed hometown.
• Tang Xiaotang explained that she had hunted several Gu Masters from the Southern Wastelands Witchcraft Gu Lineage, including a Sixth Heaven elder, after hearing about Lei Jun’s past.
• Lei Jun thanked Tang Xiaotang for remembering his circumstances and making the effort, and she reacted with delight.
• Tang Xiaotang revealed that she had both an Immortal Body bone structure and Pure Quiet Enlightenment, while Lei Jun wondered whether an opportunity could improve enlightenment.

Lei Jun continued cultivating while the Residence tried to win over disciples of other surnames, especially Chen Yi, whose new role in the Discipline Hall stirred concern. After nearly four years on Dragon Tiger Mountain, Lei Jun reached the Foundation Establishment High Stage and improved his talisman-crafting ability.

• Wang Guiyuan told Lei Jun that Chen Yi had received the Residence’s support and joined the Discipline Hall, where he might gain authority to discipline others.
• Wang Guiyuan said several senior figures had asked about Lei Jun, and Yuan Mobai told him he could return to his own residence once he reached the Foundation Establishment High Stage.
• Lei Jun continued cultivating in the Azure Stone Ink Mine as the seasons passed, remaining at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage for the time being.
• Nearly four years after arriving on Dragon Tiger Mountain, Lei Jun successfully advanced to the Foundation Establishment High Stage.
• Lei Jun tested his talisman-making skills and achieved a perfect success rate with the Vermillion Point Brush while crafting talismans more quickly and conserving Magic Power when drawing natal talismans.

After returning to public life, Lei Jun continued cultivating and began researching how Azure Stone Ink had affected his Magic Power. When Yuan Mobai announced an expedition to the Yang Mountain Separate Residence, Lei Jun received a Supreme Good Fortune Sign urging him to go and enter the Profound Yang Grotto-heaven when danger arrived.

• Lei Jun moved back to his courtyard at the Main Mansion, resumed collecting talisman supplies, and received visits from fellow disciples.
• Luo Haoran encouraged Lei Jun not to lose his edge, and Lei Jun said he had treated his confinement as a way his master had tempered him.
• Lei Jun discovered that his Magic Power had taken on characteristics of Azure Stone Ink and began researching its possible effects against Foundation Establishment and Altar Realm opponents.
• Yuan Mobai told Lei Jun and Wang Guiyuan that the mansion would send selected disciples to cultivate at the Yang Mountain Separate Residence, and Wang Guiyuan said he would prefer not to go.
• Lei Jun's fortune sticks advised him to go to the Yang Mountain Separate Residence and enter the Profound Yang Grotto-heaven when danger came, promising an opportunity and no lasting harm.

Lei Jun accepted a training expedition to Yang Mountain Separate Residence and prepared talismans for the journey. After arriving at Profound Yang Grotto-heaven, he began cultivating outside its entrance while waiting for the opportunity foretold by his Sign Fortune.

• Lei Jun told Yuan Mobai that he wished to visit Yang Mountain Separate Residence, and Yuan Mobai approved his request.
• Lei Jun spent several days making Thunderstrike Talismans and Blazing Flame Talismans as a precaution before the expedition.
• Lei Jun learned that Chen Yi had left the Discipline Hall and entered secluded cultivation after being blamed for mishandling a case involving a disciple favored by Hongyu.
• Lei Jun and the other disciples traveled by Cloud Cart to Yang Mountain Separate Residence and rested in its Dao Palace overnight.
• Lei Jun and the young disciples settled in huts outside Profound Yang Grotto-heaven, where he cultivated while awaiting the foretold opportunity.

Lei Jun waited for a crisis at Yang Mountain Separate Residence, where Yellow Heaven Path launched an attack. As the Profound Yang Grotto-heaven’s earth fire surged, he let himself be drawn inside and ended up trapped there with Qu Yong and two enemies.

• Lei Jun watched his fellow disciples and noticed that Qu Yong was secretly observing him on Li Xuan’s instructions.
• A thunderstorm struck Yang Mountain Separate Residence, and Yellow Heaven Path attackers tore through its protective wards.
• The Celestial Master Mansion elder ordered the disciples to fight the heretics, and Lei Jun joined the battle while keeping a low profile.
• Earth Fire Yang Flame erupted from Profound Yang Grotto-heaven and drew Lei Jun inside; Qu Yong and two Yellow Heaven Path disciples were swept in as well.
• The earth fire sealed the entrance, leaving Lei Jun, Qu Yong, and the two attackers facing one another inside the Cave Heaven.

Lei Jun used his talismans and the Supreme Purity Golden Bamboo to defeat two Yellow Heaven Path Disciples and knock Qu Yong unconscious in the burning underground palace. He then spotted a golden light in the Earth Fire Yang Flame and discovered it approached when he held up the bamboo.

• Lei Jun used successive Blazing Flame Talismans to force his opponent into close combat, then evaded under cover of the Earth Fire.
• Lei Jun used a Night Wind Stone-enhanced Wind Riding Talisman to conceal himself and struck the first Yellow Heaven Path Disciple from behind, shattering his Golden Barrier Talisman with the Supreme Purity Golden Bamboo.
• Lei Jun defeated the second Yellow Heaven Path Disciple with the bamboo, then knocked Qu Yong unconscious with the stolen Magic Ruler.
• Lei Jun carried Qu Yong toward the Profound Cave and searched the underground palace for the Fourth Grade Opportunity.
• Lei Jun noticed a golden light evading him in the sea of fire, then saw it emerge when he raised the Supreme Purity Golden Bamboo.

Lei Jun secured the Fire Marrow Yang Fish in the Supreme Purity Golden Bamboo, then knocked Qu Yong unconscious twice while completing the task. As the earthfire receded, Li Xuan and other Celestial Master Mansion disciples entered the Profound Yang Grotto-heaven.

• Lei Jun used the Supreme Purity Golden Bamboo and Vermillion Point Brush to draw the Fire Marrow Yang Fish from the sea of fire, then stored it in the bamboo.
• When Qu Yong awoke, Lei Jun struck him twice with the Magic Ruler and returned to storing the Fire Marrow Yang Fish.
• Lei Jun carried Qu Yong to the Cave Heaven entrance and waited while the earthfire blocked the way out.
• After Qu Yong awoke again, Lei Jun claimed that two Yellow Heaven Path disciples had ambushed him and that he had used the earthfire to kill them.
• As the earthfire receded, Li Xuan and other Celestial Master Mansion disciples entered the Profound Yang Grotto-heaven.

After the Yellow Heaven Path attack on Yang Mountain Separate Residence, Lei Jun returned to the Dragon Tiger Mountain Main Mansion and began refining the Fire Marrow Yang Fish, which sharply accelerated his cultivation. He suspected the opportunity could be expanded and wondered whether a matching yin fish existed.

• Lei Jun and Qu Yong left the Profound Yang Grotto-heaven with Li Xuan after the Yellow Heaven Path fiends were defeated, and Qu Yong later told Li Xuan that Lei Jun's body and vital blood were weaker than those of comparable cultivators.
• The Celestial Master Mansion rebuilt Yang Mountain Separate Residence, pursued the remaining Yellow Heaven Path disciples, and held an Opening the Altar ceremony before sending the young disciples back to the Dragon Tiger Mountain Main Mansion.
• Lei Jun presented the Supreme Purity Golden Bamboo to Yuan Mobai, who explained that his former encounter with Earth Fire Yang Flame had left it for a disciple to find.
• After recuperating, Lei Jun followed Yuan Mobai's instructions and refined the Fire Marrow Yang Fish into the Scripture Recitation Hall on his Dao Foundation Altar.
• The Fire Marrow Yang Fish strengthened Lei Jun's cultivation and seemed to make his consciousness more nimble, leading him to consider whether it offered an Opportunity to Improve Comprehension.
• Lei Jun recalled that the opportunity could be expanded and wondered whether a yin fish might accompany the Fire Marrow Yang Fish.