Chapter Summaries

Facai turned Wu Changsong’s Gold-Eating Insect Ants against the Seven Paths of Mount Lao and killed Old Man Crow, while Chen Yan unleashed the Bing Fire Thunder God Cannon to destroy the Bronze Armored Corpse and devastate the enemy forces. The surviving leaders of Mount Lao were left terrified, and Wu Changsong mistook the cannon for a supreme-grade Spiritual Treasure.

• Wu Changsong summoned ten thousand Gold-Eating Insect Ants as the leaders of Mount Lao attacked Facai with their treasures and abilities.
• Facai swallowed the swarm, took control of the Gold-Eating Insect Ants, and sent them against Granny Ming’s White Bone Banner and Old Man Crow, killing Old Man Crow.
• Chen Yan faced the Bronze Armored Corpse and poured his blood qi and astral qi into the Bing Fire Thunder God Cannon.
• Chen Yan fired the cannon, reducing the Bronze Armored Corpse to ashes and burning or destroying many disciples of the Seven Paths of Mount Lao.
• Xu Ji and his allies marveled at the cannon’s power, while the surviving Mount Lao leaders lost their will to fight and Wu Changsong called it a supreme-grade Spiritual Treasure.

Chen Yan and Facai routed the Seven Paths of Mount Lao, killing all seven of its leaders after the Bing Fire Thunder God Cannon shattered their resistance. With the sect’s remaining powerful fighters still battling overhead, Chen Yan prepared to confront the Four-Winged Cold Cicada, which begged to be allowed to leave.

• Chen Yan realized the Bing Fire Thunder God Cannon’s immense power had drained most of his qi and blood, then restored some of it with a Great Return Pill.
• After the Mount Lao forces broke into a rout, Wu Changsong, Granny Ming, Yan Xi, Chu Yuan, Qing Lang Jun, and Hu Meiniang scattered to escape.
• Chen Yan pursued and killed Wu Changsong, while Facai hunted down Granny Ming; together they then killed the other fleeing leaders, including Hu Meiniang.
• Chen Yan and Facai returned to the main peak, where Wang Lingguan and the Wood Spirit Physique were still fighting the White Bone Snake Spirit and Four-Winged Cold Cicada.
• Chen Yan sent Facai to support Wang Lingguan, swallowed three Great Return Pills, and faced the Four-Winged Cold Cicada as it begged him to let it leave Xiang Prefecture.

Chen Yan defeated the Four-Winged Cold Cicada and took its soul core, sparing it so he could question it about the Netherworld Realm. After Chen Yan and his allies slew the White Bone Snake Spirit, he sensed someone watching from the sky and called them out.

• The Four-Winged Cold Cicada offered to leave Xiang Prefecture, but Chen Yan demanded its soul core in exchange for its life.
• The Four-Winged Cold Cicada attacked Chen Yan with Ice Soul Cold Light, which Chen Yan melted with his perfected blood and qi.
• Chen Yan shattered the Four-Winged Cold Cicada's mandibles with a punch, stopping just short of killing it when it surrendered.
• The Four-Winged Cold Cicada handed over its golden soul core, and Chen Yan stored it in the Heaven in a Pot for later questioning.
• Chen Yan joined the Four-Winged Cold Cicada, Wang Lingguan, and the Wood Spirit Physique to kill the White Bone Snake Spirit, while Facai returned to her Black Cat form.
• Chen Yan noticed someone hiding in the sky and demanded that they reveal themselves.

Chen Yan confronted Wu Yuanying, a powerful Ghost Cry Sect prodigy who demanded that Chen Yan submit to the sect or die. Chen Yan refused and attacked, breaking through Wu Yuanying’s Poisonous Yin Qi with Purple Heaven Divine Thunder before reaching him with a punch.

• Chen Yan detected Wu Yuanying approaching Mount Lao, and the Four-Winged Cold Cicada identified him as a near-late-stage Refining Qi into Spirit Transformation prodigy of the Ghost Cry Sect.
• Wu Yuanying dismissed the Mount Lao Daoist Sect as a disposable subordinate and offered Chen Yan the chance to become a Ghost Cry Sect dog.
• Chen Yan refused Wu Yuanying’s demand to submit or die and declared that his third choice was to beat Wu Yuanying to death.
• Chen Yan charged Wu Yuanying with the Tyrant Fist as Wu Yuanying unleashed corrosive Poisonous Yin Qi.
• Chen Yan called upon the Thunder Department Seal, wrapped himself in Purple Heaven Divine Thunder, broke through the Poisonous Yin Qi, and struck at Wu Yuanying.

Chen Yan and his allies fought Wu Yuanying, a powerful Ghost Cry Sect cultivator, and coordinated their attacks to overcome his defenses and disrupt his Spiritual Treasure. The chapter ended with Chen Yan firing his strongest Bing Fire Thunder God Cannon shot at Wu Yuanying.

• Chen Yan's thunderous punch shattered Wu Yuanying's Poisonous Yin Qi, but Wu Yuanying blocked it with Blood-Condensed Ghost Armor.
• Wu Yuanying summoned the Howling Ghost Cauldron, whose ghostly shriek stunned Chen Yan and then Wang Lingguan.
• The Wood Spirit Physique attacked Wu Yuanying with a wooden dragon and secretly used vines to bind his legs as Wang Lingguan hurled his thunderfire Golden Whip.
• Chen Yan recovered from the Howling Ghost Cauldron's effect and brought out the Bing Fire Thunder God Cannon while Wu Yuanying was occupied defending against Wang Lingguan.
• Chen Yan fired the cannon's strongest shot, which unleashed a blazing blast that swallowed Wu Yuanying.

Chen Yan defeated Wu Yuanying with the Bing Fire Thunder God Cannon and captured him alive to conceal his identity and learn about the hidden forces of the Netherworld Realm. After securing Mount Lao, Chen Yan uncovered the Endless Sea’s origin and the four sects’ plan to invade the Nine Provinces.

• Chen Yan’s Bing Fire Thunder God Cannon devastated Mount Lao’s main peak, but Wu Yuanying survived the blast thanks to his Blood Condensation Ghost Armor.
• Chen Yan tortured Wu Yuanying with the Thousand Faces human skin, crippled his dantian, and kept him alive; Zhang Tianzheng, Yuantong, and the others had already captured Wu Yuanying’s companion.
• Chen Yan ordered Xu Ji to seal off Mount Lao’s subsidiary peaks and told Zhang Tianzheng to spread the claim that a hidden Mount Lao Ghost Daoist Sect patriarch had died.
• Chen Yan used the human skin to read Wu Yuanying’s memories and learned that the Endless Sea had been severed from the world by Netherworld Realm forces a thousand years earlier.
• Chen Yan discovered that the Chongming Sect, Heavenly Corpse Sect, Joyful Sect, and Ghost Cry Sect planned to invade the Nine Provinces.

After learning that Ghost Cry Sect would send five thousand elites, including five Refining Qi into Spirit Transformation cultivators, to seize Xiang Prefecture in a month, Chen Yan planned to lure them into a trap while building his forces. He warned other provinces and sects of their targets, and the chapter left him preparing to raise his own strength and muster fifty thousand troops for the coming battle.

• Chen Yan learned that reinforcements from Ghost Cry Sect and the other Demonic Sect Ghost Dao factions would arrive in a month, and he resolved to disguise himself as Wu Yuanying to lure Ghost Cry Sect's five thousand elites into a trap.
• Chen Yan sent Yuantong to warn Luanchan Temple that Chongming Sect planned to attack Min Prefecture, and he dispatched warnings about the other factions' targets to Youzhou, Yizhou, Spiritual Mountain Dao Sect, and White Horse Temple.
• Chen Yan imprisoned Wu Yuanying and another Ghost Cry Sect disciple, and the Battle of Mount Lao ended with the destruction of the Seven Paths' leaders and main branch.
• Chen Yan planned to form a Mount Lao Unorthodox Cultivator Camp and expand his commandery armies, aiming to gather fifty thousand troops against Ghost Cry Sect's reinforcements.
• Chen Yan concluded that increasing his own high-end combat power was essential, since he was the only one with a realistic chance to grow stronger enough in the short term.

After destroying the Seven Paths of Mount Lao, Chen Yan discovered that his Merit had risen to 220,000 and weighed how to spend it before the Ghost Cry Sect army arrived. He chose to focus on lightning, using a Heavenly Official's Blessing to improve Mastering Five Thunders as he prepared to restore the Thunder Department Commander's Great Seal.

• Chen Yan checked the Heavenly Book of Merit and found he had 220,000 Merit from his existing balance and the deaths of the Seven Paths of Mount Lao's leaders and followers.
• Chen Yan considered improving his existing arts, cultivation, Spirit Striking, and the Thunder Department Commander's Great Seal, but ruled out learning new arts because there was too little time before war.
• Chen Yan chose to improve Mastering Five Thunders and restore the Thunder Department Commander's Great Seal to maximize lightning's power against the Ghost Cry Sect's ghost cultivators.
• Chen Yan redeemed a Heavenly Official's Blessing and focused its enlightenment on Mastering Five Thunders.

Chen Yan advanced Mastering Five Thunders to Major Accomplishment and comprehended Water Thunder and Divine Thunder. He spent all his merit points repairing the Thunder Department Commander's Great Seal, which became a Supreme Dao Artifact with an Artifact Spirit, leaving him confident it could face the coming battle.

• Chen Yan completed three days of enlightenment, reached Major Accomplishment in Mastering Five Thunders, and gained Water Thunder and Divine Thunder alongside his previously learned Demon Lightning.
• Chen Yan decided to strengthen his power for the battle in a month and used the Heavenly Book of Merit to repair the Thunder Department Commander's Great Seal.
• The repair consumed all 120,000 of Chen Yan's merit points, erased the seal's surface cracks, and advanced it to a Supreme Dao Artifact.
• Chen Yan discovered that the restored Thunder Department Commander's Great Seal had awakened an Artifact Spirit that could control the seal and fight on its own.

Chen Yan prepared Xiang Prefecture for Ghost Cry Sect’s reinforcements while the other provinces fell into chaos as Demonic Sect and Ghost Dao forces claimed territory. At the end, the spatial gate opened above the Azure Sea and Ghost Cry Sect’s reinforcements began to arrive.

• Chen Yan spent 120,000 merit points to master the Heavenly Gang Art Mastering Five Thunders and obtain a top-grade Dao Artifact, whose Artifact Spirit playfully chased Facai.
• Ye Ming nearly killed Luanchan Temple’s abbot, prompting White Horse Temple to escort the temple’s people away as Chongming Sect claimed Min Prefecture; Yin Mo and Xue Pan’er also asserted their sects’ control over Dianzhou and Youzhou.
• Chen Yan expanded and reorganized his forces, bringing his troops across Xiang Prefecture to nearly fifty thousand and arranging an ambush for Ghost Cry Sect’s reinforcements.
• Chen Yan disguised himself as Wu Yuanying and waited on an uninhabited island near the Azure Sea for Ghost Cry Sect to open its spatial passage.
• The spatial gate opened above the island, and Ghost Cry Sect’s reinforcements surged through amid a flood of yin energy.

Chen Yan, disguised as Wu Yuanying, met the Ghost Cry Sect’s arriving forces and faced scrutiny from its peak-stage elder, Ma Peng. After passing Ma Peng’s inspection, Chen Yan claimed that Xiang Prefecture had been reclaimed and explained how he had defeated its former rulers.

• Five thousand Ghost Cry Sect disciples emerged from the spatial passage, followed by elders Shi Long, Tian Kangtai, Wu Wenhua, Liao Qin, and Ma Peng.
• Chen Yan greeted Ma Peng as Wu Yuanying and listened as Ma Peng asked about the Netherworld Realm’s history and current situation.
• Chen Yan reported the Martial Dynasty’s rule and the recent actions of the other major sects, then said Xiang Prefecture had returned to Ghost Cry Sect control.
• Ma Peng secretly probed Chen Yan’s dantian with yin energy, confirmed his apparent identity, and explained that the sect had investigated because Wu Yuanying’s Soul Lamp had nearly gone out.
• Chen Yan claimed that Black Mountain’s three Qi Refinement to Spirit Transformation cultivators had nearly trapped him, but he killed them with the Howling Ghost Cauldron.

Chen Yan lured Ma Peng and five thousand Ghost Cry Sect members to Mount Lao with a lavish banquet, concealing his hostile intentions behind hospitality. As the drunken guests watched the Wood Spirit Physique perform, the trap began when green light rained down.

• Chen Yan welcomed the Ghost Cry Sect reinforcements and led them toward Xiang Prefecture, claiming to have prepared a banquet for them.
• The Ghost Cry Sect party crossed the Nine Provinces aboard a warship, and Ma Peng described the sect’s former home in Qianzhong Commandery.
• Chen Yan brought the Ghost Cry Sect party to Mount Lao, which the elders admired as a suitable site for their new mountain gate.
• Chen Yan hosted a feast and served potent spirit wine that dulled the guests’ vigilance without poisoning them.
• The Wood Spirit Physique appeared disguised as a beautiful dancer and captivated the drunken Ghost Cry Sect members.
• As the Wood Spirit Physique rose above the banquet and green lights began to fall, a sudden change erupted.

Chen Yan used a staged attack by the Wood Spirit Physique to lower Ma Peng’s guard, then ambushed the Ghost Cry Sect banquet with the Howling Ghost Cauldron. After restraining the elders, he summoned the Thunder Department Seal and ordered his forces to form an array, leaving the battle poised to begin.

• The Wood Spirit Physique attacked Chen Yan, disguised as Wu Yuanying, and he fought back while the Ghost Cry Sect watched.
• Chen Yan pretended to be wounded, drawing the Ghost Cry Sect elders’ attention as he brought out the Howling Ghost Cauldron.
• Chen Yan turned the cauldron against the banquet, unleashing a soul-shaking blast that incapacitated Ma Peng, Wu Wenhua, Liao Qin, and the other elders.
• Chen Yan summoned the Thunder Department Seal and raised dark clouds over Mount Lao’s main peak.
• Chen Yan ordered his forces to form an array as Enbatu’s Forest Giants, Xu Ji’s Dragon Sparrow Army, Lang Xing’s Black Mountain Demon Soldiers, and Wang Lingguan took their positions beside Bing Fire Thunder God Cannons.

Chen Yan unleashed the Divine Firmament Jade Pivot Five Elements Divine Thunder Grand Formation and four Bing Fire Thunder God Cannons against the Ghost Cry Sect reinforcements at Mount Lao. The attack devastated the sect’s forces, and as another burst of light flared, his allies stopped fearing for his safety and began pitying those caught in the blast.

• Chen Yan positioned four Bing Fire Thunder God Cannons and the Thunder Department Seal to form a lightning formation, with Enbatu, Xu Ji, Lang Xing, and Wang Lingguan ready to fire.
• Ma Peng recovered from the Howling Ghost Cauldron’s attack, confronted Chen Yan about his identity, and was met with Chen Yan’s command to summon thunder.
• The Divine Firmament Jade Pivot Five Elements Divine Thunder Grand Formation struck Ma Peng and the Ghost Cry Sect elders, then the Thunder Department Seal amplified the lightning assault.
• Enbatu, Xu Ji, Lang Xing, and Wang Lingguan fired the cannons, unleashing a blazing blast that consumed Mount Lao’s main peak and killed the Ghost Cry Sect elders and many disciples.
• Chen Yan’s allies watched a fireball and mushroom cloud rise, endured the shockwave, and saw another brilliant burst of light as they grew confident in his safety.

Chen Yan annihilated the Ghost Cry Sect reinforcements at Mount Lao with the Five Elements Divine Thunder Formation, stunning his followers and ensuring the news would shake the Martial Dynasty. He ordered Xiang Prefecture secured and its industries expanded, while recognizing that the Ghost Cry Sect's strongest forces remained alive and turning to check his merit harvest.

• Zhang Tianzheng, Xu Ji, Yuantong, Wu Guhan, and the others arrived to find a thousand zhang of Mount Lao devastated and the Ghost Cry Sect reinforcements annihilated.
• Zhang Yan, Hong Gu, and Enbatu marveled at Chen Yan's thunder arts and realized that a native Martial Dynasty force had wiped out one of the Four Great Sects' armies.
• Chen Yan emerged from the flames, and his followers bowed to him as he considered the Thunder Department Seal, cannons, and formation that had made the strike possible.
• Chen Yan recognized that the Ghost Cry Sect's sect master and Yin God Nine Refinements ancestor still threatened him, and resolved to strengthen his forces before they could retaliate.
• Chen Yan ordered Xu Ji to lift the blockade and punish wicked cultivators, sent Qin Chong to expand Thunder God Cannon production, and directed Zhang Tianzheng's group to restore Xiang Prefecture.
• Chen Yan opened the Heavenly Book of Merit to see how much merit the battle had earned him.

After wiping out the Ghost Cry Sect reinforcements, Chen Yan discovered he had earned 400,000 merit and decided to save it for future improvements. News of the slaughter reached the Ghost Cry Sect and the other invading sects, leaving their leaders wondering what Black Mountain and its master Chen Yan would do next.

• Chen Yan inspected his 400,000 merit, learned that most came from five Ghost Cry Sect elders, and chose to wait before spending it.
• The Ghost Cry Sect's Soul Lamp attendant reported to the Sect Master that Ma Peng and the other reinforcements, including their disciples, had died.
• The Ghost Cry Sect Sect Master sent messages to the Chongming Sect, Heavenly Corpse Sect, and Joyful Sect to investigate who had destroyed the force in Xiang Prefecture.
• Ye Ming, Yin Mo, and Xue Pan'er met in Min Prefecture and confirmed that the Ghost Cry Sect's reinforcements had been wiped out.
• Ye Ming identified Black Mountain as the force behind the slaughter and named its master, Chen Yan.

After a year of cultivation and upheaval across the Nine Provinces, Chen Yan condensed his Magic Power into spiritual liquid and completed his divine soul, reaching the completion of Refining Essence into Qi. His breakthrough left him ready to advance toward Refining Qi into Spirit Transformation.

• Chen Yan’s victory over Ghost Cry Sect spread throughout the Nine Provinces and the Endless Sea, making Black Mountain a renowned power and drawing Rogue Cultivators to Black Mountain City.
• The Nine Provinces remained relatively peaceful for a year, though White Bone Sect and Blood Fiend Sect fought Jade Spirit Sword Mountain for territory in Yizhou.
• Chen Yan ignored his growing fame and saved his merit points while cultivating steadily, as Xiang Prefecture’s fifty-thousand-strong army subdued its commanderies and carried out a demon-cleansing campaign.
• After a year in seclusion, Chen Yan condensed all his Magic Power into a hundred drops of Golden Core spiritual liquid.
• Chen Yan burned his blood essence to expand his soul sea to completion, achieving the completion of Refining Essence into Qi.

After completing Refining Essence into Qi, Chen Yan began the dangerous breakthrough to martial arts Embracing Dan, burning and condensing his qi and blood. His transformation filled the secret chamber with scorching heat, while Qin Chong and Wu Guhan watched from outside in alarm.

• Chen Yan completed Refining Essence into Qi and realized he had met the requirements to break through to both Embracing Dan and Refining Qi into Spirit.
• Chen Yan chose to attempt martial arts Embracing Dan first so he could strengthen his foundation before condensing a Daoist Golden Dan.
• Chen Yan ignited his qi and blood, endured the intense pain, and began drawing the transformed energy toward his dantian.
• Chen Yan's breakthrough unleashed such heat and pressure that Qin Chong and Wu Guhan retreated from the secret chamber, recognizing that he was breaking through.
• Chen Yan's body became red-hot as his hair and robe burned away, and he appeared like a crimson sun inside the chamber.

Chen Yan burned ninety percent of his qi and blood to form a peerless Embracing Dan, pushing his martial cultivation beyond Innate. After three days of preparation, he began the Magic Power Tribulation to condense his Golden Core, leaving the process underway in his turbulent lower dantian.

• Chen Yan endured the agony of burning his qi and blood beyond sixty percent and chose to continue rather than settle for a mid-grade Embracing Dan.
• Chen Yan burned ninety percent of his qi and blood and formed a peerless Embracing Dan, sending a blood-red dragon and blazing light over Mount Lao.
• Qin Chong told Zhang Tianzheng, Zhang Yan, Yuantong, and the others that Chen Yan was breaking through, while he recognized the advance as a path beyond Martial Innate.
• Chen Yan restored his qi and blood, assessed his newfound strength, and decided to continue immediately toward Spirit Transformation.
• Chen Yan meditated for three days to prepare, then began the Magic Power Tribulation by compressing and refining his hundred drops of Golden Core spirit fluid.

Chen Yan formed a Jade Liquid Golden Core and endured the Core Tribulation, becoming a Spirit Transformation master before the age of twenty. The chapter then recounted his rise over the following years, ending with his victory over the Ghost Cry Sect after breaking through to Refining Spirit into Void.

• Chen Yan compressed one hundred drops of Golden Core spiritual liquid into a Jade Liquid Golden Core as a Core Tribulation phenomenon drew beasts and cultivators toward Mount Lao.
• Zhang Yan recognized the signs of Spirit Transformation, and the gathered cultivators realized Chen Yan was forming a Golden Core.
• Chen Yan formed his Golden Core, endured the physical body tribulation, and underwent a major expansion of his soul sea.
• Chen Yan successfully reached Spirit Transformation before turning twenty, and news of his breakthrough spread throughout the Netherworld Realm.
• Chen Yan advanced to the peak of Spirit Transformation over the next four years as the third Blood Moon descended and the Ghost Cry Sect army arrived.
• Chen Yan led Xiang Prefecture against the Ghost Cry Sect, broke through to Refining Spirit into Void during the battle, and crushed the invading army.