Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yi shared a year-end meal with his neighbors in the Large Compound as they discussed their plans and changing fortunes. After returning to his room, he ate Iron Pellets, considered the resources he might gain as an Inner Peaks disciple, and fell asleep dreaming of becoming a revered patriarch.

• He Laohun and Widow Qin prepared a meal while Widow Qin scolded Jiang Yi for supporting Luo Xiaoniangzi, and Old Li and his wife argued over his plans to work at a dangerous mine.
• Jiang Yi toasted the group and said he might go down the mountain with Duty Officer Yang, while Widow Qin urged him to look after himself.
• He Laohun told Jiang Yi that Sewing Peak was prospering and that Zhou Can's prospects were improving, prompting Widow Qin to suspect Luo Xiaoniangzi had stopped visiting for that reason.
• Jiang Yi returned to his room, ate Iron Pellets to nourish himself, and thought about the opportunities that becoming an Inner Peaks disciple could bring.
• Jiang Yi fell asleep and dreamed that Heaven had weakened cultivators across the Jambudvipa Vast Land and that he was revered as the founding patriarch of a Dao Lineage.

Luo Tong celebrated Zhou Can’s help and urged Luo Qian’er to favor him over Jiang Yi, while Jiang Yi used the Heavenly Book to evaluate the risks and rewards of traveling down the mountain. He decided to seek a safe way to obtain a promising master-disciple lineage, and the Heavenly Book began a fifteen-day deduction.

• Luo Tong told Luo Qian’er that Zhou Can had introduced him to Xu Yan and arranged help, and he urged her to keep her distance from Jiang Yi.
• Luo Qian’er dismissed Luo Tong’s advice and privately wished she could stay close to Jiang Yi while keeping her comfortable residence and status.
• Jiang Yi checked his cultivation and found that his Lesser Forging Origin Fire-Control Art had reached great mastery.
• Jiang Yi asked the Heavenly Book about possible mountain-trip rewards, learning that rare cinnabar at auction was least harmful, an overlooked eighth-grade method formula was most dangerous, and a master-disciple lineage offered the best combination of likelihood and returns.
• Jiang Yi asked the Heavenly Book for a safe way to obtain the master-disciple lineage, beginning a fifteen-day deduction.

Jiang Yi guided Li Ruohan through her Qi circulation, earning her gratitude, two Essence-Nourishing Pills, and a loan of a hundred and fifty thousand in Talisman Money. He returned to Crimson Flame Peak planning to use his gains on a trip down the mountain and pursue a breakthrough to the fifth realm.

• Jiang Yi corrected Li Ruohan's cultivation technique and told her she could attempt another breakthrough in about twenty days.
• Li Ruohan thanked Jiang Yi and gave him two Essence-Nourishing Pills as a token of appreciation.
• Li Ruohan offered Jiang Yi an Attendant position with the Bojun Li Clan, but he declined to commit and asked to borrow money instead.
• Li Ruohan agreed to lend Jiang Yi a hundred and fifty thousand in Talisman Money.
• Jiang Yi returned to Crimson Flame Peak with the pills and money, intending to seek a fortuitous encounter during his trip down the mountain.

Jiang Yi used two Essence-Nourishing Pills to make major progress toward the fifth level of Qi Refining, then prepared to descend the mountain with Grandpa for Three Harmonies Ward Market. Meanwhile, Zhou Can pressured Zeng Shun into accepting a Seven Baleful Needle and ordering him to assassinate Luo Tong.

• Jiang Yi swallowed two Essence-Nourishing Pills in the snowy woods and endured hours of pain as he refined their medicinal power.
• Jiang Yi opened the brain's gate, sharpened his senses, felt lighter, and expelled bloody phlegm filled with black particles.
• Jiang Yi planned to go down the mountain with Grandpa the next day and heard that they would visit Three Harmonies Ward Market.
• Zhou Can gave Zeng Shun a Seven Baleful Needle and instructed him to kill Luo Tong during their trip to Heart-Seizing Forest.
• Zeng Shun hesitated over murdering a Mortal Laborer, but Zhou Can threatened him until he accepted the needle.
• Zhou Can left, dreaming of earning a White Bone Dharma Sword and founding a Qi Refining Clan.

Jiang Yi set out with Yang Xun and He Laohun for Three Harmonies Ward, learning about talisman rules and traveling by Land Boat. The journey began with the unexpected appearance of the Great Talisman Sect’s Exquisite Dharma Tower, leaving Yang Xun wondering whether a Foundation Establishment True Person was aboard.

• Jiang Yi packed his money and supplies for the trip, and Widow Qin gave him extra Talisman Money while asking him to bring back red shortbread candy.
• Jiang Yi, He Laohun, and Yang Xun set off from Crimson Flame Peak, and Yang Xun gave Jiang Yi Jia Ma Talismans and explained the Great Talisman Sect’s control over talisman-making.
• Yang Xun took Jiang Yi and He Laohun to the Boat and Carriage Station, where he bought two second-class tickets and one third-class ticket; He Laohun volunteered for third class.
• Jiang Yi rode in the second-class carriage with Yang Xun as the Land Boat traveled through the mountains.
• A huge flying tower descended through the clouds, and Yang Xun identified it as the Great Talisman Sect’s Exquisite Dharma Tower.

Jiang Yi and Yang Xun arrived at Three Harmonies Ward, where they saw the hardships facing cultivators without ties to a Dharma Lineage. After witnessing how desperate life in the ward could be, Jiang Yi reaffirmed his determination to pursue cultivation and entered the marketplace with Yang Xun and He Laohun.

• Jiang Yi and Yang Xun watched the Exquisite Dharma Tower of the Great Talisman Sect streak across the sky, and Yang Xun reflected on his unfulfilled hopes of advancing in cultivation.
• Jiang Yi, Yang Xun, and He Laohun arrived at Three Harmonies Ward, where He Laohun revealed that scammers had nearly stolen his money aboard the land boat.
• Yang Xun and He Laohun showed Jiang Yi the shabby outskirts, explaining how cultivators without Identity Verification Slips were forced to seek precarious daily work.
• Jiang Yi watched desperate cultivators compete for jobs at a Fire-Cloud Stone mine and heard Yang Xun explain why people endured hardship rather than abandon cultivation.
• Jiang Yi resolved to keep pursuing the Dao despite its difficulties, and the three entered the marketplace proper.

Jiang Yi explored Three Harmonies Ward with He Laohun and visited the True Gu Sect’s Five Solitary Hall to seek medicinal ingredients and insect Gu. He arranged to reserve several goods with a deposit while he waited for the Heavenly Book to guide him about his master-inheritance.

• Jiang Yi parted from He Laohun and followed Yang Xun’s instructions to secure rooms at Dai Tower.
• Jiang Yi met He Laohun on Double Abundance Street, where He Laohun explained the local trade and led him toward shops selling medicinal ingredients.
• He Laohun showed Jiang Yi Five Solitary Hall and explained how the True Gu Sect exploited Mortal Laborers and used cultivators to test its medicines.
• Jiang Yi asked the Five Solitary Hall steward about Primordial Essence medicines and live insects and Gu, including Fish-Dragon Gu and Snake Flood Dragon Gu.
• Jiang Yi told the steward he belonged to Qianji Sect’s Crimson Flame Peak and left a twenty-thousand-Talisman-Money deposit to reserve goods for ten days.

Jiang Yi learned that a Great Talisman Sect True Person had sealed Northern Mang Ridge for three thousand miles, disrupting Yang Xun’s plans to gather materials. As Jiang Yi resolved to focus on cultivation, the chapter revealed that a young Great Talisman Sect cultivator was struggling to maintain the seal while his master pursued a mysterious Little Ancestor.

• Jiang Yi parted from He Laohun, who hurried into an alley to meet an old acquaintance, then returned to Dai Tower.
• Yang Xun told Jiang Yi that a Great Talisman Sect True Person had sealed Northern Mang Ridge with one talisman, delaying the collection of materials and restricting powerful cultivators.
• Jiang Yi heard rumors about why the Great Talisman Sect had sealed the region, thanked Yang Xun, and decided to keep cultivating rather than be deterred by powerful sects.
• A young Great Talisman Sect cultivator complained that he had been left to sustain the seal while his master was away fighting an enemy.
• The young cultivator told the Dharma Tower's Artifact Spirit to send the Illuminating Nether Sect and True Gu Sect elders away, then prayed that his master would win and return.

Jiang Yi visited Knowing Truth Garden with He Laohun and won a rare Hanyuan Pill at its Gambling Pool. He planned to have He Laohun inform Yang Xun and return with Grandpa, keeping the pill secure until then.

• Jiang Yi went to Knowing Truth Garden with He Laohun to enjoy a day away from cultivation.
• He Laohun explained that visitors fed Spirit Bait to the Copper Fish in the garden’s Gambling Pool for a chance to win prizes.
• He Laohun tried the pool first but won nothing, while another visitor won a fourth-class prize.
• Jiang Yi scattered his Spirit Bait into the pool and caught a second-class prize: a jade token redeemable for one Hanyuan Pill.
• An attendant brought Jiang Yi the Hanyuan Pill and assured him it had been bought from the Illuminating Nether Sect’s Tiantong Marketplace.
• Jiang Yi put the pill in a jade vial and planned to have He Laohun notify Yang Xun so he could return with Grandpa.

After winning a Hanyuan Pill at Knowing Truth Garden, Jiang Yi entered the Dueling Arts Pavilion with Gui Cong and learned that its fighters were enslaved cultivators trained through ungraded methods. He left before the match began, troubled by the exploitation behind the spectacle.

• Jiang Yi won a Hanyuan Pill, considered selling it to help cover Yang Xun's ritual expenses, and asked He Laohun to fetch Yang Xun as an escort.
• Jiang Yi explored the Dueling Arts Pavilion after Gui Cong vouched for him and invited him inside.
• Gui Cong explained that the pavilion bought Dharma Slaves from the Yin Puppet Sect and staged fights between cultivators trained in secret methods.
• Jiang Yi remarked that the Dao Lineages' rule amounted to eating people, then asked where the Yin Puppet Sect's Dharma Slaves came from.
• After Gui Cong described the enslaved fighters and their impending battle, Jiang Yi excused himself and left the pavilion.

Jiang Yi learned that the Great Talisman Sect’s blockade had disrupted trade and forced Yang Xun to change their cultivation plans. The Heavenly Book revealed chances for Jiang Yi to study under elders of either the True Gu Sect or the Illuminating Nether Sect, then began to show him a third opportunity.

• Yang Xun refused Jiang Yi’s offer of the Hanyuan Pill and took him back to Dai Tower to discuss their plans.
• Yang Xun explained that the blockade had stalled trade and decided to prepare the Water Pool and Fire Marsh ritual in Three Harmonies Ward so Jiang Yi could advance to the fifth level of Qi Refining.
• Yang Xun told Jiang Yi he had planned to provide Ding Fire Bright Hall Qi to help him open the Origin Gate’s Inner Mansion and gather Spirit Chance.
• Jiang Yi consulted the Heavenly Book and learned he could attract an elder of the True Gu Sect by refining a Snake Flood Dragon Gu, or catch an Illuminating Nether Sect elder’s attention by winning ten bets.
• Jiang Yi hesitated over leaving Yang Xun to join either lineage, and the Golden Paper began revealing a third opportunity.

Jiang Yi used the Heavenly Book to plan his breakthrough to the Fifth Level of Qi Refining and arranged to attempt it at Knowing Truth Garden. Yang Xun took him to meet Lord Lu of the Dongping Lu Clan, where Lord Lu’s grandson Lu Xuan asked Jiang Yi about his impending breakthrough.

• Jiang Yi set aside the three Master-Inheritance encounters and decided to learn more before choosing a path.
• Jiang Yi asked the Heavenly Book about his breakthrough chances and received an eighty-eight percent estimate.
• The Heavenly Book named Knowing Truth Garden’s Earth Number Seven meditation chamber as the auspicious place for Jiang Yi to break through two days later.
• Jiang Yi learned that his cultivation had advanced from fifty-eight to sixty-two percent of the Fourth Level of Qi Refining.
• Yang Xun brought Jiang Yi to meet Lord Lu, the chief steward of Three Harmonies Ward, and introduced him to Lu Xuan, his grandson.
• Lu Xuan asked Jiang Yi whether he was about to break through to the Fifth Level of Qi Refining.

Jiang Yi and Yang Xun secured the materials for Jiang Yi’s Vitality-Raising Ritual Ceremony from Old Master Lu, enduring Lu Xuan’s insults and accepting that they had to yield to the Lu Clan for now. Meanwhile, a Golden Talisman located the young cultivator’s whereabouts at Longhua Mountain, sending Northern Mang Ridge’s sect elders there.

• Lu Xuan belittled Jiang Yi’s cultivation, but Jiang Yi humbly praised Lu Xuan until the young clan heir was pleased with himself.
• Old Master Lu agreed to sell Yang Xun superior-grade cold jade and fire-cloud stone, and Yang Xun paid for the ritual materials.
• Yang Xun and Jiang Yi left Old Master Lu’s residence, where Yang Xun comforted Jiang Yi and reflected that their fortunes might someday reverse.
• The little Artifact Spirit told the young cultivator that the twelfth-level Qi Refining elders were still kneeling, and the young cultivator complained that he had been ordered to seal Northern Mang Ridge.
• The Golden Talisman identified Longhua Mountain as the place where the little ancestor had been found, and the Artifact Spirit ordered Illuminating Nether and True Gu to send people there.
• The sect elders departed for Longhua Mountain after an elder from the True Gu Sect warned them to respect the power of the grand sects.

Jiang Yi used an eighth-grade Water Pool and Fire Marsh ritual to refine his essence and spirit and break through the Fourth Realm’s cultivation barrier. He opened the Origin Gate, completing the first step toward the Fifth Realm of Qi Refining.

• Jiang Yi prepared for his breakthrough by resting for two days and entering the meditation chamber at an auspicious hour.
• Yang Xun explained the Water Pool and Fire Marsh ritual and encouraged Jiang Yi before he began.
• Jiang Yi removed his clothing, coated himself with Golden Paste, and sat in the ritual to refine his body with water and fire.
• Jiang Yi burned and condensed his true lead into a Qi pellet, bringing his Fourth Level cultivation to perfection.
• Jiang Yi joined his will to the Qi pellet and drove it through the Heavenly Gate, opening the Origin Gate.

Jiang Yi opened his Origin Gate and established his Inner Manor, reaching the Fifth Level of Qi Refining after five days in seclusion. He emerged to Yang Xun’s joy and left Lord Lu and Lu Xuan stunned by his success.

• Jiang Yi awakened to the subtleties of the world within his mind and learned that harvesting Spirit Chance required a type suited to his cultivation method.
• Jiang Yi petitioned the Heavenly Book and confirmed that his cultivation progress had reached 13% of the Fifth Level of Qi Refining.
• Yang Xun waited outside Jiang Yi’s chamber as Lord Lu and Lu Xuan visited and questioned whether Jiang Yi would succeed.
• Spiritual Qi surged from the meditation chamber, and a steward of Knowing Truth Garden came to investigate before the Qi settled back inside.
• Jiang Yi opened the chamber door, announced that he had reached the Fifth Level of Qi Refining, and Yang Xun celebrated his success.

After Jiang Yi reached the fifth level of Qi Refining, Yang Xun celebrated his achievement and planned their return to the Qianji Sect. Jiang Yi then revealed his insights into improving the Lesser Forging Origin Fire-Control Art, leaving Yang Xun astonished and newly enlightened.

• Lord Lu tried to recruit Jiang Yi for the Yin Puppet Sect, but Yang Xun refused and said Jiang Yi would enter the Qianji Sect's Azure Cloud Path.
• Lord Lu reassured his grandson Lu Xuan that the clan would provide Spirit Chances to help him surpass Jiang Yi.
• Yang Xun praised Jiang Yi for reaching the fifth level of Qi Refining and proposed returning to the Qianji Sect to plan his Inner Peaks place.
• Jiang Yi used the Heavenly Book to obtain guidance on improving a cultivation method and gathering more Spirit Chances.
• Jiang Yi explained how the Lesser Forging Origin Fire-Control Art could be improved, and Yang Xun listened as he spoke for a day and night.
• Yang Xun gained a new understanding of the art and asked Jiang Yi what he would call his exposition; Jiang Yi named it “Answering the Old Man Beneath the Couch's Question.”

Jiang Yi concealed his unusual Dao insight from others and resolved to perform the Heavenly Book’s ritual to summon the Exalted One. As he prepared, elders from the Illuminating Nether Sect and True Gu Sect arrived at Longhua Mountain.

• Yang Xun urged Jiang Yi to keep his Spell Refinement talent and Dao wisdom secret, fearing the sect leader would force him to cultivate the Cloud-Walking Rain-Generating True Spirit Art.
• Yang Xun decided to seek spiritual objects to help Jiang Yi raise the grade of the Lesser Forging Origin Fire-Control Art, while Jiang Yi left to pursue his own plans.
• After two days of cultivation, Jiang Yi consolidated his fifth-level Qi Refining realm and considered the dangers of joining a sect Dharma Lineage.
• Jiang Yi chose to follow the Heavenly Book’s ritual instructions, which called for preparing strips of Long-Feathered Pheasant breast and presenting them at a shack on Double Abundance Street.
• As Jiang Yi left Dai Tower to make preparations, two streaks of traveling light shattered Three Harmonies Ward’s barriers, announcing the arrival of elders from the Illuminating Nether Sect and True Gu Sect.

Jiang Yi helped Yang Xun refine his cultivation method, and Yang Xun broke through to the sixth level of Qi Refining. The chapter ended with Jiang Yi urging his grandfather to aim for the seventh level while preparing to upgrade the method again.

• Jiang Yi and He Laohun walked through Three Harmonies Ward as the two sect elders’ cultivation caused extreme shifts in the weather.
• Jiang Yi prepared spirit-bird soup for Yang Xun and froze the pheasant breast meat for the final steps of the Rite of Fulfillment.
• Yang Xun emerged from seclusion after breaking through to the sixth level of Qi Refining, then went with Jiang Yi to visit Lord Lu.
• Lord Lu grew furious at Yang Xun’s breakthrough, while Lu Xuan boasted that he would reach the seventh level after entering the Yin Puppet Sect’s Inner Peaks.
• Jiang Yi and Yang Xun reviewed the upgraded Lesser Origin Fire-Control Art, and Jiang Yi advised Yang Xun to refine Brilliant Flame Qi from Northern Mang Ridge’s firecloud ore veins.
• Jiang Yi said he could upgrade the cultivation method again and urged Yang Xun to strive for the seventh level.

Yang Xun devoted himself to cultivation and began selling his properties to fund Jiang Yi’s advancement, while Jiang Yi used the Heavenly Book to check for danger at Knowing Truth Garden. There, Jiang Yi encountered Lu Xuan, who had lost money betting on spell-slave fights and asked him for a loan.

• Yang Xun said he would sell his shops and other holdings to buy Jiang Yi cultivation resources and a Law Artifact.
• Jiang Yi left offerings for the [Supreme Venerable] and returned to find Yang Xun had cultivated through the night.
• Yang Xun took Jiang Yi to Knowing Truth Garden to sell his properties, and Jiang Yi divined that his visit held neither good fortune nor danger.
• Jiang Yi saw Lu Xuan at the Dueling Arts Pavilion after Lu Xuan lost money betting on fights.
• Lu Xuan asked Jiang Yi to lend him thirty thousand Talisman Money or place bets on a fighter he believed would win.

Jiang Yi used Lu Xuan to place ten winning bets at the Dueling Arts Pavilion, drawing the attention of an Illuminating Nether Sect elder seeking a promising disciple. Lu Xuan mistook the fortune for his own achievement and eagerly went to meet the elder, while Jiang Yi remained downstairs with the winnings.

• Jiang Yi agreed to partner with Lu Xuan at the Dueling Arts Pavilion, choosing fighters while Lu Xuan placed the bets.
• Jiang Yi’s choices won repeatedly, turning their thirty-thousand Talisman Money stake into several hundred thousand and completing ten consecutive wins.
• An Illuminating Nether Sect elder heard of the streak and summoned Lu Xuan, believing him to be a fortunate and promising talent.
• Lu Xuan arranged for the five hundred and ninety thousand Talisman Money to be given to Jiang Yi, then hurried upstairs to meet the elder.
• Lu Xuan prostrated himself before the yellow-crowned Daoist and introduced himself as a junior paying respects to an Illuminating Nether Sect high cultivator.