Chapter Summaries

Wang Ba failed to find White Dragon Sulfur, but Yuan Wenzhi agreed to gather materials for the Wu Ape King and left Zhang Tailai to guard him. Meanwhile, the Xuli Sect and the other great sects reacted to Shen Fu’s growing influence, and their representatives arrived at Wang Ba’s residence just as the second layer of the Exquisite Ghost Market was about to open.

• Yuan Wenzhi and Zhang Tailai visited Wang Ba, said they could not obtain White Dragon Sulfur, and agreed to gather other materials for the Wu Ape King’s breakthrough.
• Yuan Wenzhi said the complete set of materials could only be found at Zhenling Palace, then left Zhang Tailai nearby to protect Wang Ba.
• At the Xuli Sect, Lin Boyue learned that Shen Fu’s Spirit Chicken Essence had attracted Gold Core cultivators and sharply reduced Spirit Rice sales.
• Lin Boyue sent Zhuang Yi and Wang Tang to Returning Wind Valley and Danlong Gate to coordinate a cut of the Spirit Chicken Essence revenue and test Shen Fu’s connections.
• Bu Chan successfully cast the Ten Thousand Vines Technique while Wang Ba refined Spirit Chicken Essence, and representatives from the Three Great Sects came to visit on the day the Exquisite Ghost Market’s second layer was set to open.

Wang Ba faced an attempt by the Three Great Sects to claim sixty percent of his Spirit Chicken Essence revenue, but Zhang Tailai’s intervention disrupted their pressure and exposed the possibility of rogue cultivators rallying around Wang Ba. After Danlong Gate’s True Person Zhang offered limited help and hinted at recruiting him, Wang Ba traveled to the newly opened second floor of the Exquisite Ghost Market, where he spotted someone familiar.

• Zhuang Yi, Yan Qing, and True Person Zhang visited Wang Ba and proposed that he surrender sixty percent of his Spirit Chicken Essence revenue to the Three Great Sects.
• Zhang Tailai arrived and challenged Zhuang Yi, declaring that he and other Gold Core rogue cultivators supported Wang Ba and might form a sect around him.
• Zhuang Yi reconsidered the danger of Wang Ba gaining rogue cultivator allies and postponed the revenue agreement, while True Person Zhang offered some spiritual materials and hinted at recruiting Wang Ba.
• Wang Ba arranged for Bu Chan to guard the third-tier formation, then used a Teleportation Talisman to travel toward the Exquisite Ghost Market.
• Wang Ba entered the market’s newly opened second floor and saw a familiar figure near the Teleportation Array.

Lin Boyue decided to have Shen Fu killed covertly while the Xuli Sect prepared to seize Zhenling Palace. In the Exquisite Ghost Market, Tang Ji recognized Shen Fu’s extraordinary beast-taming research and tried to secure him a teacher, but Senior Brother Qi rejected him; another powerful cultivator then contacted Tang Ji about Shen Fu’s wealth.

• Lin Boyue rejected a direct attack on the rogue cultivators and ordered Wang Tang to arrange for Cao Xiang to curse-kill Shen Fu, while secretly anticipating Zhang Daobai’s death.
• Wang Ba reunited with Tang Ji in the Exquisite Ghost Market, discussed his circumstances, and used Tang Ji’s spirit tea to refine his spirit-beast breeding formulas.
• Tang Ji studied Wang Ba’s notebook, was astonished by his ideas about restoring ancestral spirit-beast bloodlines, and promised to find him a teacher when he reached the Third Layer.
• Tang Ji told Wang Ba that Zhao Feng had formed his Gold Core, gave him a protective Incense Token, and accepted Wang Ba’s gift of two hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Tang Ji recommended Shen Fu to Senior Brother Qi, but Qi dismissed him for lacking a Third Tier Spirit Beast and having failed the Hundred Questions Tower, then set off for the Great Yan Dynasty to seek another candidate.
• A cultivator contacted Tang Ji and asked about the wealthy young man in his care, startling Tang Ji with memories of the caller’s power.

Tang Ji failed to dissuade Senior Brother Yao from rushing to take Shen Fu as his disciple, while Cao Xiang’s curse on Shen Fu backfired and afflicted Cao Xiang and Wang Tang. Wang Ba discovered Incense Dao cultivators in an underground gathering and alerted the Three Great Sects, then realized someone had cursed him just before urgent visitors arrived at his gate.

• Tang Ji tried to discourage Senior Brother Yao from taking Shen Fu as his disciple, but Senior Brother Yao decided to travel to him immediately.
• Cao Xiang used the Curse-Killing Technique against Shen Fu, but the curse rebounded as Hundred-Life Defilement and began afflicting Cao Xiang and Wang Tang.
• Wang Ba sensed a connection to the Yin God Lineage, found Incense Dao cultivators in an underground rogue cultivator gathering, and carried unconscious captives toward Yongan City.
• A hidden figure destroyed the underground gathering, while Wang Ba used a Heavenly Thunder Seed to alert the Three Great Sects and returned home by Teleportation Talisman.
• Wang Ba told Bu Chan about the Incense Dao and realized that someone had used a Curse Technique on him as urgent knocking sounded at his gate.

Wang Ba survived the Xuli Sect’s attempt to curse him and realized someone in Yongan City was secretly helping the Incense Dao. Lin Boyue misread Zhang Tailai as a hidden expert, ordered an investigation, and the chapter ended with blood raining in the North.

• Wang Ba kept Zhang Tailai at his residence with wine while a Xuli Sect disciple checked that he was safe.
• Wang Ba and Bu Chan inferred that someone had used a second Heavenly Thunder Seed to conceal the Incense Dao cultivators’ presence.
• Wang Ba recognized that the Xuli Sect had cursed him and restored the Hundred-Life Soul-Defiling Curse around his Spiritual Platform Temple.
• Zhuang Yi reported Wang Ba’s survival and Wang Tang’s death to Lin Boyue, who blamed Zhang Tailai for secretly blocking the curse.
• Lin Boyue refused to seize Zhang Tailai and ordered Zhuang Yi to investigate his abilities and weaknesses.
• Three days later, blood rained from the sky in the North.

Li Ji arrived in Yongan City to collect Spirit Chicken Essence, where the Three Great Sects were using the threat of Incense Dao to arrest Rogue Cultivators and tighten their control. As the city’s unrest deepened, Wang Ba received a recruitment offer from Zhang Jin and grew wary of an impending crackdown; the chapter ended with Zhang Tailai welcoming his returning big brother.

• Li Ji entered Yongan City, was falsely accused of belonging to the Incense Dao, and was rescued when Wang Ba intervened.
• Li Ji told Wang Ba that the arrests might be a pretext for the Three Great Sects to eliminate Rogue Cultivators before moving against Zhenling Palace, then left with Spirit Chicken Essence.
• Wang Ba bought supreme-grade Heavenly Thunder Seeds and talismans for Bu Chan as the sects intensified arrests and barred people from leaving the city.
• After Rogue Cultivators’ escape plot was exposed, Wang Ba suspected the Three Great Sects were dividing and purging them, then received Zhang Jin’s offer to join Danlong Gate and obtained four materials for the Wu Ape King.
• A tall scholar-like figure descended outside Wang Ba’s residence, and Zhang Tailai greeted him as his long-awaited big brother.

Wang Ba used the spirit materials Yuan Wenzhi brought to attempt the Wu Ape King's bloodline breakthrough, but it stalled just short of the third tier. Yan Qing then offered Returning Wind Valley's support and more materials in exchange for Wang Ba's help balancing the Three Great Sects, while Lin Boyue prepared to move against Zhenling Palace.

• Yuan Wenzhi gave Wang Ba six spirit materials, including the final four needed for the Wu Ape King's breakthrough formula, and agreed to stay in Yongan City with Zhang Tailai.
• Wang Ba took the Wu Ape King into the mountains and used the prepared medicine, but the beast's transformation stopped before it reached the third tier because he lacked a Third-Tier Spirit Beast Inner Core.
• Yan Qing and Feng Bao secretly met Wang Ba and offered Returning Wind Valley's spirit materials and a future inner core in exchange for his help persuading Yuan Wenzhi and Zhang Tailai to support them against the Xuli Sect.
• Wang Ba accepted Yan Qing's proposal and oath, but withheld White Dragon Sulfur from Jia Ten Five so it would not break through and escape his control.
• At White Cloud Flat, Lin Boyue, Zhu Rong, and Chu Xiao prepared to use captured rogue cultivators as cannon fodder, while Zhuang Yi reported that Zhenling Palace's outskirts had been scouted.
• Lin Boyue ordered Zhuang Yi to bring Shen Fu to Zhenling Palace to help test the way, then looked north toward Zhenling Palace with ambition.

The Three Great Sects forced Wang Ba and Bu Chan to accompany their campaign against Zhenling Palace, using captured rogue cultivators to break through its outer formations. As the sect leaders attacked Zhenling Palace, Zhang Daobai’s presence suddenly erupted, and Wang Ba’s mysterious connection to the palace became unmistakable.

• Zhuang Yi brought Wang Ba and Bu Chan aboard the Three Great Sects’ flying boat, and Yuan Wenzhi and Zhang Tailai joined them along the way.
• At Zhenling Palace, Wang Ba saw the Three Great Sects sacrifice thousands of captured rogue cultivators to destroy the palace’s outer formation foundations.
• After the last formation fell, Lin Boyue offered Palace Master Wu Siqi surrender terms, but Wu refused and the fighting began.
• A traitor opened a breach in Zhenling Palace’s protective formation, and the Three Great Sects’ forces poured in to fight its cultivators.
• As Palace Master Wu fought off several Gold Core cultivators, Yuan Wenzhi received a secret order to help him, then sensed a powerful presence erupt from the palace.
• Lin Boyue, Zhu Rong, and Chu Xiao recognized the presence as Zhang Daobai, while Wang Ba felt the subtle call he had sensed earlier become clear.

Zhang Daobai revealed that he had faked his death and fought the Three Great Sects with his Nascent Soul absent, using the last of his strength to protect Zhenling Palace. Wang Ba’s calls stirred the treasure Zhang Daobai had been suppressing, and Zhang Daobai discovered him and sent his flying sword toward him.

• Zhang Daobai appeared alive, exposed the Three Great Sects’ trap, and attacked their Gold Core cultivators, who formed the Five Classics Origin Void Formation.
• Yuan Wenzhi sent Zhang Tailai to aid the fight against Wu Siqi while Wang Ba quietly withdrew and sensed something calling from within Zhenling Palace.
• Wang Ba’s calls repeatedly stirred Zhang Daobai’s suppressed treasure, disrupting Zhang Daobai’s attacks and letting the Three Great Sects wound him with explosive artifacts.
• Zhang Daobai revealed that his Nascent Soul was not inside his body, then resumed attacking Chu Xiao while searching for the source of the treasure’s movement.
• Zhang Daobai spotted Wang Ba silently calling the treasure and sent his flying sword through the crowd toward him.

Wang Ba’s Incense Token protected him from Zhang Daobai’s attack, while a mysterious crimson presence from the palace entered Wang Ba. Zhang Daobai died during the battle, Zhang Tailai’s betrayal was exposed and stopped, and Yuan Wenzhi escaped with Wang Ba as Bu Chan pursued them and Tang Ji prepared to intervene.

• Wang Ba’s Incense Token shielded him from Zhang Daobai’s flying sword, and Zhang Daobai questioned his connection to the person in the Exquisite Ghost Market.
• Zhang Daobai killed Chu Xiao and gravely injured Lin Boyue, then fought the Three Great Sects’ Gold Core True Persons as his body deteriorated.
• Zhang Daobai’s flying sword stopped before Zhu Rong, and Zhang Daobai died as a crimson presence escaped the palace and entered Wang Ba.
• Zhang Tailai suddenly killed Wu Meng and joined Wu Siqi, but Zhuang Yi’s Five Classics Origin Void Formation exposed and killed Zhang Tailai.
• Yuan Wenzhi fled with the immobilized Wang Ba, Bu Chan pursued them, and Tang Ji sensed that the Incense Token had activated and decided to go.

Bu Chan ambushed Yuan Wenzhi and rescued Wang Ba, but Yuan pursued them through repeated attacks that exhausted their defenses. After Bu Chan spent her strength healing Wang Ba, he caught her as she collapsed, and Yuan realized that Wang Ba had recovered.

• Yuan Wenzhi fled with Wang Ba, but Bu Chan blocked his route and detonated two hundred Heavenly Thunder Seeds to free Wang Ba.
• Bu Chan and Wang Ba fled while Yuan Wenzhi pursued them, and Tang Ji left the Exquisite Ghost Market despite Shang Li and the Ninth Elder’s objections.
• Bu Chan repeatedly protected Wang Ba with her body and spirit beasts as Yuan Wenzhi’s attacks cracked and then shattered the Incense Token.
• Yuan Wenzhi’s Large Brush Law Artifact pierced Bu Chan, but she dragged Wang Ba underground and continued fleeing while wounded.
• After the Large Brush Law Artifact wounded Wang Ba, Bu Chan used the Life-Restoring Technique to heal him, draining the surrounding greenery and exhausting herself.
• Bu Chan collapsed after healing Wang Ba, but Wang Ba caught her, prompting Yuan Wenzhi to realize that he had recovered.

Wang Ba fought Yuan Wenzhi to protect Bu Chan, unleashing a long chain of Five Elements techniques and spirit beasts after Yuan Wenzhi nearly defeated him. Yuan Wenzhi was overwhelmed, and Wang Ba collapsed after asking the arriving Zhao Feng to save Bu Chan.

• Wang Ba summoned the Wu Ape King, whose transformation and strength forced Yuan Wenzhi to use talismans and attack Wang Ba directly.
• Wang Ba revealed his true appearance and used successive Five Elements law techniques to weaken Yuan Wenzhi's defenses, while the Azurewater Spirit Turtle protected him.
• Wang Ba combined a powerful Metal System technique with Law Power from an insect, but he and Yuan Wenzhi were both left near collapse after their attacks exploded.
• As Yuan Wenzhi approached to finish him, Wang Ba released a horde of spirit beasts that attacked Yuan Wenzhi and drove him to howl in agony.
• Zhao Feng arrived as Wang Ba collapsed, and Wang Ba urged him to save Bu Chan before losing consciousness.
• Tang Ji watched from concealment, praised Wang Ba's talents, sent Zhao Feng a voice transmission, and vanished.

Wang Ba woke in Zhao Feng’s care, learned that Bu Chan had been taken for treatment and the Wu Ape King had survived, then questioned Yuan Wenzhi about his ties to the Incense Dao. After extracting the information and turning Yuan Wenzhi into a servant, Wang Ba gave him a new vessel and named him Jia Seventeen.

• Wang Ba woke in a crude hut, found his spirit beasts accounted for except the Wu Ape King, and learned from Zhao Feng that Tang Ji had taken Bu Chan to heal her.
• Zhao Feng revealed that he had imprisoned Yuan Wenzhi beneath the lake, and Wang Ba decided to question him.
• Wang Ba confronted Yuan Wenzhi about the Incense Dao and used Zhao Feng’s Sword Light to torture him until he agreed to answer.
• Wang Ba learned that Yuan Wenzhi and Zhang Tailai served the Well God Lineage and had fueled conflict in the Yan Kingdom for the Incense Dao.
• Wang Ba used a crimson light to make Yuan Wenzhi revere him, then provided a male spirit chicken as a vessel and named him Jia Seventeen.

Wang Ba and Zhao Feng discussed their cultivation, the Exquisite Ghost Market, and the resources Wang Ba needed to restore the Wu Ape King. After Tang Ji summoned them and learned Wang Ba’s real identity, he revealed that Bu Chan was safe and pregnant, leaving Wang Ba stunned.

• Wang Ba and Zhao Feng discussed Zhao Feng’s strength and the possibility of obtaining a third-tier spirit beast inner core through the Exquisite Ghost Market.
• Wang Ba treated the injured Wu Ape King and Boli, then began training the Wu Ape King to control himself while transformed.
• Wang Ba discovered that the Faceless Divine Statue in his Spiritual Platform could manifest the Yin God Descending World Bow, though it retained power for only one arrow.
• Tang Ji summoned Wang Ba and Zhao Feng, and Wang Ba confessed that his real name was Wang Ba rather than Shen Fu.
• Tang Ji recognized Wang Ba’s connection to the Heavenly Gate Sect and learned about his past from Zhao Feng, then assured Wang Ba he held no prejudice against him.
• Tang Ji told Wang Ba that Bu Chan was safe and revealed that she was pregnant, leaving Wang Ba stunned.

Wang Ba learned that Bu Chan was pregnant and faced a choice between two costly methods to improve their child’s prospects, but chose to pursue both. After he left the Ghost Market with Zhao Feng, High King Xiang Huang arrived and asked Tang Ji to help resist the Incense Dao.

• Tang Ji explained that Bu Chan’s pregnancy might have resulted from a Great Chu dual cultivation method and described ways to cultivate the child’s spiritual roots or strengthen its innate Qi and blood.
• Wang Ba visited the injured Bu Chan, and she urged him to let the child’s prospects follow their natural course rather than burden him with costly efforts.
• Wang Ba told Tang Ji he wanted to pursue both methods, learning that strengthening Qi and blood would cost several hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones while cultivating an innate spiritual root could cost several thousand.
• Wang Ba left the Ghost Market with Zhao Feng, who said he had found a way to draw back the sword shadows behind him.
• High King Xiang Huang met Tang Ji at the first layer of the Exquisite Ghost Market and asked him to help resist the Incense Dao.

Wang Ba returned to Yongan City with Zhao Feng and learned that the Incense Dao had conquered the Wei and Xu Kingdoms, driving rogue cultivators toward Yan-Qiao Pass. He brought Zhao Feng to Returning Wind Valley, where they secured an alliance with Zhu Rong and obtained a Third-Tier Inner Core for Wang Ba’s plans.

• Wang Ba and Zhao Feng found Yongan City nearly deserted, cleared the talismans from Wang Ba’s residence, and met Returning Wind Valley cultivators who took them to Zhu Rong.
• Zhang Yin told Wang Ba that the Incense Dao had seized the Wei and Xu Kingdoms and nearly taken the Qiao Kingdom, prompting Yongan City’s cultivators to leave for Yan-Qiao Pass.
• Wang Ba introduced Zhao Feng as his senior brother, and Zhao Feng demonstrated his swordsmanship when Zhu Rong tested his strength.
• At a feast, Wang Ba agreed to have Zhao Feng serve Returning Wind Valley as a retainer in exchange for cultivation supplies, while asking for Third-Tier Inner Cores and other spirit materials.
• After Wang Ba and Zhao Feng settled near Returning Wind Valley, Yan Qing visited three days later and delivered a Third-Tier Inner Core to Wang Ba.

Wang Ba’s Wu Ape King survived an unusually powerful tribulation and advanced to the third tier, meeting the requirement to enter the Third Layer of the Exquisite Ghost Market. Wang Ba then assigned Jia Seventeen, whose body housed Yuan Wenzhi, to produce Spirit Chicken Essence and set him to work mating with female Spirit Chickens.

• Wang Ba gave the recovering Wu Ape King half of a Third-Tier Inner Core to swallow and used the rest externally, completing its transformation and drawing tribulation lightning.
• At Zhao Feng’s urging, Wang Ba let the Wu Ape King face the tribulation outside the defensive formation, and it absorbed and endured twelve bolts before collapsing with nonfatal injuries.
• Wang Ba confirmed the Wu Ape King had become a third-tier spirit beast and considered visiting the Exquisite Ghost Market, but planned to recover the beast and refine Spirit Chicken Essence for Returning Wind Valley first.
• Wang Ba released the Spirit Chickens and summoned Jia Ten Five and Jia Seventeen, while Jia Ten Five relaxed and cultivated instead of working.
• Wang Ba gave Jia Seventeen instructions to refine Spirit Chicken Essence and promised to restore him to the Gold Core Realm if he succeeded; Yuan Wenzhi accepted the task and took a female Spirit Chicken to a secluded dwelling.
• Wang Ba watched Jia Seventeen begin work and decided Jia Ten Five would not be allowed to avoid his own duties.

Jia Ten Five received a system quest and chose to gain power by fathering more offspring, while Wang Ba tested whether implanted knowledge could make Jia Seventeen refine Spirit Chicken Essence. Jia Seventeen succeeded after an initial failure, and Wang Ba arranged to meet Li Ji at White Cloud Flat for more spirit-chef artifacts.

• Jia Ten Five recognized Jia Seventeen's intelligence, delightedly considered him a son, and tried to stop him from attacking another spirit chicken.
• Jia Ten Five received two quest choices, chose A Father's Love Is Like a Mountain, and instantly mastered a second-tier law technique before returning to breeding.
• Wang Ba observed that he could implant techniques and craft knowledge into spirit chickens, and Jia Seventeen began processing a second-tier spirit chicken.
• Jia Seventeen taught himself a fire technique, failed his first attempt to refine Spirit Chicken Essence, then produced a batch of roughly sixty to seventy percent purity.
• Wang Ba realized he needed another set of second-tier spirit-chef law artifacts and contacted Li Ji, who asked him to go to White Cloud Flat.

Wang Ba had second-tier Spirit Chef law artifacts made for Jia Seventeen and supplied Returning Wind Valley with increasing quantities of Spirit Chicken Essence. After Yan Qing invited him to a Clothing Auction at Yan-Qiao Pass, Wang Ba traveled there with Zhao Feng, unaware that Lin Boyue was waiting to ambush Yan Qing.

• Wang Ba visited Li Ji in Yongan City, received second-tier Spirit Chef law artifacts, and gave Jia Seventeen the tools and Spirit Fire needed to refine Spirit Chicken Essence.
• Yan Qing collected Wang Ba’s Spirit Chicken Essence and told him that Returning Wind Valley’s sales were thriving, while Wang Ba’s production continued to grow.
• Lin Boyue learned that Returning Wind Valley was selling Spirit Chicken Essence and ordered Zhuang Yi to capture Yan Qing so they could trade him to Zhu Rong for Shen Fu.
• Yan Qing invited Wang Ba to a Clothing Auction at Yan-Qiao Pass, where third-tier treasures would be sold and the High King was expected to arrive.
• Wang Ba gathered his Spirit Chickens, brought Zhao Feng, and traveled with Yan Qing toward Yan-Qiao Pass, while Lin Boyue waited near the Teleportation Array to intercept Yan Qing.

Wang Ba and Zhao Feng were ambushed by Lin Boyue and the Xuli Sect while traveling with Yan Qing, but Tang Ji’s connection to them became clear when the High King intervened. After Lin Boyue returned to the Xuli Sect in despair, a hidden voice spoke to him in the night.

• Wang Ba sensed danger on the way to Yan-Qiao Pass, and Zhao Feng warned him that something felt wrong.
• Lin Boyue, Zhuang Yi, and Qiao Yushan attacked; Zhao Feng nearly killed Zhuang Yi and fought Lin Boyue as Wang Ba fled toward the Teleportation Array.
• The High King arrived through the Teleportation Array, stopped the fight with a cold snort, and ordered Lin Boyue to take the attackers away.
• Tang Ji recognized Wang Ba and Zhao Feng as people connected to him, and Lin Boyue realized he had falsely accused them before the High King.
• Lin Boyue returned to the Xuli Sect with Qiao Yushan and the unconscious Zhuang Yi, shut himself away in despair, and heard a hidden voice address him in the night.