Chapter 1: Qi Refining Period

Chapter 1 Overview

Chapter 1 covers your Qi Refining (炼气) period from awakening in Xianyuan City (仙缘城) through clearing the Liangyin Cave dungeon and preparing for the Foundation Establishment arc. You start at age 14 with a five-element mixed spiritual root — remember this age matters for Heavenly Foundation later (must breakthrough before 21). Expect 4–6 hours of exploration, combat, and event triggers across Xianyuan City and surrounding regions.

Xianyuan City: First Steps

Trigger All Events

Immediately upon starting, trigger every question-mark event in Xianyuan City. These events introduce core NPCs, shops, and mechanics. Key locations:

• Lingxi Pavilion (灵息阁) — quiz event; answer Metal (金系) to the element question. Provides lore context and small rewards.
• Black Market (黑市) — purchase the regional map; use it from inventory to clear all fog of war in the starting area.
• Marketplace — sell loot, buy basic spells. Purchase Fireball Art (火球术) as a universal no-prerequisite spell before leaving for Chapter 2.

First Kill & Chaos Pearl

After killing your first enemy, the Chaos Pearl (混沌珠) activates. Select your spiritual root element here — this defines your build for the playthrough. Recommended talent picks:

• Chaos Space (混沌空间) — mandatory; stores items, NPCs, and your mother safely
• Divine Thief (神偷) or Soul Search (搜魂) — Earth builds prefer Divine Thief; Metal builds benefit from Soul Search for stealing high-tier techniques
• Treasure Identification (识宝) — recommended over Divine Strength; helps find valuable items
• Ore Seeking (寻矿) or Spirit Seeking (觅灵) — roughly equivalent; pick based on whether you want mining or herb gathering

Liangyin Cave Dungeon

Travel northeast to Liangyin Town (大梁镇) and enter the Liangyin Cave (梁阴洞) event. This is your first major dungeon clear:

1. Floor 1: Fight enemies marked "evenly matched" or weaker first. Save stronger opponents for after leveling. Save before risky fights.
2. Route order: Clear Floor 1, then enter the Liangyin Cave Depths (梁阴洞深处) before the Snake Den (蛇窟).
3. Depths: Again, pick soft targets first. Loot treasure chests (save-scum for Thunderbolt Sword / 霹雳剑 — 0 Energy, 14 damage, once per turn, excellent early weapon) and jade slips (save-scum for Yellow-grade mid techniques matching your element).
4. Snake Den: Clear normally; question-mark skeletons last. By this point, the floor boss should be manageable.

Return to Liangyin Town to turn in quests, sell loot at the marketplace, and head back to Xianyuan City.

Southwest Town Events

The town in the southwest corner of the map has question-mark events triggerable anytime:

• Jiang Peipei (姜佩佩) — prepare thoroughly before triggering. Choose ambush when the event fires, defeat her, and claim her equipment. Excellent armor for Earth builds.
• Liu Zhaoyao (刘昭耀) — trigger last. Before this event, place your mother in Chaos Space for safety.

Chapter 1 Completion Checklist

• All Xianyuan City question-mark events triggered
• Chaos Pearl activated with spiritual root and talents chosen
• Regional map purchased and fog cleared
• Liangyin Cave fully cleared (Depths → Snake Den order)
• Fireball Art purchased
• Jiang Peipei defeated (optional but strongly recommended)
• Mother secured in Chaos Space
• Qi Refining level 9+ with cultivation art and two combat spells equipped
• Element-appropriate Yellow-grade mid techniques from cave drops

Looking Ahead

Chapter 1 ends when you transition to the Yunhai Town arc in Chapter 2. The Heavenly Foundation clock is ticking — you have until age 21 to gather nine Foundation Pills, one Dao Foundation Fruit, and a Foundation secret manual. Start mental planning for the Shanyin County vs Wuyin Sea route split during Chapter 2. See the Luocha Island overview for arc-wide context.