Chapter Summaries

Jiang Man refused Qin Luoyang’s request to stop reporting misconduct at Spirit Spring Mountain, while Qin Luoyang and Wei Chuan prepared to endure the losses. Jiang Nian returned after failing to secure replacement Spirit Water suppliers and discovered that more of her staff had been taken away, leaving her furious and overwhelmed.

• Qin Luoyang asked Jiang Man to stop filing reports, but Jiang Man said he would continue approving requests and would not interfere with his duties.
• Qin Luoyang and Wei Chuan decided to minimize the damage from the monthly arrests and prepare to operate without making profits for ten years.
• Jiang Nian learned that the Huo Household would not renew its Spirit Water Contract and found that Ancient Sects were refusing or raising prices on supplies.
• Jiang Nian returned to Spirit Spring Mountain and found Qin Luoyang arranging for the Enforcement Hall to take more people away.
• Qin Luoyang told Jiang Nian that more than twenty of her people had been replaced and described measures to reassure them, but Jiang Nian complained that Jiang Man’s actions had made her work nearly impossible.

Jiang Man investigated the Huo and Chen Households after they pulled away from Spirit Spring Mountain, uncovering signs of an Evil God’s influence and evidence against hundreds of people. He summoned Qin Luoyang and Wei Chuan, ordered them to stop investigating the households, and told them to direct the other lineages to watch the Huo Household on December 13.

• Qin Luoyang told Jiang Nian that he would report Spirit Spring Mountain’s shortages to the person in charge, while Jiang Nian prepared to leave and recruit replacements for vacant posts.
• Jiang Man learned that the Huo Household would stop supplying Spirit Water and that the Chen Household might not renew its contract, so he asked Immortal Maiden Liuchu to investigate their dealings with other groups.
• Tantai Xue found traces of an Evil God among several lineages and decided to give Jiang Man her findings so he could draw the hidden players into the open.
• Jiang Man received evidence against two hundred and fifty people and went to Spirit Spring Mountain to meet Qin Luoyang and Wei Chuan.
• Jiang Man ordered Qin Luoyang and Wei Chuan to tell Jiang Nian to stop contacting the Huo Household and to have other lineages watch it on December 13.

Jiang Man’s plan led to the Wuyun Sect wiping out the Huo Household and arresting three Spirit Spring Mountain workers, forcing Jiang Nian’s rivals to back down. Jiang Nian realized the person in charge had acted after all, though she remained baffled by his methods.

• Jiang Nian warned the Shangguan Household Head to watch the Huo Household on December thirteenth, while he assumed she planned to pressure them into accepting a contract.
• Jiang Man gave Teacher Yan a letter, and the Mountain-Suppressing Office and Enforcement Hall mobilized that same day.
• The Wuyun Sect raided the Huo Household and struck it from existence under investigation, shocking the Shangguan Household Head and Jiang Nian.
• Jiang Nian learned that the Mountain-Suppressing Office had arrested three of her workers, then discovered that the Huo Household had been wiped out.
• The Shangguan Household Head offered Jiang Nian a contract with a lower resource allocation, and the three arrested workers accepted embezzlement charges to leave the Mountain-Suppressing Office’s custody.

Jiang Man warned Spirit Spring Mountain’s managers about the Evil God, arranged defenses, and sought allies and ways to improve his cultivation. Peak Master Bai confirmed a Xiang Family connection to an attempt on Jiang Man’s life, and Jiang Man declared he would become an immortal within fifteen years.

• Jiang Man told Spirit Spring Mountain’s managers to guard against the Evil God, set up his formations and trees, and follow Gao Chunyang’s lead in installing the defenses.
• Jiang Man gave Gao Chunyang cultivation guidance, then asked Old Yellow Ox about visiting the Immortal Gate and decided he needed the Daoji Clan’s sealing technique before acting against the altar.
• Jiang Man contacted Mu Kong, who falsely claimed to have reached Foundation Establishment while Yingyue realized he had not.
• Peak Master Bai told Jiang Man that someone from the Xiang Family had contacted an organization to kill him and pointed him toward Xiang Shaoli and Fang Yong.
• Jiang Man asked Peak Master Bai to help him become an immortal and said he would achieve it within fifteen years.

Jiang Man agreed to pursue becoming an immortal within fifteen years as Peak Master Bai proposed a plan for him to compete for the vacant Yao Guang Peak Master position. Meanwhile, Zhao Tiankuo tried to impress Drunken Floating Life with what he had learned about the sealed dragon but discovered the senior already knew more than he did.

• Peak Master Bai agreed to prepare for Jiang Man’s immortal ascension within fifteen years and suggested he compete to become Yao Guang Peak Master instead of entering a main peak as a Student Cultivator.
• Peak Master Bai explained that his support could secure the Sect’s nomination and that Ji Hao could help Jiang Man pass the Immortal Gate’s hurdles; he also outlined the reputation and connections he expected to gain by helping.
• Jiang Man asked Old Yellow Ox whether the plan was feasible, and Old Yellow Ox said Jiang Man’s timing and status gave him a real chance but warned that trouble at Spirit Spring Mountain could damage his prospects.
• Jiang Man decided to contact Zhao Tiankuo about his progress while continuing to prioritize cultivation and the unresolved Daoji Clan and altar matter.
• Zhao Tiankuo told Drunken Floating Life that a powerful true dragon was sealed beneath the water and that the Daoji Clan suppressed it and drew its blood.
• Drunken Floating Life revealed that he already knew about the Daoji Clan and its affliction, leaving Zhao Tiankuo unable to provide more information; Zhao Tiankuo asked for another chance to investigate.

Jiang Man visited Ji Meng at night and learned that the Wuyou Evil God was a member of the Ji Family and the woman Jian Ci had protected, though Ji Meng warned that learning more carried dangers. Meanwhile, leaders of an ancient sect plotted to disrupt Spirit Water trade while avoiding the Water God's plans to attack Spirit Spring Mountain.

• Jiang Man agreed to give Zhao Tiankuo another chance if he established contact with the Daoji Clan, then resumed cultivating.
• Ji Meng explained that becoming Peak Master required a record of responsibility and achievement, and hinted that Jiang Man would need to uncover the Wuyou Evil God's identity.
• Jiang Man visited Ji Meng during the third watch, and she identified Jian Ci as the Ji Family's clan leader and the Wuyou Evil God as his wife, whom Jian Ci had protected.
• Ji Meng explained that powerful secrets could endanger people whose cultivation was too low, then answered Jiang Man's questions about formations.
• Three leaders of an ancient sect discussed disrupting Spirit Water trade and learned that the Water God's people planned to target Spirit Spring Mountain.

Jiang Man investigated suspicious spirit-water shortages and robberies, then took an Enforcement Hall mission to trace stolen spirit water beyond the range of Great Governance. In prison, the Three Rivers Evil God refused to explain his plans until Ren Qian suggested using the information to bargain for Spirit Source and a chance to confront Jiang Man again.

• Jiang Man compared ten years of Spirit Spring Mountain records and suspected the lineages were secretly diverting spirit water, possibly because a third party had intervened.
• After several shipments were robbed and people were injured, Jiang Man reported the incidents and took the Enforcement Hall mission to investigate spirit water stolen beyond the range of Great Governance.
• Ren Qian urged Jiang Man to question the Three Rivers Evil God, who accused Jiang Man of sabotaging him and refused to reveal his plans.
• Jiang Man left the prison when the Three Rivers Evil God would not cooperate, leaving him frustrated that he had not gotten to vent his anger.
• Ren Qian advised the Three Rivers Evil God to trade information for Spirit Source, and the Evil God decided to withhold details until Jiang Man returned and let him earn more.

Jiang Man prepared to investigate the Three Rivers Evil God and the people secretly seizing spirit water, acquiring the Immortal Origin Art and arranging for Fang Yong to impersonate him if needed. As he prepared to leave, Qing Dai learned that the Immortal Gate had raised the cultivation threshold for people on the List to go outside from Primordial Spirit to Ascension Stage.

• Jiang Man planned to investigate the Ancient Sect's spirit-water shipment and considered using Fang Yong to meet the Three Rivers Evil God in his place.
• Jiang Man bought two breaths of immortal qi, claimed the Immortal Origin Art, and asked Old Yellow Ox to study it before his departure.
• Jiang Man warned Fang Yong about a possible Enforcement Hall request and agreed to let him watch for the benefactor's next move.
• Jiang Man gave Little Fatty a Compass and instructions for who to contact if it lit up, then encouraged him to train his combat strength.
• Jiang Man said goodbye to Ji Meng before preparing to leave, and Ji Meng considered taking a mission of her own.
• The Bai Family Ancestor stopped Qing Dai from crossing outside and told her that the Immortal Gate had raised the List's outside-travel threshold to Ascension Stage.

The Bai Family Ancestor reasoned that the Immortal Gate had raised the cultivation limit to let Drunken Floating Life use those on the list as whetstones. Meanwhile, Jiang Man joined an outing from Spirit Spring Mountain, shocked his companions with his sword-art progress, and the Four Symbols Sect arranged for the Four Seas Evil God's people to target the sect’s Spirit Water.

• The Bai Family Ancestor told Qing Dai that the new cultivation limit might be intended to let Drunken Floating Life hone himself against the people on the list, and wondered who had raised such a talent.
• Jiang Man warned Spirit Spring Mountain’s managers about a possible Evil God threat, then set out with Jiang Nian and three other disciples to collect Spirit Water.
• Yang You and the other disciples complained that their person in charge treated them harshly, while Jiang Man asked to borrow their Spirit sources and was refused.
• Jiang Man practiced the Three-Origin Star-Dipper Sword Art during the journey and developed three strands of sword intent within a day, then nine strands by the sixth day, astonishing his companions and frightening Jiang Nian.
• The Four Symbols Sect’s leaders discussed taking Spirit Water and supplies from the Wuyun Sect, then contacted the Four Seas Evil God's people, who demanded Spirit Water in exchange for acting.

Jiang Man mastered the Immortal Origin Art and impressed the Golden Origin Sect by helping its disciples advance while expounding on the Dao. As he and Jiang Nian remained unaware of a sacrifice plot forming around them, black vapor slipped into the Spirit Water at Spirit Spring Mountain.

• Jiang Man studied the Immortal Origin Art and reached great accomplishment in its Heavenly Selection Method after a month and seven more days of cultivation.
• Jiang Nian and her group arrived at the Golden Origin Sect, where the old sect master offered extra spirit water in exchange for three days of instruction.
• Jiang Man accepted three hundred thousand spirit sources to teach the sect, and his first day's explanations helped disciples gain insights and break through.
• A Black-Robed Man and an Immortal Maiden prepared to lure Jiang Nian's group into a formation as sacrifices for the Venerable One's plan.
• At Spirit Spring Mountain, Gao Chunyang patrolled with a Compass while black vapor bypassed the formations and blended into the Spirit Water.

Gao Chunyang’s bald junior brother secretly sabotaged the formation to conceal the Evil God Remnants’ preparations, while Jiang Man’s group was trapped inside a shifting city after a failed ambush. The chapter ended with Little Fatty’s Compass lighting up, prompting him and Luo Xuan to alert Chang Qiwen and seek Cheng Yu and Fang Yong.

• The bald man altered the formation’s core so it would fail to detect certain auras, helping prepare the final step of the Venerable One’s plan.
• After three days of Jiang Man’s lectures, he accepted extra Spirit Source for another day of teaching, then left with Jiang Nian’s group when they learned of a planned meeting at Tiger-Leopard Mountain.
• A black-robed man ambushed Jiang Nian’s group in a mountain range and used a formation to trap them in a shifting city, while their Spirit Water was drawn away.
• Jiang Man’s group hid in an empty house and met two weakened survivors; after hearing that flawless cultivators could resist the city’s effects, Jiang Man declared himself such a genius and began cultivating.
• Little Fatty saw the Compass flare brightly, so he and Luo Xuan summoned Chang Qiwen and contacted Cheng Yu to ask where Fang Yong was.

Little Fatty and Chang Qiwen warned Teacher Yan and the Mountain-Suppressing Office about threats to Spirit Spring Mountain, while Ren Qian learned that the Water God planned to drain the Immortal Gate Territory’s vitality through Nine Provinces Ancient City. Inside the ancient city, Jiang Man continued cultivating through the dangerous night as the black-robed people prepared to hunt the geniuses trapped there.

• Little Fatty and Chang Qiwen brought Jiang Man’s glowing Evil God-detecting Compass to Teacher Yan, who rushed to the Enforcement Hall after seeing it point to Spirit Spring Mountain.
• Tantai Xue discovered that spirit water was converging toward the sea, and she and Tantai Xiaotian realized Spirit Spring Mountain was in danger.
• Fang Yong unsettled the Three Rivers Evil God, who told Ren Qian that the Water God planned to use Nine Provinces Ancient City to drain the Immortal Gate Territory’s vitality.
• The weakened man warned Jiang Man and the others against cultivating after dark, but an oil lamp lit itself and Jiang Man continued cultivating without harm.
• Xia Hui wondered whether Jiang Man had a close friend she could marry, while the black-robed people plotted to find and drain the blood of the geniuses inside the city.

Jiang Man and the others entered Nine Provinces Ancient City to find an ancient room, and Jiang Man discovered that his presence lit the city’s lanterns and drove back the darkness. Meanwhile, Tantai Xue entered a hidden space above the Sea Region to investigate the draining Spirit Water.

• Jiang Man agreed to guide Guan Li and Tian Xinyu to an ancient room in exchange for helping them escape alive.
• Jiang Man killed three black-robed pursuers at the entrance, and the lanterns lit up around him, scattering the darkness.
• Guan Li led Jiang Man’s group toward an ancient temple, where two black-robed guards waited as the darkness began to recede.
• Tantai Xiaotian warned Tantai Xue that an Evil God might be recovering power through Nine Provinces Ancient City, but Tantai Xue entered the hidden space to try to stop the Spirit Water from draining.

Jiang Man explored two Ancient Temples, recorded two fragments of the Nine Provinces Earth Flower, and discovered clues about the formations leading to the city’s core and an inheritance hidden in an ancient mirror. Meanwhile, the people behind the altar discussed Jiang Man as a threat and planned to trap him while advancing their scheme.

• Jiang Man defeated and searched two Black-Robed Men outside the first Ancient Temple, then touched its statue and learned that its Earth Flower fragment revealed the Star Rotation Grand Formation.
• Jiang Man declined the temple trial, let his companions collect unusual bones, and continued onward while defeating and searching more groups of Black-Robed Men for Spirit Sources.
• Jiang Man and his companions reached a second Ancient Temple, where he recorded another Earth Flower fragment and learned that the fourth formation was the Heavenly Cycle Star River Grand Formation.
• Jiang Nian found an inscription beside a bronze mirror, and Jiang Man used the Spirit Blossom Immortal Spirit to translate it as instructions for receiving the Nine Provinces Inheritance with nine sticks of incense.
• At the altar, Old Black, Miss Bai, and the man in charge discussed Jiang Man’s arrival, the ancient mirror, and plans to trap him and accelerate their harvesting scheme.

Ji Meng asked Teacher Yan for a mission to the Sea Region, while Jiang Man investigated the ancient mirror and searched for the remaining Ancient Temples. The enemy raised its cultivators’ power to confront him, and Old Black headed toward the lit street where Jiang Man had been spotted.

• Ji Meng told Teacher Yan she planned to leave for the Sea Region the next day, and Teacher Yan offered to find her a mission through the Enforcement Hall.
• Jiang Man learned that worshipping the Primordial Mountain and Sea Mirror could unleash a deadly backlash, so he refused to take it and led his companions toward the other Ancient Temples and the city core.
• Jiang Man’s group found and questioned black-robed men, eventually reaching the third Ancient Temple; after they left, their cultivation suppression shifted and Guan Li’s Golden Core cultivation began recovering.
• The man on the blood-colored Altar learned that Jiang Man was killing his people and ordered Old Black to find and trap him, while arranging to strengthen their forces and report the Leakless Heavenly Pride.
• Jiang Man found the third Ancient Temple and touched its Earth Flower, then sensed that the city’s suppression had changed; he hurried his group toward the fourth temple.
• Old Black’s power rose beyond the Return to the Void Middle Stage, and after his people spotted a lit street, he went to find Jiang Man.

Jiang Man defeated Old Black and was allowed to roam the ancient city while its leaders prepared to contain him. Meanwhile, Tantai Xue faced a blockade as Spirit Water was drawn away, and she began an attempt to become an immortal.

• Old Black attacked Jiang Man in Light Street, but Jiang Man endured his spells and revealed overwhelming strength with nine Greater Yangs before forcing him to his knees.
• A phantom ordered the city’s leaders to leave Jiang Man alone unless he interfered with their plan, and they told everyone to avoid the illuminated areas.
• Tantai Xue tried to reach the Spirit Water’s destination, but a group of cultivators blocked her and argued that she could not change the outcome in time.
• Tantai Xiaotian said he could help Tantai Xue approach the Spirit Water quickly, and Tantai Xue recognized the unusual conditions as a chance to advance.
• Tantai Xue released an aura that formed a flight of steps and declared, “Today, I will become an immortal.”

Tantai Xue used the pressure of her ascension to cut off the Spirit Water and began becoming an Immortal, while Ji Hao protected her from an Immortal’s attack. Elsewhere, Jiang Man reached the fourth ancient temple with Old Black, who tried to coax him into entering its trials.

• Tantai Xue climbed the nine steps of her ascension and used the pressure of heaven and earth to repel her attackers and sever the streams of Spirit Water.
• Tantai Xue began absorbing the Spirit Water from the spring, but an Immortal attacked her until Ji Hao killed him with a sword strike.
• The Shen Family's clan uncle and his companions discovered that the Spirit Water plan had failed and worried about the lost reserves and the object in Nine Provinces Ancient City.
• Jiang Man searched Old Black and the others, collected their Spirit Sources, and made Old Black lead him to the fourth ancient temple.
• Old Black urged Jiang Man to attempt the temple's trials, but Jiang Man ignored him and walked up to the statue of a little girl.

Jiang Man gathered the formation answers, then bypassed the trials and entered the core area of Nine Provinces Ancient City, astonishing the people who had been watching him. He left his companions to study the runes and guard Old Black, then went deeper and encountered the Nine Provinces Imperial Preceptor, who offered an inheritance instead of Spirit Sources.

• Jiang Man learned the Heaven Water Grand Formation and confirmed all four formation answers, then asked Old Black to lead him to the core.
• Jiang Man passed through all four gates and entered the core area, leaving Miss Bai and the others stunned and unable to interfere.
• Jiang Man found cultivation runes on a hill, and Jiang Nian, Yang You, Guan Li, and the others stayed behind to study them while Jiang Man continued onward.
• Jiang Man assigned Jiang Nian to keep Old Black alive so the sect could exchange him for three hundred thousand Spirit Sources.
• Jiang Man ignored misleading inscriptions promising a Spirit Sword, then heard the Nine Provinces Imperial Preceptor explain that the promise was false.
• Jiang Man rejected the Imperial Preceptor's inheritance and asked where he was, since the sect needed what the Imperial Preceptor possessed.

Jiang Man explored the Nine Provinces Imperial Preceptor’s emptied treasury, learned that past Heavenly Prides had taken most of its treasures, and recorded the Hunyuan Heaven and Earth Cauldron. He then offered to bring the Imperial Preceptor back to the Wuyun Sect, admitting he hoped to earn Spirit Sources for it.

• Jiang Man learned that previous visitors had taken the treasures from the garden, and the Nine Provinces Imperial Preceptor named several of them, including Venerable Sun-Moon and Ting Fengyin.
• The Nine Provinces Imperial Preceptor offered Jiang Man the Primordial Mountain and Sea Mirror and the Hunyuan Heaven and Earth Cauldron, but Jiang Man recognized the mirror’s dangerous backlash and insisted on checking the cauldron first.
• Jiang Man examined the cauldron and recorded it with the Heavenly Mirror of a Hundred Books, gaining a claim to one wisp of spell arts purple qi.
• The Nine Provinces Imperial Preceptor explained that the remaining stones offered legacies and cultivation insights, then said he planned to wait for someone destined to receive the legacy.
• Jiang Man urged the Nine Provinces Imperial Preceptor to take a position at the Wuyun Sect and revealed that bringing him back could earn several hundred thousand Spirit Sources.

Jiang Man left Nine Provinces Ancient City with temporary lodging and the Mountain-Sea Mirror, while the Heaven and Earth Cauldron appeared above the Sea Region and sparked a battle between the Immortal Gate and the Evil God’s forces. Tantai Xue became an immortal and warned that the cauldron’s uncertain backlash might be part of the Water God’s plan; Jiang Man began preparing to cultivate and test the mirror.

• Jiang Man asked the Nine Provinces Imperial Preceptor about leaving the city and received a safe temporary residence for himself and his companions.
• The Shen Family Clan Uncle and his companions moved toward the Spring Eye, where the Heaven and Earth Cauldron appeared and the Immortal Gate clashed with the Evil God’s people.
• Tantai Xue learned from Tantai Xiaotian that the cauldron carried severe backlash, and she chose not to absorb its power.
• Tantai Xue warned Ji Hao that the Water God might be using an outsider’s death to spread the cauldron’s backlash, and Ji Hao went to alert the Evil God’s forces.
• Jiang Man arrived at the floating residence above the sea, took out the Mountain-Sea Mirror, and decided to test it.