Chapter Summaries

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox traded for the damaged Yuan Chen Ginseng at the auction, then left Imperial Void City and bought a Crimson Lightning Wolf from a stall. They continued through the market in disguise, pleased with their purchase and the stall owner’s respect for Big Black Ox.

• Chen Xun offered a thousand-year Black Sandalwood Mushroom for the Yuan Chen Ginseng, silenced the auction hall’s stares by slamming down his axe, and completed the exchange backstage after paying a handling fee.
• The palace dress woman invited Chen Xun and Big Black Ox to a gathering, but Chen Xun refused and hurried away with Big Black Ox.
• Chen Xun complained about the auction’s handling fee and said they would avoid small auctions in the future, then suggested buying demonic beast meat to celebrate.
• At a stall near Soaked Immortal Mountain, Chen Xun bought the Bearded Man’s Crimson Lightning Wolf for sixty spirit stones, despite the Bearded Man asking for fifty-five.
• The Bearded Man realized Chen Xun had overpaid and tried to return the extra stones, but Chen Xun and Big Black Ox had already disappeared.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox found Li Miao being driven away from the Cultivation Heart Pavilion after he tried to buy a cave abode, and they encouraged him to pursue a Foundation Establishment Pill at next year's Centennial Grand Meet. After taking him home and leaving him to recover, Chen Xun reflected that without eternal life, he might have ended up struggling much like Li Miao.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox stopped when they heard Li Miao pleading to buy a cave abode at the Cultivation Heart Pavilion.
• A Foundation Establishment cultivator blasted Li Miao to the ground and ordered him to leave, scattering his Spirit Stones.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox picked up Li Miao's Spirit Stones, comforted him, and learned he hoped to buy a stable home for his family.
• Chen Xun promised to contribute one hundred Spirit Stones toward Li Miao's bid for a Foundation Establishment Pill at next year's Centennial Grand Meet.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox escorted the injured Li Miao to his shack, where Chen Xun refused his offer of one hundred Spirit Stones and urged him to recover.
• As Chen Xun departed, he reflected that without eternal life he might have lived and struggled much like Li Miao, who lay in bed hoping to bid for a pill next year.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox spent a year in Imperial Void City preparing for the Qian Kingdom’s Centennial Grand Meet, as famed prodigies emerged from seclusion. Before the meet began, they discovered that Li Miao had died and buried him beyond the kingdom, then left his grave in silence.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox returned to Soaked Immortal Mountain and spent their days cooking Crimson Lightning Wolf and cultivating instead of attending auctions.
• As the Centennial Grand Meet approached, Ren Wei and Mu Qing emerged from seclusion as Golden Core cultivators with Heavenly Spirit Roots, while Kong Yongyuan and other sect prodigies prepared to compete.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox went to visit Li Miao but learned that he had died three days earlier, before the grand meet.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox carried Li Miao’s coffin to the Heaven Severing Great Plains, buried him without a marker, and played a suona and bell beside his grave.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox sat silently before Li Miao’s grave, said their farewells, and departed as their Longevity Points were added to their defense.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox explored Imperial Void City and entered the Great Estimation Hall for the grand auction. They settled into their assigned room, excited to watch the gathering of powerful cultivators.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox admired the Great Estimation Hall and surveyed the grand meet’s bustling central district.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox decided to attend the Auction Convention, despite its costly admission fee.
• Chen Xun disguised himself as a Golden Core Stage cultivator and paid one thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones for entry while Big Black Ox entered as his spirit beast.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox entered the Great Estimation Hall and found their Earth-rank room, number 357.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox attended the Qian Kingdom’s century Auction Grand Meet and bought the Jade Spirit Chapter for thirty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. They received the cultivation method and watched the auction continue with their funds greatly reduced.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox read the auction rules and learned that bids were binding and items could be delivered through a Teleportation Array.
• The Auction Grand Meet began, and the Jade Spirit Chapter was offered as an auxiliary method that strengthened internal spiritual power but made breakthroughs more difficult.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox bid against other cultivators, raising their offer to thirty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
• A Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator collected their Spirit Stones, and the Jade Spirit Chapter was teleported into their room.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox watched the auction and bid on the Northern Cold Blazing Jade Furnace, hoping to improve Chen Xun’s pill-refining success. They won the damaged furnace for 125,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones and left with it in a Storage Bag.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox watched expensive auction lots and joked about finding a Spirit Stone vein so they could become wealthy cultivators.
• The auctioneer introduced the Northern Cold Blazing Jade Furnace, explaining that it had once been an Earth Grade Low Rank furnace but had fallen to Mystic Grade Mid Rank.
• Chen Xun decided to buy the furnace, and Big Black Ox confirmed they had 143,152 Low-Grade Spirit Stones remaining.
• As the bidding rose, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox raised their offer to 125,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox won the furnace, celebrated, and received it in a large Storage Bag.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox watched the Centennial Grand Meet’s auction, then left after the Low-Grade Nascent Soul Pill drew bids far beyond their means. They earned Spirit Stones selling common goods in Imperial Void City, where the Heavenly Pride Battle began five days later.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox watched Nascent Soul treasures sell for vast numbers of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and brawled after Big Black Ox knocked over Chen Xun’s Nourishing Life Tea.
• The auctioneer presented the Low-Grade Nascent Soul Pill, and cultivators began bidding thousands of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones for it.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox left the auction and sold five-hundred-year spiritual herbs and Foundation Establishment pills around Imperial Void City for modest profits.
• Five days later, the Heavenly Pride Battle began in central Imperial Void City as cultivators and powerful figures gathered around the Battle Arenas.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox watched a grand combat gathering in Imperial Void City, where Kong Yongyuan and Shen Yu fought after trading insults. More prodigies arrived and took their places on the Battle Arenas as the gathering reached its climax.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox joined the crowd and munched melon seeds while waiting for the gathering to begin.
• Kong Yongyuan arrived, landed on the Battle Arena, and challenged anyone to fight him.
• Shen Yu arrived and traded contemptuous insults with Kong Yongyuan before the two began fighting.
• Kong Yongyuan and Shen Yu battled fiercely, each sustaining some injuries as the fight continued.
• Yu Dong, Ning Wu, Si Luo, and other prodigies arrived and took their places on the Battle Arenas, trading insults ahead of further fights.

After spending several carefree days watching the Heavenly Pride Gathering, Chen Xun returned to Soaked Immortal Mountain and studied the Jade Spirit Chapter. Cultivating it brought an unexpected spiritual power boost and let him feel his cultivation advancing as his foundation grew stronger.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox watched the chosen ones battle for three days, then left the gathering for Soaked Immortal Mountain.
• Chen Xun decided to study the Jade Spirit Chapter while Big Black Ox returned to tend the spirit herbs.
• Chen Xun examined the method’s circulation route and discovered that it boosted his spiritual power when he cultivated it.
• Chen Xun continued cultivating as five chains of elemental spiritual power circled him and his foundation steadily solidified.
• Chen Xun murmured about the Qi Condensation Stage, Foundation Establishment Realm, and Golden Core Stage while Big Black Ox watched over him.

Chen Xun spent half a year cultivating the altered Jade Spirit Chapter, causing his mana to sublime before he finally woke. He reclaimed Big Black Ox’s notebook, and the two immediately fought over it.

• Chen Xun realized the Jade Spirit Chapter had changed to cleanse impurities from his mana, and he worried that it made breakthroughs much harder.
• As Chen Xun remained unconscious, Big Black Ox guarded him and recorded his mutterings in a notebook while his mana grew increasingly powerful.
• The Heavenly Pride Battle ended, and a talented Foundation Establishment cultivator joined the Pill Cauldron Sect; Ren Wei’s Flower Meet performance impressed outsiders, while Mu Qing was preferred by the inner circle.
• After half a year, Chen Xun woke as his five mana chains withdrew into his body, and Big Black Ox gave him the notebook it had filled during his cultivation.
• Chen Xun claimed the notebook as his own, prompting Big Black Ox to attack him and spar over it.

Chen Xun taught Big Black Ox the Jade Spirit Chapter, then used the Northern Cold Blazing Jade Furnace to refine Five Elements Pills and discovered that it greatly improved his pill formation. After Big Black Ox finished cultivating and Chen Xun completed his pill refinement, the two relaxed beside the stream and celebrated their long lives.

• Chen Xun finished condensing the Qi Condensation portion of the Jade Spirit Chapter and explained the method to Big Black Ox.
• Chen Xun inspected the Northern Cold Blazing Jade Furnace, found it compatible with divine sense, and began refining pills while Big Black Ox cultivated outside.
• The furnace turned purple under the influence of the Five Elements qi and condensed the medicinal power, surprising Chen Xun.
• Big Black Ox finished cultivating faster than Chen Xun, and Chen Xun's pill formation rate rose by thirty percent with the new furnace.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox rested beside the stream, sang their version of the Longevity Song, and imagined the future.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox emerged from a hundred years of seclusion as mid Golden Core great cultivators, then returned to Soaked Immortal Mountain to plan their next century of cultivation and crafting. Chen Xun realized Crane Spirit Trees might provide material for Big Black Ox’s Natal Magic Treasure, while their plans ended with Chen Xun punching the overawed ox into the stream.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox closed their cave dwelling and cultivated for a hundred years, spending their Longevity Points on defense, Essence of All Things, and speed.
• They broke through to mid Golden Core and left the mountain to buy meat and investigate the auctions they had missed, learning that an eight-hundred-year Yu Chen Grass had been sold.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox renewed their cave dwelling for two hundred years and discussed seeking materials for True Essence Pills, Natal Magic Treasures, and their future plans.
• Big Black Ox proposed making Natal Magic Treasure array flags from Crane Spirit Trees, and Chen Xun realized the trees’ spiritual qi might make them suitable.
• Chen Xun promised to try refining the array flags once they had enough spirit stones, and Big Black Ox kowtowed to him until Chen Xun punched it into the stream.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox spent another century quietly cultivating in Imperial Void City, refining their Natal Magic Treasures and advancing the Jade Spirit Chapter. As the next grand gathering approached, they prepared to spend their accumulated wealth searching the auctions for two spirit herbs.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox earned modest sums each month, kept a low profile, and spent a hundred years practicing and nurturing their treasures.
• Chen Xun developed the Axe Technique of Nature by following the Myriad Things Trajectory, though only fallen leaves showed its effects.
• Big Black Ox fully refined its Black Coffin, restrained its death energy with the Five Elements Golden Cores, and checked their plan for the Bandit Set.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox shared tea and reflected on their quiet life after finishing their daily cultivation.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox accumulated over 1.2 million Low-Grade Spirit Stones, completed condensing the Foundation Establishment stage of the Jade Spirit Chapter, and prepared for the three Auction Conventions.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox attended the Auction Convention but found none of its items useful, then watched Golden Core geniuses fight while Imperial Void City grew tense under the Ten Great Immortal Sects’ crackdown. Four months later, they returned for another auction and performed a ritual, hoping to obtain Yu Chen Grass and Jade Stamen Night White Ganoderma.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox entered Great Estimation Hall and waited for the Auction Convention to begin.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox ignored the auction items, left early after seeing the low-grade Nascent Soul Pill as the finale, and later watched Golden Core geniuses battle.
• The Ten Great Immortal Sects violently punished Qian Kingdom cultivators who caused trouble in Imperial Void City and threatened anyone who challenged their authority.
• Four months later, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox returned for the second Auction Convention and prayed for a successful bid.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox toasted Heaven, Immortals, and Buddhas with Nourishing Life Tea, determined to obtain Yu Chen Grass and Jade Stamen Night White Ganoderma.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox attended the auction and eagerly bid on a Five Extremes Array formation diagram. They won it for 351,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones and left Big Black Ox still concerned about its cost.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox were interrupted during their ritual when three cultivators entered to investigate the smoke, and they told the cultivators to leave.
• The auction began, and Chen Xun and Big Black Ox waited for the spiritual herbs they wanted.
• The auctioneer presented a Five Extremes Array formation diagram, and Chen Xun urged Big Black Ox to bid up to 1.2 million Spirit Stones.
• Big Black Ox outbid the competition until a rival stopped bidding, and he won the diagram for 351,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox celebrated, paid for the diagram, and Big Black Ox stored it in a Storage Bag before swallowing it.

After Chen Xun and Big Black Ox failed to find the spirit herbs they needed, Chen Xun planned for the next six hundred years and they returned to the Great Estimation Hall’s auction a century later. Finding no herbs again, they stopped at Ink Feather Pavilion, where Chen Xun began haggling over array materials.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox left the auction after finding none of their needed spirit herbs, then joked about cultivation and encountered a fortune-teller who turned Chen Xun’s fake injury into a busy stall.
• At their cave dwelling, Chen Xun planned for the next six hundred years, resolving to focus on cultivation and their Natal Magic Treasures rather than sell herbs and pills every month.
• Four months later, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox attended their final Auction Convention, but again found no spirit herbs and left the Great Estimation Hall empty-handed.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox entered Ink Feather Pavilion to look for materials for the Five Extremes Array diagram.
• Chen Xun revealed his Golden Core cultivation, inspected goods on the second floor, and challenged the pavilion’s prices by citing other shops he had checked.

Chen Xun bargained for formation materials and gave them to Big Black Ox before beginning a twenty-year effort to condense his Golden Core Stage mana. He emerged with five tangible, weighty mana chains that drove the surrounding spiritual energy away.

• Chen Xun negotiated the price of formation materials down to fifteen thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones per liang and bought additional items from Ink Feather Pavilion.
• Chen Xun gave Big Black Ox thirty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones' worth of formation materials and urged it to study formations.
• Chen Xun began condensing his mana while Big Black Ox practiced setting up formations and kept watch over their Cave Dwelling.
• Twenty years passed as Chen Xun cultivated the auxiliary technique, and the pressure around the Cave Dwelling grew strong enough to slow Big Black Ox's mana.
• Chen Xun emerged with five tangible chains of mana coiling around him as the surrounding spiritual energy recoiled and scattered.

After twenty years in seclusion, Chen Xun emerged to find Big Black Ox had completed a powerful defensive array, and they reunited after another twenty years of separate cultivation. They enjoyed a free three-day trip to Imperial Void City before beginning the final sixty years of their hundred-year plan.

• Chen Xun emerged from twenty years of seclusion and learned that Big Black Ox had spent the time studying and completing the Five Extremes Array.
• Big Black Ox activated the array around their cave abode using Chen Xun's blood essence, revealing a powerful barrier that concealed and protected their home.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox celebrated with a feast while Chen Xun shared his cultivation experiences and Big Black Ox recorded them before entering seclusion.
• Another twenty years passed as Chen Xun practiced, tended their herbs, and sold goods; Big Black Ox then emerged from seclusion and reunited with him.
• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox spent three days enjoying Imperial Void City without spending spirit stones, then returned home to begin the final sixty years of their hundred-year plan.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox repeatedly lost spirit stones at the Auction Convention after fantasizing about visiting major sects, while the Qian Kingdom’s powers quietly prepared to expand north. At their third convention, a rare Jade Stamen Night White Ganoderma went up for bidding.

• The Ten Great Immortal Sects began quietly consolidating their power and preparing to explore the northern lands beyond the Wu Kingdom.
• Sixty years after Big Black Ox emerged from seclusion, Chen Xun and Big Black Ox set out to stock up at the Auction Convention, joking about robbing sects and one day visiting their spiritual herb gardens.
• They repeatedly attended the Auction Convention, fleeing after each visit having spent over a thousand spirit stones.
• At their third visit, an auctioneer presented a seven-hundred-year-old Jade Stamen Night White Ganoderma and set its starting bid at thirty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox won the Jade Stamen Night White Ganoderma at the auction but failed to find Yu Chen Grass, so they settled in Imperial Void City and spent a century preparing to open a talisman shop. As Chen Xun rested outside their quiet shop, a familiar woman appeared and walked toward him.

• Chen Xun and Big Black Ox bid 150,000 spirit stones for the Jade Stamen Night White Ganoderma and won it, but Yu Chen Grass never appeared at the auction.
• They renewed their stay at Soaked Immortal Mountain, cultivated the ganoderma, trained their abilities, and waited fifty years before buying a remote shop.
• Chen Xun opened the shop with basic supplies and practiced making talismans while Big Black Ox studied formations, but few customers came and sales remained poor.
• Fifty years later, Chen Xun rested outside the shop during spring, reminiscing about the past and the people he had known.
• A cold, elegant woman appeared at the street corner, smiled, and walked toward Chen Xun's shop.