Chapter Summaries

Yuan Ming returned to Snake King Valley and discovered that the Demonic Ape the Shi Chuan Rogue Alliance was hunting was his old companion, King Kong. At the ruined fortress, he reunited with King Kong as a black-robed Nascent Soul cultivator unleashed a demonic transformation, and Qi Ye recognized the man’s techniques as belonging to the Devil Race.

• Yuan Ming met Ha Chi and his companions, joined their journey into Snake King Valley, and learned that the Shi Chuan Rogue Alliance was tracking a Demonic Ape.
• After a signal arrow announced that the Demonic Ape had been found, Yuan Ming rushed toward the ruined fortress despite Ha Chi’s warning about the battle.
• Yuan Ming arrived to find the black-robed old man pinning a snow-white ape beneath a huge Black Inkstone while corpses covered the fortress grounds.
• Yuan Ming recognized the ape as King Kong, and King Kong threw aside the inkstone when it noticed him.
• The old man drank a black liquid, surged to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, and released a baleful aura as Qi Ye identified his techniques as those of the Devil Race.

Yuan Ming reunited with King Kong after the ape killed two Nascent Soul cultivators, then returned with him to the underground palace to investigate the Black Stone Pillar. With Qi Ye’s guidance, Yuan Ming broke the pillar’s seal and stored it, unleashing a flood of pure demonic qi from behind the stone door.

• King Kong killed the black-robed Nascent Soul elder, and Yuan Ming destroyed the elder’s demonic infant with lightning.
• King Kong greeted Yuan Ming as his master, and Yuan Ming let Ha Chi and the others loot the remaining corpses before sending them away.
• Yuan Ming brought King Kong to the underground palace, where Qi Ye confirmed the demonic qi could support Yuan Ming’s body cultivation and identified the Black Stone Pillar as a door-sealing object.
• Following Qi Ye’s instructions, Yuan Ming used a formation to break the pillar’s restriction and stored the Gate-Sealing Stone.
• Dense demonic qi burst from behind the stone door, leaving Yuan Ming and Qi Ye wondering what lay beyond it.

Yuan Ming used the Myriad Territories Map to absorb the demonic qi from a sealed chamber and discovered a Demon Eye beneath a Thirty-Six Star Constellation Sealing Array. After securing the site, he reunited King Kong with Flower Branch and left Southern Frontier for the Black Wind Desert.

• Yuan Ming filled seven Spirit Beast Bags with demonic qi, then used the Myriad Territories Map to absorb the rest from the underground palace.
• Yuan Ming broke the stone door’s restriction and collected the demonic qi that poured out from behind it.
• Yuan Ming found a Demon Eye sealed beneath a Thirty-Six Star Constellation Sealing Array, and Qi Ye explained that it might connect to the Demon Realm through a Spatial Rift.
• Yuan Ming restored the seal and added sealing and illusion arrays to conceal the site before leaving with King Kong.
• Yuan Ming summoned Flower Branch, and she and King Kong bickered until King Kong transformed into a white-haired young man.
• Yuan Ming summoned Thunder Rain, who carried him and the others away from Southern Frontier toward the Black Wind Desert.

Yuan Ming began the dangerous process of infusing his body with devilish qi using the Demon Refining Array, enduring severe physical and spiritual pain as the qi entered his apertures. In Yuhua City, Lou Lan prepared for Changchun Temple’s alliance gathering and learned that guests from Silkworm Island were on their way.

• Qi Ye warned Yuan Ming that the Demon Refining Array could strengthen his body but might destroy his flesh or turn his Primordial Spirit demonic if he failed to endure it.
• Yuan Ming set up the Demon Refining Array, released devilish qi from the Crimson Ancient Scroll, and stood motionless as chains pierced his limbs, spine, and head.
• Yuan Ming activated the array and drew devilish qi into his apertures, where it clashed with his magical power and caused him immense pain.
• In Yuhua City, a disciple told Lou Lan that guests from Silkworm Island had passed the outpost and would arrive in about two hours.
• Lou Lan recalled that Liu Tianming had left to seek an opportunity for Core Formation and that their Concentric Jade pendants remained intact, indicating he was safe.

Lou Lan managed Changchun Temple’s preparations for the alliance summit while worrying about Liu Tianming and Yuan Ming. At Yuhua City, Shadow arrived with Luo Zhu and faced questions from Tianjizi about the Mingyue Cult, Elder Sanjue, and whether the Nether Moon God would join the coming battle.

• Lou Lan arranged the reception for Silkworm Island and worried that Liu Tianming had not returned from Southern Frontier, then fretted over Yuan Ming after reading the East Sea Alliance’s arrival list.
• Shadow agreed to travel with Luo Zhu and concealed Yuan Ming’s identity as their vessel approached Yuhua City.
• Tianjizi, Ancestor Mingquan, and Liu Hanyu welcomed Luo Zhu and questioned Shadow about her role in the Mingyue Cult and the battle at Bamboo Sea Market.
• Tianjizi asked Shadow to contact Yuan Divine Envoy and reveal Elder Sanjue’s whereabouts, but Shadow said Sanjue had left after using his two promised interventions in the East Sea war.
• Tianjizi asked whether Shadow attended as the Nether Moon God’s divine envoy and whether the god would act in the coming battle; Shadow said she could not know his intentions.

Luo Zhu and Wan Tianren formed a private alliance between the Southern Border and East Sea, while Tianjizi prepared to lead the larger Yunhuang Alliance against the Wuyue Cult. At the gathering in Yuhua City, Xiying observed the assembled Nascent Soul Cultivators and saw an unfamiliar cultivator named Cao Xiangqing introduce himself to Xia Shang.

• Tianjizi told Luo Zhu he planned to propose the Yunhuang Alliance and asked her to support his temporary leadership, and Luo Zhu warned that any support would be temporary.
• Wan Tianren asked Luo Zhu to form a separate pact with the East Sea Alliance to guard against Tianjizi favoring the Central Plains and Western Regions, and Luo Zhu agreed with Xiying as witness.
• Several days later, Changchun Temple opened the alliance gathering in Yuhua City, where Luo Zhu and Xiying joined Nascent Soul Cultivators from across Yunhuang.
• Luo Zhu identified Gu Yali of the King Kong Sect and Xia Shang of the Hundred Machines Sect for Xiying as they surveyed the gathered cultivators.
• Xia Shang questioned a plump cultivator about sitting in the Yue Kingdom section, and the man introduced himself as Cao Xiangqing of a lineage in Misty Mountain.

Tianjizi established the Yunhuang Alliance and revealed detailed information about the Wuyue Cult’s leaders and forces. When Wan Tianren questioned his intelligence, the apparent Tianjizi transformed into the Wuyue God, exposing that the alliance gathering had been deceived.

• Xi Ying asked Luo Zhu to investigate Cao Xiangqing’s family in Misty Mountain.
• Tianjizi established the Yunhuang Alliance and was accepted as its leader.
• Tianjizi described the Wuyue God, the Six Great Venerables, and the forces advancing toward the Central Plains.
• Wan Tianren questioned the reliability of Tianjizi’s intelligence, and Tianjizi revealed himself as the Wuyue God.
• The illusion of the hall vanished, revealing the real Tianjizi, Ancestor Mingquan, and Liu Hanyu flying toward the gathered cultivators.

Wuyue God appeared before the Yunhuang Alliance, subdued its cultivators, and left after demonstrating that their attacks could not harm him. Xiying restored the alliance’s resolve by arguing that Wuyue God was not fully revived, and Tianjizi proposed a campaign against the Wuyue Cult in the Zhao Kingdom and Western Regions.

• Wuyue God prevented the Nascent Soul Cultivators from attacking, demanded their submission, and declared that resistance would mean death.
• Tianjizi attacked Wuyue God with the Azure Sea Profound Water Pearl, but Wuyue God reappeared unharmed and vanished beyond the water dragons’ reach.
• Xiying told the shaken alliance that Wuyue God’s conduct suggested he was not fully revived and needed time to recover by refining gathered souls.
• Tianjizi urged the alliance to resist the Wuyue Cult’s advance and explained that its forces threatened both the Zhao Kingdom and the Western Regions.
• Gu Yali asked the alliance to aid the besieged King Kong Sect, and Tianjizi proposed sending three armies into the Zhao Kingdom and one through the Qin Kingdom to relieve the siege.

Xiying learned that Wulu’s hidden lineage was the Cao Family of Misty Mountain and received an ominous divination about the coming battle. As she prepared to strengthen herself against the Wuyue God, she refined her stored yin souls and advanced her soul cultivation, but decided she needed more power.

• Tianjizi addressed the cultivators’ concerns and arranged soul-protecting talismans and guidance for fighting Wuyue Cult followers.
• Xu Che told Xiying that Wulu had revealed his surname should have been Cao and warned her and Yuan Ming to be careful; Xiying connected him to the Cao Family of Misty Mountain.
• Yan Siyun divined that advancing would bring no victory, retreating no defeat, and that calamity faced the central heavens.
• Xiying checked on the refinement of a fruit for the Undying Immortal Pill and privately vowed to awaken her sister, who lay in a crystal coffin.
• Xiying began refining the yin souls in her Soul Suppressing Pot with her Golden Crow Souls, despite Guoguo’s warning about the risks.
• After three days, Xiying advanced from the middle to the late stage of Sleeping Shaman, then took out Blood Puppet Armor as she considered gathering more power.

As the Yunhuang Alliance prepared to fight the Wuyue Cult in Zhao, Yuan Ming underwent a dangerous transformation in Asura Palace. He overcame the demonic influence, broke free of his chains, and successfully obtained a Half-Demon Physique.

• Tianjizi led the Yunhuang Alliance army toward Zhao, while a blood-red light secretly followed behind it.
• Nine Yin Venerable ordered the Wuyue Cult’s gathered sects to invade Zhao and seize the Spirit Talisman Sect’s Mountain Gate before the Yunhuang army arrived.
• Nine Yin Venerable told Venerable Evil Eye that Ni Mu was not a concern, warned that Xi Zheng’s schemes would not succeed, and vowed that Yuan Ming would pay for Rui’er’s death.
• Flower Branch sensed a tremor outside Asura Palace and realized Yuan Ming was about to emerge from his secluded cultivation.
• Yuan Ming’s Nascent Soul unleashed golden Divine Soul Power, driving the demonic qi from his sea of consciousness as Solar Power merged with it in his body.
• Yuan Ming’s black patterns remained as his scales and horn receded, and he broke the chains restraining him; Qi Ye congratulated him on obtaining a Half-Demon Physique.

After reaching the peak of the Aperture Opening Body, Yuan Ming attempted to break through to the Myriad Manifestations Body by absorbing Solar Power beyond the Nine Heavens Astral Winds. The attempt left him burned and unconscious, but the Undying Tree’s Origin Power restored him, and he began recovering under Flower Branch and King Kong’s guard.

• Yuan Ming replenished his blood and vitality for seven days, reaching the peak of the Aperture Opening Body.
• Yuan Ming flew beyond the Nine Heavens Astral Winds to absorb the sun’s Solar Power and attempt his breakthrough.
• Yuan Ming failed to refine the Solar Power, burned into a charred state, lost consciousness, and fell from the sky.
• Flower Branch caught Yuan Ming with her vines, and she and King Kong tried unsuccessfully to wake him.
• The Undying Tree’s Origin Power revived Yuan Ming, whose body regenerated beneath vines that later withered away.
• Yuan Ming woke, credited his recovery to the Undying Tree’s Origin Power, took medicinal pills, and began regulating his breath as Flower Branch and King Kong stood guard.

Yuan Ming failed to break through to the Myriad Manifestations Body by absorbing Solar Power, so he followed Qi Ye’s advice to deepen his understanding of intent. After sparring with King Kong in the Black Wind Desert, Yuan Ming entered a black wind sandstorm to cultivate and shattered a towering tornado with one punch.

• Yuan Ming’s third attempt to absorb Solar Power ended with his flesh, blood, and bones burned to charcoal, but he recovered and awakened three days later.
• Qi Ye suggested that Yuan Ming needed to merge his intent with his cultivation, prompting Yuan Ming to abandon another attempt in the sky and go to the Black Wind Desert.
• Yuan Ming and King Kong fought using only body cultivator divine abilities, allowing Yuan Ming to reflect on their respective intents, Blood Fury and Shared Life.
• When a massive black wind sandstorm approached, Yuan Ming sent King Kong and Flower Branch to shelter with Thunder Rain and entered the storm to cultivate.
• Yuan Ming used Life Lock and struck a sandstorm tornado with a punch that made it explode apart.

Yuan Ming used the Qi Gazing Technique to study the black wind sandstorm and made rudimentary progress in Shared Life by resisting its force while borrowing its momentum. Meanwhile, the Wuyue Cult army advanced through the State of Zhao, and Nine Yin Venerable summoned Xi Zheng, Ni Mu, and Venerable Evil Eye to prepare for the approaching Yunhuang Alliance army.

• Yuan Ming realized that Shared Life required understanding and connecting with his opponent, then used the Qi Gazing Technique to perceive subtle changes in the black wind.
• Yuan Ming learned to enter Shared Life with the sandstorm and began attempting to borrow its momentum, though he was often swept along by it.
• The Wuyue Cult army slaughtered people and beasts across the State of Zhao while the Xi Family secretly collected souls to strengthen its treasures.
• Xi Zheng received Nine Yin Venerable's summons and joined Ni Mu and Venerable Evil Eye at a palace within the Wuyue Cult army.
• Nine Yin Venerable revealed that the Spirit Talisman Sect had fled toward Great Jin and that the Yunhuang Alliance army was nearing the State of Zhao.
• Nine Yin Venerable gave the three Venerables intelligence on the enemy and invited them to discuss how to resist the approaching army.

Wuyue Cult leaders planned a battle against the Yunhuang Alliance while Wuyue God ordered Nine Yin Venerable to find Yuan Ming and recover the Soul Suppressing Pot. Xi Zheng prepared the Xi Family for battle and learned Xi Nanshan had discovered something about Yuan Ming.

• Xi Zheng concluded the Yunhuang Alliance was trying to wear down Wuyue Cult forces, and Nine Yin Venerable assigned Xi Zheng, Venerable Evil Eye, and Ni Mu to lead attacks on its three divisions.
• Nine Yin Venerable reported to Wuyue God that Yuan Ming was the Nether Moon God and likely possessed the Soul Suppressing Pot; Wuyue God ordered him to locate Yuan Ming within a month.
• Nine Yin Venerable told Xi Zheng to deal with the Xi Family as he pleased, then Xi Zheng warned his family to obey orders and prioritize survival in the coming battle.
• Xi Zheng revealed that Xi Ying had left with Xi Qian, while Xi Lin and Xi Nanshan discussed the family’s need to protect its future.
• Xi Nanshan told Xi Zheng he had found something in the Wuyue Cult’s secret investigation division and was unsure whether to reveal it.

Xi Zheng learned that Yuan Ming was the Nether Moon God and ordered witnesses’ memories erased, while the Wuyue Cult and Yunhuang Alliance prepared for battle. After Xiying summoned him to the battlefield, Yuan Ming arranged to aid her through possession, and Venerable Evil Eye faced Luo Yongqi among the Wuyue Cult’s forces.

• Xi Nanshan told Xi Zheng that the Mingyue Cult worshipped Yuan Ming as the Nether Moon God, and Xi Zheng ordered him to erase the memories of everyone in Southern Frontier who had seen Yuan Ming.
• Tian Yinzi summoned Wan Tianren and Luo Zhu to discuss the coming battle, while Xiying and Yin Kong waited nearby and considered gathering souls before joining the fighting.
• Xiying sent Yuan Ming a message explaining that her clone was wearing the Blood Puppet Armor and intended to gather souls, prompting him to worry about the risks and prepare to help from afar.
• Yuan Ming created an underground chamber, summoned King Kong to guard him, and sent a message before waiting for Xiying’s clone to choose when and whom he would possess.
• Xi Zheng, Ni Mu, and Venerable Evil Eye led their forces into battle formation, and Venerable Evil Eye taunted Luo Yongqi by asking for the Senluo Sect’s support.

The Xiying Clone used the Soul Suppressing Pot to collect souls from the chaotic battle between the Wuyue Cult and the Yunhuang Alliance, while Nine Yin Venerable’s black-mist illusion turned the battlefield into a deadly melee. After the Wuyue God detected the soul theft, Nine Yin Venerable discovered the Xiying Clone and wounded her as she fled underground.

• Xi Zheng’s forces discovered that most of the Yunhuang Alliance fighters approaching from the front were illusions, before real troops attacked from both sides and threw the Wuyue Cult armies into disarray.
• Nine Yin Venerable unleashed a black-mist illusion across both armies, and after the cultivators dispelled it, the two sides became entangled in a chaotic melee.
• The Xiying Clone and Yin Kong used the Soul Suppressing Pot underground to draw in many of the battlefield’s scattered souls, outcompeting the black hall’s soul-gathering force.
• The Xiying Clone realized the Xi Family was suffering heavy losses but chose not to intervene, believing her father had to suffer before he would leave the Wuyue Cult.
• The Wuyue God detected the stolen souls and sent Nine Yin Venerable to seize the collecting treasure; Nine Yin Venerable found the Xiying Clone and recognized that she had taken over Venerable White Bone’s powers and soul.
• The Xiying Clone fled underground after Nine Yin Venerable’s attack injured her body and soul, then sent a message with an Azure Spirit Communication Talisman.

Yuan Ming used the black incense to possess Venerable Evil Eye and rushed to aid the Xiying Clone and Yin Kong Tree Demon against Nine Yin Venerable. After learning Nine Yin Venerable's face, Yuan Ming and his allies launched a coordinated attack, leaving Nine Yin Venerable badly wounded and under assault.

• Nine Yin Venerable wounded the Xiying Clone with his Heavenly Mang Needles, but she escaped using Six Jia Qimen and warned the Yin Kong Tree Demon to flee with the Soul Suppressing Pot.
• Yuan Ming received the Xiying Clone's message, possessed Venerable Evil Eye with black incense, and fled Tian Yinzi's battle to reach her.
• Yuan Ming found three Primordial Spirit Tablets in Venerable Evil Eye's dantian and used them to summon Luo Yongqi and two other Wuyue Cult cultivators to his side.
• The Xiying Clone and Yin Kong Tree Demon fought Nine Yin Venerable, but his speed and needles overwhelmed them until Yuan Ming arrived with reinforcements.
• Yuan Ming lured Nine Yin Venerable close, and Yin Kong used Spatial Folding to return him to the path of Venerable Evil Eye's Black Claw Magic Treasure, which crushed his chest and knocked off his mask.
• Yuan Ming memorized Nine Yin Venerable's face and ordered Luo Yongqi and the other two to attack, threatening to destroy their Primordial Spirit Tablets if they refused.

Yuan Ming used Black Incense to possess Venerable Evil Eye and help wound Nine Yin Venerable, but the possession’s backlash nearly destroyed his soul. After surviving with Heavenly Ghost Rogue’s Substitute Calamity ability and the Undying Tree’s aid, Yuan Ming learned how he might strengthen Heavenly Ghost Rogue and set out for an underground city.

• Nine Yin Venerable used his black threads to immobilize Yuan Ming’s possessed Venerable Evil Eye, Luo Yongqi, and the others, while the Xiying Clone escaped.
• Nine Yin Venerable repaired his injuries and summoned Venerable Evil Eye, but Yuan Ming broke through the threads on one arm and pierced Nine Yin Venerable’s abdomen, discovering there was no Nascent Soul inside.
• Nine Yin Venerable killed Venerable Evil Eye with black needles, ending Yuan Ming’s possession and causing severe damage to Yuan Ming’s soul.
• Heavenly Ghost Rogue used Substitute Calamity to absorb most of Yuan Ming’s soul damage, and the Undying Tree helped stabilize Yuan Ming’s Nascent Soul.
• Qi Ye told Yuan Ming that an Undying Tree Puppet could restore some of Heavenly Ghost Rogue’s former strength, and Yuan Ming decided to refine one.
• Yuan Ming learned that Nine Yin Venerable had returned while the Xiying Clone and Yin Kong continued collecting battlefield souls, then he headed toward a nearby underground city.

After the battle, the Yunhuang Alliance and the Xi Family counted heavy losses while learning that several Wuyue Cult figures had fought underground. The Wuyue God sent Nine Yin Venerable after the Xiying Clone to seize the Soul Suppressing Pot, and Xi Zheng began practicing the body cultivation techniques he received as compensation.

• Tian Yinzi, Wan Tianren, and Luo Zhu discussed the Alliance’s losses and learned that Venerable Evil Eye had died in the underground battle while several others were captured or escaped.
• The Xiying Clone gathered thousands of souls in the Soul Suppressing Pot and chose to wait before leaving the Brown-Red Mountain Range.
• The Wuyue God healed Nine Yin Venerable and ordered him to pursue the person carrying the Soul Suppressing Pot, allowing him to unleash the Demon Owl Soul.
• A black-robed figure collected 2,200 corpses from the Wuyue God and took Venerable Evil Eye’s body, demanding more corpses for its master.
• Xi Zheng received compensation for the Xi Family’s casualties, found three body cultivation manuals among the gifts, and began practicing them.

Xi Zheng weighed whether the Xi Family should leave the Wuyue Cult after Xiying warned him of its likely defeat, but he remained loyal because he suspected a hidden force was driving it. Meanwhile, Xiying escaped the Nine Yin Venerable underground, and Yuan Ming infiltrated Fengping City to seize control of a Wuyue Cult cultivator.

• Xi Zheng tested his Heavenly Son God Sealing Fist and spoke with Xiying, who urged him to take the Xi Family into the Yunhuang Alliance.
• Xi Zheng revealed that a hidden force was pushing the Wuyue Cult and that the Art of Heavenly Derivation had produced the prophecy, “When heaven is about to collapse, sun and moon shall darken together.”
• Yin Kong warned Xiying that the Nine Yin Venerable was approaching, and she fled underground as his demonic owl attacked her soul.
• Golden flames freed Xiying from the Nine Yin Venerable’s soul threads, and she evaded his Thousand Light Needles by escaping through scorching underground magma.
• Yuan Ming arrived in Fengping City, pierced a Wuyue Cult cultivator with an Undying Tree rootlet, and used the Bewildering Soul Art to control his mind.