Recaps

Qin Fei and Fifty-Eight entered the tower and began recording its murals and unusual floor tiles for Yama Hall. Qin Fei realized the murals’ inscriptions formed fragments of a Cultivation Method, while a floor mechanism teleported the Gu insect cultivator away when he attacked.

• Qin Fei and Fifty-Eight flew to the tower, entered its first-floor hall, and found Rogue Cultivators unable to proceed farther.
• Qin Fei and Fifty-Eight divided Yama Hall’s recording task, with Qin Fei studying the four murals and Fifty-Eight examining the jade floor squares.
• Qin Fei recognized the murals’ markings as the special seal script Yunxiu had explained and realized the four inscriptions formed part of a Cultivation Method.
• The Gu insect cultivator confronted Qin Fei over the death of his Gu insect and charged at him with white maggots.
• The Gu insect cultivator vanished after touching a jade square, and Qin Fei turned to the Rogue Cultivators to learn how the floor mechanism worked.

Qin Fei discovered that the tower’s jade tiles followed the same solution as the Heavenly Secrets Sect’s Inheritance Wooden Lock, allowing him to climb floors without being randomly transported. He reached the second floor, recorded its murals and layout, and left by stepping onto a jade tile to continue exploring.

• Fifty-Eight learned from the Rogue Cultivators that the tower’s jade tiles randomly transported anyone who stepped incorrectly, and that only a flawless climb from the first floor could reach the top.
• Fifty-Eight was transported away after several successful steps, prompting Qin Fei to realize the floor pattern matched the Inheritance Wooden Lock laid flat.
• Qin Fei forced the remaining Rogue Cultivators out of the first-floor hall so he could test his solution without witnesses.
• Qin Fei followed the correct sequence through the first floor and entered the second floor before another cultivator appeared.
• Qin Fei drew the second floor’s layout and murals, noted the order of four more characters, and stepped onto a jade tile to continue.

Qin Fei completed his mural-mapping task, evaded the Gu worm cultivator with a puppet, and secretly climbed the hundred-floor tower. He reached the final floor, where he found Fairy Caiyi waiting in the safe zone.

• Qin Fei reported mapping 105 floors to the Impermanence Envoy, who accepted the task as complete and let everyone go.
• The Gu worm cultivator attacked a black-robed figure, but the figure exploded into a puppet and destroyed his Gu worms.
• Qin Fei returned to the tower and began waiting for empty floors so he could climb without being seen.
• As fewer cultivators explored the tower, Qin Fei climbed faster and reached the 108th floor three months later.
• Qin Fei saw Fairy Caiyi sitting cross-legged in the final floor's safe zone.

Qin Fei was trapped at the secret realm’s bronze door while Fairy Caiyi waited nearby, but a barbarian attack on Shangyu Market forced her to leave. Alone at last, Qin Fei deciphered the murals and uncovered the Creation Spirit-Bestowing Scripture.

• Fairy Caiyi recognized Qin Fei, stayed by the bronze door, and spent a month answering some of his cultivation questions while he waited for a chance to investigate.
• Fairy Caiyi learned that the Barbarian Tribe’s army had reached Shangyu Market and left to help defend the city, warning Qin Fei to stay behind.
• Qin Fei worried about his friends in the city, then examined the final mural and arranged its characters in the correct order.
• A brilliant light appeared in Qin Fei’s sea of consciousness, revealing an ancient book titled the Creation Spirit-Bestowing Scripture.

Qin Fei used the Heavenly Mystery Key to pass through the bronze door and discovered a hidden space containing a vast pool and the Heavenly Mystery Elder’s offerings. After finding a concealed exit, he left with the offerings and the pool’s spirit liquid, gaining a secluded place for his puppet factory.

• Qin Fei used the Heavenly Mystery Key to open the bronze door and entered after sending puppets to scout ahead.
• Qin Fei followed a winding path through the fog to a pool of strange spirit liquid, then found the Heavenly Mystery Elder’s portrait, a metal-headed yellow dog, a bone, and bamboo slips.
• Qin Fei activated the bone with Spiritual Power and discovered a separate space containing a ruined cottage named Puppet Abode, which he planned to use for his puppet factory.
• Qin Fei kowtowed before the offering table, causing an arched exit to appear, then collected the objects and thanked the Heavenly Mystery Elder.
• Qin Fei used the Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse to drain the pool of spirit liquid and left through the archway.

Qin Fei escaped the Barbarian Tribe’s capture of the secret realm and returned to Shangyu Market, where Daoist Fuchen took control and ordered the city sealed. Qin Fei tried to leave with his friends, but they found the city gate closed and heavily guarded.

• Qin Fei learned that the Barbarian Tribe’s attack on Shangyu Market had been a feint to seize the secret realm, and he fled through the chaos.
• Daoist Fuchen took charge of Shangyu Market, ordered a counterattack, and sealed the city so no one could leave.
• Qin Fei returned to his courtyard, packed away his puppets, and decided to leave Shangyu Market because he feared the city could fall.
• Tang Zhan, Tiezhu, Xu Meiniang, Old Zhang, and Wang Hu joined Qin Fei as he prepared to leave.
• Qin Fei and his companions reached the city gate and found it shut, with guards enforcing the order that no one could leave.

Shangyu Market sealed its gates and conscripted its registered Rogue Cultivators as war with the barbarians loomed. After Fairy Caiyi secured safer duties for Qin Fei and his companions, Qin Fei refined his mustard seed space and was visited by the blood-stained Yunxiu, who offered him a great fortuitous opportunity.

• Tiezhu learned that the Lin and Lu Households had sealed Shangyu Market because war was imminent and registered Rogue Cultivators would be conscripted.
• Qin Fei gave Tiezhu puppet balls for protection, then returned to the puppet scrapyard after accepting that he could not flee.
• Shangyu Market announced that all registered Rogue Cultivators had to defend against and counterattack the barbarian army, while a military merit exchange offered valuable rewards.
• Fairy Caiyi arranged relatively safe assignments for Qin Fei and the others, though Tiezhu was tasked with escorting supplies to the front lines.
• Qin Fei refined his mustard seed space so its puppets could work while stored inside, then discovered Yunxiu at his array.
• Yunxiu arrived covered in blood and told Qin Fei that she had a great fortuitous opportunity for him.

Yunxiu offered Qin Fei several Heavenly Secrets Sect inheritances in exchange for help escaping Shangyu Market, and he agreed before secretly hiding her in the Mustard Seed Space. Qin Fei cultivated the Illusion-Breaking Spirit Eye with Clear Spirit Liquid, then installed the Puppet Core in the big yellow dog, which suddenly came to life.

• Yunxiu told Qin Fei she had obtained the Heavenly Secrets Sect's inheritance from the Barbarian Tribe's region and asked him to get her out of the city.
• Yunxiu showed Qin Fei the Illusion-Breaking Spirit Eye, a Puppet Core, and half of the Foundation Establishment Pill Formula, and he agreed to help her.
• Qin Fei knocked Yunxiu unconscious and hid her in the Mustard Seed Space, then erased the traces of her visit as Lin Household officers searched the puppet scrap yard.
• Qin Fei cultivated the Illusion-Breaking Spirit Eye and used Clear Spirit Liquid to enhance it, allowing him to see Spiritual Qi and the Black Tortoise Breath-Concealing Array's weak points.
• Qin Fei found a recess beneath the big yellow dog's fur and inserted the Puppet Core, causing the dog's head to jerk upright as it barked.

Qin Fei learned the big yellow dog's origins and made a pact with him before taking command of Jia Sixteen Squad. The squad members doubted their new captain, but Qin Fei's response left them wondering whether he had overheard their private transmissions.

• Qin Fei questioned the big yellow dog and learned that the Heavenly Mystery Elder had saved the aging pet by placing his soul in a puppet and giving him flesh and blood.
• After learning the Heavenly Secrets Sect had been destroyed, the big yellow dog begged Qin Fei to keep him and offered to find treasures that could nourish Qin Fei's Spirit Root.
• Qin Fei and the dog made a Blood Pact, and Qin Fei planted a soul mark in the dog's mind.
• Three days later, Qin Fei reported for patrol duty and was assigned to lead Jia Sixteen Squad after its captain died in an encounter with barbarian soldiers.
• The squad's four injured members doubted Qin Fei's ability, but he assured them he would not lead them to their deaths, making them suspect he had heard their voice transmissions.

Qin Fei led Jia Sixteen on patrol and used Big Yellow’s senses and his own techniques to avoid danger, gather spirit herbs, and locate the barbarian troops. After revealing that their camp was a decoy and drawing out the hidden soldiers with puppets, Qin Fei announced that he had counted them and led the team away.

• Qin Fei led the patrol team to the valley where their previous captain had died, and Big Yellow’s warning helped him confirm the valley was safe.
• Qin Fei entered the poisonous miasma alone, found Fire Network Grass with his Illusion-Breaking Spirit Eye, then hid the sleeping Yunxiu in a tree hollow before returning to the team.
• Big Yellow located several more five-element spirit herbs, which Qin Fei collected as the team followed the barbarian traces.
• Qin Fei stopped the team at a gorge and used Wooden Kites to discover a silent camp that appeared to be the barbarian troops’ main base.
• Qin Fei sent two rock serpents to destroy the empty camp, drawing hidden barbarian soldiers out of the forest, then said he knew their numbers and ordered the team to leave.

After his mission, Qin Fei learned alchemy from the big yellow dog and used pills made from five-element spirit herbs to nourish his four Spirit Roots. Two years later, with his Spirit Roots strengthened and enough Spiritual Power accumulated, he prepared to break through from Late Qi Refining.

• After returning from the mission, Qin Fei traded the big yellow dog a handheld game console for a Jade Slip containing alchemy instructions and a method for refining five-element spirit herbs into pills.
• With the big yellow dog's guidance, Qin Fei overcame early failures and refined his first batch of pills, then used them to strengthen his Fire Spirit Root.
• Qin Fei bought five-element spirit materials from cultivators accepting missions posted on the Yama Pendant and steadily nourished his four Spirit Roots.
• Over two years, Shangyu Market's vanguard defeated the Barbarian Tribe, while Qin Fei cultivated whenever he was not on missions.
• Qin Fei accumulated the Spiritual Power he needed, opened his eyes, and prepared to break through from Late Qi Refining.

With the Jade Purity Pill, Qin Fei broke through to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer and went to the Patrol Office to collect a new mission. At Jia Sixteen, Song Yue departed to lead his own squad, and the squad welcomed new member Lu Caiwei before setting out.

• Qin Fei broke through to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer after more than two years of cultivation.
• Qin Fei collected a patrol mission at the Patrol Office, where Rogue Cultivators praised his record and the receptionist transferred his merit points in advance.
• Qin Fei met the Jia Sixteen Squad, confirmed his breakthrough, and learned that Song Yue was reluctant to leave and lead a new squad.
• Lu Caiwei arrived as Jia Sixteen's new Sixth Level Qi Refining member, and the squad joked with Song Yue before he solemnly said farewell.
• Qin Fei assigned Sun Tang, Luo Qiyuan, and Chen Qing their preparations, then led Jia Sixteen to set out with Lu Caiwei.

Qin Fei’s squad reached a secret formation-guarding mission near the Barbarian Tribe border, where Qin grew suspicious of the Lu Household cultivators and the hidden Foundation Establishment attempt. When two thousand barbarian troops attacked, he confronted the Lu cultivator at swordpoint and demanded an explanation.

• Qin Fei learned that his squad had been sent to guard an unnamed cultivator attempting Foundation Establishment and noticed Lu Caiwei’s unusual reaction.
• The big yellow dog detected a strong metal-attribute presence, but Qin Fei chose not to investigate and continued toward the assigned location.
• Qin Fei’s squad reached the formation core, where a Lu Household cultivator explained that their position had been discovered and that barbarian attacks had already begun.
• The Lu cultivator said only a little over a thousand barbarian troops were nearby, but Qin Fei’s Wooden Kite spotted around two thousand charging toward the formation core.
• Qin Fei suspected the Lu Household had arranged the mission and drew his longsword against the Lu cultivator, demanding an explanation.

Qin Fei uncovered the Lu Household’s plan to protect Lu Tianchou’s Foundation Establishment breakthrough and exposed their scheme to the Lin Household. After fleeing the battlefield, he learned that the formation was actually a forbidden blood-sacrifice array, and the big yellow dog proposed taking its power through a secondary core.

• Qin Fei deduced that the Lu Household had lured the reinforcement squads into guarding Lu Tianchou and planned to abandon them once he succeeded.
• Qin Fei sent Lin Man a message requesting help, revealing Lu Tianchou’s breakthrough location to the Lin Household.
• Lu Tianchou ordered the formation opened to let the barbarian army inside, while Qin Fei told Jia Sixteen Squad and the other squads to flee and warn the rest.
• Qin Fei escaped into the forest, where the big yellow dog realized the formation was the Five Extremes Spirit-Devouring Grand Formation, designed to sacrifice those inside.
• The big yellow dog explained that the formation had a secondary core that could let Qin Fei and him claim some of the blood sacrifice’s power.

Qin Fei used the power of the Lin Household’s blood sacrifice to complete the nourishment of four of his Spirit Roots, greatly improving his aptitude before escaping the valley. The Lu Household faced public outrage over the sacrifice, and Daoist Fuchen demanded that Lu Tianchou be handed over.

• Qin Fei agreed to let the big yellow dog redirect the blood sacrifice’s power to nourish his Spirit Roots, and the dog turned an auxiliary formation core into the main core using Qin Fei’s puppet materials.
• Qin Fei cultivated at the formation core for three days as the sacrifice’s power nourished his Spirit Roots, then escaped the valley with the big yellow dog before the Lin Household arrived.
• Qin Fei’s metal, wood, water, and fire Spirit Roots reached completion, making spiritual energy gravitate toward him, though the roots remained unstable and needed time to settle.
• Qin Fei returned to Shangyu Market and stayed in seclusion while news spread that Lu Tianchou’s failed breakthrough had followed the collapse of his State of Mind, and that the Lu Household had sacrificed patrol cultivators.
• At the Lin Household’s council hall, Daoist Fuchen demanded that the Lu Household hand Lu Tianchou over after the sacrifice provoked public outrage and drew the attention of the three great sects.

After preparing for Foundation Establishment, Qin Fei found that obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill was his main obstacle, so he posted a high-priced request and began working toward becoming a Second-Tier Puppet Master. Several months of intensive puppet production brought his Heavenly Craft Creation Pavilion close to its next breakthrough.

• Daoist Fuchen took the dejected Lu Tianchou back to the Azure Wood Palace, and the Lu Household later scaled back its businesses.
• Qin Fei entered secluded cultivation, expanded his puppet factory, and began selling Flame Martial Guards through Wang Hu.
• Qin Fei learned that Foundation Establishment Pills required rare second-tier Demon Beast inner cores and found none for sale in Shangyu Market.
• Qin Fei considered seeking help, buying pills through the Yama Pendant, or making a Foundation Establishment Realm puppet to hunt a second-tier Demon Beast.
• Qin Fei offered ten thousand Spirit Stones per Foundation Establishment Pill through the Yama Pendant and focused on refining Desolate Rock Ghost Pythons and handheld game consoles.
• After several months of refining, Qin Fei’s Heavenly Craft Creation Pavilion was ready to level up.

Qin Fei found that his puppetry mastery had stopped advancing, so he spent a year studying discarded puppets but still could not reach Second-Tier Puppet Master. He sought Fairy Caiyi’s guidance, and she told him his heart was not still because he had not decided why he practiced the Puppet Technique.

• Qin Fei discovered the Heavenly Craft Creation Pavilion’s puppet bonus applied to him and examined its newly unlocked Spirit Energy Cannon blueprint.
• After making a Spirit Energy Cannon failed to increase the pavilion’s experience, Qin Fei concluded that he needed to improve his mastery and began studying discarded puppets.
• Qin Fei spent a year studying every puppet in the scrap yard, improving greatly but failing to reach Second-Tier Puppet Master.
• Qin Fei visited the merchant association and asked Fairy Caiyi for guidance, choosing to use their promised assistance before Foundation Establishment.
• Fairy Caiyi told Qin Fei that his heart was not still and that he could not break through until he decided why he practiced the Puppet Technique.

Qin Fei opened the Mortal Puppet Abode to cultivate his state of mind, selling unusual puppets while quietly enjoying his game. After giving a Great Sage Equaling Heaven puppet to the neighboring pill shop owners’ son, Shitou, he asked the family to repay him by inviting him to a meal.

• Qin Fei opened the Mortal Puppet Abode and used the shop to experience cultivation and nurture his temperament.
• Two Rogue Cultivators visited, admired the shop’s cool breeze and lifelike ironwood puppet, then balked at the hundred-Spirit-Stone price of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.
• Shitou sneaked into the shop, delighted in the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, and accepted it and some peach shortbread from Qin Fei.
• Shitou returned with his parents, who tried to return the puppet, but Qin Fei insisted he keep it.
• Qin Fei asked Shitou’s parents to invite him over for a meal, and the big yellow dog wagged its tail at the mention of food.

Qin Fei helped Shitou's mother learn that Shitou's father had died and sheltered Shitou when his mother was forced into military service. After Shitou's mother returned, watching the boy's uncomplicated love of puppets helped Qin Fei understand what had kept him from becoming a second-tier Puppet Master.

• Shitou's mother asked Qin Fei to find out what had happened to her husband, and Qin Fei contacted Tiezhu for help.
• Tiezhu reported that Shitou's father had died in battle, and Qin Fei told Shitou's mother the truth.
• When soldiers forced Shitou's mother into service, Qin Fei let Shitou stay with him and asked Tiezhu to look after her.
• Shitou's mother returned safely a month later, and Shitou became cheerful again as he played with puppets.
• Qin Fei realized that fear and practical goals had driven his study of puppetry, and he resolved to cultivate it simply because he wanted to.

After three days of sudden enlightenment, Qin Fei reached the threshold of a Second-Tier Puppet Master and prepared to focus on cultivation and crafting. Three months later, he upgraded the Heavenly Craft Creation Pavilion to lv10, became a Second-Tier Puppet Master, and began studying a Foundation Establishment Realm puppet.

• Qin Fei gave Shitou three puppets, including Erlang, the Manifest Sage True Lord and the Great God of the Three Altars Dharma Assembly, before closing Mortal Puppet Abode.
• Qin Fei returned to the puppet scrapyard and crafted Spirit Energy Cannons while cultivating, nourishing his Illusion-Breaking Spirit Eye, and studying the second-tier puppet blueprint in the Divine Soul Sensing Chapter.
• After three months of crafting, Qin Fei filled the Heavenly Craft Creation Pavilion's experience bar and upgraded it to lv10.
• The Heavenly Craft Creation Pavilion recognized Qin Fei as a Second-Tier Puppet Master and unlocked the Divine Travel Flying Boat blueprint.
• Qin Fei studied the final pages of the Divine Soul Sensing Chapter to begin crafting a Foundation Establishment Realm puppet.

Qin Fei declined the Lin Household’s invitation to become an inner-door Attendant but asked Lin Man about attending lectures at its Dao Academy. After struggling to craft a second-tier Puppet Core, he had found success with the simpler Divine Travel Flying Boat and hoped to learn from experienced Puppet Masters.

• Qin Fei spent years simulating the crafting of Puppet Cores while working toward a second-tier puppet.
• Lin Man visited Qin Fei and offered him an inner-door Attendant position on behalf of the Lin Household.
• Qin Fei declined, saying he preferred to live freely, and Lin Man accepted his answer.
• Qin Fei asked Lin Man whether second-tier Puppet Masters lectured at the Lin Household’s Dao Academy, then said he wanted to attend classes rather than teach.
• Qin Fei followed the big yellow dog's advice, shifted to crafting the Divine Travel Flying Boat, and succeeded with its simpler Puppet Core.

Qin Fei missed the chance to meet the Puppet Master who had just left the academy, but the instructor later sought him out after seeing the puppets he had made. Qin Fei welcomed the instructor and Zhou Ping and asked for guidance on refining a Puppet Core.

• Lin Man told Qin Fei that the second-tier Puppet Master had left the academy, so Qin Fei returned to refining puppets on his own.
• The instructor visited Shi Yue's home and praised Qin Fei's three puppets, judging that their maker had reached the threshold of a second-tier Puppet Master.
• Shitou's mother refused to reveal where Qin Fei had gone, then warned Shi Yue not to expose their benefactor to strangers.
• The instructor and Zhou Ping went to the Lin Household, where Qin Fei was waiting to meet them.
• Qin Fei credited the puppets from the Heavenly Secrets Sect ruins for his breakthrough as a second-tier Puppet Master and asked the instructor for guidance on making a Puppet Core.

Qin Fei improved his Puppet Technique under Wei Zhao’s guidance, then prepared for a long seclusion to craft a second-tier puppet. He entered his sealed secret chamber, and the puppet scrapyard remained silent through the changing seasons.

• Wei Zhao showed Qin Fei a second-tier puppet and taught him about its Puppet Core while they discussed the Puppet Technique.
• After three months, Wei Zhao and Zhou Ping said farewell, and Qin Fei’s simulated success rate for crafting Puppet Cores had improved to one in a hundred attempts.
• Qin Fei decided to enter seclusion after resolving to craft a second-tier puppet.
• At the patrol office, Lin Man told Qin Fei that the Lin Household would exempt him from assignments because Wei Zhao had visited them.
• Qin Fei bought supplies, notified Tang Zhan and the others, activated his secret chamber’s defensive restrictions, and entered seclusion.

After Shangyu Market’s costly war with the Barbarian Tribe ended, Fairy Caiyi prepared to return to Azure Wood Palace, and the Star Radiance Merchant Association planned to follow. Qin Fei remained away in the Luoping Mountain Range, where he successfully used the Soul Condensation Technique to create a soul core for controlling a second-tier puppet.

• Daoist Fuchen ordered Shangyu Market to switch to defense, lift the city-gate restrictions, and punish the Rogue Cultivators who had fled, then left with Fairy Caiyi to report to Azure Wood Palace.
• The Lin Household patriarch and the Lu Household patriarch worried that Shangyu Market would be vulnerable to a Barbarian Tribe counterattack after Daoist Fuchen and Fairy Caiyi departed.
• Fairy Caiyi invited Tang Zhan and the others to leave with her, and they agreed to wait for Qin Fei while Tiezhu planned to meet them later.
• Tang Zhan and the others left messages for Qin Fei at the empty puppet scrapyard, then closed the shop and disappeared from Shangyu Market.
• In a hidden cave in the Luoping Mountain Range, Qin Fei used the Soul Condensation Technique to merge several souls taken from Yin Wind Wolves and stored the resulting soul core in a jade bottle.

After breaking through to Qi Refining Ninth Layer, Qin Fei completed a second-tier puppet using the souls of Yin Wind Wolves and a newly crafted Puppet Core. He split off a strand of divine thought to control it, then awoke from the technique’s severe aftereffects and named the Foundation Establishment Early Stage puppet Iron Guard.

• Qin Fei discovered that his seclusion had advanced him to Qi Refining Ninth Layer and expanded his Divine Sense to a one-li radius.
• Qin Fei used the souls of Yin Wind Wolves and the Soul Refining Technique to complete the second-tier puppet.
• Qin Fei endured the Spirit Splitting Technique’s pain and placed a strand of divine thought into the Puppet Core.
• Qin Fei ordered the puppet to guard him, then fainted from the strain.
• Qin Fei awoke in the cave, named the puppet Iron Guard, and heard it greet him as Fellow Daoist Qin.