Chapter Summaries

Over the month, Qin Tiexin practiced Blood Vortex Thrust, studied spirit rune arrays, and trained to engrave with a Spiritual Qi engraving knife, while his Qi Refining cultivation advanced slowly. He reached major accomplishment in Body Tempering sixth layer and prepared to attempt Blood Refining.

• Qin Tiexin spent ten days learning to control his movements precisely, then trained Blood Vortex Thrust in combat until he could consistently defeat Qi Refining seventh layer puppets with a short saber.
• Qin Tiexin studied spirit rune arrays and practiced the Thousand Jun-Toughness-Rebound combination, reaching a sixty-percent success rate by the end of the month.
• Qin Tiexin followed Luo Ling’s Spiritual Qi engraving knife cultivation method and improved from carving ruined iron ingots to making rough, recognizable animal shapes, though he could not yet carve a lion’s mane.
• Qin Tiexin’s Qi Refining fifth layer slowly stabilized, while he learned that Li Yun had entered seclusion to prepare for a breakthrough to Qi Refining ninth layer.
• Qin Tiexin used his final Bone Forging Pill to temper all 206 bones and reached major accomplishment in Body Tempering sixth layer.
• Qin Tiexin prepared to attempt Blood Refining the next day.

Qin Tiexin underwent seven days of painful seclusion to break through to Body Tempering Seventh Layer, Blood Replacement. After recovering by eating large quantities of spirit beast meat, he emerged with renewed strength and prepared to tell Wu Zhen he was safe.

• Qin Tiexin gave blood-eroding grass and other herbs to the Pill Hall to make Blood Replacement Pills, then bought additional herbs and prepared his cave abode for seclusion.
• Wu Zhen gave Qin Tiexin a detailed breathing method and warned him to endure the Blood Replacement process.
• Qin Tiexin began taking the pills and practicing the breathing method, suffering hunger, pain, weakness, and the expulsion of impurities over several days.
• Qin Tiexin took the ninth pill on the sixth day and felt new strength emerge from his marrow as he nearly lost consciousness.
• Qin Tiexin expelled the last waste on the seventh morning and confirmed he had reached Body Tempering Seventh Layer, Blood Replacement, lesser mastery.
• Qin Tiexin ate dozens of jin of Ironback Pig meat and dried meat to recover, then left his cave to tell Wu Zhen he was safe.

After recovering from blood replacement, Qin Tiexin met his newly returned senior brother, Chen Xi, in the Heart-Forging Hall. Chen Xi gave Qin Tiexin several defensive treasures and escape tools, and the chapter ended with Qin Tiexin asking what Chen Xi meant by refining jade artifacts and miscellaneous items.

• Qin Tiexin felt stronger after recovering from blood replacement and went to the Heart-Forging Hall at Luo Ling's summons.
• Luo Ling exposed Chen Xi's Substitute Puppet, and Chen Xi revealed himself and introduced himself to Qin Tiexin as his senior brother.
• Luo Ling ordered Chen Xi to remove his disguise, revealing his real face, and warned Qin Tiexin not to imitate his cautious habits.
• Chen Xi gave Qin Tiexin teleportation talismans, a Little Death-Substitution Puppet, a Soul-Protection Jade, and Turtle Breath Pills.
• Chen Xi offered to help Qin Tiexin with survival and with refining jade artifacts and miscellaneous items, prompting Qin Tiexin to ask what those were.

Luo Ling explained the fourteen categories of Law Artifacts to Qin Tiexin and urged him to choose a secondary specialty eventually. She told him to focus on his foundations and combat artifacts until Foundation Establishment, then gave him a Jade Slip detailing the categories.

• Luo Ling reminded Qin Tiexin that artifact refining was broader than blacksmithing and introduced the idea of choosing a secondary specialty.
• Luo Ling described the fourteen categories of Law Artifacts and the techniques and uses associated with each.
• Luo Ling explained that Chen Xi specialized in jade and stone artifacts, miscellaneous artifacts, puppets, and curios, while Nangong Yao specialized in silk and fabric artifacts and accessories.
• Qin Tiexin said he lacked time for another specialty, but Luo Ling insisted that he would eventually need to learn one for the Young Artifact Refiner Competition.
• Luo Ling told Qin Tiexin to focus on his foundations and combat artifacts until Foundation Establishment, then gave him a Jade Slip with explanations of all fourteen categories.

Qin Tiexin accepted his first inner sect mission, an Ironback Wolf hunt in Black Cloud Ridge, and was assigned to accompany Chen Xi. After Chen Xi laid out detailed survival plans, Qin Tiexin prepared for their departure in three days.

• Luo Ling assigned Qin Tiexin to join Chen Xi on a mission to exterminate an Ironback Wolf pack in Black Cloud Ridge, with Chen Xi receiving seventy percent of the Merit Points.
• Chen Xi equipped Qin Tiexin with life-saving tools and explained that surviving the mission mattered more than fighting recklessly.
• Chen Xi outlined a cautious attack plan, escape routes, and instructions for Qin Tiexin to flee if Chen Xi became incapacitated.
• Chen Xi vanished using an escape art after telling Qin Tiexin to meet him at the sect gates in three days.
• Qin Tiexin reviewed the mission rewards, made a checklist, prepared his supplies, and began cultivating before the mission.

Qin Tiexin and Chen Xi traveled to Black Cloud Ridge to investigate Ironback Wolves, using disguises, talismans, and a scouting puppet to approach cautiously. They found the pack and its powerful dark-gold leader, which spotted and destroyed the scout, leaving them without a view of the valley.

• Chen Xi disguised himself as a merchant and changed Edgeless’s appearance into a battered shield with a Shape-Changing Talisman.
• Chen Xi and Qin Tiexin used Divine Travel Talismans to run along the main road toward Black Cloud Ridge, with Chen Xi teaching Qin how to travel safely.
• At the ridge’s entrance, Chen Xi sent a scouting puppet into the mountains and viewed its flight through a Truth-Peering Mirror.
• The scout revealed about fifteen or sixteen Ironback Wolves, including three powerful wolves and a dark-gold leader nearing Foundation Establishment late stage.
• The leader opened its eyes and spotted the scout, then destroyed it with a streak of blue-green light, blacking out the mirror.

Chen Xi changed the hunting plan after discovering the Ironback Wolves’ king was stronger than the mission intelligence claimed, and used formations and sedatives to incapacitate the pack. One wounded wolf escaped, and Qin Tiexin stepped forward to face it with Edgeless.

• Chen Xi learned the wolf king was at least Foundation Establishment Middle Stage and devised a plan to drug the pack instead of fighting it head-on.
• Chen Xi deployed puppets to place formation flags around the valley and gave Qin Tiexin an antidote to protect him from the sedative.
• Chen Xi used the formations to guide the wind and spread Immortal-Intoxicating Powder through the valley, rendering most of the Ironback Wolves unconscious.
• The wolf king destroyed the woodcutter puppet, but an underground puppet released concentrated sedative and brought it down.
• Before collapsing, the wolf king wounded one still-struggling Foundation Establishment Early Stage wolf, which fled toward Chen Xi and Qin Tiexin.
• Qin Tiexin asked to fight the wounded wolf, revealed Edgeless, and faced it thirty paces away.

Qin Tiexin fought and killed the Ironback Wolf after adapting his saber technique and exploiting its wounded leg. Chen Xi gathered the wolves, erased the evidence, and hurried them away from Black Cloud Ridge.

• Qin Tiexin exchanged attacks with the sedated Ironback Wolf, suffering injuries while learning its combat patterns.
• Chen Xi watched from behind the slope, guarded the unconscious wolves, and prepared to intervene if Qin Tiexin faced mortal danger.
• Qin Tiexin adapted the Heavy Mountain Saber Technique and seized an opening when the wolf’s injured hind leg buckled.
• Qin Tiexin used Inch Steps · Blood Vortex Thrust to stab through the Ironback Wolf’s skull and kill it.
• Chen Xi treated Qin Tiexin’s arm, collected the wolves, dismantled the monitoring formation, and erased their traces.
• Chen Xi gave Qin Tiexin a Divine Travel Talisman, and the two hurried away from the valley.

After turning in the Ironback Wolf mission, Qin Tiexin received a token that might lead him to ancient ruins connected to the Primordial Unity Instruction and five spirit roots. Back at his cave abode, he processed the wolves and used their meat to strengthen his body, bringing him closer to the eighth layer of body tempering.

• Chen Xi and Qin Tiexin turned in nineteen Ironback Wolves, earning five hundred merit points and thirty Scarlet Blood Pills after the wolf king’s strength was verified.
• Qin Tiexin gave Chen Xi’s uncle’s wooden token back, and Chen Xi gifted him a Primordial Unity token said to grant entry to ruins that might open in about a month.
• Chen Xi explained the Primordial Unity Sect’s history and warned Qin Tiexin that the ruins held dangers as well as opportunities.
• Qin Tiexin returned to his cave abode and cooked wolf meat, whose spiritual power replenished his Qi and blood.
• Qin Tiexin processed the remaining wolf corpses, found four spirit fangs, and decided to ask Luo Ling whether they were useful.
• After consuming wolf meat over several days, Qin Tiexin advanced through the seventh layer of body tempering and judged that the eighth layer was near.

Qin Tiexin discovered that Edgeless could draw Sha Qi from demon beast fangs, then studied bone artifact refining under Luo Ling and Wu Zhen. After nurturing four wolf fangs and practicing rune inscription, he learned to use the fangs’ innate Wind Blade ability for ranged attacks.

• Qin Tiexin used Edgeless to purify Sha Qi from four wolf fangs, leaving them clear and free of baleful intent.
• Qin Tiexin asked Luo Ling to teach him about bone artifacts, and she gave him jade slips on bone artifacts and Sha Qi.
• Qin Tiexin consulted Wu Zhen, who warned him about baleful intent and taught him how to nurture bone materials and establish spiritual resonance.
• Qin Tiexin spent ten days nurturing the four fangs and practicing rune inscription on wolf bones, but his attempts to carve a complete rune failed.
• Qin Tiexin tied the fangs to his wrists and tested their Wind Blade abilities, discovering that they gave him a limited but effective ranged attack.

Qin Tiexin completed his first Spirit-Conducting Rune before learning that the Primordial Unity Sect ruins had appeared and deciding to explore them. He prepared for the journey, registered with the sect’s expedition, and ended the chapter ready to visit the Heart-Forging Hall before departure.

• Qin Tiexin successfully carved a Spirit-Conducting Rune into wolf leg bone after many failed attempts.
• The Flowing Cloud Sect announced that the Primordial Unity Sect ruins would open in fifteen days and that only token holders below Foundation Establishment could enter.
• Luo Ling gave Qin Tiexin a Primordial Unity Token and urged him to explore the ruins, while Wu Zhen explained the history of the Primordial Unity True Person and his cultivation method.
• Luo Ling gave Qin Tiexin supreme-grade Essence-Nurturing Pills and warned him to stay cautious around other sects and Rogue Cultivators.
• Qin Tiexin spent ten days training his saber skills, body, rune-carving, and cultivation, then registered as the eighth member of the sect’s expedition.
• Qin Tiexin sorted his weapons and protective supplies and prepared to visit the Heart-Forging Hall the next day.

As Qin Tiexin prepared to travel to the Primordial Unity Sect ruins, his sect members equipped him with protective artifacts, pills, talismans, and advice. He left the Heart-Forging Hall resolved to grow strong enough to repay their care, with his departure set for the day after tomorrow.

• Nangong Yao gave Qin Tiexin Mysterious Silk Inner Armor and Wind-Chasing Boots that she had made overnight.
• Chen Xi supplied Qin Tiexin with poisons, talismans, and detailed precautions for surviving the ruins.
• Luo Ling gave Qin Tiexin Supreme-Grade Essence-Nurturing Pills, a Golden Core Sensing Jade Talisman linked to her, and three Sword Gang Talismans.
• Luo Ling, Nangong Yao, Chen Xi, and Wu Zhen advised Qin Tiexin on survival, hidden treasures, ambushes, and communicating with ruins.
• Qin Tiexin bowed to his sect members, packed their gifts, and left the Heart-Forging Hall after Luo Ling told him to gather at the sect gates at the hour of the dragon the day after tomorrow.

Qin Tiexin traveled with Li Yun and other Flowing Cloud Sect disciples to Mist Gorge, where Xu Qiu briefed them on the newly emerged Primordial Unity Sect ruins and the dangers inside. After preparing his gear at the camp, Qin Tiexin watched the restrictions begin to weaken as the ruins’ opening drew near.

• Qin Tiexin met Li Yun and six other outer disciples at the Flowing Cloud Sect’s mountain gate before Xu Qiu led them aboard the Cloud Shuttle Boat.
• Li Yun gave Qin Tiexin middle-grade Qi Recovery Pills and explained how the sect supported disciples exploring ruins.
• Xu Qiu told the group the ruins might be the Primordial Unity Sect’s Core Disciple Trial Hall and warned them to stay together and leave before the restrictions recovered.
• The Cloud Shuttle Boat reached Mist Gorge, where Qin Tiexin saw the Golden Sun Sect, including a sharp-eyed woman in red, and a large gathering of rogue cultivators.
• Xu Qiu gave the Flowing Cloud Sect disciples communication jade slips, and Qin Tiexin equipped his armor, boots, talismans, and other tools in his tent.
• Qin Tiexin sensed the restrictions weakening that night and felt Edgeless tremble faintly as he waited for the ruins to open the next day.

Qin Tiexin entered the Primordial Unity Sect ruins and found himself alone in an ancient forest after being separated from the other entrants. After learning that he needed to cross the forest to reach the central plaza, he set out north toward it.

• Qin Tiexin entered the formation with the Flowing Cloud Sect, but was transported to a forest alone.
• Qin Tiexin found ancient ruins and confirmed from a broken stele that the forest belonged to a trial site left by the Primordial Unity Sect.
• Qin Tiexin killed an Earth Spirit Rat with the Wind Fang Bracelet and collected its claws and teeth.
• Qin Tiexin read a stele describing five domain trials and the route through the forest to the central plaza.
• Qin Tiexin memorized the map and headed north toward the central plaza.

Qin Tiexin crossed the outer forest, fought off a swarm of Gold Armor Beetles, and discovered ruins and a stele explaining the Primordial Unity Sect trial. He continued north toward Five Domains Square, leaving two Rogue Cultivators to fight over a spirit herb.

• Qin Tiexin defeated twelve Gold Armor Beetles with Edgeless and collected pieces of their shells.
• Qin Tiexin passed a clearing of spirit herbs, searched collapsed wooden houses, and stored a broken spiritual-material sword.
• Qin Tiexin watched two Rogue Cultivators fight over Purple Heart Grass, then avoided them and continued north.
• Qin Tiexin read the stone stele's Trial Hall regulations, learning that candidates had to cross the forest, pass the Five Domains assessments, and reach the core hall.

Qin Tiexin traveled deeper into the forest, killed a Wood Ape, and met Liu Qing, who warned him about Poison Vine Monsters. They agreed to combine close combat and fire spells to cross the dangerous territory, and the vines attacked as Qin Tiexin stepped inside.

• Qin Tiexin killed a Qi Refining Sixth Layer Wood Ape, collected its blood, and picked a ten-year-old azure spirit grass.
• Qin Tiexin reached a patch of poisonous vines, but Liu Qing warned him just before the Poison Vine Monsters attacked.
• Liu Qing introduced himself as a five-spirit-root cultivator at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, and Qin Tiexin said he also had five spirit roots and fought at close range.
• Liu Qing proposed that Qin Tiexin lure out the Poison Vine Monsters while he attacked them with fire spells, and Qin Tiexin agreed.
• Qin Tiexin stepped into the vines at Liu Qing's count, and dozens of Poison Vine Monsters erupted around him.

Qin Tiexin and Liu Qing joined forces on their way to the central plaza, agreeing to combine their close- and long-range skills and divide spoils according to their needs. After defeating a pack of Gale Wolves, they witnessed four rogue cultivators murder an injured man, but Qin Tiexin persuaded Liu Qing to leave rather than risk getting involved.

• Qin Tiexin and Liu Qing burned back a Poison Vine Monster, collected different materials from its remains, and agreed to travel together.
• Liu Qing explained his determination to prove that a cultivator with five spirit roots could achieve Foundation Establishment, and he and Qin Tiexin arranged how they would fight and divide spoils.
• Liu Qing split three charging Gale Wolves with Earth Wall Technique, and Qin Tiexin killed them while Liu Qing restrained the last one with Vine Bind.
• Qin Tiexin collected the wolves' hides, bones, and meat while Liu Qing gathered their blood, demon cores, and nearby spirit herbs.
• Qin Tiexin stopped Liu Qing from intervening as four rogue cultivators killed an injured man and stole his Storage Bag.
• Qin Tiexin warned Liu Qing that intervening could expose them to danger, and the two continued north toward the central plaza.

Qin Tiexin and Liu Qing reached the central plaza after killing a Fire Feather Sparrow and learned that five elemental domain assessments would begin at midnight. Qin Tiexin reunited with Li Yun and prepared to enter every domain as the plaza’s remaining cultivators waited.

• Liu Qing and Qin Tiexin lured a Fire Feather Sparrow into a clearing, where Liu Qing’s Water Arrow Technique slowed it and Qin Tiexin killed it with a thrown blade.
• Liu Qing collected the sparrow’s essence blood while Qin Tiexin gathered its feathers, flesh, and bones, and then they continued north.
• Qin Tiexin and Liu Qing reached a plaza with five elemental portals and found roughly a hundred surviving cultivators gathered there.
• Qin Tiexin reunited with Li Yun, who explained that the domains would open one per day in metal, wood, water, fire, and earth order, beginning at midnight.
• Liu Qing chose a quiet corner to cultivate, while Qin Tiexin joined Li Yun and took a Qi Recovery Pill as everyone waited for the assessments to begin.

Qin Tiexin and Liu Qing entered the Metal Domain, completed its formation-engraving trial, and received metal essence ore. After the woman in red defeated the domain guardian and claimed its special rewards, Qin Tiexin and Liu Qing returned to the plaza, where Li Yun greeted them.

• The golden portal opened the Metal Domain trial, and the woman in red led several Golden Sun Sect disciples inside before Qin Tiexin, Li Yun, and Liu Qing followed.
• Li Yun struggled against the Metal Spiritual Qi and withdrew, while Qin Tiexin and Liu Qing found stands for the formation-engraving test.
• Qin Tiexin used Metal Spiritual Qi from his fingertip to engrave the formation and passed with a middle-grade rating; Liu Qing also passed, and both received metal essence ore.
• The woman in red earned a sword blank for finishing among the first three, then defeated the Golden Armor Sword Guard and claimed the Golden Edge Needles and Sword Heart Flower.
• Qin Tiexin and Liu Qing returned to the plaza, where Li Yun checked on them and saw their rewards.

Qin Tiexin passed the Wood Domain assessment by grafting a living branch onto a withered tree, then watched a poison cultivator defeat the domain guardian. He left with a piece of agarwood as the Wood Domain closed.

• Qin Tiexin and Liu Qing entered the Wood Domain with Li Yun, where plants hindered cultivators without wood spirit roots.
• Liu Qing and other cultivators used Wood Element techniques to revive the withered tree, while Qin Tiexin recalled Tofu Xishi's grafting method.
• Qin Tiexin grafted a living branch onto the withered tree and passed the assessment, earning agarwood alongside the other successful cultivators.
• Cao poisoned and defeated the ancient tree guardian, claiming the greenwood bow as his reward.
• A wood spirit root genius found a hidden spring, while Qin Tiexin found no fortuitous opportunity and left the domain with Li Yun.