Chapter Summaries

Qin Fei fought off a masked woman who tried to kill him, then learned that Wang Hu had protected Old Zhang from another attacker. The enemy escaped, leaving Qin Fei and Tang Zhan suspecting the merchant association was the real target.

• The masked woman pursued Qin Fei, who turned to face her and summoned eight crimson puppets and the Late Qi Refining Flame Martial Envoy.
• Qin Fei hid behind the Flame Martial Envoy as his nine puppets bombarded the woman until she was blasted to pieces.
• Qin Fei searched the crater, found the woman's Storage Bag, and left before the enforcement team could question him.
• Tang Zhan met Qin Fei and told him that Wang Hu had reached Old Zhang in time, but the other attacker escaped by sacrificing an arm and using a secret technique.
• Qin Fei and Tang Zhan suspected the attackers were targeting the merchant association, and Tang Zhan planned to report the attack to Fairy Caiyi.

After defending his courtyard with the Black Tortoise Breath-Concealing Array, Qin Fei inspected the dead attacker’s Storage Bag and found valuable loot, including the Still Water Sword and a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone. A glowing Yama Pendant revealed that the woman belonged to the Underworld Bureau and warned Qin Fei that Impermanence would come for it if he failed a mandatory mission.

• Qin Fei set up the Black Tortoise Breath-Concealing Array to protect his courtyard.
• Qin Fei broke the restriction on the woman’s Storage Bag and found a large interior, dozens of Spirit Stones, and a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone.
• Qin Fei found the Still Water Sword, several minor supplies, and a pile of white masks marked with “seventy-seven.”
• Qin Fei activated a glowing Yama Pendant and heard a voice ask whether Seventy-Seven had completed the mission.
• The pendant announced that the mission had failed and that a mandatory mission would be assigned within one year, or Impermanence would come to reclaim it.

Qin Fei discovered that the jade pendant assigned cultivation tasks through the Underworld Bureau and warned Tang Zhan and the others about an attack on their merchant association. Though he buried the pendant, it reappeared in his Storage Bag, so he sealed it away and joined Tiezhu, Old Zhang, and Wang Hu for drinks.

• Qin Fei examined the jade pendant and learned that it listed paid tasks, including one to exterminate the cultivators in charge of the Star Radiance Merchant Association.
• Qin Fei buried the pendant, then sent Tang Zhan and the others a warning that the association might be attacked again.
• Qin Fei found the pendant back in his Storage Bag and confirmed that it had vanished from the hole where he buried it.
• Qin Fei sealed the pendant in a jade box and went to the Gathering Immortals Pavilion to drink with Tiezhu and the others.
• Old Zhang thanked Wang Hu for saving his life and said the brush with death had rekindled his desire to cultivate.

Qin Fei and the merchant association prepared for a barbarian raid as refugees flooded Shangyu Market and chaos spread through the outer city. When the barbarians charged, the inner city’s defenses vanished and six Foundation Establishment cultivators led a sudden counterattack.

• Wang Hu joined the merchant association’s defense, and Tang Zhan told Qin Fei that Senior Caiyi had sent two Azure Wood Palace disciples to investigate the threat.
• Tiezhu described plans to advertise motorcycles to arriving refugees, but Qin Fei warned that their arrival might coincide with the barbarians’ next raid.
• Old Zhang asked to stay at the association, while Qin Fei declined an invitation to move in because he wanted to keep his secrets private.
• The inner city activated its defensive array, and Qin Fei and Tiezhu fought off groups of Rogue Cultivators trying to seize houses as the refugee advance party arrived.
• After two days of unrest, seven or eight hundred thousand refugees poured into Shangyu Market just as the barbarians sounded their charge horn.
• The inner city’s light dome vanished, and six Foundation Establishment cultivators led by the Lin Household’s ancestor emerged to attack the barbarian hordes.

The Lin Household led Shangyu Market’s cultivators to a decisive victory over the barbarians, ushering in a human counteroffensive and major changes across the frontier. As the market rebuilt and organized its defenses, Tiezhu and the others chose their paths, and Old Zhang revealed that he had recommended Qin Fei for a post with the Lin Household.

• The Lin Household’s Foundation Establishment cultivators broke the barbarian front, and Rogue Cultivators and displaced people joined the fighting as Tang Zhan and Wang Hu attacked from their orange-red puppets.
• After seven days and seven nights, the human forces won, and Shangyu Market expanded and announced plans for a shared protective formation, an army, an academy, and further defenses.
• The northern frontier cities formed a defense network, the three great sects committed forces to the front, and Great Qi declared the barbarians mortal enemies and threatened those who aided them.
• At a celebration in the Gathering Immortals Pavilion, Tiezhu announced that he would enlist, while Old Zhang said he had accepted a post supplying talismans to the Lin Household.
• Tang Zhan and Meiniang chose to continue working at the Chamber of Commerce, Wang Hu joined it as a guard, and Qin Fei said he planned to craft puppets and cultivate.
• Old Zhang admitted that he had recommended Qin Fei for a Puppet Attendant position with the Lin Household.

Qin Fei reluctantly agreed to join Old Zhang as an outer-court attendant and was assigned to the Lin Household’s northern puppet scrapyard. He was stunned by the mountain of discarded puppets, but the Heavenly Craft Creation Pavilion revealed that many contained reusable materials or could be repaired, and he saw the scrapyard as a treasure trove.

• Old Zhang guilted Qin Fei into joining him as an outer-court attendant, and Qin Fei reluctantly agreed.
• Three days later, Qin Fei and Old Zhang traveled through the rapidly expanding Shangyu Market to the Lin Residence.
• The steward registered Qin Fei, then sent Lin Man to escort him to his new post.
• Lin Man took Qin Fei to the northern puppet scrapyard and explained that he should repair usable puppets without a set quota.
• The Heavenly Craft Creation Pavilion identified valuable parts and repairable puppets in the scrap pile, exciting Qin Fei.

Qin Fei built a concealed underground factory in the puppet scrapyard and began salvaging valuable designs and parts from discarded puppets. After meeting Old Zhang for a drink, he learned that demand for his Zhang Yu Motor Vehicles had surged, leaving him under pressure to produce more.

• Qin Fei agreed to repair the Lin Household’s discarded puppets, then returned to his courtyard to gather equipment and supplies.
• Qin Fei set up the Black Tortoise Breath-Concealing Array and used puppet soldiers to build a large underground factory beneath the scrapyard.
• Qin Fei searched the wreckage, finding useful designs and materials, including a special puppet called the Heavenly Mystery Key.
• Old Zhang visited Qin Fei, and they discussed their Attendant jobs before sharing drinks at the Gathering Immortals Pavilion.
• Qin Fei received Tang Zhan’s message that orders for Zhang Yu Motor Vehicles had surged and that he needed to increase production.

Over half a year, Qin Fei repaid his debt, focused on cultivation and puppet-making, and helped Shangyu Market prosper while his skills and cultivation advanced. After turning down Lin Man and chasing Tang Zhan and the others from his courtyard, he revealed that the merchant guild faced a second attack.

• Qin Fei increased production to meet soaring orders, repaid the merchant guild, and then balanced cultivation, puppet-making, and studying scrapped puppets.
• Qin Fei's puppet-making improved enough for him to identify flaws in other designs and craft a Heavenly Mystery Key, while demand for his puppets kept growing.
• Over six months, Shangyu Market strengthened its defenses and rebuilt, and Qin Fei made major progress in cultivation and renovated a courtyard in the scrapyard.
• Lin Man confessed her feelings to Qin Fei, but he tactfully turned her down because he wanted to focus on cultivation.
• Qin Fei chased Tang Zhan, Old Zhang, and the others out of his courtyard and told them that a second attack concerning the merchant guild was coming.

Qin Fei learned that killers were targeting the merchant association and prepared for their attack with the help of Senior Caiyi. After a month of waiting, he agreed to attend the lantern festival with Lin Man, where he would act as bait while Caiyi waited to capture anyone who attacked.

• Qin Fei discovered a Yama Pendant mission targeting him, Tang Zhan, and the merchant association, and Tang Zhan and Wang Hu prepared to fight back.
• Qin Fei urged Tang Zhan to ask Senior Caiyi to oversee an ambush, and she agreed to arrive in about half a month.
• Qin Fei deployed camouflaged Image-Recording Spiders and Wooden Kites, then returned to the scrap yard to study puppets in seclusion.
• Tang Zhan and the others avoided going out while the killers remained quiet, and the Lu and Lin Households announced a marriage that prompted a lantern festival in Shangyu Market.
• Senior Caiyi arrived in secret, and Tang Zhan asked Qin Fei to lure the killers at the festival while she waited in hiding.
• Lin Man invited Qin Fei to the lantern festival, and he accepted.

During the lantern festival, Qin Fei rejected Lin Man’s attempt to draw him into the Lin and Lu Households’ marriage dispute. On returning to the puppet scrapyard, he was ambushed by a Qi Refining Ninth Layer old man, but Fairy Caiyi arrived and discovered the Lu Household was searching for the Heavenly Mystery Key.

• Lin Man asked Qin Fei whether he believed in arranged marriages, and he refused to involve himself in the Lin and Lu Households’ affairs.
• Qin Fei returned to the puppet scrapyard and found his recording spider crushed, then realized someone was searching the scrapyards for him.
• Qin Fei fled toward the scrapyard and sent a voice transmission to Senior Caiyi as a Qi Refining Ninth Layer old man pursued him.
• Qin Fei deployed the Flame Martial Envoy and his Flame Martial Guards, but the old man smashed his puppets and kept advancing.
• Fairy Caiyi appeared and used the Soul-Searching Technique on the old man, learning he belonged to the Lu Household and was seeking the Heavenly Mystery Key.

Fairy Caiyi discovered that the old man who attacked Qin Fei was bound by a soul restriction, then brought Qin Fei and the Heavenly Mystery Key to the Lin Household to discuss a secret realm. After Qin Fei recounted the attack and showed his recording, Fairy Caiyi proposed cooperating with the Lin Household and urged its patriarch to reward him.

• Fairy Caiyi's soul search triggered a golden lock that destroyed the old man's soul, and she concluded that he had been under a soul restriction.
• Qin Fei handed Fairy Caiyi the octagonal disc he had found in the scrapyard, hiding the identical copy in his Storage Bag.
• Fairy Caiyi carried Qin Fei by cloud to the Lin Household, where Lin Man and the household patriarch received them.
• Qin Fei recounted the attack and showed the image-recording stone, prompting the patriarch to suspect that a secret realm was about to appear and that the Lu Household meant to claim it.
• Fairy Caiyi revealed the Heavenly Mystery Key and proposed cooperating with the Lin Household, then reminded its patriarch to reward Qin Fei for finding it.

Qin Fei received Ice Silk Soft Armor from the Lin Household and learned that Lin Man’s marriage to the Lu Household had been postponed after the attack. He returned home to assess his losses and realized he needed to spend nearly all his remaining Spirit Stones rebuilding his puppet forces.

• Fairy Caiyi arranged for Qin Fei to receive Ice Silk Soft Armor and privately told him to visit her at the chamber of commerce after the current matter was settled.
• Lin Man apologized for her earlier questions, warned Qin Fei that her would-be husband from the Lu Household was a relentless madman, and led him into the Lineage treasury.
• Qin Fei took the armor and learned that Lin Man’s wedding had been postponed because the Lin Household intended to confront the Lu Household over the attack.
• Qin Fei left Lin Man and returned home, where he counted his destroyed puppets and estimated that rebuilding his forces would cost at least two hundred Spirit Stones.

Qin Fei restored his puppet army, broke through to the Sixth Level of Qi Refining, and learned that he needed more money to keep expanding his forces. Meanwhile, the discovery of a secret realm stirred conflict between the Lin Household and the Barbarian Tribe, and Qin Fei arrived at the merchant association just after Senior Caiyi captured its attackers.

• Qin Fei bought materials and Demon Beast meat, then spent several days refining puppets and cultivating.
• A secret realm was discovered near Shangyu Market, prompting clashes between the Lin Household and the Barbarian Tribe; the Lin Household postponed its marriage alliance with the Lu Household.
• Lu Tianchou reacted angrily to the secret realm news and ordered an investigation into Qin Fei as a backup plan.
• Qin Fei broke through to the Sixth Level of Qi Refining, increasing his spiritual power, Divine Sense, and ability to control puppets.
• Qin Fei rebuilt his puppet army but ran out of money, so he headed to the merchant association to take orders and meet Senior Caiyi.
• Tang Zhan told Qin Fei that Senior Caiyi had captured the assassins targeting the merchant association, and that she was waiting for him.

Qin Fei negotiated with Fairy Caiyi to increase his puppet production in exchange for her help if he ever approached Foundation Establishment, then learned more about Yama Hall and the Lu Household’s threat. He returned to the scrapyard, planned to muddy the trail of the Heavenly Mystery Key, and posted a Yama Hall contract on the Lu Household’s young master.

• Fairy Caiyi asked Qin Fei to restore his puppet output and offered to protect him from the Lu Household; Qin Fei instead secured her promise to help if he reached the threshold of Foundation Establishment.
• Qin Fei asked about Zhang Youqing and the killers, and Fairy Caiyi explained that the attackers belonged to Yama Hall and showed him her Impermanence pendant and mask.
• Qin Fei accepted a large batch of puppet orders from Fairy Caiyi and collected more orders from Wang Hu.
• Qin Fei spotted two Qi Refining Third Layer cultivators from the Lu Household watching his scrapyard, then decided to make duplicate Heavenly Mystery Keys and spread them through the market.
• Qin Fei used his Yama Pendant to post a five-hundred-Spirit-Stone task to kill the young master of the Lu Household in Shangyu Market.

After expanding his puppet workforce, Qin Fei mass-produced goods and unlocked blueprints for Spirit Energy Wings and the Desolate Rock Ghost Python. Meanwhile, Lu Tianchou discovered a bounty on himself and responded to Yama Hall’s warning by destroying his Yama Pendant again.

• Qin Fei expanded his Technician Number Ones to five hundred and used them to mass-produce puppets for Wang Hu and the merchant association.
• Qin Fei’s crafting raised the Heavenly Craft Creation Pavilion to level seven and unlocked the Spirit Energy Wings and Desolate Rock Ghost Python blueprints.
• Lu Tianchou learned that an outsider had tried to assassinate him and that the assassin carried a fake Heavenly Mystery Key and a Yama Pendant.
• Lu Tianchou found a five-hundred-Spirit-Stone bounty on himself in the Yama Pendant and crushed it after hearing that destroying it incurred a fine.
• The Yama Pendant reformed and warned Lu Tianchou that Impermanence would come for him if he destroyed it again, so he smashed it once more.

After two months of crafting puppets and saving Spirit Stones, Qin Fei went to the Divine Weapon Pavilion to buy defensive Law Artifacts. He used the Flame Martial Envoy’s imposing presence to reach the second floor and was shown the shop’s treasured artifacts.

• Qin Fei used his earnings from crafting puppets to cultivate with Spirit Stones and decided to strengthen his defenses amid the growing chaos over Heavenly Mystery Keys.
• Qin Fei entered the Divine Weapon Pavilion disguised as a Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator and was turned away from the second floor after refusing to show his funds.
• Qin Fei left, then returned disguised alongside the Flame Martial Envoy, whose Late Qi Refining presence let them pass without verification.
• Qin Fei asked the shopkeeper for the finest defensive Law Artifacts, and the old man brought out two wooden boxes, revealing a small bronze bell in the first.

Qin Fei and the Flame Martial Envoy bought the Soul-Startling Bell and Crimson Flame Shield from the Divine Weapon Pavilion, paying with Battle Puppets and Spirit Stones. After evading suspicious followers and returning home, Qin Fei focused on studying the shield’s ritual refinement method.

• The old man showed the Flame Martial Envoy the Soul-Startling Bell and offered the Crimson Flame Shield with a ritual refinement method, and Qin Fei questioned the shield’s price.
• Qin Fei offered a Sixth Level Qi Refining Battle Puppet in exchange, and the old man agreed to accept it toward the purchase.
• Qin Fei paid for both treasures with four Desolate Rock Giant Python puppets and another one hundred and sixty Spirit Stones.
• Qin Fei planted small spiders along the paths and used the Wooden Kite to watch the marketplace before shaking off suspicious followers.
• Qin Fei returned home in disguise, activated the defensive array, and began studying the ritual refinement method.

Qin Fei refined his Law Artifacts and improved his ability to control and wield them while the secret realm dispute was settled. He met with Tiezhu, who returned from military service with alarming news about the secret realm’s first explorers.

• Qin Fei used the artifact refining method to imprint his soul on the Soul-Startling Bell, then refined the Crimson Flame Shield and Still Water Sword.
• Humans and barbarians agreed to divide the secret realm at its central river, while the Lin Household and Lu Household gave up trying to monopolize it.
• Qin Fei tested his refined Crimson Flame Shield against the Flame Martial Envoy’s attack and emerged unharmed, then spent several days practicing with his Law Artifacts.
• Tiezhu returned after more than half a year in the army and met Qin Fei, Xu Meiniang, and their companions at the Gathering Immortals Pavilion.
• Tiezhu described his battles against the barbarians and revealed that the first group to explore the secret realm had been almost completely wiped out.

Qin Fei learned that the secret realm near Shangyu Market was the ruins of the Heavenly Secrets Sect, where a previous expedition had been devastated by puppets. He trained with Tiezhu to improve his combat skills as tensions over the ruins grew, leaving the Lin Household and Lu Household in open conflict.

• Tiezhu told Qin Fei and the others that the secret realm was the Heavenly Secrets Sect's ruins, filled with hostile puppets, and that a large expedition had nearly been wiped out.
• Old Zhang asked whether the ruins held a treasure that could heal his damaged meridians, and Tiezhu admitted that they did but were too dangerous for him to reach.
• Qin Fei asked Tiezhu to spar with him, then welcomed him with an expensive meal that Old Zhang and the others joined after discovering it.
• Qin Fei sparred with Tiezhu for several days without using puppets, learning from Tiezhu's battlefield experience while often losing at first.
• More cultivators poured into the secret realm, and the conflict between the Lin Household and the Lu Household erupted openly.

As the Lin and Lu Households’ secret-realm conflict spread into Shangyu Market, Qin Fei continued cultivating, studying puppets, and improving his formation skills. When a worker told him that Old Shen had died and that the latest delivery was the last, Qin Fei stopped him to find out what had happened.

• The Lin and Lu Households’ dispute over a medicinal herb escalated into battles in the secret realm, while Qin Fei trained with Tiezhu and rewarded him with a Superior-Grade Law Artifact.
• After two months, fighting between the households intensified, and Qin Fei learned that their Foundation Establishment cultivators had clashed in the secret realm.
• Qin Fei studied the newly delivered puppets, gathered rare materials, advanced into first-tier formation mastery, and recorded the strange markings he found on them.
• The conflict spread into Shangyu Market, where the Lu Household attacked Lin businesses, including the Wondrous Pill Pavilion, and Qin Fei returned home to cultivate in seclusion.
• A worker delivering the final batch of scrapped puppets told Qin Fei that Old Shen was dead and that he planned to quit, so Qin Fei stopped him and asked how Old Shen had died.