Chapter Summaries

Fei Ye Shui discussed the Great Wei court’s precarious position and ordered Fei Dongwen to prepare a gift for the Hehuan Sect’s arrival in Mountain North. Meanwhile, Kang Da’s forces regrouped after campaigns in Three Ting and Fa Prefectures, and True Person Crimson Snow arrived at Xuanwei City before leading the Hehuan Sect onward.

• Fei Ye Shui and Fei Dongwen discussed Fei Tianqin’s actions, the Emperor of Wei’s restraint, and the Hehuan Sect’s plan to settle troops in the Three Ting Prefectures.
• Fei Ye Shui told Fei Dongwen to prepare a generous gift for True Person Crimson Snow’s force and privately worried that Kuang Liuting might not be enough to save the imperial clan.
• Kang Da secured permission for the Azure Jue Guard to return home, while Yuan Jin’s forces defeated the Fa Prefecture factions and drove Exalted Cultivator Honggu and Gu Chengsen to flee.
• Kang Da’s allied forces divided their spoils and assessed their casualties, with the campaign bringing resources and gains despite heavy losses among their troops.
• True Person Crimson Snow arrived at Xuanwei City, where Kuang Liuting welcomed her, then departed with the Hehuan Sect for Mountain North.

Kang Changxi confronted Zheng Wanbi’s maid at Little Ring Mountain, while Zheng Taibai negotiated her entry into the Chongming Sect and offered the sect six towns as her tuition gift. After accepting Wanbi as a disciple under Ming Zhe, Kang Dabao led a council meeting that addressed admissions, alliance business, and losses among the sect’s cultivators before asking Kang Changxi about his assigned task.

• Zheng Wanbi arrived at Little Ring Mountain, where Duan Yunzhou barred Nanny Xiu from accompanying her up the mountain without permission.
• Nanny Xiu challenged Duan Yunzhou, but Kang Changxi arrived and frightened her into submission; Zheng Wanbi apologized and proceeded to the council hall.
• Zheng Taibai gave Kang Changxi a gourd Spirit Artifact containing third-tier chi dragon spirit essence and offered Kang Dabao six towns as Wanbi’s tuition gift.
• Kang Dabao assigned Zheng Wanbi to study under Ming Zhe, and Zheng Taibai entrusted her to the Chongming Sect before leaving.
• Kang Dabao ordered limits on Immortal Ascension Assembly admissions, planned to attend Xu Liuxian’s Core Formation Ceremony, and discussed vacant posts and the deaths of Ye Pingshui and Song Cheng.
• Kang Dabao approved Liu Ya as Song Cheng’s successor in the Punishment Hall, then kept Kang Changxi behind and asked how his assigned task had gone.

Kang Da assessed the tense balance between the Office of the Duke of Qin and the Star-Picking Pavilion while the Chongming Sect held a ten-day Dao gathering. With the immortal seedlings assembled, Kang Da and Jiang Qing prepared to travel to Hong County to congratulate Xu Liuxian on attaining a False Core.

• Kang Da discussed Fei Tianqin’s unknown whereabouts and the political balance between the Office of the Duke of Qin and the Star-Picking Pavilion, hoping the Chongming Sect would have time to grow stronger.
• Kang Da reviewed reports about the Chongming Sect’s allies, including the Fearless Tower’s achievements, Tie Liuyun’s dealings with its intelligence network, and Fei Bofeng’s preparations for Core Formation.
• Kang Da’s family and the sect’s cultivators attended a Dao gathering, where Kang Changxi expounded the Dao and Kang Lingyi played with the spirit bird Wan'er.
• Jin Shilun shared his Foundation Establishment insights and submitted his notes to Ye Zhengwen for the Scripture Repository.
• After the ten-day gathering ended and the selected immortal seedlings assembled, Kang Da and Jiang Qing prepared to travel to Hong County to congratulate Xu Liuxian on attaining a False Core.

Sect Leader Kang Da brought a large party from the Chongming Sect to attend Xu Liuxian’s False Core ceremony, where the disciples competed and Xu Liuxian expounded on the Dao. As Kang Dabao prepared to return home, Xu Liuxian showed him an invitation to a Myriad Treasures Trading Company auction.

• Sect Leader Kang Da traveled to Hong County with disciples and Fei Shuhe’s party, collecting gifts from local powers along the way.
• Xu Liuxian welcomed the Chongming Sect party to the Cold Mountain Sect and arranged an arena competition for the disciples.
• Jin Tanglü, Duan Yunzhou, and Tang Jiu impressed the audience with their skills, but Yang Qun won the Yi Wood Green Willow Heart prize.
• Xu Liuxian held his False Core ceremony and shared cultivation insights during a three-day Dao gathering.
• As Kang Dabao prepared to leave, Xu Liuxian asked him to stay and showed him an invitation to a Myriad Treasures Trading Company auction.

Xu Liuxian and Ji Yunsheng gave Sect Leader Kang Da an invitation to the Myriad Treasures Trading Company's auction, and Kang set out for Tengwen Prefecture with his family. At Rosy Lake Mountain, the aging Pu Honggu lamented his lack of the Crimson Realm Life-Prolonging Pill's refining method, then prepared to leave after discussing the Two Instruments Sect's future with Li Yun.

• Xu Liuxian presented the auction invitation inherited by Ji Yunsheng from the fallen Mixed Thunder Four Waters Sect, and Sect Leader Kang Da accepted it after initially refusing.
• Fei Shuhe arranged for Nanny Tang to escort the younger members of the household back to Little Ring Mountain, while Kang Da prepared to attend the auction.
• Kang Da traveled toward Tengwen Prefecture aboard the Kui Star Shuttle with a wife, a concubine, a daughter, and a junior brother.
• Pu Honggu, near the end of his life, destroyed an old pine and cursed Daoist Peng over the missing method for refining the Crimson Realm Life-Prolonging Pill.
• Li Yun told Pu Honggu that the Two Instruments Sect had gained nearly a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, and Pu Honggu ordered the cultivation of new recruits paused for now.
• Pu Honggu told Li Yun he had persuaded an old acquaintance to help train future recruits as Heartless Dao Soldiers, then showed him an ink-dark auction invitation before preparing to leave.

Kang Dabao’s party arrived at the Myriad Treasures Trading Company in Tengwen Prefecture and entered its hidden cave abode for the upcoming auction. After settling into a luxurious courtyard, Kang Dabao examined the auction catalogue and spotted an Evergreen Vine, leaving him eager to consider the lot.

• Kang Dabao led his party to the Myriad Treasures Trading Company, where Yan Fengwu recognized the invitation and escorted them toward the auction venue.
• Yan Fengwu brought the group through a Mirage Qi Screen into the Darkness and Light cave abode, where Senior Wuxuan and an Auspicious Qilin Beast carriage transported them through Lightning Qi and fire Sha.
• Wuxuan delivered the party to a luxurious courtyard, and a maidservant explained that the auction would begin in five days and that guests could view it through a hidden Mirage Qi Screen.
• Fei Shuhe gave the maidservant a Mirror Lake Pearl, then Kang Dabao unfolded the auction catalogue and read through its rare lots.
• Kang Dabao spotted Evergreen Vine in the catalogue and showed immediate interest.

Kang Dabao and the Chongming Sect attended the Myriad Treasures Trading Company's auction, where they were outbid on nearly every treasure they wanted. After the auction, Yang Yongcheng gave Kang Dabao the Evergreen Vine he had failed to buy, while the secret search for a life-prolonging pill remained unresolved.

• Yang Yongcheng visited Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing, then left Yang Wuwei to talk with them; Yang Wuwei suggested a marriage between their families, but Fei Shuhe said the Kang Household would keep Kang Lingyi at home and take in a husband.
• Kang Dabao and the Chongming Sect attended the auction, where Yang Wuwei's connections and Fei Shuhe's presence helped keep other cultivators from troubling them.
• Kang Dabao lost bids on the Yellow Dragon Wood, the Evergreen Vine, and several other treasures, but bought a Phoenix Spirit Jade cheaply and later purchased goods for his family at the company's counters.
• After the auction, Dou Tong asked attendees to provide the method for refining the Crimson Realm Life-Prolonging Pill, prompting excitement among the cultivators, while Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing left without learning whether the exchange succeeded.
• Senior Yang met Kang Dabao on the way back and gave him the Evergreen Vine.

Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing were recruited by Yang Yongcheng to help the Ye Prefecture Yang Household confront the wounded Golden Core cultivator Yang Baofeng. After Yang Baofeng was killed, they returned to Cloud Horn Prefecture, where Zhou Yixiu was tending spirit seeds at Wild Fox Mountain.

• Yang Yongcheng gave Kang Dabao an Evergreen Vine and recruited him and Jiang Qing for an undisclosed urgent task, while Yang Wuwei later compensated them with a Foundation Establishment Pill and other resources.
• Yang Yongcheng and Yang Wuwei met Senior Huang Li in Fu Prefecture, then joined Yang Baoshan to confront Yang Baofeng, who had been hiding in an illusory mountain valley.
• Yang Baofeng broke through the Golden Core cultivators’ encirclement and struck at Senior Huang Li, then charged toward Yang Wuwei, Kang Dabao, and Jiang Qing as they blocked his escape.
• Kang Dabao used his Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes to slow Yang Baofeng’s whip, while Jiang Qing and Yang Wuwei also intervened; both were badly injured before the three Golden Core cultivators caught up.
• Yang Baoshan, Yang Yongcheng, and Senior Huang Li killed Yang Baofeng, and Kang Dabao took the injured Jiang Qing back to Cloud Horn Prefecture.
• At Wild Fox Mountain, Zhou Yixiu carefully treated spirit seeds until his sect leader senior brother arrived and noticed an Evergreen Vine.

Zhou Yixiu refused the evergreen vine and Foundation Establishment Pill, believing his chances of advancing were too low, but Kang Dabao stayed with him and drank with him. Ten days later, Fei Nanying compensated Kang Dabao for his role in the fight against Yang Baofeng and gave him yellow dragon wood, then asked to hear his theory of Core Formation.

• Zhou Yixiu rejected the evergreen vine because he did not want Kang Dabao to spend such a rare treasure on his slim chances of reaching Foundation Establishment.
• Kang Dabao urged Zhou Yixiu to keep trying, but Zhou Yixiu confessed that he missed Xuerong; the two eventually sat together drinking after Yuan Jin brought wine and meat.
• Ten days later, Kang Dabao returned to Little Ring Mountain, then went to check on the injured Jiang Qing before Fei Shuhe called him back with news that Fei Nanying was visiting.
• Fei Nanying met Kang Dabao outside the sect and gave him a Storage Bag containing compensation he had obtained from the Yang Household.
• Fei Nanying told Kang Dabao to keep the yellow dragon wood inside because it suited his Dao Foundation and could aid Core Formation.
• Fei Nanying asked Kang Dabao to explain his theory of Core Formation so he could assess it and fill in any gaps.

Fei Nanying explained how a Core Thesis shaped both Core Formation and later cultivation, prompting Kang Dabao to articulate his own thesis, “Purify the Turbid World.” After Fei Nanying warned that its ambitious scope could hinder him, he revealed the Duke of Qin’s thesis, “Shepherd All Living Beings,” and Kang Dabao later prepared to attempt Core Formation while the Chongming Sect sought stronger disciples and leaders.

• Fei Nanying described the Fei Household’s “Changsheng Immortal” Core Thesis and explained how a cultivator developed a thesis to guide Core Formation and future cultivation.
• Kang Dabao proposed “Purify the Turbid World,” explaining how clear and turbid Qi interacted and how a cultivator could bring clarity to a troubled world.
• Fei Nanying cautioned Kang Dabao that his thesis was too ambitious and advised him to focus on cultivating himself, then revealed that the Duke of Qin had formed his core using “Shepherd All Living Beings.”
• Fei Nanying returned to Xuanwei City after spending time teaching cultivators at the Chongming Sect, and his discourse inspired Wei Gu and others to pursue cultivation.
• Kang Dabao considered the Chongming Sect’s shortage of capable disciples and declined to act on Yang Xun’s request to join the alliance until he came out of seclusion.
• Kang Dabao told Ye Zhengwen that he would enter seclusion to attempt Core Formation, admitting that he would not know his chances until he tried.

Three years later, You Xiaobao settled a dispute between two households in Lush Forest Jia and sought help arranging a future for his son, You Wenrui. After Kang Dabao revealed that his Core Formation attempt had failed, Fei Tianqin returned and announced that he was taking Kang Dabao to Ying Prefecture to meet his younger brother.

• You Xiaobao awarded the Floating Spirit Ground Spring to the Golden Sword Sect in spring and autumn and the Hua Household in summer and winter, while warning the Golden Sword Sect's leader to keep its boundary-marker trick secret.
• You Xiaobao discussed You Wenrui's prospects with Cai Qingyun, then sold spirit fish and other goods before asking Yuan Changsheng to recommend his son as a disciple to Junior Brother Mo.
• Yuan Changsheng revealed his worry that Sect Leader Kang Da's Core Formation attempt had gone poorly.
• Kang Dabao gave Yang Wuwei a Core Formation journal after explaining that he had abandoned a nearly formed Golden Core rather than risk settling for a lower-grade one.
• Fei Tianqin returned from Ying Prefecture, told Kang Dabao to prepare to leave, and said his younger brother wanted to meet him.

Kang Dabao prepared to travel to Ying Prefecture with his family while Fei Tianqin arranged the Fei Household’s relocation and discussed Cloud Horn Prefecture. Before leaving, Kang Dabao settled Chongming Sect business and received a respectful farewell from its disciples.

• Fei Shuhe discussed bringing Kang Changxi and Kang Changyi to Ying Prefecture, and Kang Changxi prepared to leave with his parents and elder brother.
• Fei Tianqin ordered the Fei Household to move to Phoenix Cry Prefecture, assigned Cloud Horn Prefecture to Kang Dabao as a dowry gift, and warned that the Yue Household might threaten him.
• Madam Qi approved Kang Changyi’s trip to the Capital Circuit and asked him to bring back news of the Spirit Offspring Radiant Color Pill.
• Kang Dabao allowed thirty Rogue Cultivator crop cultivators to enter a three-year trial for possible admission to the Chongming Sect and approved Duan Anle’s request for greater Beast Garden support.
• Kang Dabao concluded the sect council, said farewell before leaving Shannan Circuit, and Jiang Qing led the disciples in seeing him off.

Kang Dabao traveled with Fei Tianqin to Ying Prefecture and met Fei Ye Shui, the Fei Household’s aging ancestor. Fei Ye Shui welcomed him without reproach, offered him a chance to compete for a fortuitous opportunity, and the chapter ended with Fei Ye Shui and Fei Tianqin deciding to discuss matters after Kang Dabao formed his core.

• Fei Tianqin carried Kang Dabao and his family from Cloud Horn Prefecture to Ying Prefecture, where Fei Nanxi and Fei Nanyi greeted them.
• Fei Tianqin led Kang Dabao through the Fei Household grounds to meet Fei Ye Shui at the Core-Embracing Terrace.
• Fei Ye Shui and Fei Tianqin brewed and drank pepper wine made with Phoenix Yang Cinnabar Fruit, then invited Kang Dabao to drink some.
• Fei Ye Shui told Kang Dabao he had summoned him to meet his Fei Household relatives and to see whether he could compete for a fortuitous opportunity.
• Fei Ye Shui gave Kang Dabao a jar of pepper wine and urged him to befriend several outstanding figures who would arrive later.
• After Kang Dabao left, Fei Ye Shui and Fei Tianqin changed expressions, and Fei Tianqin said they would discuss everything after Kang Dabao formed his core.

The Fei Household prepared an Ice Mallow Grand Gathering amid growing political pressure from neighboring powers, and Kang Dabao was chosen as one of the gathering’s participants. The chapter ended as Funeng of the Original Response Temple arrived, bringing an old grievance face to face with Kang Dabao.

• Fei Ye Shui and Fei Tianqin discussed a life-prolonging pill, the dangers surrounding the Fei Household, and whether Kang Dabao could help break their deadlock.
• Kang Dabao arrived at the Fei clan lands, where Fei Shuhe reunited with her relatives and the Kang brothers clashed with younger Fei clansmen.
• Fei Wanqing told Fei Shuhe that the Fei Household would hold an Ice Mallow Grand Gathering and share the Five-Spirit Ice Mallow with allied households, prompting Fei Ye Shui to summon Kang Dabao.
• Fei Ye Shui named Fei Nanyi, Fei Wanqing, and Fei Nanxin as the Fei Household’s three competitors, and selected Kang Dabao, Han Chengfeng, and Shu Yuanjiang as invited participants.
• Kang Dabao sought instruction from Fei Household Golden Core cultivators while Han Chengfeng and Shu Yuanjiang arrived for the gathering.
• Gong Butong and Su Changqiu arrived for the gathering, then Funeng of the Original Response Temple appeared and exchanged a resentful glance with Kang Dabao.

At the Fei Household’s Ice Mallow gathering, Kang Dabao and eight other young cultivators entered the Xiezhi Dark Prison to compete by hunting its prisoners. Meanwhile, Ming Zhe’s caravan discovered Evil Cultivators terrorizing Old Wood Valley, and he learned they claimed protection from a Hehuan Sect envoy, leaving him to decide whether to confront them.

• Ma Mangqin presented proof that the Baili Household had yielded its place at the gathering, and Fei Ye Shui accepted the Original Response Temple’s visitors.
• Fei Nanxi opened an entrance to the Xiezhi Dark Prison and explained that the young cultivators would earn points for the prisoners’ souls; their guardians signed a liability agreement.
• Kang Dabao and the other eight young cultivators entered the prison as Fei Ye Shui watched them depart.
• Ming Zhe landed the Double Brightness Caravan’s flying boats to avoid dangerous lightning and planned to rest at Old Wood Valley.
• Ming Zhe’s scouts found that Evil Cultivators had killed the Fang Household’s cultivators and were gathering its mortals, while local officials had been defeated.
• Huangfu Jiang claimed his band acted under orders from Hehuan Sect Spring Wind Envoy Chu Han, threatened the Chongming Sect with a Nascent Soul’s wrath, and displayed a dead disciple; Ming Zhe weighed whether to kill him.

Kang Dabao hunted prisoners in the Xiezhi Dark Prison, then intervened when Tong He threatened Fei Wanqing. After Kang Dabao captured Tong He’s soul and ambushed Su Changqiu, a cultivator arrived with news that Fellow Daoist Shu had been attacked and killed.

• Kang Dabao tracked down and killed a wounded False Core master surnamed Wu, capturing his living soul.
• Over five days, Kang Dabao collected more living souls from injured prisoners before finding Fei Wanqing struggling against Tong He.
• Fei Wanqing lured Tong He toward the concealed Su Changqiu, who fought him with talismans and lightning.
• Su Changqiu killed Tong He, but Kang Dabao ambushed him, broke his talisman treasure, and captured Tong He’s soul.
• An approaching cultivator called to Kang Dabao for help, reporting that Fellow Daoist Shu had been attacked and killed.

Kang Dabao and the Fei Household members fought Su Changqiu, who escaped after using powerful treasures and talismans. After the group learned Gong Butong had killed Shu Yuanjiang, Kang Dabao chose to travel with Fei Nanyi and Fei Wanqing, and the chapter ended when Black Bone stirred near a canyon.

• Kang Dabao, Han Chengfeng, Fei Nanyi, and Fei Wanqing attacked Su Changqiu, but he used the Profound Firmament Canopy, ten-thousand-year jade marrow, and talismans to escape.
• Kang Dabao claimed Su Changqiu's abandoned shield-shaped talisman treasure and shared spoils from the Fat-Eared Core Lord with Han Chengfeng and Fei Nanyi.
• Fei Nanyi told the group that Gong Butong had killed Shu Yuanjiang with the Wen Mountain Cult's scripture and taken his purple jade alms bowl.
• Han Chengfeng left to gather living souls alone, while Kang Dabao continued with Fei Nanyi and Fei Wanqing, intent on confronting Funeng.
• After several days, the three reached a canyon where an old Core Lord might be hiding, and Kang Dabao sensed that Black Bone had moved.

Kang Dabao, Fei Nanyi, and Fei Wanqing entered a miasma-filled canyon in Bing Six Prison Chamber and fought a powerful Mountain Barbarian survivor. As their battle continued, another mysterious swordsman entered the canyon, shocking a Golden Core cultivator watching from outside.

• Kang Dabao reflected on his search for Mountain Barbarian remains and concealed his interest when Black Bone reacted to the canyon’s foul vapors.
• Fei Nanyi identified the miasma, and Fei Wanqing prepared protective pills before the three crossed into the canyon.
• A braided old cultivator confronted them, revealed his Mountain South origins, and attacked with a formidable black-arrow Law Treasure.
• Fei Nanyi, Fei Wanqing, and Kang Dabao joined forces against the old cultivator, who recognized Kang Dabao’s Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes and demanded to know his connection to Zhang Yuandao.
• As the old cultivator weakened and tried to escape, a saber-and-axe-wielding swordsman entered the canyon, prompting a Golden Core cultivator outside to exclaim that he should have died.

Kang Dabao and the Fei family fought Cui Wuyang and the braided old cultivator in Bing Six Prison Chamber, killing the old cultivator while Cui Wuyang escaped. The survivors suspected the convicts were plotting together, and Cui Wuyang returned to a gathering at his lair where a young man was preparing to form a Core using captives.

• Fei Dongwen explained that Grand Eunuch Wei had ordered Cui Wuyang's life spared, while the Shu Household's Golden Core cultivator swallowed his anger.
• Fei Nanyi and Fei Wanqing fought the braided old cultivator as Kang Dabao clashed with Cui Wuyang, whose sword art and cautious tactics kept him dangerous.
• Cui Wuyang decided to retreat, and the braided old cultivator abandoned his defense to attack Fei Wanqing; Kang Dabao deflected the black arrow and killed the old cultivator, then captured his living soul.
• Fei Nanyi warned Kang Dabao that the convicts' actions seemed suspicious, and the three cultivators rested and prepared to continue.
• Cui Wuyang returned to his magnetic mountain lair, where many convicts had gathered, and a potbellied young man revealed that he needed only a few more captives to attempt Core Formation.

Cui Wuyang and Suo plotted to rally the prisoners on Magnet Mountain against the Golden Core seeds hunting them, while Kang Dabao and the Fei uncle and niece fought Funeng and Gong Butong. Kang Dabao killed Gong Butong, and Fei Ye Shui was blamed when the Fei Household’s Mirage Qi Screen shattered.

• Suo told Cui Wuyang that 120 prisoners had gathered on Magnet Mountain and urged him to organize them while they waited for the Golden Core seeds to turn on each other.
• Kang Dabao, Fei Nanyi, and Fei Wanqing tracked down Gong Butong fighting a False Core cultivator and waited for both combatants to weaken.
• Funeng ambushed Kang Dabao, but Kang Dabao struck down his lotus aspect and destroyed the prayer-wheel disguise, forcing Funeng to retreat.
• Kang Dabao and the Fei pair fought Gong Butong until Fei Nanyi broke his final protection and Kang Dabao killed him.
• As Gong Butong died, the Fei Household’s Mirage Qi Screen shattered, and an enraged voice shouted Fei Ye Shui’s name.