Chapter Summaries

Lu Ming used his Golden Pupil to guide Lu Jin through the Peach Miasma Mountain Range to the Peach Mountain Band’s lair, where Lu Jin defeated Guo Kui. As Guo Kui lay dying, he revealed that Zhang Yue, Lu Jin’s former favorite personal disciple, had ordered the attack on Thunderfire Hall.

• Lu Ming discovered that his Golden Pupil let him see through the peach miasma, and he guided Lu Jin into the mountains.
• Lu Ming found the Peach Mountain Band’s hidden manor, and Lu Jin left him in a safe place before attacking.
• Lu Jin smashed through the manor’s restriction, letting the peach miasma flood inside, and struck down Guo Kui as he tried to escape.
• Lu Jin brought Lu Ming to the wounded Guo Kui, who admitted that Lin Changkong had only provided information and that Zhang Yue had ordered the attack.

Lu Ming and Lu Jin learned that Zhang Yue had arranged the attack on Thunderfire Hall through Guo Kui, then killed the Peach Mountain Band leader. While searching Guo Kui’s corpse, they found a poisoned Divine Ability Jade containing the Upper Divine Ability Transformation Technique.

• Guo Kui revealed that Zhang Yue had hired the Peach Mountain Band to raid Thunderfire Hall’s medicinal herb garden and promised Guo Kui a place in the Great Golden Crow Hall in exchange for wiping out the Lu Clan.
• Guo Kui explained that Zhang Yue was nearing thirty Divine Ability Dharma Marks and had a high-grade Foundation Establishment Spirit Object prepared for him.
• Lu Ming revealed that his Golden Pupil let him see through the poisonous miasma, and Guo Kui warned that Zhang Yue had ordered his corpse examined after the Lu Clan was destroyed.
• Lu Jin killed Guo Kui with the Thunderfire Whip, and Lu Ming carefully inspected the corpse with Golden Pupil.
• Lu Ming found a scarlet jade slip hidden in Guo Kui’s lower abdomen, and Lu Jin neutralized its poisonous gas with Thunderfire True Qi.
• Lu Jin identified the jade slip as a Divine Ability Jade containing the Upper Divine Ability Transformation Technique, and Lu Ming learned that it consumed essence blood and vitality to create bloodlight attacks or a blood escape.

Lu Ming and Lu Jin looted the Peach Mountain Band’s storeroom and discovered that Guo Kui had ruined a rare grove of Red Jade Flat Peach Trees by transplanting them. They learned three trees still remained on the estate and went to see them.

• Lu Ming kept Guo Kui’s Transformation Technique, and Lu Jin warned him about its heavy cost in essence blood and vitality.
• Lu Jin caught a Peach Mountain Band member and forced him to lead Lu Ming to the band’s storeroom, where they found valuable goods and over a hundred thousand Heavenly Gold Sand.
• Lu Ming discovered three shriveled Red Jade Flat Peaches in a jade box, and the bandit explained that the fruit could strengthen the body and help Feather Robe Masters condense True Qi when properly refined.
• The bandit revealed that Guo Kui had found five Red Jade Flat Peach Trees in the Peach Miasma Mountain Range, transplanted them to the estate, and caused two to die while the remaining three withered.
• Lu Jin ordered the bandit to lead them to the three remaining Red Jade Flat Peach Trees.

Lu Ming and Lu Jin discovered that the Red Jade Flat Peach Trees were sick because they lacked Spirit Soil, but the Flame of Life could heal their peaches. They decided to move the trees to the Thunderfire Hall and try to cultivate Spirit Soil, then left the estate carrying the trees and Heavenly Gold Sand.

• Lu Jin and Lu Ming found three sick Red Jade Flat Peach Trees and learned from the Peach Mountain Band bandit that they had declined after being transplanted without Spirit Soil.
• Lu Ming used the Flame of Life to restore some color and plumpness to a shriveled Red Jade Flat Peach.
• Lu Ming proposed moving the trees to the Thunderfire Hall and using the Flame of Life to create temporary Pseudo Spirit Soil until the trees and soil could nourish each other.
• Lu Jin and Lu Ming carefully dug up all three trees intact, then Lu Jin collected two chests of Heavenly Gold Sand.
• Lu Jin carried the trees and gold sand as he flew with Lu Ming out of the Peach Miasma Mountain Range to await Lu Ming's father and second uncle.

After reuniting with Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei, Lu Ming revealed that Zhang Yue had masterminded the attack on Thunderfire Hall, then described the riches taken from the Peach Mountain Band’s lair. The Lu family hauled the spoils back to Qingyuan Market, where the market lord and local factions had gathered to welcome them.

• Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei reunited with Lu Ming and learned that Guo Kui had been executed and Zhang Yue had ordered the attack on Thunderfire Hall.
• Lu Jinglei urged Lu Ming to kill Zhang Yue when he became strong enough, and Lu Ming agreed.
• Lu Ming told Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei about the Heavenly Gold Sand, Red Jade Flat Peaches, and Red Jade Flat Peach Mother Tree found in the Peach Mountain Band’s lair.
• Lu Jin, Lu Ming, and Lu Qingyan made several trips to clear out the lair’s storeroom, then loaded the spoils onto a cargo wagon and headed for Qingyuan Market.
• Lu Qingyan learned that the market lord and the local factions were waiting at the city gate to welcome Thunderfire Hall after its victory over the Peach Mountain Band.

Lu Jin returned to Qingyuan Market and confirmed that he had killed Guo Kui, earning the Thunderfire Hall widespread gratitude and acclaim. As the hall’s reputation soared, Lin Changkong resolved to destroy it during the coming rain-weakening period in the Black Rain Zone.

• Zhou Xuan and Qingyuan Market’s leaders welcomed Lu Jin’s party at the city gate and asked whether Guo Kui had survived.
• Lu Jin announced that he had slain Guo Kui and that the Peach Mountain Band was gone from Qingyuan Market, shocking the gathered leaders.
• Lu Ming reunited with Lu Mengmeng and thanked Zhou Fuling for reassuring his family while he was away.
• The faction leaders praised Lu Jin, while Lin Changkong left without greeting him and recognized that their feud could no longer be reconciled.
• Lin Changkong planned to destroy the Thunderfire Hall during the Black Rain Zone’s rain-weakening period, when Zhou Xuan would be occupied.

Lu Ming used his Flame of Life to restore the three Red Jade Flat Peach Trees at Thunderfire Hall’s ancestral hall, then discussed using two ripened peaches to help Lu Jin advance to the True Qi Realm. The family agreed to seek Zhou Xuan’s help as they prepared for the threat of Lin Changkong.

• Lu Ming healed the three Red Jade Flat Peach Trees, restoring their vitality and helping them exchange life force with the soil.
• Lu Ming revealed that he had fully condensed his seventh Divine Ability Dharma Mark and showed the family three ripened Red Jade Flat Peaches.
• Lu Ming offered two peaches to Zhou Xuan to refine a pill for Lu Jin, arguing that the family needed to hasten Lu Jin’s advancement because Lin Changkong remained a threat.
• Lu Jin agreed to the plan and gave Lu Ming one hundred thousand in Heavenly Gold Sand to offer Zhou Xuan as payment.
• Lu Ming put away the peaches, took the Heavenly Gold Sand, and headed to the workshop headquarters.

Lu Ming met Cheng Shan and her companions, Ye Yuan and Ye Ling, at Zhou Xuan’s district office and learned that Ye Yuan was another prospect cultivating the Sun-Shining Golden Flame Banner. Zhou Xuan then revealed that Lu Ming was chiefly there to study the alchemical Dao, leaving Cheng Shan and the Ye siblings astonished.

• Lu Ming entered the inner courtyard, where Cheng Shan questioned him about cultivating the Sun-Shining Golden Flame Banner and Ye Ling reproached him for not answering.
• Zhou Xuan and Zhou Fuling arrived, and Zhou Fuling introduced Lu Ming to Ye Ling and Ye Yuan while defending his third-tier Divine Ability Hall background.
• Ye Yuan apologized for Ye Ling’s sharp words, and Lu Ming learned that Ye Yuan had also cultivated the Sun-Shining Golden Flame Banner and reached Minor Accomplishment.
• Ye Ling said Ye Yuan might reach Major Accomplishment before His Highness arrived, prompting Lu Ming to suspect that His Highness was the powerful figure selecting prospects.
• Cheng Shan criticized Zhou Xuan for letting Lu Ming make little progress, but Zhou Xuan said Lu Ming was chiefly studying the alchemical Dao under him.
• Cheng Shan, Ye Yuan, and Ye Ling were astonished when Zhou Xuan described Lu Ming as a genius in the alchemical Dao.

Cheng Shan arrived at Qingyuan Market with Ye Yuan and Ye Ling, while Zhou Xuan defended Lu Ming’s alchemy talent and discussed the coming Rain Weakening Period. Lu Ming asked Zhou Xuan to refine an elixir for his grandfather, but Zhou Xuan made the favor conditional on Lu Ming reaching Minor Accomplishment in the Sun-Shining Golden Flame Banner.

• Zhou Xuan told Cheng Shan that Lu Ming had successfully refined a Qi Refining Elixir on his first attempt, and Cheng Shan questioned whether Zhou Xuan was neglecting his duties.
• Cheng Shan, Ye Yuan, and Ye Ling left to settle into their lodgings, while Ye Ling and Cheng Shan urged Ye Yuan to pursue Zhou Fuling as a marriage connection for the Ye Lineage.
• Zhou Xuan told Lu Ming that the Black Rain Zone’s Rain Weakening Period would begin in a month and bring treasure-hunting parties and disorder to Qingyuan Market.
• Lu Ming presented Zhou Xuan with two Red Jade Flat Peaches and one hundred thousand Heavenly Gold Sand, asking him to refine a high-tier elixir for his grandfather.
• Zhou Xuan agreed to refine the elixir if Lu Ming reached Minor Accomplishment in the Sun-Shining Golden Flame Banner, explaining that Cheng Shan’s presence made Lu Ming’s progress especially useful.

Zhou Xuan warned Lu Ming that the coming Rain Weakening Period would bring a dangerous expedition into the Black Rain Zone, where enemies might target Lu Jin. Lu Ming returned to Thunderfire Hall determined to strengthen his grandfather and himself before the danger arrived, while Zhou Xuan hinted at a beneficial opportunity.

• Zhou Xuan explained that Qingyuan Market's powers would be sent to reinforce the Divine Ability Restriction during the Rain Weakening Period, when treasure hunters and disorder would also flood the market.
• Lu Ming worried that Lin Changkong and Zhang Yue might use the chaos to attack Lu Jin, and decided his grandfather needed to become a genuine True Qi Master before the period began.
• Lu Ming promised to reach Minor Accomplishment in the Sun-Shining Golden Flame Banner within ten days and asked Zhou Xuan to refine the pills in advance; Zhou Xuan agreed.
• Zhou Xuan stored the Red Jade Flat Peach and half the Heavenly Gold Sand in his Heaven and Earth Sleeve, which Zhou Fuling revealed was far less impressive than he claimed.
• Zhou Xuan urged Lu Ming to cultivate thirteen strands of Clear Qi and hinted that doing so would help him benefit from an upcoming opportunity to improve his Primordial Qi.
• Lu Ming thanked Zhou Xuan and returned to Thunderfire Hall carrying the remaining fifty thousand Heavenly Gold Sand.

Lu Ming spent ten days cultivating the Sun-Shining Golden Flame Banner and the True Explanation of Six Refinements of Clear Qi to prepare for the opportunity Zhou Xuan had hinted at. With one day left before his deadline, he ate his last Red Jade Flat Peach while Lu Mengmeng watched enviously.

• Lu Ming used Fire Lotus Yuan Qi to raise the Sun-Shining Golden Flame Banner to the Minor Accomplishment Realm, studied its structure, and then worked to condense it with his own Primordial Qi.
• Lu Ming continued cultivating the True Explanation of Six Refinements of Clear Qi and increased his Clear Qi from eight strands to eleven.
• With one day left before the deadline he had agreed on with Zhou Xuan, Lu Ming found that his golden banner was nearly complete and decided to use his remaining Red Jade Flat Peach.
• Lu Mengmeng rushed over and tried to charm Lu Ming into sharing the peach, but he ate it in front of her while she watched in frustration.

Lu Ming refined the Red Jade Flat Peach, reaching Minor Accomplishment in the Sun-Shining Golden Flame Banner and strengthening his Sun-Shining Golden Body. The next day, he went to the market office to turn in his homework and brought Zhou Fuling a peach for her birthday, where he encountered her sparring with Ye Yuan.

• Lu Mengmeng ate the last bite of Red Jade Flat Peach, and Lu Ming noticed that her body was nearing the start of the Spirit Skin Technique.
• Lu Ming buried the peach pit and cultivated, absorbing its Primordial Qi until he formed the Sun-Shining Golden Flame Banner at Minor Accomplishment and improved his Sun-Shining Golden Body.
• Lu Ming went to the market office and watched Zhou Fuling defeat Ye Yuan in a divine ability sparring match.
• Zhou Fuling confronted Lu Ming for missing her birthday, and Lu Ming explained that he had spent ten days cultivating.
• Lu Ming offered Zhou Fuling a Red Jade Flat Peach, and she accepted it despite Ye Ling mocking the gift.

Lu Ming proved he had reached Minor Accomplishment in the Sun-Shining Golden Flame Banner and received a True Formation Mystic Peach Pill from Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan announced that a Spirit Pill Jiao would be held in four days, leaving Lu Ming eager to attend.

• Lu Ming demonstrated his Minor Accomplishment Sun-Shining Golden Flame Banner, astonishing Zhou Fuling, Ye Yuan, Ye Ling, and Cheng Shan.
• Zhou Xuan gave Lu Ming a True Formation Mystic Peach Pill refined with Red Jade Flat Peaches.
• Zhou Xuan learned Lu Ming had cultivated eleven strands of Clear Qi and told him Thunderfire Hall could come to the market offices in four days.
• Zhou Xuan revealed he would hold a Spirit Pill Jiao, where cultivators could absorb Pill Qi to strengthen their Primordial Qi.
• Cheng Shan asked Zhou Xuan to reserve places for Ye Yuan and Ye Ling, and Zhou Xuan agreed.

Lu Ming and the other powers of Qingyuan Market gathered at Zhou Xuan’s banquet, where the market master announced a Spirit Pill Jiao and an imposing guest from the capital drew attention. As young scions competed for Zhou Fuling’s company, she left them and approached Lu Ming to call in a favor.

• Lu Ming gave Li Yan a Red Jade Flat Peach in gratitude for her support, and she accepted it warmly.
• Lu Ming and his family entered the administration, where Zhou Xuan and Zhou Fuling welcomed them and the Qingyuan Market powers arrived for the feast.
• Lu Jin said Lu Ming and Lu Qingyan would take part in the Spirit Pill Jiao, while Lu Jinglei urged Lu Qingyan to let Lu Ming go instead.
• A proud woman named Ye Ling attended with Ye Yuan, and the assembled leaders sensed her formidable Primordial Qi.
• Yan Qing, Yan Zhizhi, and Li Shuang joined Ye Ling and Ye Yuan in courting Zhou Fuling, trading veiled barbs as Fuling tried to smooth things over.
• Zhou Fuling caught Lu Ming laughing at the awkward gathering, approached him, and said it was time for him to repay her help.

Zhou Fuling recruited Lu Ming to help draw attention away from her, but his boastful claims about winning the Spirit Pill Jiao angered the other young cultivators. Zhou Xuan began the ceremony and explained its rules, then invited the participants to enter the pill furnace and gather Qi.

• Zhou Fuling asked Lu Ming to accompany her and praised his pill-art talent to the other young cultivators.
• Lu Ming boasted that he would take first place and gather the most Pill Qi, provoking Yan Zhizhi, Ye Ling, Li Shuang, and Yan Qing.
• Zhou Fuling worried the others would target Lu Ming during the ceremony and promised to protect him, but he dismissed her concern and returned to the Thunderfire Hall tables.
• Zhou Xuan summoned a huge lotus-leaf-shaped pill furnace, filled it with pill fire, and spread its medicinal fragrance across the market administration compound.
• Zhou Xuan warned that gathering Pill Qi would temporarily weaken Dharma Pattern Pills, prohibited another Spirit Pill Jiao for a year and fighting inside the furnace, and told the participants to enter.

Lu Ming used his Clear Qi to gather Pill Qi far more efficiently than the other participants in the Spirit Pill Jiao, while Lu Qingyan collected it the hard way. After seeing Zhou Fuling’s even greater advantage and spotting Xu Xiong and Zhao Changming, Lu Ming suggested that he and his father collect some interest from Golden Gang Sword Hall.

• Lu Ming and Lu Qingyan entered the pill furnace and began gathering Pill Qi from the pill mist.
• Lu Ming discovered his Clear Qi could draw out Pill Qi directly, then shared a strand with Lu Qingyan.
• Lu Ming sent all thirteen strands of Clear Qi to gather Pill Qi, causing Yan Qing, Yan Zhizhi, Ye Yuan, and Ye Ling to withdraw from his area.
• Lu Ming saw Zhou Fuling using twenty strands of Clear Qi to gather Pill Qi even faster than he could.
• Lu Ming spotted Xu Xiong and Zhao Changming of Golden Gang Sword Hall and asked Lu Qingyan if they should collect some interest from them.

Lu Ming harassed Xu Xiong and Zhao Changming by using his thirteen streaks of clear light to steal Pill Qi, while Lu Qingyan protected him. As the pill fire intensified and the mist thinned, the Spirit Pill Jiao entered its final stage, when the true harvest began.

• Lu Ming ignored Xu Xiong's warning and began taking Pill Qi from the area Xu Xiong and Zhao Changming were gathering in.
• Lu Ming followed the two as they moved, leaving them with fewer than ten wisps while he collected more than a hundred.
• Lu Qingyan confronted Xu Xiong when he threatened Lu Ming, but Xu Xiong held back because Divine Ability battles were forbidden in the Spirit Pill Jiao.
• Xu Xiong and Zhao Changming stopped gathering and waited for the strengthening pill fire to force Lu Ming to leave.
• As the pill mist thinned and the heat intensified, Lu Ming and the other Qi gatherers struggled to collect the emerging Pill Qi, and the Spirit Pill Jiao entered its final stage.

Lu Ming and Zhou Fuling used their pill furnaces to gather Pill Qi and drove Xu Xiong from the Spirit Pill Jiao. With only the two of them left, Zhou Fuling challenged Lu Ming to endure until the end in exchange for promising him one thing.

• As the pill fire intensified, Zhou Fuling formed a jade-green pill furnace that shielded her from most of the heat and absorbed Pill Qi, and Lu Ming followed by summoning his Fire Lotus Pill Furnace.
• Lu Ming discovered that his furnace blocked the pill fire completely and absorbed Pill Qi more powerfully than Zhou Fuling's, astonishing the other Qi gatherers.
• Yan Qing, Yan Zhizhi, Ye Ling, Li Shuang, Lu Qingyan, and the other Qi gatherers withdrew as the heat grew unbearable, leaving Lu Ming, Zhou Fuling, and Xu Xiong inside.
• Lu Ming and Zhou Fuling sent their furnaces to either side of Xu Xiong and drained the Pill Qi around him; when Xu Xiong tried to scatter it, Zhou Xuan's furnace expelled him for violating the ban on divine ability combat.
• After Lu Ming offered to withdraw and let Zhou Fuling gather the remaining Pill Qi, she refused and promised him one thing if he stayed in the Spirit Pill Jiao until the very end.

Lu Ming and Zhou Fuling competed to endure the Spirit Pill Jiao, but Lu Ming secretly relied on his Fire Lotus Pill Furnace to shield him from the heat. They left together before Zhou Fuling could damage her foundation, and Zhou Xuan then restored the gathered Pill Qi to its true form, leaving everyone curious about how much Lu Ming and Zhou Fuling had won.

• Lu Ming used the Fire Lotus Pill Furnace to absorb Pill Qi while pretending to struggle against the heat, and Zhou Fuling pushed herself to keep pace.
• As Zhou Fuling neared her limit, Lu Ming feigned exhaustion and asked to leave together, and she agreed to call their wager a draw.
• Lu Ming steadied Zhou Fuling as they exited the Spirit Pill Jiao, and she grew suspicious when she felt that his hand was cold.
• Zhou Xuan ended the Spirit Pill Jiao and refined the gathered Pill Qi into golden Pill Qi for the participants.
• Lu Qingyan received five strands, Xu Xiong received only three, and the guests waited to learn how much Lu Ming and Zhou Fuling had obtained.

Lu Ming gained eleven strands of golden Pill Qi in the Spirit Pill Jiao, more than Zhou Fuling, and began absorbing them to strengthen his cultivation. After Zhou Xuan arranged for Qingyuan Market’s families to reinforce the Great Divine Ability Restriction before the Rain Weakening Period, Lu Ming’s group left the banquet, where Zhou Fuling called to him.

• Lu Ming and Zhou Fuling revealed eleven and nine strands of golden Pill Qi, respectively, surprising the gathered families.
• Cheng Shan questioned Zhou Xuan about whether he had favored Lu Ming, while Lu Ming jokingly thanked Zhou Xuan for the supposed kindness.
• Lu Ming absorbed the Pill Qi and estimated that it could give him three more Divine Ability Dharma Marks, bringing his total to ten; he decided to keep his progress secret from the Golden Gang Sword Hall.
• Zhou Xuan told the families to send Divine Ability Masters and Great Divine Ability Practitioners to help plant Restriction Flags before the Rain Weakening Period, and they agreed.
• Lu Ming’s group left the banquet, and Lu Mengmeng told him that Zhou Fuling was calling for him by the side gate.