Chapter Summaries

Fang Yuan captured tens of thousands of night wolves, bringing his wolf forces to over five hundred thousand, and Hei Lou Lan prepared to lead the Hei Family against Grass Manor. As the army advanced, Dongfang Yuliang softened his alliance terms and urgently sought the Zhao Family’s support.

• Fang Yuan used a Night Wolf Emperor and Spirit Clear Gu to capture a wild pack of nearly twenty thousand night wolves with few casualties, then collected another fifty thousand that night.
• Fang Yuan increased his forces to five hundred and thirty thousand wolves and cultivated with Wolf Soul Gu, but Hei Lou Lan said the Hei Family would offer him a Wolf Emperor only in exchange for battle merits.
• Hei Lou Lan announced that he wanted to attack Grass Manor and seize the Eastern Tribes’ territory, and Fang Yuan accepted the prospect of changing the course of history.
• The Hei Family broke camp and marched toward Grass Manor, prompting the Eastern Tribes to prepare for war while the Zhao Family considered relocating.
• Dongfang Yuliang revised the Dongfang Family’s harsh alliance terms and personally urged the Zhao Family to join, leaving its leader uncertain.

Zhao Lianyun persuaded the indecisive Zhao Clan Leader to keep the Zhao Family out of the conflict between the Hei Family and the Dongfang Family and flee to join the Ma Family. The Zhao Clan Leader finally agreed to leave at once, unaware that his young daughter had deliberately staged an injury to speak with him.

• The Zhao Clan Leader agonized over whether the Zhao Family should ally with the Dongfang Family or the Hei Family as their conflict approached.
• Zhao Lianyun pretended to injure her forehead so she could enter the study and dismiss her nanny.
• Zhao Lianyun compared the Zhao Family to a sheep caught between a wolf and a tiger, then suggested seeking the Ma Family's protection.
• The Zhao Clan Leader decided the Zhao Family should avoid the conflict and leave immediately for Tian Chuan to join the Ma Family.
• The Zhao Clan Leader asked who had taught Zhao Lianyun, but she claimed she had thought of everything herself and won his praise.

Hei Lou Lan’s camp learned that the Zhao Family had fled, while Fang Yuan recalled Zhao Lianyun’s future and assessed Dongfang Yuliang as a serious opponent. Dongfang Yuliang reassured his sister about the coming battle, then resolved to kill Chang Shan Yin before it began.

• Hei Lou Lan’s commanders mocked the Zhao Family for leaving, while Fang Yuan recognized Zhao Lianyun and remembered how she would later help the Ma Family.
• Fang Yuan considered Ma Hongyun and Zhao Lianyun future threats but decided he could not act against them yet, and refocused on the Dongfang Family.
• The Hei Family’s Gu Masters discussed Dongfang Yuliang’s background and warned that his wisdom path skills made him dangerous.
• Dongfang Yuliang took Dongfang Qingyu to see the Jade Apricot Flower and reassured her that the Zhao Family’s departure would not prevent him from defeating the Hei Family.
• After Dongfang Qingyu left, Dongfang Yuliang worried about Chang Shan Yin’s fifty-thousand-strong wolf pack and decided to kill him before the battle.

Fang Yuan broke through to early Rank 5 in his Second Aperture, then survived an assassination attempt by Bian Sixuan at the logistics camp. The attack left him with a Brain Explosion Gu that he recognized as the key to a Heavenly Thief Demon Venerable inheritance.

• Fang Yuan used the true essence from his first aperture to advance his Second Aperture from Peak Rank 4 to early Rank 5, though the borrowed essence temporarily caused foreign-region suppression.
• Fang Yuan visited the captured Fin Wolf and, uneasy about its arrival, made Tu Bo attempt to tame it with a Rank 4 Wolf Taming Gu.
• A mysterious soul attack killed Tu Bo and one guard, while Bian Sixuan ambushed Fang Yuan with Multiple Blade Shadow Gu and planted a Brain Explosion Gu in his ear.
• Fang Yuan used the remaining guard as a shield, endured Bian Sixuan's attack with Turtle Jade Wolf Skin Gu, and let her escape after she identified herself as Shadow Swordsman Bian Sixuan.
• Fang Yuan recognized the Brain Explosion Gu from his memories as the key to a Heavenly Thief Demon Venerable inheritance and concealed his delight beneath apparent anger.

Dongfang Yuliang learned that Bian Sixuan’s assassination of Chang Shan Yin had failed, though Chang Shan Yin was struck by her Brain Explosion Gu and affected by the Soul Explosion Gu. He then used Star Thought Gu to calculate ways to deal with the Wolf King, ending with his soul restored but his body left ravenously hungry.

• Dongfang Yuliang heard Bian Sixuan’s report that Chang Shan Yin had survived the Soul Explosion Gu and been struck by Brain Explosion Gu.
• Bian Sixuan declined Dongfang Yuliang’s Layered Shadow Gu reward until Chang Shan Yin was dead, then vanished into the shadows.
• Dongfang Yuliang entered his underground Earth Pouch Fungus King Gu shelter and used Star Thought Gu to calculate strategies against Chang Shan Yin.
• Dongfang Yuliang repeated his deductions, compared the results, and replenished his exhausted soul with Refine Essence into Spirit Gu.
• Dongfang Yuliang reflected that Courageous Gall Gu could restore his soul during deductions, but it existed only on Soul-Shaking Mountain.

As the Black Alliance advanced toward Grass Manor, Fang Yuan rebuked Hei Lou Lan’s officers, collected compensation, and left the royal tent, where Sun Shihan proposed holding him back until the battle peaked. Meanwhile, Dongfang Yuliang summoned three Slavery Dao Gu Masters to discuss countering Fang Yuan and introduced the Dongfang Family’s Three Hearts Merging Souls killer move.

• Hei Lou Lan toasted Fang Yuan and promised him the Shadow Swordsman, but Fang Yuan criticized the logistics camp’s failure to stop the assassins and demanded his requested materials and Gu worms.
• Fang Yuan left to cultivate, and Hei Lou Lan invited Sun Shihan to take his seat; Sun Shihan presented twenty-three battle strategies and suggested keeping Fang Yuan in reserve.
• Dongfang Yuliang summoned E Xuanming, Jiang Wanshan, and Wei Xin to discuss how to deal with Wolf King Chang Shan Yin.
• The three Slavery Dao Gu Masters described their limits in maintaining armies and cultivating their souls, and Dongfang Yuliang explained the difficulty of his own soul training.
• Dongfang Yuliang asked whether they knew the Dongfang Family’s Three Hearts Merging Souls killer move, startling the three Gu Masters.

Fang Yuan prepared to counter the Eastern Tribe’s Three Hearts Merging Souls while the allied armies advanced toward battle, and he secretly reverse-refined the Brain Explosion Gu. He discovered that the process had produced a valuable empty thought, leaving him delighted as the armies faced off.

• Fang Yuan repeatedly failed to refine the Rank 4 Grief Infant Cry Gu, which could counter Three Hearts Merging Souls.
• Fang Yuan restored his Great Lizard House Gu and observed the Hei clan allied army building defensive lines as it advanced toward the Eastern Tribe.
• Fang Yuan realized Hei Lou Lan’s feigned-weakness plan also served to limit Chang Shan Yin’s influence, and he accepted being held back while he cultivated.
• Water Demon Haojiliu defeated the Eastern vanguard’s generals but was seriously injured in an ambush by Shadow Swordsman Bian Sixuan.
• Hei Lou Lan brought the central army to the frontline, and the left and right armies joined them several days later.
• Fang Yuan used Empty Thought Gu to reverse-refine the Brain Explosion Gu, then absorbed the resulting empty thought and reacted with irrepressible delight.

Fang Yuan considered the value of Valley of Fallen Spirits but focused on strengthening himself and managing Fox Immortal Blessed Land as the Northern Plains armies prepared for battle. On the day of the decisive clash, Tang Miaoming challenged Fang Yuan, forcing him to decide how to answer.

• Fang Yuan weighed pursuing soul cultivation through Valley of Fallen Spirits, then decided to prioritize reviving Soul-Shaking Mountain and maintaining his strength and enslavement paths.
• Fang Yuan and Little Fox Immortal managed the blessed land as Soul-Shaking Mountain continued to decline, Starlight Firefly Gu multiplied, and the Pollen Rabbit population grew.
• Dongfang Yuliang challenged Hei Lou Lan, who delayed the battle until his rear army arrived and arranged a fight four days later.
• Hei Lou Lan and Dongfang Yuliang deployed their armies for the decisive battle, with Fang Yuan seated beside Hei Lou Lan.
• Hei Lou Lan selected Pan Ping to begin the fighting, but Tang Miaoming challenged Fang Yuan instead, drawing all eyes to the Wolf King.

Fang Yuan bypassed the customary champion duels and launched the full wolf pack against Dongfang Yuliang’s army, forcing Hei Lou Lan’s forces into a full-scale battle. Tang Miaoming was captured alive, while her younger brother Tang Fang retreated after failing to reach her.

• Dongfang Yuliang sent Tang Miaoming to challenge Fang Yuan, hoping to use her fox army and provoke the Wolf King into a disadvantageous duel.
• Fang Yuan refused to follow the challenge custom and sent his entire wolf pack charging into the Dongfang army.
• Hei Lou Lan ordered his troops to advance behind the wolves, and Pan Ping captured Tang Miaoming after her fox formation collapsed.
• The two armies clashed in a chaotic battle, and Tang Fang fought off a wolf before learning that his sister had been captured.
• A Wang family Gu Master named Wang Jiang attacked Tang Fang as he retreated, and a Tang Family Elder moved to hold him back.

Tang Fang’s retreat from the battlefield cost the lives of the Tang Family Elders who protected him, while Water Demon Hao Jiliu was challenged by Wind Demon Tan Wufeng. As the armies’ elite forces clashed and the battle settled into a stalemate, Dongfang Yuliang prepared to deploy three enslavement path Gu Masters.

• Wang Jiang used Rank 4 Fire Swallowing Gu to counter Tang Fang’s flame attack, while two Rank 3 Gu Masters joined him and killed the Tang Family Elder who helped Tang Fang escape.
• Water Demon Hao Jiliu overwhelmed Tang Fang’s group, killing the elders who defended Tang Fang until Wind Demon Tan Wufeng intervened and fought him.
• Rank 4 Gu Masters across the battlefield engaged in separate duels, while Fang Yuan gathered his wolf packs and the two armies settled into a stalemate.
• Dongfang Yuliang sent the Hundred Flowers Elite Soldiers to heal wounded Eastern Tribe soldiers, and Hei Lou Lan ordered the Blue Butterfly Elite Soldiers to attack them.
• Dongfang Yuliang’s ambush trapped the Blue Butterfly Elite Soldiers, prompting both sides to send in more elite units and renewing the stalemate.
• Dongfang Yuliang declined Dongfang She’s request to fight and told E Xuanming, Wei Xin, and Jiang Wanshan to show their strength.

Dongfang Yuliang’s forces used Three Hearts Merging Souls to turn the battle against Fang Yuan’s wolf pack, while Hei Lou Lan attacked with Dark Vortex. Dongfang Yuliang countered with Cloud Vortex and summoned Dong Pokong and Bian Sixuan, leaving both Hei Lou Lan and Fang Yuan in danger.

• E Xuanming, Jiang Wanshan, and Wei Xin activated Three Hearts Merging Souls and joined their beast swarms into a powerful force against Fang Yuan’s wolves.
• Fang Yuan recognized the fused Slavery Dao Masters’ strength and warned Hei Lou Lan that breaking their killer move would make their mixed swarm collapse.
• Hei Lou Lan unleashed Dark Vortex and sent a growing black sphere toward Dongfang Yuliang’s royal tent.
• Dongfang Yuliang revealed Cloud Vortex, which swallowed Dark Vortex and trapped Hei Lou Lan’s attack.
• Dongfang Yuliang called for Dong Pokong and Bian Sixuan, who rushed toward Fang Yuan as Hei Lou Lan remained caught in the vortex.

Dongfang Yuliang’s forces launched a coordinated assassination attempt on Chang Shan Yin after Hei Lou Lan was trapped, but Black Embroidered Robe’s wavering defense only seemed to let Bian Sixuan strike the Wolf King down. The apparent victory collapsed when the target turned out to be a Water Image decoy, leaving Fang Yuan’s real location unknown.

• Dongfang Yuliang’s trap caught Hei Lou Lan, allowing Bian Sixuan and Dong Pokong to attack the royal tent and target Chang Shan Yin.
• Black Embroidered Robe held off both attackers with his defenses, but began conserving his primeval essence and abandoned Chang Shan Yin when Bian Sixuan’s Layered Shadow Gu broke through.
• Bian Sixuan stabbed the apparent Chang Shan Yin through the heart, and Dong Pokong and Dongfang Yuliang believed the assassination had succeeded.
• Hei Lou Lan revealed that the stabbed figure was a Water Image decoy, while Fang Yuan had been hiding elsewhere and commanding the battle through Wolf’s Gaze Gu.

Hei Lou Lan destroyed Cloud Vortex with his improved Dark Vortex, wiping out everyone nearby except himself and Dongfang Yuliang. Dongfang Yuliang answered with Seven Star Lamp and drove Hei Lou Lan back, then used the Star Thought Cloud to destroy elite soldier units while Fang Yuan watched from hiding.

• Hei Lou Lan transformed into black smoke and unleashed an explosive Dark Vortex that destroyed Cloud Vortex and everyone within ten li except him and Dongfang Yuliang.
• Hei Lou Lan revealed his improved killer move, which had also killed Wei Xin, Jiang Wan, and E Xuanming, causing the mixed beast groups to lose command and fall into chaos.
• Dongfang Yuliang refused Hei Lou Lan's offer to surrender and activated Seven Star Lamp, summoning a vast Star Thought Cloud that pursued Hei Lou Lan and disrupted the battlefield.
• Dongfang Yuliang redirected the Star Thought Cloud against the Blue Butterfly Elite Soldiers and the War Dog Elite Soldiers, destroying both units as their clan leaders watched in anguish.
• Fang Yuan observed the battle through Wolf's Gaze Gu and remained hidden, waiting to collect the souls of the dead.

Fang Yuan let the Ge Family suffer under Dongfang Yuliang’s star thoughts, then unleashed his wolves against the retreating Eastern army and turned its withdrawal into a rout. Meanwhile, Dongfang Changfan manipulated Tan Biya with a false revelation about the Ma Family, and Dongfang Yuliang’s army withdrew after losing the battle’s momentum.

• Dongfang Yuliang split his Star Thought Cloud between the Black Flag Elite Soldiers and the Ge Family, but Fang Yuan refused to intervene and expose himself.
• Hei Lou Lan attacked Dongfang Yuliang, forcing him to fight and eventually allowing the star thoughts to disperse.
• Dongfang Changfan told Tan Biya that Great Snow Mountain Blessed Land was supporting the Ma Family, prompting her to leave and warn the other Gu Immortals.
• Dongfang Changfan revealed that he had fabricated the claim to manipulate Tan Biya and further his own plans for Dongfang Yuliang.
• Dongfang Yuliang ordered the Eastern army to retreat, and Fang Yuan sent his wolves charging into the weakened forces, turning their withdrawal into a rout.

Fang Yuan helped the Hei army rout Dongfang Yuliang's forces and breach their first defensive line, while preserving his wolf pack from further pursuit. Dongfang Yuliang's buried Gu traps halted the Hei army's advance, leaving the Eastern army to retreat toward its second line as Dongfang Changfan assessed the battle.

• The Eastern army broke and fled as Fang Yuan gathered his wolves, while Hei Lou Lan's forces pursued and drove the survivors behind their first defensive line.
• Fang Yuan promised Hei Lou Lan he would breach the line within a quarter of an hour, then used wave after wave of wolf attacks to exhaust the defenders and force Dongfang Yuliang to retreat.
• Fang Yuan withdrew his exhausted wolves and let the Hei army advance, but Dongfang Yuliang's Scorched Thunder Potato Gu and other buried traps exploded beneath the pursuing soldiers.
• Hei Lou Lan halted the pursuit and organized the wounded and battlefield cleanup, while Fang Yuan returned to his Great Lizard House Gu to cultivate.
• Dongfang Yuliang regretted that his trap had failed to harm Fang Yuan, and Dongfang Changfan judged that the Eastern army had fallen into a severe disadvantage despite Dongfang Yuliang's capable defense.

Fang Yuan successfully refined a Rank 4 All-Out Gu adapted to Northern Plains and visited the supply camp to review the army’s Merit Ranking and available goods. He found supplies more suitable than Yellow Treasure Heaven for strengthening his Gu, while his other Southern Border Gu remained suppressed and costly to upgrade.

• Fang Yuan refined the Rank 4 All-Out Gu on his fourth attempt, restoring more than half his strength-path battle power.
• Eight days after the battle, the Hei family army continued clearing the battlefield, treating wounded fighters, and calculating merit while Fang Yuan ignored Ge Guang’s requests for help.
• A female Gu Master showed Fang Yuan the Merit Ranking, where Chang Shan Yin ranked first with over one hundred thousand battle merit and Hei Lou Lan ranked second.
• Fang Yuan received an East Window Gu containing the supply camp’s inventory and considered buying Northern Plains Gu to avoid leaving evidence of his foreign-region Gu.
• Fang Yuan concluded that raising his remaining suppressed Southern Border Gu would require extensive investment, given the low success rates of high-rank refinement.

Fang Yuan spent merit on Gu, materials, and a Soul Concealing Beast Skin Gu recipe, then used his dual cultivation to resolve his lack of ranged Strength Path attacks. After strengthening his forces and helping the Hei Family army advance, he watched the Eastern army retreat to its final defense, where Hei Lou Lan again urged Dongfang Yuliang to surrender.

• Fang Yuan exchanged merit for Strength Path and Space Path Gu, refinement materials, and a low-rank Self-Reliance Gu, then realized Slavery Path could compensate for Strength Path's lack of ranged attacks.
• A female Gu Master offered Fang Yuan the Soul Concealing Beast Skin Gu recipe on Hei Lou Lan's instructions, and Fang Yuan spent his remaining merit and borrowed five hundred thousand more to obtain it.
• Fang Yuan issued generous merit-paying missions, cultivated Strength Path, and acquired more than ten thousand Rank 1 Soul Concealing Beast Skin Gu over several days.
• After resting for seven days, the Hei Family army resumed its advance and broke through the Eastern army's five defensive lines, forcing Dongfang Yuliang's troops back to their final defense at Grass Manor.
• Hei Lou Lan called on Dongfang Yuliang to surrender and offered to keep him as strategist for the Hei Family army.

With the Dongfang allied army close to defeat, Dongfang Yuliang sent the wounded Tang Family Patriarch to face Pan Ping. Pan Ping suddenly killed Tang You with a hidden blade Gu, earning fame while Tang Fang collapsed in grief.

• Dongfang Yuliang remained silent before Hei Lou Lan's offer as the two armies' morale shifted in the Hei Family's favor.
• Water Demon Haojiliu gained the upper hand against Wind Demon, and Hei Lou Lan sent Rank 4 experts to challenge the Dongfang allied army.
• After Pan Ping issued a challenge and Dongfang Yuliang had no generals left, he ordered the injured Tang You to fight.
• Tang You accepted the order despite Tang Fang's worries and fought Pan Ping to a stalemate.
• Pan Ping drew his curved blade and killed Tang You with a flash of light, leaving Tang Fang grieving and unconscious.
• Hei Lou Lan rewarded Pan Ping with wine as Pan Ping reflected on how the victory had made him famous.

Dongfang Changfan and Hei Bai watched the Hei Family defeat Dongfang Yuliang’s army, then negotiated the Eastern Tribes’ War Indemnities. The Eastern Tribes returned through a light gate, while Fang Yuan observed the Imperial Court Struggle as a game in which the strong preyed on the weak.

• Hei Bai visited Dongfang Changfan, and they watched Pan Ping kill the Tang Family Patriarch with Single Blade Gu.
• Dongfang Yuliang challenged Hei Lou Lan, but their fight ended in a draw before the Hei Family’s night assault broke the Eastern army’s defenses.
• Dongfang Yuliang conceded, and Dongfang Changfan agreed to pay the War Indemnities listed by Hei Bai.
• An escort envoy arrived through a light gate, accepted the handover, and led Dongfang Yuliang and the Eastern Tribes away.
• Fang Yuan watched the victors and defeated tribes depart, reflecting on the struggle as a game of the strong devouring the weak.

Fei Cai secretly took a pair of Ma Yingjie’s shoes, but Zhao Lianyun realized the other servants were framing him and devised a plan to protect him. Fei Cai followed her instructions and confronted the servants, leaving his fate unresolved.

• Ma Yingjie learned that the Hei Family had defeated the Eastern Tribes while his own forces remained locked in conflict with the Song Family.
• Fei Cai hid a pair of Ma Yingjie’s shoes, intending to sell them with Zhao Lianyun for Primeval Stone Flowers.
• Zhao Lianyun realized the old servants had set Fei Cai up for stealing the shoes and urged him to flee with her.
• After the servants blocked their escape, Zhao Lianyun handed Fei Cai a bolt of silk and explained a plan.
• Fei Cai walked out to meet the servants and knocked several of them down when they tried to seize him.