Chapter Summaries

Lu Ping traveled toward the Profound Beast Taming Sect while posing as Zhao Kangquan, analyzed the Taiyi Origin-Returning Pill, and reached Qingyang City. At the Azure Dragon Merchant Association, Shen Yuerong credited his guidance with helping her glimpse a path to Nascent Soul formation and announced she was leaving for the Azure Dragon Upper Domain.

• Lu Ping disguised himself as Zhao Kangquan and decided to investigate the Profound Beast Taming Sect, then flew toward Qingyang City with Crow-Crow piloting.
• During the journey, Lu Ping analyzed Jiang Mutian's Taiyi Origin-Returning Pill and derived its formula and a Pseudo-Taiyi Origin-Returning Pill.
• Lu Ping arrived in Qingyang City and chose to visit the Azure Dragon Merchant Association instead of confronting the Zhao Household.
• Shen Yuerong greeted Lu Ping and said his guidance on overturning two domains had helped her glimpse an opportunity to form a Nascent Soul.
• Shen Yuerong told Lu Ping she would return to the main Shen Household in Baodi City and use its Spirit Vein to enter seclusion.

Lu Ping exchanged materials with Shen Yuerong in Qingyang City and urged her to consider whether people mastered profit or were mastered by it. He then teleported to Cangxuan City, a bustling city where humans and Demon Beasts mingled, and faced a choice about what to do next.

• Lu Ping chose to trade with Shen Yuerong, giving her spare Talismans and Formation Plates in exchange for materials while noting that Jadegreen Spirit Vine was scarce.
• Lu Ping advised Shen Yuerong that pursuing profit was natural but warned her to consider whether people mastered profit or were mastered by it; she accepted his words solemnly.
• Lu Ping traveled through the Heavenly Certification Alliance’s Teleportation Hall from Qingyang City to Cangxuan City.
• Lu Ping explored Cangxuan City and saw Demon Beasts controlled by Beast-Taming Rings performing labor throughout the cultivation metropolis.
• Lu Ping received options to visit the Azure Dragon Merchant Association, explore the city, or offer free psychological counseling to Demon Beasts.

Lu Ping gathered the ingredients for the pseudo-Taiyi Origin-Returning Pill in Cangxuan City and refined twelve pills. He then subdued the three spirit beasts from Zhao Kangquan’s inheritance, disguised himself as Zhao Kangquan, and prepared to head for the Profound Beast Taming Sect.

• Lu Ping visited the Azure Dragon Merchant Association’s Cangxuan City branch and bought the remaining ingredients for the pseudo-Taiyi Origin-Returning Pill.
• Lu Ping rented a cave abode and refined twelve flawless pseudo-Taiyi Origin-Returning Pills.
• Lu Ping studied the beast-taming methods in the Myriad Spirits True Scripture and learned about the Spirit Beast Bag and spirit-beast contracts.
• Lu Ping erased the Azure-Feathered Black Eagle’s old mark and forced it to submit, then took control of the other two spirit beasts.
• Lu Ping used the Formless Myriad-Breath Cloak to disguise himself as the dead Profound Beast Taming Sect deacon Zhao Kangquan and prepared to set out for the sect.

Lu Ping traveled to the Profound Beast Taming Sect disguised as Deacon Zhao Kangquan, where he quietly studied the sect and its defenses while preparing to deal with Chunwu. The Demon-Catching Squad returned with a huge flying boat, and Lu Ping faced a choice about how to respond.

• Lu Ping rode the Azure-Feathered Black Eagle to the Profound Beast Taming Sect and chose to keep a low profile rather than attack.
• Lu Ping settled into Zhao Kangquan’s role and used his knowledge to settle a dispute between Imperial Beast Peak and Returning to Truth Peak disciples.
• Lu Ping inspected the formation nodes across the sect’s nine peaks and mentally mapped out its Mountain-Protection Grand Formation.
• A few days later, the Demon-Catching Squad returned to Myriad Spirits Valley aboard Elder Zhu’s enormous, bloodstained flying boat.
• Lu Ping considered whether to quietly observe, free the captured Demon Beasts, or demand their quarantine certificates.

Lu Ping attended Zhu Wanshan’s return and uncovered the elder’s decades-long cooperation with the Golden Crow Demon Emperor to distribute Bloodline Marks and exploit cultivators. When Zhu summoned him, Lu Ping posed as Zhao Kangquan, but Zhu’s careless mention of a promised breakthrough opportunity left Lu Ping facing the elder’s suspicion and killing intent.

• Lu Ping chose to mingle with the crowd and watched Zhu Wanshan return from the Myriad Demon Domain with a large haul of Demon Beasts.
• Lu Ping pieced together that Zhu Wanshan had secretly helped distribute Bloodline Marks for the Golden Crow Demon Emperor by arranging for Rogue Cultivators to form False Cores and undergo bloodline reversal.
• Three days later, Zhu Wanshan summoned Lu Ping, who used the Formless Myriad-Breath Cloak to impersonate Zhao Kangquan and went to Returning to Truth Peak.
• Lu Ping reported that five people had formed False Cores, and Zhu Wanshan said he had completed another task for the Lord of the South and expected a promised Spirit Transformation Fortuitous Opportunity.
• After Zhu Wanshan realized he had revealed a secret to a Golden Core Deacon, he looked at Lu Ping with killing intent, and new options appeared.

Lu Ping gained Zhu Wanshan’s trust and oversaw the Bloodline Reversal Grand Formation as seven cultivators underwent demonization. By studying the process, Lu Ping learned that the Crow’s Arrival formation needed at least forty-nine Bloodline Marks and decided to keep Zhu Wanshan alive until he knew how many marks were available.

• Lu Ping flattered Zhu Wanshan, earned a promotion to the Demon-Catching Squad, and was put in charge of establishing the Bloodline Reversal Grand Formation three months later.
• Lu Ping used his power to intimidate Wang Tongyou, then realized his disguised identity did not count as joining the Profound Beast Taming Sect, so his Bully at Home skill remained inactive.
• Wang Tongyou brought seven cultivators with False Cores to Falling Crow Valley, where Zhu Wanshan collected their Spirit Stones and ordered Lu Ping to activate the formation.
• Lu Ping activated the formation, and Zhu Wanshan placed Bloodline Marks on the seven cultivators as they painfully transformed into demon cultivators.
• Lu Ping studied the Bloodline Marks and determined that the Crow’s Arrival formation required at least forty-nine, so he chose to keep Zhu Wanshan alive for now.
• Two hours later, the seven cultivators neared the end of their transformation as illusory three-legged, black-winged demon beasts appeared above them.

Lu Ping gained the A-rank Commercial Espionage Trait and used it to forge an identity token and disguise himself as an Outer Sect menial at the Profound Beast Taming Sect. After approaching two arguing inner disciples, he triggered Workplace People-Pleaser and faced a choice about what to do next.

• Zhu Wanshan sent the seven newly transformed Demon Cultivators to serve at Demon-Severing Cliff, and Lu Ping returned with him and Wang Tongyou to the Profound Beast Taming Sect.
• After two years as an Inner Sect Deacon, Lu Ping gained the A-rank Commercial Espionage Trait and replaced Passive Income and Office Romance with Commercial Espionage and Workplace People-Pleaser.
• Lu Ping used Reverse Engineering and Artisan Spirit to forge a Profound Beast Taming Sect identity token for Zhang San.
• Lu Ping disguised himself as an Outer Sect menial, suppressed his cultivation, and approached two arguing inner disciples.
• Workplace People-Pleaser softened the taller disciple's attitude toward Lu Ping, and the system presented him with three choices.

Lu Ping created a collection of forged faction identity tokens under the name Zhang San while strengthening his position as Zhao Kangquan in the Profound Beast Taming Sect. When Zhu Wanshan ordered him to join the Demon-Catching Squad’s expedition to the Myriad Demon Domain, Lu Ping accepted and boarded the flying warship with the squad.

• Lu Ping used his organization-based combat ability to frighten two inner disciples, then returned to his cave abode.
• Lu Ping replicated identity tokens for several factions, engraving Zhang San on each and declaring Zhang San the cultivation world’s number one outlaw.
• Lu Ping spent months working as an Inner Sect Deacon, earning Zhu Wanshan’s trust, but failed to learn how many Bloodline Marks remained in the Azure Dragon Domain.
• Zhu Wanshan ordered Zhao Kangquan to accompany him to the Myriad Demon Domain, and Lu Ping respectfully accepted.
• Three days later, Lu Ping boarded the Profound Beast Taming Sect’s flying warship with Zhu Wanshan and several hundred elite disciples as the squad prepared to depart.

Lu Ping accompanied the Profound Beast Taming Sect through Demon-Severing Cliff and into the Myriad Demon Domain, where his Heavy Tomato User ability let him tolerate the Demon Qi. The group flew toward a mountain range after five days among the domain’s dangerous landscapes.

• Lu Ping chose to stay with the Profound Beast Taming Sect at Demon-Severing Cliff and saw the distant Third Medicine Camp.
• Zhu Wanshan presented the sect’s Travel Permit to the Demon-Suppressing Tower guards, and General Li granted passage under the usual restrictions.
• The flying boat crossed Demon-Severing Cliff into the Myriad Demon Domain, where Lu Ping was unaffected by the Demon Qi.
• The Profound Beast Taming Sect’s flying boat traveled for five days past immense forests, volcanoes, and poisonous marshes while disciples captured approaching flying Demon Beasts.
• A mountain range appeared in the distance on the morning of the fifth day.

Lu Ping followed Zhu Wanshan into the Myriad Demon Domain, where they encountered signs of a Transformation Stage Great Demon. When Zhu Wanshan left him in a cave and went to investigate a dangerous place, Lu Ping secretly followed and sensed a powerful, strangely familiar presence.

• Zhu Wanshan assigned the demon-capturing squads and took Kang Quan with him to scout the forest.
• Zhu Wanshan demonstrated his deep knowledge of Demon Beasts as he led Kang Quan nearly two thousand li into the forest.
• A Transformation Stage Great Demon roared nearby, so Zhu Wanshan waited until it moved away before leading Kang Quan around its territory.
• Zhu Wanshan ordered Kang Quan to wait in a cave while he investigated a dangerous place, and Lu Ping chose to follow him secretly.
• Lu Ping laid traps, concealed himself with the Formless Myriad-Breath Cloak, and tracked Zhu Wanshan through the valley.
• Two shichen later, Lu Ping sensed a powerful presence ahead that felt uncannily familiar.

Lu Ping learned that Zhu Wanshan had gathered the final Bloodline Marks and secured a promised Spirit Transformation opportunity, then turned on him before the Golden Crow Demon Emperor’s Avatar could descend. Lu Ping killed Zhu Wanshan and his bonded spirit beast, captured Zhu Wanshan’s Nascent Soul, and began searching his memories.

• Lu Ping returned to the cave and learned from Zhu Wanshan that the final batch of Bloodline Marks had been gathered and his promised Spirit Transformation opportunity was secured.
• Lu Ping activated the Five Elements Heaven-Trapping Formation and attacked Zhu Wanshan, who was briefly stunned by I'll Make Three Points.
• Lu Ping’s flying blades overwhelmed Zhu Wanshan’s Vermilion-Red Vulture and killed both the spirit beast and Zhu Wanshan’s physical body.
• Lu Ping bound Zhu Wanshan’s fleeing Nascent Soul with Spirit-Winding Thread and seized it.
• Lu Ping used Soul Searching Technique on Zhu Wanshan’s Nascent Soul, receiving a jumble of incomplete memories.

After killing Zhu Wanshan, Lu Ping discovered that the Spirit Transformation opportunity he had sought was a Great Wind Raptor’s Life-Bound True Blood. He swallowed it himself, refined its origin power, and advanced to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, but a hidden strand of Divine Sense emerged from the exhausted blood and entered his sea of consciousness.

• Lu Ping searched Zhu Wanshan’s memories, learned the whereabouts of people he had helped turn into Demon Cultivators, and collected the Nascent Soul cultivator’s Storage Ring and Spirit Beast Bag.
• Lu Ping discovered that Zhu Wanshan’s Spirit Transformation opportunity was a Great Wind Raptor’s Life-Bound True Blood intended to help his Vermilion-Red Vulture transform.
• Lu Ping chose to swallow the true blood himself after Crow-Crow could not consume it.
• Lu Ping used his techniques and two Pseudo-Taiyi Origin-Returning Pills to refine the Great Demon’s origin power, breaking through to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage and the Fourth Layer of the Hundred-Forged Medicine Body Formula.
• A hidden strand of Divine Sense emerged from the exhausted true blood and crept into Lu Ping’s sea of consciousness.

Lu Ping captured and sealed the Golden Crow Demon Emperor’s hidden Divine Sense, then impersonated Zhu Wanshan to conceal Zhao Kangquan’s death and lead the Demon-Catching Squad. As the three-month expedition neared its end, he faced a choice about whether to return or continue hunting.

• Lu Ping tore the Golden Crow Demon Emperor’s dormant Divine Sense from his Sea of Consciousness, bound it in a cocoon, and stored it rather than risk alerting the Demon Emperor by destroying it.
• Lu Ping transformed into Zhu Wanshan, erased the cave’s traces, and returned to the flying boat, where he told Wang Tongyou that Zhao Kangquan had died while pursuing a rare young beast.
• Lu Ping ordered the squads to stay within the boundaries he had marked and spent the following months directing their hunts while maintaining Zhu Wanshan’s identity.
• The Demon-Catching Squad followed Lu Ping’s maps, suffered few casualties, and filled the flying boat’s beast hold with captured Demon Beasts.
• As the three-month deadline approached, Lu Ping considered whether to return under the rules, hunt the Great Demon himself, or extend the expedition with a labor competition.

Lu Ping returned to Demon-Severing Cliff disguised as Zhu Wanshan and passed the Demon-Suppressing Tower’s inspection. He asked General Li to help him meet Chen Zhao, and faced a choice of how to get Chen Zhao’s attention.

• Lu Ping chose to return to Demon-Severing Cliff rather than risk confronting the Golden Crow Demon Emperor again.
• Five days later, Lu Ping’s flying ship passed inspection by General Li, and Lu Ping offered Thundercloud Leopard cubs as a gift.
• Lu Ping told General Li he had an old acquaintance named Chen Zhao in the medicine camp and wanted to deliver him a Pill Formula.
• General Li said he would send someone to confirm whether Camp General Chen would meet Lu Ping.
• Lu Ping was offered three ways to contact Chen Zhao: send him a token, fight into the Demon-Suppressing Tower, or publicly demand repayment of a Spirit Stone debt.

Lu Ping met Chen Zhao at the Third Medicine Camp and showed him a pill that could be refined by a Third-Grade Alchemist using more accessible ingredients. Chen Zhao recognized its potential to save many lives at Demon-Severing Cliff and asked Lu Ping what he wanted, leaving their deal unresolved.

• Lu Ping gave General Li a pill and asked him to send it to Chen Zhao at the Third Medicine Camp.
• Chen Zhao arrived, recognized Lu Ping as an old acquaintance, and led him into a sealed Alchemy Chamber.
• Chen Zhao confronted Lu Ping, who calmly asked him to assess the pill’s quality.
• Chen Zhao identified the pill as a modified Taiyi Origin-Returning Pill with about eighty percent of its medicinal effect.
• Lu Ping said he had a formula that let a Third-Grade Alchemist refine the pill using ingredients such as Jadegreen Spirit Vine.
• Chen Zhao grasped the pill’s military value, lowered his guard, and asked Lu Ping what he wanted.

Lu Ping asked Chen Zhao to use his one-time Feather Dispatch to request an audience with the Tower Master, offering a valuable pill formula in exchange. After inspecting the formula and hearing Lu Ping’s appeal, Chen Zhao had yet to give his answer.

• Lu Ping chose to ask Chen Zhao for an audience with the Tower Master, but Chen Zhao said he lacked the authority to arrange one.
• Lu Ping revealed that Chen Zhao could use a Feather Dispatch to report directly to the Tower Master, alarming Chen Zhao with his knowledge of the military mechanism.
• Lu Ping offered Chen Zhao a pill formula in exchange for using the dispatch, and Chen Zhao worried that a false or unimportant report could bring severe punishment.
• Lu Ping showed Chen Zhao the pill formula, which Chen Zhao recognized as genuine and unusually comprehensive.
• Lu Ping argued that the formula could save soldiers and earn Chen Zhao recognition and cultivation resources, then asked whether Chen Zhao still considered the exchange a bad deal.

Lu Ping persuaded Chen Zhao to send a secret message to Song Fuan, then revealed his true identity before the Tower Master arrived. Song Fuan appeared in the Alchemy Chamber, and Lu Ping faced a choice about how to present his intelligence on the Myriad Demon Domain and the Golden Crow Demon Emperor.

• Lu Ping convinced Chen Zhao that the Pseudo-Taiyi Origin-Returning Pill could benefit both the wounded soldiers and his own Dao Path, and Chen Zhao agreed to contact the Tower Master.
• Chen Zhao sent a Feather Dispatch requesting the Tower Master's decision on top-secret military intelligence.
• Lu Ping removed his disguise and introduced himself as Lu Ping of the Azure Cloud Sect, explaining that he had borrowed Elder Zhu's identity for the matter he intended to report.
• Song Fuan appeared inside the Alchemy Chamber despite its Restrictions, and Chen Zhao and Lu Ping paid their respects.
• Lu Ping considered whether to reveal the unusual movements in the Myriad Demon Domain and the Golden Crow Demon Emperor, establish a connection with a token, or discuss his funeral arrangements.

Lu Ping reported Zhu Wanshan’s scheme to Song Fuan and proposed using Crow’s Arrival to lure a Great Demon’s Avatar into a trap at Demon-Severing Cliff. Song Fuan approved the plan and put Lu Ping in charge with Chen Zhao assisting, while Lu Ping asked for protection from a Divine Sense mark.

• Lu Ping used a cyan Sword Talisman to claim a connection to Song Fuan’s senior sister, but Song Fuan questioned the claim before hearing his report.
• Lu Ping told Song Fuan about Han Changqing, the Evil Cultivators at Red Refining Mountain, and Zhu Wanshan’s Bloodline Reversal scheme that turned humans into Demon Cultivators.
• Lu Ping explained that the transformed cultivators served as anchors for a Great Demon’s Avatar and proposed using Crow’s Arrival to lure it to Demon-Severing Cliff and trap it.
• Song Fuan approved the plan, assigned Lu Ping responsibility with Chen Zhao as his assistant, and ordered them to continue.
• Lu Ping asked Song Fuan for protection against a Divine Sense mark, and new options appeared.

Lu Ping erased a Heavenly Demon’s Divine Sense Mark, then returned to the Profound Beast Taming Sect disguised as Zhu Wanshan and received praise for the successful demon beast hunt. At a sect assembly, he noticed the sect master was near the end of his lifespan just as new choices appeared.

• Lu Ping swallowed the Heavenly Demon’s Divine Sense Mark in his Sea of Consciousness, impressing Song Fuan.
• Song Fuan warned Lu Ping against carrying a token that could expose his connection to a powerful cultivator, then said Chen Zhao could contact him when needed.
• Lu Ping returned to the Profound Beast Taming Sect disguised as Zhu Wanshan, where hundreds of disciples welcomed him and celebrated the hunt’s results.
• At the sect assembly, Sect Master Qi Huailin praised Zhu Wanshan’s achievements, while Lu Ping noticed Qi Huailin was close to death.
• Lu Ping faced choices about how to respond to the praise, including proposing that Qi Huailin hand over his authority.

Lu Ping, acting as Zhu Wanshan, balanced rival factions in the Profound Beast Taming Sect to prevent turmoil from disrupting his plans against the Golden Crow Demon Emperor. The chapter ended with Qi Huailin confronting him about how much he had changed.

• Lu Ping chose to divide three Red-Eyed Golden-Plumed Eagles between the rival peaks and have them jointly raise the third before deciding which side it would follow.
• Lu Ping continued mediating between the sect factions, using his intimidating presence to discourage open challenges.
• Lu Ping learned that the next Sect Master needed the guardian Spirit Beast's recognition, but no candidate had earned it and the sect risked splitting if Qi Huailin died without naming a successor.
• Qi Huailin summoned Lu Ping and told him that he had changed a great deal lately.
• Lu Ping faced options for how to respond to Qi Huailin's observation.