Chapter Summaries

Qin Ming helped Li Yuanqing and Lu Liang defeat the Beast Tide outside Azure Sea Immortal City, then learned how severe the city's repeated attacks had become. He reunited with Gu Qingzhao and handed her spirit materials and pills to sell, asking her to exchange two Foundation Establishment Pills for Upper-Grade Spirit Stones.

• Qin Ming and Li Yuanqing joined Lu Liang in fighting the demonic beasts, killed the leading Great Demons, and scattered the remaining horde.
• Lu Liang thanked Qin Ming and Li Yuanqing, then explained that several Tier 3 Demon Kings had led repeated Beast Tide assaults against Azure Sea Immortal City.
• Qin Ming learned that Lu Liang had settled the Feng Family in the inner city and asked him to continue offering them modest support.
• Qin Ming visited Mirror Snow Pavilion, where Gu Qingzhao gave him the spirit materials he had requested for Threefold Crimson Soulgrass.
• Qin Ming entrusted Gu Qingzhao with batches of pills and demonic beast materials, including two Foundation Establishment Pills, and asked her to exchange the pills for Upper-Grade Spirit Stones.

Qin Ming exchanged intelligence with Gu Qingzhao about the Beast Tide and the precarious position of Thunder Origin Sect, then visited Pill Cauldron Pavilion to sell pills and investigate its ties to Profound Stream Valley. He bought the Jade Mystery Pill formula and learned that its rare ingredients would take months to arrive, while Xu Jing invited him to join her sect.

• Gu Qingzhao told Qin Ming that Ancestor Ao was nearing the end of his lifespan and Wei Wuyai had secretly entered seclusion to attempt Golden Core formation; Qin Ming also shared intelligence about the powerful Blood Curse Demon Vine.
• Qin Ming saw the devastation and casualties in Azure Sea Immortal City's outer city before heading to Pill Cauldron Pavilion.
• Xu Jing served Qin Ming Frost Crystal Tea and revealed that her grandfather was a Spirit Planter elder of Profound Stream Valley.
• Qin Ming sold Xu Jing bottles of Fiend Blood Pills and Blood Bone Pills, then purchased the Jade Mystery Pill formula and requested its spirit materials.
• Xu Jing explained that the pavilion lacked the Seven-Leaf Netherbloom and that the other ingredients would take over three months to arrive, then offered to recommend Qin Ming for membership in Profound Stream Valley.

Qin Ming completed his dealings in Azure Sea Immortal City and returned to Moon Gazing Island to plant rare third-rank spirit herbs and tend his peach trees. He left the city promising to finish Nalan Zhenren’s commission in two or three years, and settled in to study the Jade Mystery Pill Formula.

• Xu Jing offered Qin Ming a distinguished guest token and a discount, and Qin agreed to sell some Jade Mystery Pills to her pavilion if he successfully refined them.
• Qin Ming learned that Profound Stream Valley could escape Azure Sea Immortal City through a teleportation formation if the city fell, and arranged to return for spirit materials in three months.
• Qin Ming saw Feng Sihai’s family prospering from its talisman business and recalled his promise to grant them a fortune when one of them reached the peak of Qi Refining.
• Lu Liang asked about Nalan Zhenren’s commission, and Qin Ming said he expected to complete it within two or three years before leaving the city.
• Qin Ming returned to Moon Gazing Island, planted Threefold Crimson Soulgrass seeds, and pruned his Five Elements Vitality Spirit Peach trees.
• Qin Ming sat beneath the peach trees, drank Jade Scale Wine, and studied the Jade Mystery Pill Formula.

Qin Ming met Wei Wuyai, who asked him to refine the exceptionally difficult Soul Return Pill for an important, undisclosed purpose. Qin Ming had not agreed by the chapter’s end, but learned that even the Thunder Origin Sect had no Tier 3 Alchemy Grandmaster.

• Qin Ming studied the Void Breaking Pill formula and tended his cultivation before Wei Wuyai arrived at Moon Gazing Island.
• Wei Wuyai invited Qin Ming aboard his Dharma Boat and set up a soundproof formation before explaining his request.
• Wei Wuyai gave Qin Ming the Soul Return Pill formula, which could briefly restore a cultivator to their peak by consuming their remaining lifespan.
• Qin Ming balked at the pill’s extreme difficulty, and Wei Wuyai revealed that Yan Changkong had failed to refine it over a dozen times.
• Wei Wuyai confirmed that the Thunder Origin Sect and the Wei Kingdom Immortal Cultivation World had no Tier 3 Alchemy Grandmaster, while Qin Ming began guessing whom the pill was meant for.

Qin Ming agreed to refine a Soul Return Pill for the Thunder Origin Sect’s Ancestor Ao, who planned to join two other Golden Core Adepts in destroying a dangerous demon vine. Wei Wuyai left Qin with the sect’s last set of pill ingredients, and Qin planned to seek Grand Alchemist Su’s guidance.

• Wei Wuyai told Qin Ming that Ancestor Ao needed a Soul Return Pill before joining the leaders of the Spirit Feather Sect and Azure Sea Immortal City to destroy the Third-Grade Blood Curse Demon Vine.
• Qin Ming agreed to attempt the refinement and secured the requested spirit materials along with five Upper-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Wei Wuyai revealed that Elder Yan had failed more than ten sets of ingredients, leaving only one set for Qin Ming to use.
• Qin Ming agreed to refine the pill within a year and learned that Wei Wuyai would attempt to reach the Golden Core realm after returning to the sect.
• After Wei Wuyai departed, Qin Ming decided to ask Grand Alchemist Su for help understanding the pill formula.

Qin Ming sent Wu Jiang to deliver the Soul Return Pill formula and his questions to Gu, then used Bloodline Reversion Affixes to transform his Spirit Gathering Tea and Violet Gold Bamboo into rare spirit plants. He discovered that Void Bamboo could improve spirit artifacts, leaving him wondering if it could upgrade his Azure Phoenix Sword.

• Qin Ming copied his questions about the Soul Return Pill formula onto a sealed jade slip and asked Wu Jiang to deliver it to Gu in Azure Sea Immortal City.
• Qin Ming arranged for Wu Jiang to travel safely aboard the Scattered Alliance’s Dharma Boat, then returned to cultivation as the demon-slaying war loomed.
• Qin Ming used two Bloodline Reversion Affixes on his Spirit Gathering Tea and Violet Gold Bamboo, transforming them into Snow Soul Tea and Void Bamboo.
• Qin Ming identified Snow Soul Tea as a rare plant that could calm the soul and help cultivators overcome bottlenecks.
• Qin Ming found a record explaining that Void Bamboo could enhance spirit artifacts and might grow into a third-rank plant, prompting him to consider upgrading his Azure Phoenix Sword.

Qin Ming enchanted a Void Bamboo and learned from Su Yuqing how Divine Soul Strength affected Soul Return Pill refinement. After a failed first attempt, he successfully made a Soul Return Pill and began refining a Supreme-Grade one as a gift for Ancestor Ao.

• Qin Ming used a Spirit Plant Enchantment Affix on a Void Bamboo, discovering a glowing embryo inside and sensing the bamboo's closeness to him.
• Wu Jiang returned from delivering Qin Ming's letter to Su Yuqing, then brought back her reply half a month later.
• Su Yuqing explained that refining the Soul Return Pill required strong Divine Soul Strength to control the medicinal properties.
• Qin Ming's first attempt failed, but reviewing the medicinal dregs helped him understand how to combine the Five Elements liquids.
• Qin Ming successfully refined a transparent Soul Return Pill on his second attempt.
• Qin Ming decided to make a Supreme-Grade Soul Return Pill for Ancestor Ao to improve his chances against the third-rank Blood Curse Demon Vine.

Qin Ming refined two Soul Return Pills, including a Supreme-Grade pill, and advanced his puppet craft by creating durable second-tier Turtle Puppets. He tested the puppets against two marauders before entering Azure Sea Immortal City and presenting the pills to Exquisite Pavilion's Manager Mei, who was stunned by Qin Ming's success.

• Qin Ming refined two common-quality and two Supreme-Grade Soul Return Pills, then continued studying puppet arts and made a second-tier Turtle Puppet.
• Over the next two months, Qin Ming refined two more Turtle Puppets and traveled to Azure Sea Immortal City.
• The Mount She Duo Fiends tried to rob Qin Ming, but his Turtle Puppets blocked their attacks while the Silver-Winged Frost Bee prevented their escape; Qin Ming killed them and collected their Blood Orbs and Storage Bags.
• Lu Liang welcomed Qin Ming into the city, and Qin Ming went to Exquisite Pavilion to meet Manager Mei.
• Qin Ming presented Manager Mei with two Soul Return Pills, including a Supreme-Grade pill, leaving the manager shocked.

Qin Ming delivered the Soul Return Pill to the Thunder Origin Sect and received his promised rewards. At the Pill Cauldron Pavilion, he met Elder Xu of Profound Stream Valley, exchanged Spirit Plant knowledge with him, and received materials for the Jade Mystery Pill as their conversation turned to Qin Ming’s alchemy.

• Qin Ming delivered the Soul Return Pill to the Thunder Origin Sect and collected the promised spirit materials and five Upper-Grade Spirit Stones from Manager Mei.
• Qin Ming visited the Pill Cauldron Pavilion, where Xu Jing introduced him to her Great-Grandfather, Elder Xu, a Pseudo-Core cultivator from Profound Stream Valley.
• Qin Ming and Elder Xu discussed Spirit Plant cultivation for two days, and Elder Xu gained insights that might help him advance beyond second-tier upper-grade mastery.
• Elder Xu gave Qin Ming the spirit materials for the Jade Mystery Pill and promised to search for the missing Seven-Leaf Netherbloom.
• Elder Xu asked whether Qin Ming could refine the Jade Mystery Pill, and Qin Ming said he lacked third-tier pill formulas to become a third-tier alchemist.

Qin Ming learned that Profound Stream Valley held the Core Formation Pill Formula and a Pill Pagoda that might offer access to it, while Elder Xu failed to persuade him to join the sect. Qin Ming then visited Lu Liang to share wine and ask about recent developments in Azure Sea Immortal City.

• Elder Xu told Qin Ming about Profound Stream Valley’s Tier 3 Pill Dao inheritance, its Core Formation Pill Formula, and the Pill Pagoda assessment.
• Elder Xu praised Qin Ming’s Spirit Plant Dao talent and again invited him to join Profound Stream Valley, but Qin Ming politely declined.
• After Qin Ming departed, Elder Xu told Xu Jing that Qin Ming had the potential to become a Tier 3 Grandmaster and that befriending him was worthwhile.
• Qin Ming considered entering the Pill Pagoda after reaching the Foundation Establishment Late Stage and noted that he had gathered the materials for the Jade Mystery Pill.
• Qin Ming visited Lu Liang, shared Spirit Fire Wine with him and Lu Wan-jun, and asked about recent changes in Azure Sea Immortal City.

Qin Ming returned to Moon Gazing Island, collected rent from Wu Jiang’s family, and agreed to let Wang Feng and Wang Yue visit. He continued refining pills and cultivating, ending just short of a breakthrough to the late stage.

• Qin Ming gave Lu Liang his jar of Spirit Fire Wine, bought materials for high-grade puppets, and returned to Moon Gazing Island.
• Wu Jiang paid Qin Ming two years of spirit rice taxes and raised the Wu Family’s rent share from thirty to forty percent after their abundant harvests.
• Wu Jiang asked Qin Ming to let Wang Feng and Wang Yue return to the island for a family visit, and Qin Ming welcomed them back.
• Qin Ming studied puppet techniques, refined two bottles of Jade Mystery Pills, and planted rare herbs for their ingredients in his medicinal garden.
• Qin Ming took a Jade Mystery Pill and cultivated with the Ancient Wood Longevity Art, bringing his cultivation within one step of the late stage.

Wu Wangfeng and Wu Wangyue returned to Moon Gazing Island and reunited with their family before Qin Ming left to investigate a battle at Thousand Leaf Island. He witnessed the three superpowers attacking the demonic beast horde and saw a Golden Core-level clash split the island, with a third of it sinking beneath the sea.

• Wu Wangfeng and Wu Wangyue returned to Moon Gazing Island, where Wu Jiang, Mu Ruyin, and Qin Ming welcomed them and learned they had traveled with the Thunder Origin Sect's Dharma Boat.
• Qin Ming suspected the Thunder Origin Sect and the other superpowers were preparing to attack the Blood Curse Demon Vine on Thousand Leaf Island.
• After explosions shook the area, Qin Ming bound the Longevity Vine to his arm, told Wu Jiang to keep the island safe, and set out to observe the battle.
• Qin Ming reached Thousand Leaf Island and saw hundreds of Spirit Ships from the Thunder Origin Sect, Spirit Feather Sect, and Azure Sea Immortal City bombarding the demonic beast horde.
• A massive fireball erupted over Thousand Leaf Island, and the blast split the island apart and sank a third of it, shocking Qin Ming with the scale of the Golden Core-level battle.

Qin Ming witnessed Ancestor Ao consume a Supreme-Grade Soul Return Pill and sacrifice his life to destroy the Blood Curse Demon Vine. Yuwen Hong and True Person Nalan Xi found most of the demon’s remains, but its core vine was missing, leaving its fate uncertain.

• Qin Ming followed the fleeing Blood Curse Demon Vine to Twin Peaks, where True Person Nalan Xi trapped it in a formation.
• Ancestor Ao swallowed a Supreme-Grade Soul Return Pill, raised his cultivation to the Golden Core Middle Stage, and destroyed the Howling Moon Demon King with his sword formation.
• Ancestor Ao died after unleashing his strongest strike, while Qin Ming secretly thought that his pill had enabled the Golden Core cultivators to kill the demon.
• True Person Nalan Xi and Yuwen Hong inspected the demon’s remains and discovered that the Blood Curse Demon Vine’s core was missing.
• True Person Nalan Xi concluded the core had been destroyed or could no longer recover its strength, then returned to the Immortal City as the factions dealt with the Beast Tide.

Qin Ming followed the Longevity Vine’s pull back into Yiling Valley and discovered a Blood Curse Demon Vine fragment hiding in a pass guard. The Longevity Vine devoured the fragment, leaving Qin Ming with a strange black iron shard whose power affected his mind.

• Qin Ming returned to Yiling Valley after the Longevity Vine tattoo on his arm began burning.
• Lu Liang told Qin Ming that Liang Kingdom would send reinforcements to help Wei, Jin, and Wu suppress the Beast Tide, reportedly at Li Fire Palace’s direction.
• The Longevity Vine guided Qin Ming to the pass between Twin Peaks and the Beast Cry Mountain Range, where a Blood Curse Demon Vine fragment attacked him through an elderly guard.
• The Longevity Vine emerged from Qin Ming’s arm, tore the fragment out of the guard, and devoured it.
• Qin Ming picked up a pitch-black iron shard left behind by the fragment and dispelled the dizziness it caused.

Qin Ming returned from the demon-slaying battle with a mysterious demonic fragment and saw the Spirit Rest Archipelago begin recovering. He then learned that Wei Wuyai had reached Golden Core when the Thunder Origin Sect invited him to a ceremony.

• Qin Ming sealed the bloodstained fragment, cleared the battlefield, and returned to Moon Gazing Island as his Longevity Vine entered dormancy after devouring the Blood Curse Demon Vine.
• Qin Ming told Wu Wangfeng and Wu Wangyue that Ancestor Ao had fallen and sent them with Wu Jiang toward Azure Sea Immortal City.
• Rumors about the demon-slaying battle and the Wei Kingdom’s Golden Core cultivators spread, while Qin Ming focused on his Spirit Field and anticipated the Longevity Vine’s advancement.
• Han Lin arrived from the Thunder Origin Sect and invited Qin Ming to Wei Wuyai’s Golden Core ceremony, revealing that Wei Wuyai had successfully reached the Golden Core realm.

Qin Ming received a personal invitation to Wei Wuyai’s Golden Core ceremony and traveled with other cultivators to Thunder Origin Sect. Along the way, Nalan Xi praised his role in defeating the demonic vine, offered him a reward, and bought two Soul Return Pills from him.

• Han Lin told Qin Ming that Wei Wuyai had formed a Golden Core and personally invited him to the ceremony.
• Qin Ming spent the next half month preparing a gift, then left Moon Gazing Island for Azure Sea Immortal City.
• Qin Ming boarded Thunder Origin Sect’s Dharma Boat with Gu Qingzhao, Huangfu Qi, and other invited cultivators.
• Nalan Xi summoned Qin Ming and asked about the Spirit Transformation Fruit, which he said would mature in two years.
• Nalan Xi credited Qin Ming’s Supreme-Grade Soul Return Pill with helping defeat the demonic vine and offered him Upper-Grade Spirit Stones as a reward.
• Qin Ming sold Nalan Xi one common-quality and one Supreme-Grade Soul Return Pill for five Upper-Grade Spirit Stones.

Qin Ming attended Wei Wuyai’s Golden Core ceremony at the Thunder Origin Sect and presented him with rare gifts. After the guests discussed a joint response to the Beast Tide, Wei Wuyai kept Qin Ming behind for a private conversation.

• After seven days aboard the Dharma Boat, Qin Ming and the other guests arrived at the Thunder Origin Sect and entered after their invitations and identities were checked.
• Wei Wuyai appeared at the ceremony, received the crowd’s congratulations, and listened as the sect master praised the sect’s strength.
• Wei Wuyai invited Qin Ming and Adept Nalan Xi into True Origin Hall, where they joined other respected cultivators and presented congratulatory gifts.
• Adept Nalan Xi gave Wei Wuyai a rare Purple Yang Pill, and Qin Ming explained its value to the other cultivators.
• Qin Ming gave Wei Wuyai Jade Scale Wine and two premium Dragonblood Divine Fruits, impressing the guests and pleasing Wei Wuyai.
• Wei Wuyai discussed a joint response to the Beast Tide with the assembled cultivators, then kept Qin Ming behind for a private conversation.

After Qin Ming strengthened his ties with Wei Wuyai and returned to Moon Gazing Island, Liang Kingdom's forces helped Wei Kingdom push back the beast tide. The apparent human victory concealed a growing demonic alliance, as a powerful flood-dragon demon ordered negotiations with the Silver Moon Clan to continue.

• Wei Wuyai praised Qin Ming's alchemy and spirit-plant skills, promised to look after Wu Wangfeng and Wu Wangyue, and invited Qin Ming to visit the Thunder Origin Sect again.
• On the journey back, Qin Ming told Gu Qingzhao that he had planted the Five Elements Vitality Spirit Peach tree and gave her a jar of Jade Scale Wine to sell for Upper-Grade Spirit Stones.
• After seven days, Qin Ming returned to Moon Gazing Island, and Liang Kingdom's Profound Stream Sect sent Golden Core cultivators and a large force to help Wei Kingdom defeat the beast tide.
• Within half a year, Wei Kingdom's cultivators killed two Tier 3 Demon Kings and drove most of the beast tide back toward the Beast Cry Mountain Range.
• A Sky Devouring Rat Demon King reported that the Golden Roc Demon King and Crimson Spirit Demon King had been killed, while a powerful flood-dragon demon ordered him to keep negotiating with the Silver Moon Clan.

Qin Ming deciphered the Primal Fiend Seed Demon Scripture and chose to cultivate its Blood Escape Technique and True Demon Illusion, using his affixes to avoid the risks of its soul-devouring method. He mastered Blood Escape Through Void and created three convincing illusions, but found that using all three at once strained his divine soul.

• Qin Ming penetrated the black iron sheet and discovered it contained the Primal Fiend Seed Demon Scripture, including two secret methods that interested him.
• Qin Ming decided to cultivate Blood Escape and True Demon Illusion, relying on his Soul Force Crystal Affix to strengthen his divine soul safely.
• Three months later, Qin Ming mastered Blood Escape Through Void, which let him travel ten li instantly but consumed large amounts of blood qi.
• Qin Ming formed three dark runes in his Sea of Consciousness and used them to create three Bearded Man illusions he could control.
• Qin Ming found that he could sustain one illusion for a long time, but using all three at once exhausted his divine soul.

Qin Ming cultivated demonic secret arts, tended his spirit fields, and visited Azure Sea Immortal City to trade and buy ingredients for a pill. His visit was interrupted when a Tier 3 Sky Devouring Rat Demon King attacked the city’s grand array.

• Qin Ming mastered two demonic secret arts and worried that his Longevity Vine had remained dormant for nearly a year.
• Qin Ming surveyed his growing spirit plants and upgraded his turtle puppets into mid-grade Tier 2 puppets.
• Qin Ming rode to Azure Sea Immortal City to collect auction proceeds, sell Spirit Rice, and purchase ingredients for refining the Void Breaking Pill.
• Gu Qingzhao gave Qin Ming the Tier 2 Shennong Hoe, and Qin Ming then visited Pill Cauldron Pavilion to offer Jade Scale Wine to Xu Jing and Elder Xu.
• A beast attack shook Azure Sea Immortal City, and a Tier 3 Sky Devouring Rat Demon King sprayed corrosive black liquid onto the city’s grand array.