Immortal Net

Immortal Net is a xianxia cultivation novel by web author Hong Shuo. Serialized on Zongheng Chinese Network starting in 2012 and now completed, it circulates online in proofread complete editions compiled by sites such as Zhixuan Cangshu. The story is set in the Taiyi Mountains of the Southern Yue cultivation world: the Taiyi Sect, one of the seven great sects, governs the surrounding region, and at the mountain's remote foot lives the Lin family, a small cultivation clan that has depended on the Taiyi Sect for generations and pays monthly tribute. The protagonist, Lin Feng, is the youngest disciple in the clan. At just sixteen he has cultivated the family technique "Dragon Tempering Art" to the second entry level, equivalent to the sixth layer of the ordinary cultivator's Xuanzhao stage—a notably impressive pace among his peers. Yet just as he shows promise, his spiritual root is shattered by a Nascent Soul master, and he becomes a "cripple" in the eyes of the cultivation world. However, blessed with deep fortune, Lin Feng develops a mysterious "Immortal Net" within his body from a rare spiritual herb. With this net he can devour demon cores, capture and refine others' souls, purify materials, accelerate the growth of spiritual herbs, deduce formations, and command neutral ethereal spirit power—breaking the shackles of the rule that "one cannot cultivate without a spiritual root." He then travels to the far west, becoming embroiled in a treasure contest at Treasure Gathering City, demon sect conspiracies, ancient tomb expeditions, and the crisis of a blood fiend's revival. At the Golden Core stage he maneuvers among factions such as the Yidao Sect, gradually uncovering the origin of the Immortal Net and the hidden secrets of the cultivation world. The book's core premise is "no spiritual root, cultivate the net," following a flawed protagonist who steadily turns the tables through unique means.