Ren begins his life in the outer sect by diving into agricultural labor, utilizing his meager resources to plant basic spirit vegetables and sword grass. Facing immediate financial strain and a lack of food, he makes a calculated gamble by spending his last spirit stones on advice from a lazy scripture hall elder, acquiring the Grass Blade Manual. Through hard work and the support of his friendly neighbor Bao Hua, Ren successfully nurtures his first sword grass to maturity, fashioning a wooden blade that becomes his primary focus for cultivation. His journey takes a pivotal turn during a hunting trip when he witnesses a desperate battle between a swamp otter defending its young and an immolating turtle. Rather than acting as a ruthless cultivator and plundering the weakened beasts for easy wealth, Ren follows his moral compass and spares the otter family. This act of mercy triggers a profound realization about his personal Dao, which centers on leaving a legacy rather than hoarding wealth. Back at his camp, this sudden epiphany allows him to effortlessly break through to the second layer of the qi gathering realm, aligning his mind and body with the flow of natural energy. His rapid progress is noticed during the next sect class, where the teacher awards both Ren and the arrogant genius Jian Feng for their exceptional advancement. This shared victory immediately draws the jealous ire of Jian Feng, setting the stage for a dangerous rivalry. To protect himself from potential retaliation, Ren cleverly leverages his family connections and seeks the backing of his uncle Tai, creating a strategic misunderstanding that forces his enemies to hesitate. Armed with new resources and a growing understanding of formations, Ren begins to lay down his first anonymous trials in the outer sect mountains, setting a grand experiment in motion that will forever alter his connection to the cosmic forces of karma, leaving us wondering if his fragile web of destiny will hold against the storm of upcoming challenges that threaten to shatter his peaceful life.

As the highly anticipated outer sect tournament approaches, the entire mountain range erupts into a frenzy of preparation, drawing hidden talents and powerful cultivators back from their wilderness expeditions. Ren spends his days refining his skills, enrolling in basic spirit plant care and weapon forging classes to systematically expand his understanding of elemental alignments. His agricultural business flourishes as he consistently grows high-quality spirit herbs, earning over one hundred and fifty spirit stones and establishing a reputation as a meticulous grower. When the tournament commences, Ren is assigned to a brutal melee round where over a hundred disciples battle simultaneously on a single massive stone platform. Utilizing his newly acquired Third Eye Sense and the Earth Striding Leap movement technique, Ren strategically holds the outer edges of the platform, deflecting heavy blows and outlasting stronger opponents through sheer skill. He successfully advances to the final sixteen, where he faces the wealthy and arrogant Mo Ying in a high-stakes duel. Mo Ying attempts to secure an easy victory by throwing out an expensive and destructive flame talisman, catching Ren off guard and inflicting painful burns across his forearms. Biting back the pain, Ren utilizes his Earth Striding Leap to instantly close the distance, disarming the shocked young master and placing his sword at his throat to claim a decisive victory. Although Ren is eventually defeated in the next round by the more experienced Zhi Ping, his impressive performance earns him a middle-grade spirit stone and widespread respect among his peers. The tournament concludes with a shocking announcement from the vice sect leader, revealing that a massive beast tide in the southern mountains is linked to an upcoming blood moon inheritance trial. This rare event will draw the participation of powerful allied sects, raising the stakes to an unprecedented level and forcing Ren to realize that he must quickly break through to the foundation establishment realm if he hopes to survive the impending slaughter.

Ren enters seclusion to prepare for the inheritance trial, successfully condensing ten drops of liquid qi in his dantian with the aid of a high-quality foundation establishment pill. This complete success allows him to break through to the foundation establishment realm, completely purifying his body and earning him entry into the inner sect. When the blood moon rises and the trial begins, the participating disciples are scattered across a bizarre subspace covered in an oppressive red haze. Ren, Bao Hua, and Mei Ling work together to establish a secure base in a hidden cave, systematically plundering nearby caves and harvesting valuable blood-attribute resources. The trial quickly devolves into a brutal slaughter as the demonic cultivators of the Hidden Sea Sect launch a coordinated assault on the Heavenly Sword Sect's defensive camp. Ren utilizes his formation skills to patch up the damaged arrays, working alongside the icy genius Zhen Bing to prepare for the inevitable clash. During the chaotic battle, Ren witnesses the tragic death of the friendly senior Aifei, triggering a sudden rush of grief and a temporary karmic connection that snaps painfully upon her demise. Although the demonic forces are eventually defeated, the survivors realize that the entire subspace is designed to absorb the blood of the fallen to trigger a catastrophic event. As the realm begins to collapse and the beast tides go wild, the disciples launch a desperate retreat toward the exit. In the final chaotic moments of their escape, the vengeful Mo Ying betrays Ren, launching a palm strike at his back to force him into the path of a deadly spiked beast. Through a miraculous flash of karmic clarity, Ren accepts the blow, using the momentum to escape while Mo Ying is left behind to face the beast. Ren is carried to safety by his loyal friends, surviving the betrayal and returning to the sect with an immense hoard of treasures, leaving him to ponder the mysterious forces of destiny that saved his life.

Upon returning to the sect, Ren claims a short, turbulent mountain with an impure spirit spring as his new inner sect abode, ignoring the warnings of his seniors. He systematically designs a massive, mountain-spanning natural formation to purify the spring and tame the chaotic flows of qi, utilizing his rare treasures as elemental nodes. While exploring the depths of his mountain to locate the source of the elemental imbalance, Ren discovers a hidden cavern containing three snake eggs protected by the terrifying killing intent of a massive shed snakeskin. For nearly a month, Ren subjects himself to the grueling pressure of the killing intent, tempering his willpower and successfully refining his divine sense to the second heaven of the Sky Piercing Divine Sense technique. He reaches the egg just as it begins to hatch, quickly throwing out the snakeskin and redirecting the massive build-up of dragon vein energy to stabilize his mountain array. A tiny black snake with glowing red lines emerges from the egg, a newborn core formation beast that Ren names Yu Ran and successfully bonds with using the Harmonious Bond manual. After returning to his stabilized peak, Ren focuses on body cultivation, utilizing the Balanced Yin Body Refining Art and his Ossiferous Yin Flame to burn away the impurities within his flesh. During a powerful thunderstorm, his mountain-spanning formation is struck by a massive bolt of lightning, which splits and strikes Ren directly, throwing him into the spirit spring. This sudden influx of electrical energy forces his body to undergo a violent marrow cleansing breakthrough, cannibalizing his own muscles for nourishment until he desperately swallows a yang-enriched snake egg to complete his transformation into a powerful marrow cleansing cultivator, leaving us to wonder what heights of power this rejuvenated body will achieve.