Recaps

Li Yuanchao and the researchers told Lu Li their analysis that Azure Pool Three Commanderies might be a cultivation farm where mortals, Spirit Roots, and Foundation Establishment cultivators were systematically managed and harvested. They advised him to make his artifact-refining talent conspicuous to secure his safety, leaving him with a plan to become famous throughout Azure Pool.

• Li Yuanchao recapped four suspicious features of Azure Pool: its stable population, hostility toward poor aptitudes, treatment of Rogue Cultivators, and the hundred-year Hastening the Seedlings to Immortal Ascension Assembly.
• Li Yuanchao proposed that the three commanderies were a breeding farm, with mortals as soil, inferior Spirit Roots and outside cultivators removed, and outstanding Foundation Establishment cultivators harvested every hundred years.
• Lu Li asked how likely the hypothesis was and whether he could escape, and Li Yuanchao said the odds were high but leaving would attract the farm owner's attention.
• Li Yuanchao explained that True Lord Chiyang likely taught Lu Li artifact refining to develop his skill and eventually obtain top-grade third-tier Law Artifacts.
• Lu Li read the strategy team's report and learned that he should publicly establish himself as an artifact-refining grandmaster, demonstrating the potential to reach Dao-grade immortal craftsmanship.

After reaching Foundation Establishment, Lu Li used his new Divine Sense and a third-tier artifact-crafting technique to repair a failed automatic Pill Furnace. Its successful test batch gave him an idea for bringing an industrial revolution to the cultivation world.

• Li Yuanchao arranged for Lu Li to receive unfinished Spirit Machinery devices for research.
• Lu Li inspected the fully automatic, constant-temperature Pill Furnace and used his Divine Sense to identify flaws in its components.
• Lu Li applied the Divine Craft Blade Controlling Manual to reforge the furnace, improving its construction and artifact inscriptions.
• Lu Li tested the rebuilt furnace and successfully produced five Yellow Sprout Pills.
• Lu Li assessed the furnace's high operating cost and slow production, then decided it could be the first step toward an industrial revolution in cultivation.

Lu Li attended Supreme Refinement Peak’s stipend gathering, planning to showcase his artifact-refining talent by selling Pill Furnaces. True Lord Chiyang announced that all inner disciples could compete in next month’s Hastening the Seedlings to Immortal Ascension Assembly, then ordered Lu Li and several aging cultivators to attend despite Lu Li’s wish to avoid the dangerous event.

• Lu Li decided to demonstrate industrial-scale artifact refinement and sell Pill Furnaces within the sect.
• Wu Changgeng told Lu Li that the upcoming assembly had no participant limit and that disciples from all four peaks could compete for opportunities.
• True Lord Chiyang arrived, distributed stipends, and announced the assembly would take place on the fifteenth of next month with no quota.
• The disciples became excited about the assembly’s Secret Realm Dao Fruit, while Lu Li suspected danger and resolved to stay out of it.
• True Lord Chiyang ordered several aging Foundation Establishment cultivators to attend, then singled out Lu Li and told him he must attend too.

Lu Li demonstrated his fully automatic Pill Furnace to True Lord Chiyang and the disciples of Supreme Refinement Peak, revealing its potential to produce pills without an Alchemist. Despite Lu Li’s hopes that his invention would excuse him from the Immortal Ascension Grand Assembly, Chiyang insisted that he attend.

• Chiyang singled out Lu Li to attend the Immortal Ascension Grand Assembly, surprising Lu Li, Wu Changgeng, and Su Yunzhou.
• Lu Li presented his strange Pill Furnace as a fully automatic artifact and offered to demonstrate it.
• Lu Li activated the furnace, which processed ingredients and produced pills on its own, leaving the crowd astonished and debating its value.
• Chiyang recognized the prototype’s potential for mass production and further development.
• Lu Li hoped his artifact-refining display would spare him from the assembly, but Chiyang praised him and firmly said he must attend.

Lu Li impressed Chiyang with his automatic Pill Furnace and concluded that the Immortal Ascension Grand Assembly held a Dao Fruit opportunity reserved for him. He began cultivating and arranged for Xu Xiong to sell pills to rogue cultivators, but the Wang Household’s people questioned whether they would buy or target Xu Xiong.

• Chiyang examined Lu Li’s automatic Pill Furnace, praised his artifact-crafting talent, and ordered him to make more for the sect while forbidding him from selling pills in bulk within it.
• Lu Li took Chiyang’s remarks as confirmation that the Immortal Ascension Grand Assembly’s secret-realm opportunity was intended for him, and he decided to attend.
• Lu Li returned to his cave abode, tended his spirit fields, and cultivated with a Second-Tier Azure Spike Pill.
• Three days later, Lu Li asked Xu Xiong to announce pill sales to rogue cultivators across the three commanderies.
• Xu Xiong offered First-Tier Yellow Sprout Pills at a ten-percent markup, and the Wang Household’s clan head ordered three bottles for the following month.
• After Xu Xiong left, three Wang Household cultivators emerged and one asked whether they would really buy from him next time.

Xu Xiong returned to Azure Pool and found Pill Hall disciples eager to buy Lu Li’s fully automatic Pill Furnace. He offered them presales at a steep price, arguing that the furnace could generate income, and left them weighing the cost against the chance to profit early.

• Xu Xiong returned to the sect and was approached by Pill Hall disciples who wanted to buy an automatic Pill Furnace.
• Xu Xiong told them Lu Li would begin selling the furnaces in a few months and offered priority to disciples who registered and paid a thirty-percent deposit.
• The disciples asked about the deposit, and Xu Xiong revealed it was a thousand Spirit Stones, prompting them to protest the price.
• Xu Xiong defended the price by explaining that the furnace could continually produce pills and earn Spirit Stones, unlike a consumable Foundation Establishment Pill.
• Xu Xiong recalled Lu Li’s warning that wider access would drive down pill prices and that early buyers would profit most.

Xu Xiong promoted Lu Li’s automatic Pill Furnaces with presales, crowdfunding, and deposit insurance, while Lu Li heard warnings about powerful rivals at the upcoming assembly. After Xu Xiong returned with pill orders and growing excitement about business methods, Lu Li suspected he had a talent for the Dao of Commerce and offered to teach him leverage.

• Xu Xiong persuaded cultivators that they could reserve automatic Pill Furnaces and buy them together through crowdfunding, with deposit insurance to protect against reneging.
• Wu Changgeng warned Lu Li about the formidable Foundation Establishment prodigies competing for Dao fruits at the Immortal Seedling-Pulling Assembly.
• Xu Xiong returned and reported taking orders for over a hundred bottles of first-tier Yellow Sprout Pills and attracting interest in the automatic Pill Furnaces.
• Xu Xiong said Lu Li’s business methods had loosened his cultivation bottleneck and asked to learn more.
• Lu Li suspected Xu Xiong might be gifted in the Dao of Commerce and introduced leverage as his next method.

Lu Li taught Xu Xiong financial methods such as leverage, credit, risk diversification, compound interest, and market information, helping him grasp the Dao of Commerce. Xu Xiong resolved to enter seclusion and break through to Foundation Establishment before helping Lu Li, as the Immortal Ascension Grand Assembly approached.

• Lu Li explained leverage to Xu Xiong, showing how borrowed Spirit Stones could amplify both profits and losses.
• Lu Li taught Xu Xiong about credit, diversifying risk, compound interest, information advantages, and supply and demand.
• Xu Xiong became excited by the lessons, and his Spiritual Power stirred as his Foundation Establishment bottleneck showed signs of weakening.
• Lu Li warned Xu Xiong that wealth required strength to protect it, and Xu Xiong gained clarity and resolve.
• Xu Xiong vowed to enter seclusion until he reached Foundation Establishment, then use the Dao of Commerce to help Lu Li.
• Lu Li reflected that Xu Xiong might become a powerful figure in the Dao of Commerce as the Immortal Ascension Grand Assembly drew near.

Bai Kun prepared to enter the inner sect and attend the Immortal Ascension Grand Assembly, while Azure Pool’s leaders sent their top geniuses to assert their dominance. After learning that Lu Li had been ordered to attend, Ye Chenfeng resolved to accompany him despite Elder Jian’s warnings.

• Bai Kun reached Foundation Establishment, prepared to move to Upper White Peak, and promised his relatives he would support them if he attained the Golden Core Dao.
• Bai Kun’s second uncle warned the Bai Household juniors against following Bai Sheng’s example and leaving the sect.
• True Lord Xuanyu and True Lord Yuanhao ordered Xuanming and Yuanyan to display their strength at the secret realm assembly.
• Ye Chenfeng learned that Lu Li had been ordered to attend the assembly and discussed the danger with Elder Jian.
• Despite Elder Jian’s warning that rescuing him could be difficult, Ye Chenfeng vowed to accompany Lu Li.

The Hastening the Seedlings to Immortal Ascension Assembly began, and Lu Li entered the blood-red secret realm with Ye Chenfeng after his jade pendant briefly trembled. The five True Lords waited outside while Lu Li and Ye Chenfeng searched the realm and spotted Bai Kun approaching.

• The five True Lords opened the secret realm, and Xuanming and Yuanyan led the Foundation Establishment disciples inside.
• Lu Li felt his fish-shaped jade pendant tremble and fought back nausea, but it fell still before he could inspect what had caused the reaction.
• Ye Chenfeng joined Lu Li, saying he had come to look out for him, and they flew into the secret realm together.
• After the entrance closed, True Lord Xuanyu and True Lord Yuanhao envied Chiyang for taking in Lu Li, while Chiyang teased Bai Yi about Upper White Peak’s lack of talented disciples.
• Lu Li and Ye Chenfeng searched the vast blood-red realm for opportunities and Dao Fruits, then recognized Bai Kun flying toward them.

Bai Kun recognized Lu Li and Ye Chenfeng, but Ye Chenfeng killed him before he could escape. Lu Li and Ye Chenfeng then flew toward the Secret Realm Dao Fruit, where hundreds of cultivators gathered and formed rival groups, leaving Lu Li wondering why some older cultivators seemed frightened.

• Bai Kun recognized Lu Li and Ye Chenfeng, then turned to flee because he was outnumbered.
• Ye Chenfeng pursued Bai Kun and killed him with four flying swords, then collected his Storage Bag.
• Lu Li noticed Bai Kun's corpse being absorbed by the blood-colored soil before spotting a five-colored auspicious cloud on the horizon.
• Lu Li and Ye Chenfeng flew toward the cloud and encountered Wu Changgeng and hundreds of other Foundation Establishment cultivators gathering for the Secret Realm Dao Fruit.
• The cultivators formed rival groups, and Lu Li wondered why several older True Persons stood apart looking frightened.

Lu Li watched the Dao Fruit contest erupt into a deadly melee, where Wu Changgeng was killed almost immediately after joining the fight. After Lu Li preserved Wu Changgeng’s soul, a golden Dao Fruit shot straight toward him.

• Lu Li questioned why the elderly Foundation Establishment cultivators had seemed reluctant to pursue the Dao Fruits, while Ye Chenfeng’s Elder Jian warned him not to fight and risk being marked.
• Three golden Dao Fruits emerged from the five-colored clouds, and hundreds of True Persons rushed into the sky to seize them.
• Wu Changgeng charged into the battle, was beheaded within moments, and Lu Li retrieved his soul before it could perish.
• Ye Chenfeng warned Lu Li to dodge as a golden Dao Fruit shot toward him.

Lu Li swallowed a Dao Fruit and was immediately hunted by more than a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, while Elder Jian warned Ye Chenfeng that Lu Li would be trapped in Azure Pool. Ye Chenfeng chose to help anyway, and Lu Li equipped them with his mechanical artifacts before unleashing a laser cannon and opening his Swarm Sword Case.

• A Dao Fruit flew into Lu Li’s mouth, and the pursuing cultivators swarmed after him, trying to seize it before he could refine it.
• Elder Jian told Ye Chenfeng that Lu Li would never leave the Azure Pool region, but Ye Chenfeng ignored his warning and rushed to help Lu Li.
• Lu Li threw Spirit Fire Grenades to halt the attackers briefly, then apologized to Ye Chenfeng for drawing him into the fight.
• Lu Li gave Ye Chenfeng Battle Law Armor 2.0 and a Spirit Machinery Mech 1.0, then focused on refining the Dao Fruit.
• Lu Li fired his Spirit Machinery Laser Cannon and Spiritual Power Cannon at the crowd, injuring several cultivators.
• Lu Li opened his black Swarm Sword Case, revealed three hundred and sixty metal fragments, and called the swords forth.

Lu Li fought off a crowd of Foundation Establishment cultivators with his sword fragments and powerful five-element spells while Ye Chenfeng was gravely wounded protecting him. Lu Li completed refining the Dao Fruit, and the surge of power left him on the verge of a breakthrough.

• Lu Li unleashed a swarm of sword fragments that pierced the defenses of several Foundation Establishment cultivators, killing some and driving Xuanming and others away.
• The remaining cultivators blasted apart Lu Li's Spirit Machinery Mech as Ye Chenfeng fought them with his flying swords, then wounded Ye Chenfeng in the shoulder.
• Furious at Ye Chenfeng's injury, Lu Li abandoned the ruined mech and used second-tier mid-grade five-element spells to hold back the attackers while refining the Dao Fruit.
• Golden light emerged from Lu Li as he completed refining the Dao Fruit, prompting the surrounding cultivators to abandon him and race toward the other two fruits.
• The Dao Fruit's power surged through Lu Li's Dantian, and he realized he was about to break through.

Lu Li refined part of the Dao Fruit and advanced to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, but as the secret realm’s exit vanished and a terrifying will began searching the realm, his hidden jade pendant appeared to draw its attention. The chapter left Lu Li fearing that the living secret realm’s will was looking for his pendant as the pendant erupted with light.

• Lu Li refined two-tenths of the Dao Fruit and broke through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.
• Xuanming and Yuanyan swallowed the other Dao Fruits, then Foundation Establishment cultivators moved to attack all three before the secret realm opened its exit.
• Lu Li tried to leave, but his fish-shaped jade pendant emerged from his spiritual platform, visible only to him.
• The secret realm closed its exit, and a terrifying will pressed everyone down; black blades of grass killed Xuanming and Yuanyan.
• Lu Li sensed that the secret realm was alive and suspected its searching will wanted his jade pendant, which then burst into dazzling light.

Lu Li’s fish-shaped jade pendant began devouring the secret realm’s blood-colored meridians, provoking the realm’s furious will. Outside, the will killed two True Lords, while Lu Li recognized the pendant’s appearance from the vision he had seen while refining his Life-Bound Law Artifact.

• The secret realm’s pressure intensified, injuring and killing Foundation Establishment cultivators as their Law Power fed the realm.
• Lu Li’s jade pendant flared and secretly absorbed the blood-colored meridians, making the mysterious will roar and search for its source.
• True Lord Xuanyu and the other True Lords knelt beneath the dark green markings covering the sky and pleaded with the will.
• A pink tongue tore apart True Lord Xuanyu and the peak master of Supreme Refinement Peak, then dragged them into the secret realm.
• Lu Li watched the pendant absorb the meridians in a growing vortex and realized it resembled the vision from when he refined his Life-Bound Law Artifact.

Lu Li’s jade pendant tore open the blood-colored secret realm, allowing Elder Jian, Ye Chenfeng, a sword pellet, and a broken sword to escape into the stars. The Three Commanderies were revealed as a Demon Beast feeding ground, and the great toad ordered True Lord Yuanhao to repair the Spirit Vein and deal with Lu Li.

• Lu Li’s jade pendant cut through the blood-colored secret realm, exposing the Azure Pool sect grounds and the dark green patterns above the sky.
• Elder Jian urged Ye Chenfeng to flee, summoned a sword pellet and broken sword, and escaped with him beyond the sky into the river of stars.
• The great toad demon appeared over the Three Commanderies, revealing to Lu Li that the region was a pond in a vast Demon Beast crop field.
• The jade pendant returned to Lu Li’s spiritual platform as the Spiritual Qi rapidly declined, and the great toad summoned the three True Lords.
• The great toad ate two True Lords and ordered the surviving True Lord Yuanhao to repair the Spirit Vein and deal with Lu Li.

Lu Li reported that the Azure Pool Three Commanderies were a demon's nest, with a great toad demon ruling over the region and the sect in chaos after the secret realm disaster. Li Yuanchao ordered Great Xia's teams to study the demon and find a way to protect Lu Li, while Lu Dahai joined the research effort.

• Lu Li told Li Yuanchao that the great toad demon and countless insects and beasts occupied the Azure Pool Three Commanderies, and that the demon had eaten four of the five great True Lords.
• Lu Li reported that the Azure Pool Spirit Vein had shattered, the sect was in chaos, and the demon seemed injured but remained dangerous.
• Li Yuanchao partially activated level-one combat readiness and ordered the bureau's teams and seven workshops to analyze the demon and develop countermeasures.
• Lu Dahai begged Li Yuanchao to let him go save his son, but Li Yuanchao, Zhang Xuanqing, and Xu Mu urged him to stay and help.
• Lu Dahai steadied himself and rushed to the laboratory area to support the research effort.

Li Yuanchao's team analyzed Lu Li's chances against the injured Nascent Soul-level great demon and concluded that surviving the immediate crisis could give him a chance to grow. With nuclear weapons unlikely to kill the beast, the researchers renewed their efforts to develop cultivation technology that could help him.

• A strategy team reported that the toad great demon was likely injured and that neighboring Demon Beasts might threaten its territory, giving Lu Li an opportunity to survive and grow.
• Li Yuanchao asked whether nuclear weapons could hurt the great demon, and the clerical soldier said they would probably only work if it exposed its weak points and stayed still.
• Researchers across the seven experimental workshops continued their work despite their doubts about nuclear weapons and their limited progress in cultivation technology.
• The Artifact Refining Industrial Production Workshop and three other workshops began a joint project using an unfinished Spirit Machinery component optimized by Lu Li's Divine Sense.
• Wang Zhiwen urged the researchers to keep working until they built Spirit Machinery powerful enough to challenge the beast.

After Azure Pool Sect was devastated, True Lord Yuanhao took command and forced the surviving disciples to begin repairs. He confessed to Lu Li that fear and desperation had driven him to submit, then told Lu Li they would jointly nurture immortal seedlings and serve the ancestor.

• True Lord Yuanhao proclaimed himself sect master, ordered the disciples to repair Azure Pool Sect, and threatened to kill anyone who disobeyed.
• Yuanhao brought Lu Li to his cave abode and asked what the world and cultivation were like.
• Yuanhao broke down, recounting how years of struggle and the demon’s control had destroyed his hopes and left him desperate to survive.
• Yuanhao told Lu Li that they would share responsibility for nurturing immortal seedlings and making offerings to the ancestor, calling Lu Li his colleague.

True Lord Yuanhao revealed that the Azure Pool Three Commanderies were the Nether Toad Patriarch’s cultivation ground and that Dao Fruit recipients became his blood food, but Lu Li stayed focused on finding a way home. Sent to help repair the shattered Spirit Vein, Lu Li considered the jade pendant’s hidden power and realized the Spirit Vein fragments might be valuable to Great Xia.

• True Lord Yuanhao explained that he served the Nether Toad Patriarch and managed the blessed land, including culling mortals and preparing a blood-food offering every hundred years.
• Yuanhao told Lu Li that Dao Fruit recipients were intended as the Patriarch’s blood food, but Lu Li believed his artifact-refining talent had spared him from being devoured.
• Yuanhao gave Lu Li pills and supplements, ordered him to refine the Dao Fruit and reach Core Formation, and warned that leaving the three commanderies would attract other blessed-land lords.
• At the inner sect, Lu Li put away the pills and examined his jade pendant, suspecting it could grow powerful enough to kill and that it might feed on Blood Qi.
• Lu Li inspected the shattered Spirit Vein and wondered whether its fragments could be sent back to Great Xia.

Lu Li secretly sent a Spirit Vein fragment from Azure Pool to Great Xia, where Bureau 749 installed it and detected a stronger Spiritual Qi revival. He agreed to keep smuggling out fragments and resources, then asked whether the jade pendant could transport yin souls.

• Lu Li used the Mountain-Moving Method to send a Spirit Vein fragment to Bureau 749 while appearing to help repair Azure Pool’s Spirit Vein.
• Lu Li told the Bureau 749 duty officer to have Xu Mu and the others seal the fragment underground, and Xu Mu installed it beneath the base.
• Wang Zhiwen’s researchers detected denser Spiritual Qi and signs that drawing Qi into the body might become possible.
• Lu Li told Wang Zhiwen he could send more fragments, and Wang Zhiwen urged him to exploit the chaos and smuggle out Azure Pool’s resources.
• Lu Li shared True Lord Yuanhao’s account of the situation, and Bureau 749 warned him that other great demons might raid Azure Pool.
• Lu Li agreed to be careful and asked Wang Zhiwen whether yin souls could pass through the jade pendant.

After Spiritual Qi readings surged in Great Xia, Li Yuanchao convened a national meeting and announced plans to accelerate cultivation research and prepare for nationwide cultivation. The chapter left Great Xia poised to train selected veterans as its first standardized cultivators and members of the Cultivation Administration.

• Lu Li confirmed that Yin spirits could be transmitted to Great Xia, but decided not to send back a Foundation Establishment soul until Great Xia was better prepared.
• Spiritual Qi readings rose at Bureau 749’s base, and Li Yuanchao called an urgent meeting as officials recognized the revival was accelerating.
• Li Yuanchao announced that Great Xia would mobilize national resources to develop a safe cultivation system and support Lu Li.
• Officials reviewed an upgraded Self-Cultivation Outline that included a state-verified basic Qi Introduction method.
• Li Yuanchao launched Great Wall Foundation Establishment, selecting qualified veterans for unified cultivation training and the first ranks of the Cultivation Administration.

Great Xia quietly introduced the second phase of its cultivation guidelines at universities, naming students as the first group to practice. Students and staff initially mocked the Qi Introduction method, but some began trying it, and Director Wang admitted he might be sensing Qi himself.

• Li Yuanchao announced that Great Xia would seize the opportunity to become a leader in the age of cultivation.
• Great Xia distributed the disguised Phase Two cultivation guidelines through universities, making students the first designated group to begin cultivation.
• Li Ming found the Basic Guiding Breathing Method in the document and joked about it in his class chat, where classmates and the counselor treated it as a gag.
• Students across the country discovered that their universities had received the same document, and some began to suspect it might be genuine.
• Some students tried the Qi Introduction method, while counselors debated the guidelines and heard reports of students feeling heat and swelling in their lower abdomens.
• Director Wang said universities should follow the higher-ups' instructions, then wondered whether he felt a Qi sensation himself.

Lu Yao displayed a mysterious ability while wishing she could join the Great Wall selection, and Great Xia’s military Spirit Root screening found that about one percent of eligible veterans had Spirit Root aptitude. Li Yuanchao approved the next phase, establishing a cultivation force, while dismissing concerns about foreign powers.

• Lu Yao’s squad leader left for the medical examination, and Lu Yao used her unexplained power to send documents flying before wondering whether revealing her ability could let her join the selection.
• The military regions conducted Spirit Root tests, and the preliminary results identified 2,813 qualified veterans with Spirit Root aptitude, roughly one percent of the eligible force.
• Li Yuanchao learned the screening results and approved the second phase of the Great Wall Plan, selecting the top one hundred for Bureau 749 and assigning the other Spirit Root possessors to a new cultivation administration base.
• Li Yuanchao dismissed a report about the Five Eyes Alliance and Beautiful Country, saying Great Xia would focus on Spiritual Qi’s revival.