Chapter Summaries

Li Zhengjun and the Li Household elders planned how to secure Gold-Bearing Mountain, control the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger, and use Ye Xiufan to test the Great Scarlet Realm’s response to Yuyu Realm cultivation methods. They chose Li Huchan to accompany Li Zhengjun, while postponing Ye Xiufan’s Dao Path decision until Li Chenjun emerged from seclusion.

• Li Chenxiao proposed sending the loyal tiger demon Li Huchan to help subdue the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger and develop Gold-Bearing Mountain, and the elders unanimously approved.
• Li Zhengjun presented information about Ye Xiufan, and the elders concluded that a higher cultivator’s remnant soul might be attached to him.
• Li Zhengjun proposed guiding Ye Xiufan through Yuyu Realm cultivation methods so he could test the Great Scarlet Realm’s reaction, and Yuhong argued that spreading the teachings might also attract destiny and fortune.
• The elders agreed to use Ye Xiufan as a long-term test, but delayed choosing his Water Virtue path until Li Chenjun returned from seclusion.
• Yuhong instructed Li Chenxiao to teach Li Zhengjun the Spirit-Binding Method, and Li Chenxiao pledged to help him in the Great Scarlet Realm.

Li Zhengjun learned the Mystic Terrace Spirit-Suppressing Nature-Binding Instruction from Li Chenxiao, then returned to the Great Scarlet Realm to cultivate it. The Great Sun Golden Crow Nine Luminaries Profound Heaven Treasure Mirror strengthened his Divine Sense and helped him master the technique in three days, and he discovered that the Mystic Mirror had advanced in rank.

• Li Zhengjun met Li Hupeng, thanked his branch for its loyalty, and asked him to summon Li Huchan to accompany him to another realm.
• Li Chenxiao gave Li Zhengjun the Mystic Terrace Spirit-Suppressing Nature-Binding Instruction and explained how to suppress a Demon Beast's true spirit, warning him of the dangers of weak Divine Sense.
• Li Zhengjun returned to the Great Scarlet Realm, learned that the Sun Household cultivators could not reveal their beast-taming method or the Owl, and began cultivating in seclusion.
• As Li Zhengjun struggled with the technique's painful effects on his Divine Sense, the Great Sun Golden Crow Nine Luminaries Profound Heaven Treasure Mirror flooded his sea of consciousness with golden light and dispelled the chaos.
• Li Zhengjun mastered the technique within three days and realized that his Mystic Mirror had advanced in rank.

Li Zhengjun’s Mystic Mirror transformed his Sea of Consciousness into a golden hall beneath a radiant sun, and Fang Qing brought him word that Ye Xiufan was making a move. Ye Xiufan and Jiang Liuyang planned to use the conflict over Gold-Bearing Mountain’s spiritual item to their advantage, while Jiang also considered searching Li Zhengjun’s soul for the Li Household’s Cultivation Methods.

• Li Zhengjun’s Mystic Mirror formed a golden hall and sun in his Sea of Consciousness, calming the chaos and stabilizing his spirit platform.
• Fang Qing told Li Zhengjun that Ye Xiufan was making a move, so Li Zhengjun immediately rode out of the city while Fang Qing sought Li Yuankai.
• Ye Xiufan met with Jiang Liuyang, who explained that the Li Household’s formations prevented him from spying on its Cultivation Method through the Owl.
• Jiang Liuyang advised Ye Xiufan to reveal his cultivation to the Li Household, join its expedition to Gold-Bearing Mountain, and seize the spiritual item when the competing forces clashed.
• Jiang Liuyang warned Ye Xiufan that the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger wielded the elusive ancient Dao of rosy light and told him to avoid it.
• Jiang Liuyang suggested that if Ye Xiufan met Li Zhengjun alone, he might expend his soul power to search Li Zhengjun’s soul and steal the Li Household’s Cultivation Methods.

Li Zhengjun witnessed Ye Xiufan and Jiang Liuyang nearly attempt to search his soul, but Ye Xiufan’s intuition stopped them before they could act. After they left, Li Zhengjun captured and subdued an owl that had been spying for another household, then began teaching it human speech so it could help monitor Ye Xiufan.

• Li Zhengjun arrived with Li Dongping and heard Ye Xiufan claim that a Demon Beast had injured the Grandmaster while they hunted for spiritual materials.
• Jiang Liuyang urged Ye Xiufan to let him invade Li Zhengjun’s sea of consciousness, but Ye Xiufan sensed imminent danger and made him withdraw.
• Li Zhengjun let Ye Xiufan leave with the recovered Grandmaster, then captured an owl hiding in a locust tree.
• Li Zhengjun used the Mystic Platform Spirit-Suppressing and Soul-Binding Instruction to subdue the owl and remove Jiang Liuyang’s crude control over it.
• Li Zhengjun taught the owl human language, and it began speaking obediently to him.

Li Zhengjun used the Profound Terrace Spirit-Suppressing and Soul-Binding Instruction to turn Owl and the Reed-Hidden Sandpiper into spies, then sent the latter back to Red Maple Island with fabricated memories. On Red Maple Island, cultivators complained about the Sun Household’s rising tribute before a voice announced that the household had wiped out the Devil Cultivators on Jade Wave Island.

• Owl told Li Zhengjun that Ye Xiufan and a remnant soul planned to exploit the battle at Gold-Bearing Mountain and seize treasure there.
• Li Zhengjun sealed Owl’s recent memories, ordered him to keep spying on Ye Xiufan, and promised to teach him a Cultivation Method.
• Li Zhengjun told Li Dongping to speed up gathering Frozen Water spirit treasures, then captured and awakened the Reed-Hidden Sandpiper.
• Li Zhengjun sealed the Sandpiper’s memories of its capture, implanted a story that Sun Xing and his companion had died to the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger, and sent it back to spy on the Sun Household.
• Cultivators gathered at the Sun Household’s hall on Red Maple Island and complained that the annual tribute had risen by thirty percent.
• A voice from the horizon announced that the Sun Household had wiped out every Devil Cultivator on Jade Wave Island.

Sun Hongpu revealed that the Sun Household had falsely claimed for years to fight the Devil Cultivators on Jade Wave Island while collecting tribute and local resources. After announcing their supposed eradication, he introduced the Li Household as an ally and framed a hunt for the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger as a chance to test them; rival island Households volunteered to join.

• Sun Ming reported that the Li Household had cleared the Devil Cultivators from Jade Wave Island, and Sun Hongpu decided the Sun Household should announce the news before its long-running tribute scam was exposed.
• Sun Hongpu told the gathered island Households that the Sun Household had exterminated the Devil Cultivators, prompting relief and praise from the crowd.
• When the islanders asked about Jade Wave Island's resources, Sun Hongpu said the Li Household had helped in the campaign and had been allowed to settle there.
• Sun Hongpu claimed the Li Household had arranged to hunt the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger with the Sun Household, alarming nearby Households that feared the newcomer would grow powerful.
• Households from Five Clouds Island and East Cliff Island volunteered to join the hunt, hoping to test the Li Household, while Sun Hongpu accepted their offers and planned to use them to gauge its strength.

Li Chenjun outlined a plan for cultivating Frozen Water disciples and proposed using Ye Xiufan to test the path toward the Frozen Water Purple Mansion. He then taught Li Zhengjun the five virtues and twenty-five phases, leaving him with a record of Dao Paths to guide his own cultivation and the Great Scarlet Realm branch.

• Li Zhengjun told Li Chenxiao he had learned the basics of the spirit-binding Technique and bound two Demon Beast true spirits, astonishing him.
• Yuhong brought Li Zhengjun to meet Li Chenjun, who read about the Lineage's recent affairs and praised Li Zhengjun's accomplishments.
• Li Chenjun proposed focusing Jade Wave Island's Water Spirit Root cultivators on Frozen Water before expanding into Weak Water and Gui Water, alongside other suitable Dao Paths and the Winged Yang Wheel-Nurturing Instruction.
• Li Chenjun suggested Ye Xiufan follow the Frozen Water path and forge the Tread on Thin Ice Immortal Foundation so his attempt at a Purple Mansion Divine Ability could serve as a reference.
• Li Zhengjun explained how Ye Xiufan's fortune could help the Li Household obtain spiritual items and insights, while Yuhong accepted that he might not live to see the plan succeed.
• Li Chenjun explained the five virtues and their five phases, then gave Li Zhengjun his annotated Record of Observations on Dao Path to support his cultivation and leadership of the Great Scarlet Realm branch.

Li Zhengjun learned that the Li Household’s supposed hidden Purple Mansion seed had been a bluff, and Yuhong proposed raising a real candidate in the Great Scarlet Realm to protect Zhengjun and Li Chenjun. Yuhong explained that Bright Yang cultivators’ Solitary Ruler fate brings calamities upon their children, then took Zhengjun to seek help harmonizing his yin and yang and completing his fate.

• Li Chenjun warned that Bright Yang techniques and the Altar Thunder Dao Path could draw unwanted attention in the Great Scarlet Realm, so Yuhong advised teaching most disciples native Dao Paths.
• Li Zhengjun asked about the Li Household’s hidden Purple Mansion seed, and Yuhong admitted that he had invented the story to mislead rival households and shield Li Chenjun.
• Yuhong revealed that the Li Household now needed a genuine public Purple Mansion seed and proposed raising a gifted descendant in the Great Scarlet Realm, where time passed differently.
• Yuhong explained that Bright Yang Purple Mansion cultivators’ Solitary Ruler fate brought calamities upon their children, who had to survive tribulations and could suffer again when their father’s fate weakened.
• Yuhong brought Li Zhengjun to Heart-Destroying Mountain to meet True Person Dayu, whose Divine Abilities could harmonize Zhengjun’s yin and yang and help complete his fate.

Yuhong took Li Zhengjun and his youngest uncle to Heart-Destroying Mountain under the pretext of seeking treatment, intending for Li Zhengjun to meet True Person Dayu and strengthen his physique. Li Zhengjun resisted the unsettling influence of Dayu’s Pill Furnace, and the chapter ended with Yuhong asking whether she had finished refining the pills.

• Yuhong explained that Dayu’s Night Star Fire could help Li Zhengjun’s Bright Yang cultivation and said he would take him to Heart-Destroying Mountain.
• Yuhong told Li Zhengjun that appearing openly and presenting himself as a reformed scion would draw less suspicion than remaining hidden.
• Yuhong carried Li Zhengjun and his youngest uncle through the Great Void to Heart-Destroying Mountain.
• Duan Hongyu welcomed the visitors and led them inside, where the mountain’s heat and abundant vitality stirred unsettling urges.
• Li Zhengjun’s mind was disturbed by Dayu’s Pill Furnace, but the golden hall manifested by the Mystic Mirror restored his clarity.
• True Person Dayu praised Li Zhengjun’s composure, and Yuhong asked whether she had finished refining his pills.

True Person Dayu refined pills for Li Zhengjun and agreed to let the Li Household grow her Clear Heart Spirit Fruit trees in exchange for a guaranteed share. Yuhong then asked her to refine Li Zhengjun’s physique so he could eventually have many descendants.

• True Person Dayu finished a batch of Crimson Yang Essence-Melting Pills for Li Zhengjun and said she would refine another batch for Chenjun later.
• Yuhong asked Dayu to wash and refine Li Zhengjun’s body, explaining that Zhengjun had risked his life defending the Thawing Ice Bright Jade and was the last surviving descendant of his branch.
• Dayu asked Yuhong to grow her Clear Heart Spirit Fruit trees near the Lesser Cold River, and Yuhong negotiated a guaranteed seventy-thirty split of the harvest in the Li Household’s favor.
• Dayu gave Yuhong the spirit seeds and planting instructions, then asked what result he wanted from refining Zhengjun’s physique.
• Yuhong laid out spirit items and said he wanted Li Zhengjun to have a house full of children and grandchildren.

True Person Dayu used [Celebrate Yang's Balance] and [Night Star Fire] to harmonize Li Zhengjun's life foundation with his Bright Yang Dao Path, then gave him a cultivation method. After Yuhong and his companions left, Dayu warned Duan Hongyu against arrogance and assigned her a leading role in the upcoming [Radiant Bright Blessed Land].

• True Person Dayu used spiritual treasures, medicines, and [Celebrate Yang's Balance] to adjust Li Zhengjun's life foundation and strengthen his vitality.
• Li Zhengjun understood that [Night Star Fire] harmonized his body with the Bright Yang Dao Path and would aid him when he forged his Immortal Foundation.
• Dayu gave Li Zhengjun the Rhapsody of Great Bliss in Yin-Yang Coupling, and Yuhong thanked her before leaving with his companions.
• Dayu asked Duan Hongyu what she thought of Li Zhengjun, then teased her about marrying into the Li Household.
• Duan Hongyu rejected the idea and boasted that she would forge an Immortal Foundation, so Dayu cautioned her against arrogance.
• Dayu told Duan Hongyu to complete her alchemy assignments and prepare to shoulder the main burden for her at the [Radiant Bright Blessed Land].

Li Zhengjun tested the Mystic Mirror’s golden hall against Yuhong’s Divine Sense, terrifying Yuhong and confirming that the artifact could suppress the remnant soul inside Ye Xiufan. The Li Household then prepared Li Zhengjun’s plans for Gold-Bearing Mountain and presented him with a pill to hasten his cultivation.

• Yuhong learned that Li Zhengjun’s life foundation and soul had improved, and advised him to prepare for Qi Ingestion and seek the spiritual item at Gold-Bearing Mountain.
• Li Zhengjun activated the Mystic Mirror’s golden hall while Yuhong probed his sea of consciousness, and its overwhelming presence forced Yuhong to flee and left him unable to remember what he had seen.
• Yuhong concluded that the Mystic Mirror could imprison Ye Xiufan’s remnant soul, allowing the Li Household to control both Ye Xiufan’s Dao Path and the soul’s true spirit.
• Li Chenjun gave Li Zhengjun the Frozen Water Surging Waves Subdued Flow Scripture and asked him to guide Ye Xiufan into its Dao Path after Qi Ingestion.
• Li Zhengchen presented the Li Household’s plan to counter the Sun Household at Gold-Bearing Mountain, including Fire Virtue tools and support from Li Huchan and a Spirit Plant farmer.
• Li Zhengchen told Li Zhengjun that the Pill Hall had prepared a Fetal Breath pill to help him reach Embryonic Breathing Perfection.

Li Zhengjun accepted the Li Household’s plan to weaken the Sun Household and used the Scarlet Dawn Inception-Congealing Pills to accelerate his cultivation. After forming his Spirit Primordial Wheel, he prepared to deal with Gold-Bearing Mountain before returning to the Lineage to begin Qi Ingestion cultivation.

• Li Zhengjun accepted the Li Household’s preparations against the Sun Household and received seven bottles of pills to help form his Spirit Primordial Wheel.
• Li Zhengchen proposed exploiting resentment against the Sun Household by supporting Southern Yang of East Cliff Island against Northern Yang, and Li Zhengjun agreed to contact them.
• Li Yuankai told Li Zhengjun that Frozen Water spiritual objects were producing more and Ye Xiufan had begun cultivating and sought to visit Gold-Bearing Mountain.
• Li Zhengjun learned the Sun Household had come to spy on Gold-Bearing Mountain, then entered seclusion and consumed five bottles of Scarlet Dawn Inception-Congealing Pills.
• Li Zhengjun refined the remaining pills, completed his Spirit Primordial Wheel, and planned to deal with Gold-Bearing Mountain before returning to the Lineage to cultivate a Qi Ingestion method.

Li Zhengjun realized his cultivation corresponded to Qi Refinement Twelfth Layer in the Great Scarlet Realm and considered spreading the Yuyu Realm’s cultivation system as a possible achievement. He prepared to return to Gold-Bearing Mountain with two new companions and equipment, while Yuhong gave him a method for altering memories.

• Li Zhengjun noticed his Fetal Breath Sixth Layer corresponded to Qi Refinement Twelfth Layer and wondered whether teaching the Yuyu Realm’s system in the Great Scarlet Realm could count as an achievement.
• After emerging from seclusion, Li Zhengjun learned from Fang Yuan that the Sun Household had arrived in the capital to probe the Li Household’s strength, and he told Hall Master Yuankai to keep them occupied.
• In Chongming Hall, Li Zhengjun met Li Dongsheng and Li Huchan, who had agreed to undertake a dangerous mission in exchange for support for their families.
• Li Zhengchen presented Li Zhengjun with talismans and Law Artifacts prepared for the trip to Gold-Bearing Mountain, and Li Zhengjun said the supplies and his Spirit Primordial Wheel increased his confidence.
• Yuhong gave Li Zhengjun the Soul-Washing Incantation and advised him to use it to alter troublesome opponents’ memories after making them suffer.

Li Zhengjun arrived in the Great Scarlet Realm with Li Huchan and Li Dongsheng, then used Owl to learn about Ye Xiufan’s plans and prepare a way to track the remnant soul. At the Li Household’s cultivation residence, a cultivator named Yang Lei privately approached him with an opportunity.

• Li Zhengjun brought Li Huchan and Li Dongsheng to the Great Scarlet Realm and warned them to control their bloodlust around the Sun Household and the other households.
• Owl told Li Zhengjun that Ye Xiufan had advanced another realm and was seeking a chance to travel to Gold-Bearing Mountain.
• Li Zhengjun explained Ye Xiufan’s Fetal Breath cultivation progress and gave Owl a breathing Mnemonic that would let him track Owl’s location.
• Li Zhengjun entered the Li Household’s cultivation residence with Li Huchan and Li Dongsheng, leaving Owl to continue spying on Ye Xiufan and the remnant soul.
• Yang Lei, a cultivator from the Southern Yang branch on East Cliff Island, privately introduced himself to Li Zhengjun and offered him an opportunity.

Yang Lei of the Southern Yang sought Li Zhengjun’s help in exposing the Sun Household and sabotaging Sun Hongyao’s hunt for the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger. Li Zhengjun declined to sign their complaint but offered evidence and support against the Sun Household, then arrived at a crowded gathering in the main hall as the tiger hunt approached.

• Yang Lei told Li Zhengjun that the Southern Yang wanted to expose the Sun Household’s tribute fraud and prevent Sun Hongyao from obtaining the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger.
• Li Zhengjun refused to sign the document, wary of drawing the Li Household into the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect’s internal affairs.
• Li Zhengjun revealed that the Li Household had independently wiped out the Devil Cultivators of the Ning Kingdom, contradicting the Sun Household’s account of the campaign.
• Li Zhengjun suggested the Sun Household had used the extra tribute to support Sun Hongyao and promised Yang Lei copies of captured spies’ statements.
• Li Zhengjun agreed to do what he could to stop the tiger hunt, and Yang Lei left convinced that he was a good man.
• Li Zhengjun headed to the main hall and found more than sixty cultivators gathered there.

Sun Chengfeng sent Sun Chengling and allied households to Gold-Bearing Mountain, intending to weaken the Li Household and secure a Ginseng-Cloud Tiger for Sun Hongyao’s Foundation Establishment. Li Zhengjun led his people into the mountain with preparations for a confrontation, and the party discovered its spiritual resources were far richer than anyone had expected.

• Sun Chengfeng arranged for Sun Chengling to capture a Ginseng-Cloud Tiger while the Sun Household stirred other households against the Li Household.
• Sun Chengling and representatives of several households gathered at the Li Household and taunted Li Yuankai while waiting for Li Zhengjun.
• Li Zhengjun arrived with Li Huchan and Li Dongsheng, silenced the gathered cultivators with his spiritual pressure, and proposed they hunt the tiger together.
• Li Zhengjun sent Li Yuankai ahead to prepare a formation and brought Ye Xiufan along to help locate spiritual treasures on Gold-Bearing Mountain.
• The group reached Gold-Bearing Mountain and saw its fertile spirit fields and abundant spiritual essence, prompting the other households to resolve to drive the Li Household from Jade Wave Island.

Li Zhengjun used Li Huchan’s tiger form to draw the Sun Household and its allies away, leaving himself behind to deal with the real Ginseng-Cloud Tiger. Ye Xiufan learned of the deception from Jiang Liuyang and continued the chase while waiting for a chance to retrieve the spiritual object.

• Sun Chengling divided the search party across Gold-Bearing Mountain after his tracking method failed to locate the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger.
• Li Zhengjun and Li Huchan found the tiger concealed in the mountain mist, but Li Zhengjun held back because the other groups were nearby.
• Li Zhengjun ordered Li Huchan to transform and lure the searchers toward Jade Wave Pool, where the Li Household had prepared a formation.
• Li Huchan transformed into a tiger and escaped underground, prompting the Sun Household and allied cultivators to chase him while the Li disciples followed.
• Jiang Liuyang told Ye Xiufan that Li Huchan was a decoy and guessed Li Zhengjun planned to kill the real tiger for its demon core, then urged Ye Xiufan to keep pursuing the group.

Sun Chengling realized the tiger was a decoy and returned to the Li Household, while the pursuers entered the Li Household’s formation and attacked. Yang Lei chose to side with the Li Household, and Li Dongping activated the formation as the battle raged.

• Sun Chengling suspected the tiger was not the Ginseng-Cloud Tiger, ordered Sun Ming to continue the pursuit, and quietly returned to the Li Household.
• At Jade Wave Pool, Li Huchan killed a Sun Household cultivator, and Sun Ming urged the pursuers to attack the Li Household.
• Yang Lei decided to support the Li Household and struck a Sun Household cultivator, declaring that he and his allies had come to help.
• Sun Ming rallied the other cultivators against the Li Household and Yang Lei’s group, while the Li Household fought back with Law Artifacts and talismans.
• Li Dongping activated the formation around Jade Wave Pool and declared that he would show the attackers the Li Household’s true foundation.

The Li Household trapped the Sun Household cultivators inside its formation and crushed their assault, revealing that it had anticipated and countered their hidden killing move. With the Sun Household nearly wiped out and the Li Household largely unharmed, Yang Lei realized that switching sides had saved his life.

• Jiang Liuyang saw the Li Household’s formation rise around Jade Wave Pool and chose to leave the battle to pursue treasure with his companions.
• Li Dongping attacked the trapped Sun Household cultivators with the Seven Luminaries Bright-Subduing Profound Light Pagoda while Li Yuankai controlled the formation.
• Sun Ming rallied the Sun Household cultivators to attack, and Li Huchan used earthen walls to trap and slaughter many of their spirit beasts.
• Sun Ming ordered the buried wood spirits to strike, but Li Dongsheng had already killed them all beneath the ground.
• Li Dongping struck Sun Ming down, and the Li Household defeated the remaining Sun Household cultivators with few injuries.
• Yang Lei collapsed in relief, realizing that siding with the Li Household had saved him from the Sun Household’s defeat.