Recaps

Lin Ye rescued Yuan Kong by killing the Immortal Slaves surrounding him, then discovered the Weak Water Immortal River and gave Yuan Kong the Ancient Azure Lotus Flower. Lin Ye announced that he would take the river, leaving Yuan Kong astonished.

• Lin Ye received Yuan Kong’s plea for help and hurried to the location, hoping to kill the many Immortal Slaves there.
• Lin Ye ignored Yuan Kong’s calls to be rescued first and killed dozens of Immortal Slaves with his perfected Extreme Dao Emperor Physique.
• Yuan Kong led Lin Ye deeper into the fissure and showed him the Weak Water Immortal River and the Ancient Azure Lotus Flower growing above it.
• Lin Ye braved the river’s erosion, picked the undying herb, and gave it to Yuan Kong.
• Lin Ye said he would take the Weak Water Immortal River, leaving Yuan Kong stunned.

Lin Ye used the Mountain and Sea Devil Pearl to take the Weak Water Immortal River fragment, then defended the Black-Yellow Sect from an invasion while his other true body was on the Immemorial Immortal Road. After defeating the attackers, he learned they came from the Zegu Forbidden Zone and set out to destroy it.

• Yuan Kong left the Immemorial Immortal Road after Lin Ye told him to go.
• Lin Ye redeemed and refined the Mountain and Sea Devil Pearl, then used it to absorb the Weak Water Immortal River fragment.
• Taboo Sovereigns targeted the Eastern Domain and the Black-Yellow Sect, believing Lin Ye was away on the Immemorial Immortal Road.
• Lin Ye revealed himself above the Black-Yellow Sect and killed the attacking Taboo Sovereigns, while his disciples dealt with the Taboo Beings across the Eastern Domain.
• Lin Ye learned from the attackers' memories that they came from the Zegu Forbidden Zone and headed there.

Lin Ye destroyed the Zegu Forbidden Zone, then his first body attained a Quasi-Immortal Physique after all his disciples became Great Emperors. On the latter section of the Immemorial Immortal Road, his second body killed an Extreme Dao Immortal Slave and continued hunting for resources.

• Lin Ye destroyed the Zegu Forbidden Zone and earned 250 billion Devil Dao Points, then returned to the Black-Yellow Sect and declared that anyone who slaughtered living beings would be killed.
• Li Si became a Great Emperor, completing the advancement of all Lin Ye's disciples, and their cultivation feedback helped Lin Ye form an Immortal Bone and attain a Quasi-Immortal Physique.
• Lin Ye's second body continued hunting Immortal Slaves on the Immemorial Immortal Road, then entered its latter section when Immortal Slaves became scarce in the middle section.
• Lin Ye's second body killed groups of Immortal Slaves in the latter section before encountering an Extreme Dao Immortal Slave with a powerful recovery ability.
• Lin Ye's second body tested the Extreme Dao Immortal Slave, then killed it with a single punch.

Lin Ye fought his way through the latter stretch of the Immemorial Immortal Road, killing powerful Extreme Dao Immortal Slaves and meeting the ancient Great Emperor Xuanhai. Xuanhai invited him to explore the road’s end, where an Immortal corpse supposedly blocks the passage into the Immortal Realm, but Lin Ye questioned whether that proved the realm existed.

• Lin Ye continued deeper into the Immemorial Immortal Road, passing a dead Taboo Sovereign and killing Immortal Slaves for Devil Dao Points.
• Lin Ye defeated three powerful Extreme Dao Immortal Slaves and gained 150 billion Devil Dao Points.
• Lin Ye sensed a hidden presence, forced an old man to reveal himself, and learned he was Great Emperor Xuanhai, an emperor from six million years ago.
• Great Emperor Xuanhai recognized Lin Ye and invited him to explore the end of the Immemorial Immortal Road together.
• Xuanhai said an enormous Immortal corpse blocked the road’s passage into the Immortal Realm and claimed Great Emperor Yuqiong had entered that realm.
• Lin Ye questioned whether the corpse proved the Immortal Realm existed, suggesting it might simply be a place where an Immortal had died.

Lin Ye learned more about the Immortal Realm and joined Great Emperor Xuanhai and other ancient powerhouses in a dangerous attempt to reach it through the Immortal corpse. They entered the passage, where the group began evading Extreme Dao Immortal Slaves and racing toward the Immortal Realm.

• Great Emperor Xuanhai explained that an ancient war had damaged the Immemorial Immortal Road, and Lin Ye received a system mission to enter the Immortal Realm and upgrade Hope.
• Great Emperor Xuanhai told Lin Ye that he could not extend his life again without rare resources, and the two flew to the end of the Immemorial Immortal Road.
• Lin Ye and Great Emperor Xuanhai reached the Immortal corpse and found three Taboo Sovereigns and six Great Emperors gathered there, including the Crimson Emperor.
• The Crimson Emperor urged the gathered powerhouses not to attack one another, and they entered the void inside the Immortal corpse.
• The powerhouses encountered Extreme Dao Immortal Slaves and used their abilities to evade them and charge toward the passage to the Immortal Realm.

Lin Ye fought his way through the Extreme Dao Immortal Slaves and entered the space beyond the passage, where a true Immortal attacked him. He escaped back to the end of the Immemorial Immortal Road, completed the system mission, and suspected Great Emperor Xuanhai and the Crimson Emperor had been captured.

• Great Emperor Xuanhai used a damaged Body-Shifting Transfer Talisman to send Lin Ye into an Extreme Dao Immortal Slave's attack, then escaped through the passage as the Crimson Emperor followed.
• Lin Ye activated the Mountain and Sea Devil Pearl to suppress the pursuing Immortal Slaves and entered the passage.
• Lin Ye found a gigantic rift in the space beyond the passage and flew through it, where a true Immortal attacked him.
• Lin Ye used the Mountain and Sea Devil Pearl and the weakened Weak Water Immortal River to break free and return to the space at the end of the Immemorial Immortal Road.
• Lin Ye recovered, received 100 million Devil Dao Points for completing the Immortal Realm mission, and guessed that Great Emperor Xuanhai and the Crimson Emperor had been captured.

Lin Ye discovered a living figure sealed in a silver cocoon on the Immemorial Immortal Road, then returned to the Black-Yellow Sect and slaughtered the Extreme Dao Immortal Slaves. He gained 730 million Devil Dao Points and had his disciples use Weak Water Immortal River water to temper their bodies.

• Lin Ye found a silver cocoon containing a living being underground on the Immemorial Immortal Road and brought it back to the Black-Yellow Sect as a potential disciple.
• Lin Ye returned to the Immortal corpse with his first true body and killed all the Extreme Dao Immortal Slaves inside.
• An ancient Great Emperor entered the cleared Immortal corpse, but a mysterious Immortal seized him as he tried to reach the Immortal Realm.
• Lin Ye tallied his mission and kill rewards and discovered he had 730 million Devil Dao Points.
• Lin Ye gathered his Great Emperor disciples and offered them Weak Water Immortal River water for body tempering, and Chu He entered first.

Lin Ye learned that the silver cocoon held the legendary Great Emperor Yuqiong, while his disciples’ progress strengthened him through feedback. More than ten years later, he still lacked the power of a True Immortal, and the system issued him another mission.

• Chu He cultivated in the Weak Water Immortal River as its corrosive force failed to overcome his recovering body, while the other disciples trained there in turn.
• Lin Ye’s second true body reached the Quasi-Immortal Physique level, and he condensed a second Immortal Bone.
• The Supreme Devil Dao System finished upgrading and gained descent and investigation functions, along with higher-level Immortal treasures and inheritances in its shop.
• Lin Ye investigated the silver cocoon and discovered that it contained Great Emperor Yuqiong, a gravely wounded cultivator with thirty-six Immortal Bones who had fought Immortals and fled back to the Immemorial Immortal Road.
• Lin Ye decided to wait until he reached the True Immortal Realm before waking Yuqiong, then spent more than ten years nurturing his disciples and receiving their cultivation feedback.
• At the Black-Yellow Sect, Lin Ye reflected that his thirty-six Immortal Bones still could not let him defeat even the weakest True Immortal, and the system issued another mission.

Lin Ye ordered the Black-Yellow Sect to recruit geniuses and expand its ranks while he searched for forbidden zones and continued growing stronger. After accumulating more than sixty Immortal Bones, he began transforming his Law Power into Immortal Power in the outer void, and the radiance of his breakthrough reached across the Profound Heaven Realm.

• Lin Ye received a mission to rule the Three Realms and Nine Lands and establish the strongest Devil Dao Immortal Sect, then told his disciples to recruit geniuses for the Black-Yellow Sect.
• The Black-Yellow Sect drew countless candidates, admitted many geniuses and more than thirty Great Saints, and expanded its grounds under Ye Chen and the other Great Emperors.
• Lin Ye spent another year growing stronger as his second true body searched the Three Realms and Nine Lands, finding seven High Antiquity Forbidden Zones but no Immemorial Forbidden Zones.
• After accumulating more than sixty Immortal Bones and immense Law Power, Lin Ye realized he was about to break through while Yu Yu was massaging him and left for the outer void.
• Lin Ye transformed his Law Power into Immortal Power, strengthened his body with an Immortal herb, and released Immortal light that startled the inhabitants of the Profound Heaven Realm.

Lin Ye completed his breakthrough to the True Immortal Realm beyond the realms, drawing the Heavenly Dao’s Immortal Ascension Tribulation. He defeated the summoned Immortals and tore apart the Heavenly Dao Avatar, though the chapter left his tribulation’s final outcome unresolved.

• Ye Chen, Dongfang Bai, Bai Shi, Chu He, and other Great Emperors sensed Lin Ye’s breakthrough and realized he had become an Immortal.
• The True Devil of Longevity fled to a hidden backup space, while the Immemorial Forbidden Zones relocated to evade Lin Ye.
• Yuan Kong learned of Lin Ye’s ascension and regretted ever considering spying on the Black-Yellow Sect.
• Lin Ye completed his breakthrough to the True Immortal Realm in the void beyond the realms, and the Eye of the Heavenly Dao appeared to subject him to an Immortal Ascension Tribulation.
• Lin Ye endured the purple lightning and shattered the illusory Immortals summoned by the Heavenly Dao.
• Lin Ye battled the Heavenly Dao Avatar and finally tore it apart by force.

After becoming a True Immortal, Lin Ye returned to the Black-Yellow Sect and freed Great Emperor Yuqiong, who had been sealed in a silver cocoon. He persuaded her to become his disciple and gave her an Immortal herb and cultivation manual to help her recover and advance.

• Lin Ye returned to the Black-Yellow Sect after completing his Immortal Ascension Tribulation, and his disciples congratulated him on reaching the True Immortal Realm.
• Lin Ye freed Great Emperor Yuqiong from her silver cocoon, and she woke up weak and mistook him for an Immortal who had captured her.
• Lin Ye explained that they were still in the Three Realms and Nine Lands and offered to help Great Emperor Yuqiong become a True Immortal if she became his disciple.
• Great Emperor Yuqiong agreed, performed the disciple ceremony, and told Lin Ye that her name was Jiang Yuqiong.
• Lin Ye gave Jiang Yuqiong an Immortal herb and the Immortal Ascension Scripture, and she began refining the herb to restore her cultivation.

Jiang Yuqiong broke through to the True Immortal Realm, boosting Lin Ye’s cultivation to the peak of the Ninth Layer and allowing him to learn Immortal techniques through her progress. After she mastered the first stages of her new inheritances, Lin Ye’s Immortal Physique reached minor mastery, with every bone in his body becoming an Immortal Bone.

• Jiang Yuqiong reached the True Immortal Realm after surviving an Immortal Ascension Tribulation that injured her.
• The system’s tenfold feedback from Jiang Yuqiong’s breakthrough pushed Lin Ye’s cultivation to the limit of the Ninth Layer of the True Immortal Realm.
• After stabilizing her new realm, Jiang Yuqiong returned to the Black-Yellow Sect, where Lin Ye gave her the Immortal Burial Technique and the Nether Blood River Body Refining Technique.
• Jiang Yuqiong reached the introductory stage of the Immortal Burial Technique, and feedback raised Lin Ye’s mastery of it to minor mastery.
• Jiang Yuqiong began cultivating the Nether Blood River Body Refining Technique, and feedback transformed every bone in Lin Ye’s body into an Immortal Bone, bringing his Immortal Physique to minor mastery.

Lin Ye ordered Jiang Yuqiong to eradicate the forbidden zones across the Three Realms and Nine Lands, then received a World Tree for completing his mission. The sapling began growing in the Black-Yellow Sect, where Lin Ye planned to use it to help the Profound Heaven Realm rise toward the Immortal Realm.

• Lin Ye summoned Jiang Yuqiong and ordered her to destroy the High Antiquity and Immemorial Forbidden Zones.
• Jiang Yuqiong found the Undying Sovereign’s forbidden zone, destroyed its Taboo Beings and Taboo Sovereigns, and learned the Undying Sovereign had entered a black river.
• Jiang Yuqiong wiped out all nine Immemorial Forbidden Zones, then destroyed the High Antiquity and smaller forbidden zones across the Three Realms and Nine Lands.
• Lin Ye received a World Tree from the system for completing his mission to rule the Three Realms and Nine Lands and establish the strongest devil Dao immortal sect.
• Lin Ye planted the World Tree in the Black-Yellow Sect, and the sapling grew rapidly as Jiang Yuqiong arrived to ask about it.
• Lin Ye told Jiang Yuqiong to bring his senior brothers and sisters to cultivate beneath the World Tree.

After Jiang Yuqiong reached the Second Layer of the True Immortal level, Lin Ye advanced to the Golden Immortal Realm and received a mission to invade a world. He sent an avatar through the Immemorial Immortal Road, discovered that its destination was a mining prison for captured Great Emperors, and approached Yuan Kong for information.

• The World Tree transformed the Profound Heaven Realm, expanding it and increasing its Spiritual Qi, while Lin Ye focused on his disciples’ cultivation.
• Ten years later, Jiang Yuqiong broke through to the Second Layer of the True Immortal level, and Lin Ye’s system feedback raised him to the Golden Immortal Realm.
• Lin Ye received a mission to invade a world and decided not to risk exposing the World Tree by using it.
• Lin Ye sent a concealed avatar through the Immemorial Immortal Road and found a formation-covered world where captured Great Emperors mined tough metal ore.
• Lin Ye recognized Yuan Kong among the exhausted miners and appeared before him to ask about the situation.

Lin Ye learned that the Mountain Grain Realm was a mining world rather than the true Immortal Realm, then focused on taking control of the Immemorial Immortal Road while his disciples advanced. The chapter ended with Lin Ye reaching the Sixth Layer of the Golden Immortal Realm, better prepared for a future invasion.

• Lin Ye's avatar found Yuan Kong mining Mountain Grain Gold and questioned him about the Mountain Grain Realm; Yuan Kong explained that it was a resource world with at least six True Immortals.
• Lin Ye decided against invading the Mountain Grain Realm immediately and began taking control of the Immemorial Immortal Road.
• Bai Shi broke through to the True Immortal Realm at the Black-Yellow Sect, passed his Immortal Ascension Tribulation, and became a True Immortal.
• Over the following years, seven or eight of Lin Ye's disciples became True Immortals, while Jiang Yuqiong advanced to the Fourth Layer of the True Immortal Realm.
• Lin Ye reached the Sixth Layer of the Golden Immortal Realm and perfected the Darkness Immortal Armor through tenfold feedback from Bai Shi.

Lin Ye sent his disciples to invade the Mountain Grain Realm, where the Xu Household had enslaved Great Emperors as miners. The disciples defeated the Xu Household’s forces, and Lin Ye sealed the passage to the Immortal Realm to conceal the takeover.

• Lin Ye learned that the Mountain Grain Realm was controlled by the Xu Household and decided to occupy it with his disciples.
• Lin Ye told Jiang Yuqiong, Ye Chen, Bai Shi, and the others that they could invade the Mountain Grain Realm and return safely using his control of the World Tree.
• Jiang Yuqiong and the disciples entered the Mountain Grain Realm and killed True Immortal Baiye at the Immemorial Immortal Road entrance.
• The disciples overwhelmed the Xu Household’s True Immortals and other forces, while Lin Ye killed the strongest escaping Immortal and sealed the passage to the Immortal Realm.
• The disciples freed the miners, and Yuan Kong regretted not having stayed close to the Black-Yellow Sect.

Lin Ye moved the Mountain Grain Realm into the Three Realms and Nine Lands, then equipped his disciples with treasures and techniques to strengthen the Black-Yellow Sect. As his own cultivation advanced through their progress, a forbidden figure emerged from a black river in a spatial rift.

• Lin Ye received 10 billion Devil Dao Points for invading the Mountain Grain Realm and used the World Tree to sever its passage to the Immortal Realm and move it.
• The Xu Household failed to locate the Mountain Grain Realm and decided to abandon it rather than risk provoking a powerful enemy.
• Lin Ye connected the Mountain Grain Realm to the Three Realms and Nine Lands, established a Black-Yellow Sect branch there, and moved humans into it.
• Lin Ye exchanged for Immortal Weapons and techniques, including the Darkness Immortal-Slaying Technique, and gave them to his disciples to cultivate.
• Yu Yu reached the True Immortal Realm, while Lin Ye's disciples grew stronger and their feedback raised him to the Seventh Layer of the Golden Immortal Realm.
• Jiang Yuqiong and Bai Shi cultivated the Darkness Immortal-Slaying Technique, and a forbidden figure emerged from a black river in a spatial rift.

The Undying Sovereign returned to the Three Realms and Nine Lands and found that multiple Immortals had emerged, so he summoned the Taboo Sovereigns to prepare an invasion. At the Black-Yellow Sect, Lin Ye’s system detected their plan and issued him a mission to repel it.

• The Undying Sovereign returned, failed to contact the Undying Forbidden Zone, and learned about the Three Realms and Nine Lands by taking a Great Saint’s memories.
• The Undying Sovereign summoned the Taboo Sovereigns from the River of Taboo and told them that several Immortals had emerged.
• The Taboo Sovereigns saw the memories, speculated about Lin Ye, and set out to find a place to convert the world.
• Lin Ye’s system detected the Taboo Abyss’s invasion preparations and issued a mission to repel them, leaving Lin Ye puzzled about the Taboo Abyss.

Lin Ye discovered that a group of powerful Taboo Sovereigns had emerged from a passage linked to the Taboo Abyss, and he warned his disciples that an invasion by Taboo Immortals was coming. He chose to observe the passage rather than destroy it, confident that he could handle even Golden Immortal-level invaders.

• Lin Ye searched the Three Realms and Nine Lands and detected many Taboo Sovereigns with Quasi-Immortal strength.
• Lin Ye concluded that the black river was a passage to the Taboo Abyss and that the Sovereigns had come from there.
• The Undying Sovereign and others finished transforming the region around the black river into a new Forbidden Land as the passage grew more tangible.
• Lin Ye summoned his disciples and told them that the Taboo Abyss was preparing to invade with Taboo Immortals, including Golden Immortals.
• Lin Ye assured Ye Chen and the others that his two true bodies could defeat Golden Immortal-level threats unless the Taboo Abyss sent Immortal King-level beings.

Lin Ye killed the Taboo Immortal Duo Pu and searched his memories to learn about the Taboo Abyss and its invasion of the Three Realms and Nine Lands. After earning one billion Devil Dao Points, Lin Ye judged the threat manageable unless the invasion drew a powerful Taboo Immortal.

• Lin Ye's disciples prepared for an invasion after learning that their master possessed the combat strength of a top-tier Golden Immortal.
• Duo Pu descended through the black river, and the Taboo Sovereigns welcomed him before the Undying Sovereign shared information about the world.
• Duo Pu explored the world and dismissed its inhabitants as weak, unaware that Lin Ye was secretly observing him.
• Lin Ye suppressed Duo Pu, probed most of his memories, and killed him after learning about the Taboo Abyss and its invasion of the Three Realms and Nine Lands.
• Lin Ye received one billion Devil Dao Points for killing Duo Pu and hoped more Taboo Immortals would come.

After learning that Duo Pu had fallen, the Taboo Abyss sent True Lord Elong and more than thirty Taboo Immortals to investigate the changed Three Realms and Nine Lands. Lin Ye defeated and captured True Lord Elong, then staged a battle to lure more Golden Immortals from the Taboo Abyss.

• The Undying Sovereign and the others contacted the Taboo Abyss and learned that Duo Pu had fallen.
• True Lord Elong arrived with more than thirty Taboo Immortals and ordered them to accompany him to the Profound Heaven Realm.
• Lin Ye learned of True Lord Elong's arrival and waited, confident in his Ninth Layer of the Golden Immortal realm cultivation.
• True Lord Elong confronted Lin Ye in the extraterritorial void and attacked him.
• Lin Ye used the perfected Darkness Immortal-Slaying Technique to kill the Taboo Immortals accompanying True Lord Elong and bind True Lord Elong.
• Lin Ye created the illusion of an ongoing battle, and the Undying Sovereign and the others reported it to the Taboo Abyss.

Lin Ye annihilated the Taboo Immortals sent to attack the Three Realms and Nine Lands, then destroyed the passage connecting it to the Taboo Abyss. He earned 460 billion Devil Dao Points, but the invasion mission remained incomplete because the Taboo Abyss had not given up.

• After learning True Lord Elong had fought a Golden Immortal, an Immortal King ordered Taboo Golden Immortals and True Immortals to invade the Three Realms and Nine Lands.
• Lin Ye killed True Lord Elong and prepared to face the incoming Taboo Immortals while planning to destroy their passage.
• Lin Ye used the Darkness Immortal-Slaying Technique and his near-Perfection Immortal Physique to kill all the arriving Taboo Immortals.
• Lin Ye destroyed the black river passage and wiped out the Undying Sovereign and the other taboo beings, while his clones began hunting for new passages.
• Lin Ye discovered he had gained 460 billion Devil Dao Points, but the system mission remained incomplete because the Taboo Abyss's invasion had not ended.

Lin Ye exchanged Devil Dao Points for the Primordial Devil Bell and Primordial Devil Abyss Fruits, using the fruits to strengthen his disciples and perfect his Immortal Physique. More than ten years later, he had reached the Extreme Dao Immortal Physique while preparing to break through to Immortal King, and the Taboo Abyss had yet to attack.

• Lin Ye exchanged 50 billion Devil Dao Points for the Primordial Devil Bell and began refining the Extreme Dao Immortal Weapon.
• Lin Ye bought Primordial Devil Abyss Fruits for his disciples, who consumed them and went into seclusion to refine their new Innate Immortal Physiques.
• Lin Ye received tenfold feedback from his disciples and perfected his Immortal Physique, then set his sights on forging an Extreme Dao Immortal Physique.
• Immortal King Chiyang learned that Taboo Golden Immortals had fallen in a lower realm and ordered Taboo Immortals to find another way into it through the Ganges Sands Immortal River.
• More than ten years later, Bai Shi and Jiang Yuqiong had reached the First Layer of the Golden Immortal Realm, while Lin Ye had reached the Extreme Dao Immortal Physique and stored power for an Immortal King breakthrough.

Lin Ye broke through to the Immortal King realm as his disciples and the Profound Heaven Realm grew stronger. When Immortal King Chiyang arrived with a group of Golden Immortals, Lin Ye attacked them, and Chiyang recognized Lin Ye’s Extreme Dao Immortal Physique.

• Yang Yang broke through to the First Layer of the Golden Immortal realm, and Lin Ye used the feedback to break through to the Immortal King realm.
• Lin Ye sensed Luo Xu and the Golden Immortals approaching from beyond the Three Realms and Nine Lands, and let them build a passage for Immortal King Chiyang.
• After Chiyang descended, Lin Ye killed the Taboo Golden Immortals with the Darkness Immortal-Devouring Technique and shattered the passage.
• Chiyang called the attack a misunderstanding, but Lin Ye punched him and shattered his arm.
• Chiyang cried out in terror when he recognized Lin Ye’s Extreme Dao Immortal Physique.

Lin Ye defeated and killed Immortal King Chiyang, repelling the Taboo Abyss invasion and earning Devil Dao Points. He returned to the Black-Yellow Sect, where he gave his Golden Immortal disciples Top-Grade Immortal Weapons and the Extreme Dao Immortal Technique Daluo Devil Body to cultivate.

• Lin Ye shattered Immortal King Chiyang's Black Abyss Diagram and used the Primordial Devil Bell to prevent him from escaping.
• Lin Ye repeatedly destroyed Immortal King Chiyang's body until the Taboo Immortal King died, despite his threats of retaliation from the Taboo Abyss.
• The system rewarded Lin Ye for killing Immortal King Chiyang and completing the task of repelling the Taboo Abyss invasion.
• Lin Ye returned to the Black-Yellow Sect and exchanged Devil Dao Points for the Daluo Devil Body and several Top-Grade Immortal Weapons.
• Lin Ye gave the technique and weapons to Jiang Yuqiong and his other Golden Immortal disciples, who began cultivating and refining them.