Recaps

Tang Yuan and the new Qi Refinement disciples learned that the Holy Cardamom Sect charged steep prices for its cultivation methods and punished anyone who objected. The chapter ended with Tang Yuan facing a three-day deadline to decide whether to take out a predatory loan for the Purple Cloud Nine Mysteries Scripture.

• Ding Chunqiu introduced four Qi Refinement methods and told the disciples to choose one based on their circumstances.
• Tang Yuan chose the Purple Cloud Nine Mysteries Scripture, hoping to improve his chances of Foundation Establishment and distance himself from the sect’s devilish reputation.
• Ding Chunqiu revealed that the Jade Slips required payment to unlock, and he killed a disciple who protested the cost.
• Tang Yuan learned that the complete methods were sold in costly portions, making cultivation texts unaffordable for many disciples.
• Ding Chunqiu promoted the Outstanding Talent Merchant Association’s loans, whose high interest and collateral terms included borrowers’ bodies and souls.
• Tang Yuan asked for time to consider borrowing, and Ding Chunqiu gave the disciples three days before their next chance to buy a method would come thirty years later.

Tang Yuan tried to sell a strand of Great Kun Moonlight at the Eastern Huang Gathering to raise enough spirit coins to buy the Purple Cloud Nine Mysteries Scripture. Kou Cheng bought it with most of the payment in cash and unsold goods, leaving Tang Yuan still short and considering a loan from Ding Chunqiu.

• Ding Chunqiu's warning that the cultivation manuals would not be available again for thirty years drove disciples to buy manuals or sign loan agreements.
• Tang Yuan decided to sell a strand of Great Kun Moonlight after his other sales left him with only 2,200 spirit coins, short of the 4,050 he needed for both stages of the Purple Cloud Nine Mysteries Scripture.
• Tang Yuan offered the strand to Kou Cheng for 2,000 spirit coins, and Kou Cheng agreed to consult an expert before deciding whether it was worth the price.
• Kou Cheng returned and publicly warned other stallholders not to poach Tang Yuan's deal, then paid him 1,200 spirit coins and offered formation jade discs and the Hehuan Transformation Scripture for the rest.
• Tang Yuan accepted Kou Cheng's offer to sell the Great Kun Moonlight and considered Kou Cheng's advice to borrow from Ding Chunqiu.

Tang Yuan secured a four-hundred-spirit-coin loan and a promising apprenticeship after Ding Chunqiu learned he had a Thunder Spirit Root. With his cultivation-method jade slips in hand, Tang Yuan headed to Refining Peak, where the sect's brutal production workshops awaited him.

• Tang Yuan asked Ding Chunqiu to help him borrow four hundred spirit coins, offering jade formation plates and himself as collateral.
• Ding Chunqiu learned that Tang Yuan had a Thunder Spirit Root and arranged a loan through the Outstanding Talent Merchant Association.
• Ding Chunqiu gave Tang Yuan letters directing him to Liu Yixiao for the loan and discounted cultivation methods, and to Feng Bin for an apprenticeship in formation-making.
• Tang Yuan borrowed four hundred spirit coins from Liu Yixiao and paid eight hundred and ten spirit coins for jade slips containing the early- and middle-stage methods of the Purple Cloud Nine Mysteries Scripture.
• Tang Yuan flew to Refining Peak and saw its crowded workshops, where cultivators toiled under harsh conditions.

Tang Yuan became Feng Bin’s disciple to learn lightning-array making and received two cultivation methods, with three arrays due in three months. After leaving the workshop, he caught Du Qing’s escaped spirit chicken and flew away after giving it back to her.

• Feng Bin accepted Tang Yuan as a disciple and assigned him to make lightning arrays, warning him about Gang Lightning Mountain and setting a deadline of three arrays in three months.
• Feng Bin gave Tang Yuan two cultivation methods and required him to pay for materials himself, offering five spirit coins for each completed Lesser Heavenly Gang Soul-Extinguishing Lightning Array.
• Tang Yuan left the workshop and saw Du Qing struggling to catch a purple-crested, five-colored spirit chicken while the other cultivators ignored her pleas.
• The chicken escaped the courtyard and dropped droppings under Tang Yuan’s foot, so he caught it as it sprang into the air.
• Tang Yuan returned the chicken to Du Qing and explained how to catch one safely, then flew east without answering her question about his name.

Tang Yuan used Tang Yi to expose the hidden requirement for making Lesser Heavenly Gang Soul-Extinguishing Lightning Arrays, then built a profitable production routine that helped him reach Qi Refining Fourth Layer and repay his loan. Ding Chunqiu offered him work with the Outstanding Talent Merchant Association, but after Tang Yuan refused, Ding Chunqiu barred him from selling his arrays, leaving Tang Yuan intent on getting rid of him.

• Tang Yuan rented a cave abode near Gang Lightning Mountain and had Tang Yi test Feng Bin's cultivation methods before using them himself.
• Tang Yi discovered that the arrays required cultivator Essence Blood, so Tang Yuan bought it through Kou Cheng and began making arrays for Feng Bin.
• Tang Yuan's eel harvest fell sharply, but Tang Yi made more than 550 arrays over the next year while Tang Yuan cultivated to Qi Refining Fourth Layer.
• Tang Yuan repaid 880 spirit coins to Ding Chunqiu, who offered him a position as an array maker for the Outstanding Talent Merchant Association.
• Tang Yuan declined the offer to preserve time for cultivation, and Ding Chunqiu threatened to prohibit him from selling his arrays.
• Tang Yuan decided he had no choice but to get rid of Ding Chunqiu.

Tang Yuan emerged from closed-door cultivation and agreed to refine two thousand thunder arrays for Feng Bin, hoping to earn enough spirit coins for the coming secret realm. After Feng Bin left, Du Qing arrived and asked to stay the night, leaving Tang Yuan to connect her visit to the rabbit he had seen in his courtyard.

• Tang Yuan cultivated in seclusion while Tang Yi remained away on a trip north to pick up scraps.
• Tang Yuan found a magpie and a snow rabbit squabbling over spirit bean alfalfa in his courtyard before Feng Bin arrived.
• Feng Bin complained about the sect’s preparations for the Barbarian Di Secret Realm and asked Tang Yuan to make two thousand Lesser Heavenly Gang Soul-Extinguishing Lightning Arrays for seven spirit coins each.
• Tang Yuan accepted Feng Bin’s offer despite the risk of later trouble with Ding Chunqiu, since Tang Yi would bear the cost of refining the arrays.
• Du Qing arrived at Tang Yuan’s gate after dark and asked to stay the night.

Tang Yuan defeated Du Qing's attempt to harm him, advanced to the Qi Refinement Fifth Layer, and secured a large array order despite rising material costs. After hearing about Ding Chunqiu's interference, Kou Cheng suggested that Tang Yuan find a Foundation Establishment High Person to back him.

• Tang Yuan hosted Du Qing and learned artifact-refining insights before she attempted to exploit him through dual cultivation.
• Tang Yuan used the Hehuan Transformation Scripture to drain Du Qing despite her confession that Su Wei had sent her and knew of a Foundation Establishment opportunity in the Starfall Sea.
• Tang Yuan reached the Qi Refinement Fifth Layer, collected Du Qing's soul, destroyed her corpse, and recovered artifact-refining instructions from her belongings.
• Tang Yuan signed an eight-thousand-spirit-coin array order with Feng Bin, then discovered that rising material prices would leave him only two thousand spirit coins in profit.
• Kou Cheng treated Tang Yuan to a meal and offered to buy more Great Kun Moonlight Spiritual Qi, but Tang Yuan said he had none left.
• Tang Yuan explained that Ding Chunqiu had forbidden him from selling arrays, and Kou Cheng suggested finding a Foundation Establishment High Person as a backer.

Tang Yuan arranged to buy materials from Kou Cheng and learned about the sect’s power structure, then traveled to the Starfall Sea seeking a Foundation Establishment opportunity. There, Su Wei confronted him, and Tang Yuan’s attack vanished against him, leaving Tang Yuan fearing his opponent was far stronger than expected.

• Tang Yuan negotiated with Kou Cheng to buy materials for two thousand formations, and Kou Cheng described the sect’s cultivation ranks and influential Foundation Establishment cultivators.
• Tang Yuan decided to seek backing from High Person Li Bai, and Kou Cheng said Li Bai wanted a rare purple jade huang hidden in the Barbarian Di Secret Realm.
• Tang Yuan decided he would not enter the secret realm, obtained a travel permit, and flew west to search the Starfall Sea for the opportunity Du Qing had mentioned.
• Tang Yuan searched the Starfall Sea for several days, then flew farther east until he reached a deserted island to rest.
• Su Wei confronted Tang Yuan and demanded to know what he had done to Du Qing.
• Tang Yuan attacked Su Wei with mystical light, but the attack vanished against him, making Tang Yuan suspect Su Wei might have reached Foundation Establishment.

Tang Yuan battled Su Wei and the white-robed soul spirit, then used a deceptive ambush that seemingly destroyed both their bodies. Su Wei escaped into his Dark Nether Cave-Vista Ten Thousand Ghost Banner, leaving Tang Yuan stunned as he held an ordinary soul-summoning banner.

• Tang Yuan discovered that Su Wei carried an extraordinary purple-lettered soul-summoning banner and fought him, forcing Su Wei to summon Zhao Xiaode, a powerful white-robed soul spirit.
• Tang Yuan struggled against Zhao Xiaode and fled underwater to recover while Su Wei and the soul spirit waited above the sea.
• Tang Yuan returned with an Explosive Talisman, then used smoke talismans to conceal his approach and seize Su Wei from behind.
• Su Wei escaped Tang Yuan's Blood Skeleton Technique Lightning with a soul-shedding technique, while the blast shattered both Tang Yuan's and Su Wei's physical bodies.
• Tang Yuan appeared in an identical flesh-and-blood body with a soul-summoning banner, but Su Wei slipped into his purple-lettered banner before Tang Yuan could capture him.

Tang Yuan reversed time to capture Wuma Lin’s soul and learned about the Ghost Qi Sect treasures and the banner found at Nine Springs Mountain. After returning to the Holy Cardamom Sect, he heard that its northern campaign centered on Nine Springs Mountain and began considering investigating it himself.

• Tang Yuan used Time Reversal to seize Su Wei’s departing soul and made the soul spirit Zhao Xiaode submit to him.
• Wuma Lin explained that he had found the Profound Nether Cavern Radiance Myriad Ghost Banner and ghost-cultivation texts in a cave on Nine Springs Mountain.
• Tang Yuan searched Wuma Lin’s Storage Bag, found several cultivation manuals and spirit coins, and studied the Witch Ghost Dao Book on a deserted island for ten days.
• Tang Yuan returned to the Holy Cardamom Sect, arranged another delivery date with Kou Cheng, and went to his cave abode.
• Tang Yi reported that the sect’s northern campaign focused on Nine Springs Mountain, where the Ghost Qi Sect had once been based, and Tang Yuan considered investigating the site for more treasures.

Tang Yuan prepared for the Barbarian Di Secret Realm assessment, hoping to find a purple jade pendant while securing a chance to obtain complete cultivation methods from High Person Li Bai. At the gathering, he considered joining Qian Xiaobao’s team before six Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived and High Person Ming Kun announced the trial’s objective: pull out the orcs’ teeth.

• Tang Yuan bought the Soul-Driving Technique from Kou Cheng and learned from Zhao Xiaode that he knew where the purple jade pendant was hidden.
• Over two years, Tang Yi refined two thousand lightning arrays, while Tang Yuan refined three souls into ghost spirits and prepared for the secret realm.
• At Seeking the Dao Square, Tang Yuan weighed the risks of the assessment and the possibility of using the Mystic Spoon to escape danger.
• Qian Xiaobao invited Tang Yuan to join a team with Gao Rui, Huang Jie, and Qi Yao, arguing that Tang Yuan’s Purple Cloud Nine Mysteries Scripture made him valuable in close combat.
• Six Foundation Establishment cultivators appeared, and High Person Ming Kun revealed that the secret realm’s orc tribes were the targets of the trial and ordered the disciples to pull out their teeth.

Tang Yuan learned the Barbarian Di Secret Realm trial rules and entered the realm to hunt orcs for spirit teeth. The High Persons revealed that the sect had sent so many disciples to gather resources for True Essence Pills, and they feared that at most a hundred disciples would return.

• Ding Chunqiu explained that disciples had to collect specified numbers of orc spirit teeth during the forty-day trial, with rewards for exceeding the minimum and no sect cut from other spoils.
• Tang Yuan declined to join Qian Xiaobao’s team and entered the secret realm alone, following the other disciples through the gate.
• After the disciples departed, High Person Yaoxi questioned why the sect had sent more than two thousand Qi Refinement disciples into the dangerous realm.
• High Person Ming Kun explained that the sect needed spirit teeth to refine ten True Essence Pills for aging Foundation Establishment High Persons, or it risked losing them and inviting attacks from rival sects.
• High Person Kui Xuan predicted that one or two in ten would return, while High Person Li Bai estimated that at most a hundred would survive.

Tang Yuan entered the Barbarian Di Secret Realm and headed north in search of the purple jade huang, but a juvenile Four-Horned Rhinoceros brought its enraged mother after him. After three days of fleeing, he escaped into a cave and, hearing ghostly sounds within, ventured deeper with his ghost spirits.

• Tang Yuan traveled north through the secret realm, hoping to find the orc tribe that possessed the purple jade huang.
• He tried to kill a juvenile Four-Horned Rhinoceros, but its tough hide repelled his attack, and its mother charged in and resisted his spells and talismans.
• Tang Yuan fled as the adult Four-Horned Rhinoceros pursued him for three days, thwarting his attempts to escape or distract it.
• Tang Yuan found a cave too small for the rhinoceros to enter and took refuge inside, leaving Tang Yi to guard him while he slept.
• Awakened by cold, resentful Qi and faint weeping, Tang Yuan summoned Luo Biao, Zhang Yang, Du Qing, Wuma Lin, and Zhao Xiaode and cautiously led them deeper into the cave.

Tang Yuan left the Thousand Ghost Cavern after harvesting ghost spirits, red ore, and orc teeth, then headed north in search of the purple jade huang. He rescued Qi Feiming and six other disciples from a demonic spider and learned that orc canines were tied to the sect’s higher cultivation breakthroughs.

• Tang Yuan and his ghost spirits spent ten days fighting and devouring the cave’s wandering souls, though Luo Biao and Zhang Yang were killed; he then mined red ore and collected thousands of orc canines before leaving the Thousand Ghost Cavern.
• Tang Yuan traveled north and found a demonic spider feeding on Holy Cardamom Sect disciples, including Qian Xiaobao and Qi Feiming, who begged him to save them.
• Tang Yuan used six Lesser Heavenly Gang Soul-Extinguishing Lightning Arrays to weaken and kill the spider, then destroyed its remains.
• Tang Yuan rested with the rescued disciples and asked them for orc canines, claiming a Four-Horned Rhinoceros had chased him for half a month.
• Qi Feiming arranged for the disciples to give Tang Yuan their canines and explained that orc teeth helped the sect’s cultivators advance toward the Purple Mansion Realm and Golden Core fruition.

Qi Feiming explained how cultivation realms, Spiritual Qi grades, and Lodge Positions worked, and why the Holy Cardamom Sect needed orc canines from the Barbarian Di Secret Realm. As the group rested, Tang Yuan learned how Qian Xiaobao and his companions had survived and grew wary of Qi Feiming’s search for a jade necklace.

• Qi Feiming described the cultivation realms and explained that cultivators needed increasingly rare grades of Spiritual Qi to advance and attain a Lodge Position.
• Tang Yuan asked why the sect collected orc canines, and Qi Feiming said they yielded third-grade Spiritual Qi needed by Foundation Establishment cultivators attempting to reach Purple Mansion.
• Tang Yuan asked whether extra canines could be sold to the sect, and Qi Feiming estimated that each orc elite canine could be worth at least five Spirit Stones.
• The group agreed on a watch order for the night, and Qian Xiaobao told Tang Yuan that he, Gao Rui, Huang Jie, and Qi Yao had barely survived after orc tribes united and sect disciples began fighting over canines.
• Qian Xiaobao explained that Qi Feiming had offered to recommend the four survivors as inner disciples if they helped him find a jade necklace.
• Tang Yuan suspected Qi Feiming might be seeking a purple jade huang and decided to keep his own plans guarded in case Qi Feiming had ill intentions.

Tang Yuan and Qi Feiming’s group discovered that an orc camp was protected by an array that suppressed their cultivation, and Gao Rui died in the first battle. After seven days of fruitless attacks, Qi Feiming killed Huang Jie for trying to leave, then ordered Tang Yuan and the others to continue fighting for one more day.

• Qi Mingfei led eight disciples toward the orc camp, where they found thousands of soldiers and charged in, expecting an easy victory.
• The array suppressed the group’s cultivation and disabled their techniques; Gao Rui was killed, and Tang Yuan and six others escaped after two hours of fighting.
• Qi Feiming rejected the group’s plan to retreat and ordered them to attack the array and take turns fighting the orcs for seven days.
• After the array remained intact and the group killed fewer than thirty percent of the orcs, Huang Jie tried to leave for the teleportation point.
• Qi Feiming severed Huang Jie’s head and ordered the others to fight for one more day; Tang Yuan and the remaining disciples reluctantly charged back into the array.

Tang Yuan returned to the orc camp and forced the chief to surrender the Purple Jade Huang by defeating the tribe’s soldiers with his ghost spirits. He then traded for jade rings and agreed to exchange red spirit crystals for elite orc teeth.

• Tang Yuan waited for Qi Feiming to leave the formation, then entered the orc camp and demanded the chief’s Purple Jade Huang.
• The chief refused, so Tang Yuan summoned more than a hundred ghost spirits, who overwhelmed the orc soldiers without killing them.
• The chief yielded the Purple Jade Huang and brought Tang Yuan two unadorned jade rings.
• Tang Yuan recognized the chief’s red spirit crystal as the same ore he had found in the Thousand Ghost Cavern.
• The chief offered two thousand elite lower left canine teeth for a hundred red spirit crystals, and Tang Yuan agreed to the trade.

Tang Yuan reached the teleportation portal, outmaneuvered Qi Feiming and Qian Xiaobao, and returned to Holy Cardamom Mountain as Qi Feiming escaped with the Purple Jade Huang. After the sect debated punishing the surviving disciples, Qi Feiming and Tang Yuan stepped forward when High Person Su Ying asked who had found the jade.

• Tang Yuan raced to the portal and found Qi Feiming and Qian Xiaobao waiting to demand the Purple Jade Huang.
• Tang Yuan threw the jade huang aside to distract Qi Feiming, then reached the shrinking portal and escaped after tossing explosive talismans at him.
• Qi Feiming used a serpentine sword to escape the Barbarian Di Secret Realm with the Purple Jade Huang, while Tang Yuan turned in a small number of beastman teeth and kept his larger supply.
• Ding Chunqiu reported the poor harvest, and the High Persons argued over whether to exile the surviving disciples before discussing the Purple Jade Huang and the Solar One Qi Divine Light.
• High Person Su Ying asked which disciple had found the Purple Jade Huang, and Qi Feiming and Tang Yuan both stepped toward the platform.

Tang Yuan exposed Qi Feiming for taking his Purple Jade Huang and secured Qi’s Silver Snake Sword in exchange. Qi’s jade huang proved fake, while Tang Yuan presented a genuine one containing Mystic Wood Spiritual Qi, leaving High Person Kui Wood confronted with the real treasure.

• Tang Yuan told the High Persons that Qi Feiming had taken his Purple Jade Huang, and Qi admitted he had not paid for it.
• Tang Yuan demanded Qi’s Silver Snake Sword instead of spirit money, and Qi reluctantly handed it over.
• Tang Yuan revealed that he had found two Purple Jade Huang, prompting High Person Yaoxi to ask for the remaining one.
• Qi Feiming offered his own jade huang, but High Person Kui Wood found it was fake and crushed it.
• High Person Yaoxi showed High Person Kui Wood Tang Yuan’s genuine Purple Jade Huang and identified its Mystic Wood Spiritual Qi.

Tang Yuan used a fake Purple Jade Huang to expose Qi Feiming and secured a nominal place under High Person Li Bai by presenting the real artifact. He then revealed thousands of beastman canine teeth he had found at an altar, and High Person Ming Kun declared that his two contributions merited the Solar One Qi Divine Light Cultivation Method.

• Tang Yuan presented a fake Purple Jade Huang, and High Person Kui Wood killed Qi Feiming after discovering the jade was false.
• High Person Yaoxi declared Tang Yuan innocent and offered him a chance to join one of the six peaks; Tang Yuan chose High Person Li Bai's school and gave him the real Purple Jade Huang.
• High Person Li Bai accepted Tang Yuan as a disciple in name and gave him the Purple Cloud One Qi Treatise's Qi Refinement section and a strand of Spiritual Qi.
• High Person Kui Wood objected to passing the Solar One Qi Divine Light to Tang Yuan unless he made a major contribution, so Tang Yuan revealed a large supply of beastman canine teeth.
• Ding Chunqiu and a Treasure Pavilion disciple counted 8,800 teeth, and Tang Yuan explained he had found them at a beastman altar.
• High Person Ming Kun ruled that Tang Yuan had made two great contributions and that he could receive the Solar One Qi Divine Light Cultivation Method.

Tang Yuan reviewed his gains from the Barbarian Di Secret Realm and received a warning that High Person Li Bai would leave for five years, leaving him vulnerable to Ding Chunqiu. He paid Qian Xiaobao to gather information about the sect while preparing to leave with Li Bai.

• Tang Yuan assessed his treasures and expenses, resolved to find a safer cave abode, and planned to refine his metal-attribute Spiritual Qi to reach the Qi Refinement Seventh Layer.
• Qian Xiaobao delivered a sect letter and a sword from Kou Cheng; Tang Yuan recognized the forged Seven Stars Sword as a gift for his eldest son, Tang Tiansong.
• Tang Yuan read High Person Li Bai's letter announcing his departure for five years of seclusion at the Starfall Sea and warning him to beware of High Person Kui Wood.
• Qian Xiaobao told Tang Yuan about the upcoming Mid-Autumn Dao gathering, and Tang Yuan feared Ding Chunqiu would attack him whether he attended or stayed in his cave abode.
• Tang Yuan lent Qian Xiaobao 1,000 spirit coins and paid him another 500 to monitor sect news, especially news about Ding Chunqiu, then left with him to visit Kou Cheng.

Tang Yuan arranged to convert his spirit money into Spirit Stones and fled the Holy Cardamom Sect for Golden Shell Island, where he lived in seclusion, cultivated, and made plans with his allies. After reaching the Qi Refinement Seventh Layer and selling his surplus Spiritual Qi, he headed to the market hoping to buy Moon Jade Radiance.

• Tang Yuan paid Kou Cheng to arrange the purchase of Spiritual Qi so he could take Spirit Stones out of the sect, accepting the losses and fee.
• Tang Yuan left the Holy Cardamom Sect and traveled to Golden Shell Island, where he hid from Ding Chunqiu and resumed life as a reclusive cultivator.
• Tang Yuan awakened the Earth Flood Dragon in the Mystic Spoon, called her Hou Fei, and traded books and writings for her Nether Bureau cultivation methods.
• Tang Yuan gave Kang Cang and Liu Hanchuan Spiritual Qi and Spirit Stones to help them cultivate and gather information, then sent Hu Mei'er and Huang You'er to find a cave near Loulan City.
• Tang Yuan refused to have his children cultivate immortality, broke through to the Qi Refinement Seventh Layer, and sold his surplus Spiritual Qi for a total of twenty-five thousand three hundred and fifty-six Spirit Stones.
• Tang Yuan disguised himself and went to the cultivator market, hoping to buy Moon Jade Radiance.

Tang Yuan visited Ascension City’s market on Perching Clouds Island, where he talked with a mortal family and decided to head home that day. Above the island, Zheng Yuan and other Purple Mansion cultivators discussed True Person Qin’s plans, while a Song Household cultivator stopped Tang Yuan and summoned him to the medicine pavilion.

• Zheng Yuan tried to divine Tang Yuan’s cultivation but stopped when a fierce wind disrupted her, and she accused True Person Qin of planning to consume the island’s inhabitants.
• The Song Household patriarch and other Purple Mansion cultivators warned Zheng Yuan not to interfere with True Person Qin’s Divine Ability fusion, though Zheng Yuan hoped it would fail.
• Tang Yuan ate breakfast at a bun stall and spoke with its cultivator-owner about their past work as spirit-fishing laborers and their families.
• Tang Yuan felt homesick and decided to leave for home that day, whether or not he found Moon Jade Radiance.
• A Song Household cultivator stopped Tang Yuan outside the market and said the shopkeeper wanted to see him, making Tang Yuan suspect the household had discovered his demonic-sect affiliation.

Tang Yuan received an Honored Guest Privilege Slip from the Song Household after spending over twenty thousand Spirit Stones in Ascension City, then tried to buy a thousand wisps of Moon Jade Radiance from Wu Ningning. Wu Ningning offered a discounted price but said she could not provide the Spiritual Qi that day.

• Song Ping'an gave Tang Yuan an Honored Guest Privilege Slip, which granted him and his associates free lodging and waived sales commissions in Ascension City for sixty years.
• Tang Yuan arranged for the Song Household to return the commission on a purchase he planned to make that day.
• Tang Yuan visited the Wu Household shop and asked to buy a thousand wisps of Moon Jade Radiance.
• Wu Ningning revealed she had a thousand wisps and offered them for two Spirit Stones and six Spirit Sand each.
• Wu Ningning told Tang Yuan that he would not be able to obtain the thousand wisps that day.

Tang Yuan realized that the attack on Ascension City was a trap meant to reap the lives of its thousands of cultivators and tried to escape without becoming entangled in the slaughter. He was stopped by the sight of a bun shop owner's murdered family and confronted the young Devil Cultivator who had killed them.

• Wu Ningning agreed to fetch over a thousand strands of moon jade radiance from Huai'an City, and Tang Yuan made a written agreement with her.
• Tang Yuan collected the Song Household's Honored Guest Privilege Slip and headed to a luxurious inn.
• Devil Cultivators and Bandit Cultivators invaded Ascension City after its protective formation shattered, and the city's cultivators began killing and plundering one another.
• The Mystic Spoon and Calming Talismans helped Tang Yuan resist a mind-bewitching Divine Ability, and he concluded that a Purple Mansion cultivator was targeting the lives of the city's cultivators.
• Tang Yuan ran for the city gate but found the bun shop owner's family butchered, then questioned a young Devil Cultivator who admitted killing them.